Islam in Estonia

Islam in Europe
by percentage of country population[1]

95–100%

* Azerbaijan

|

90–95%

* Turkey
* Kosovo

50–55%

* Albania
* Bosnia and Herzegovina

30–35%

* North Macedonia

10–20%

* France
* Georgia
* Montenegro
* Russia

5–10%

* Austria
* Bulgaria
* Sweden
* Belgium
* Germany
* Greece
* Liechtenstein
* Netherlands
* Switzerland
* United Kingdom
* Norway
* Denmark

4–5%

* Italy
* Serbia
* Spain

2–4%

* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Slovenia

1–2%

* Croatia
* Finland
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Ukraine

< 1%

* Andorra
* Armenia
* Belarus
* Czech Republic
* Estonia
* Hungary
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Moldova
* Monaco
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* San Marino
* Slovakia

Islam by country

World percentage of Muslims by country

Africa

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Mayotte
* Morocco
* Western Sahara
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Réunion
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Asia

* Afghanistan
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* Cyprus
* Georgia
* Hong Kong
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* Korea
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Macau
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Palestine
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Taiwan
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Timor-Leste
* Turkey
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

Americas

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Argentina
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* Dominica
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* French Guiana
* Grenada
* Guatemala
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Panama
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Saint Lucia
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Suriname
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Europe

* Albania
* Andorra
* Austria
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Czechia
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Moldova
* Monaco
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Tatarstan
* San Marino
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* England
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* Wales

Oceania

* Australia
* Christmas Island
* Cocos (Keeling) Islands
* Cook Islands
* Fiji
* Guam
* Kiribati
* Marshall Islands
* Micronesia
* Nauru
* New Caledonia
* New Zealand
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Palau
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
* Tonga
* Tuvalu
* Vanuatu

Islam portal

* v
* t
* e

Estonia has a small, but growing Islamic community. According to 2024 estimates, the number of people who profess Islam was 2000 in Estonia, or 0.2% of the total population. The number of practicing Muslims is small and, in the absence of a mosque, the Estonian Islamic Centre serves as a center of worship.

## Demography

[edit]

According to a 2008 estimate, there are approximately 4,000 Muslims living in Estonia.[2] The largest Muslim groups in Estonia consist of Tatars (of Mishar origin) and Azeris. There are also smaller amounts of Muslims belonging to various regional and ethnic backgrounds (including converts to Islam). The majority of Muslims in Estonia are Sunni except for the Azeris, who are Shia.[3] Most Estonian Muslims live in or around Tallinn.[2] As of 2024 there were reported to be 10,000 Muslims in Estonia.[4]

## History

[edit]

Coins from the Islamic world minted as early as the 8th century have been discovered in Estonia, which were brought to the area by Viking merchants.[5]

The earliest documented presence of Muslims in Estonia occurred when Muslim soldiers from the Russian Empire arrived in Estonia during the Livonian War in the 16th century.[3] The first Muslims to settle in Estonia were mostly Sunni Tatars who had been released from the military service in the Russian Army after Estonia and Livonia had been conquered by the Russian Empire in 1721.[3] The small Tatar community became concentrated within Tallinn and by the mid-19th century, had established a mosque with a serving imam.[6]

After 1860, a new wave of Tatar immigrants arrived in Estonia as merchants.[6] The Tatar community started showing activity, the centre being in the city of Narva although some also settled in Tallinn and Tartu. The Tatar community opened shops and engaged in trade.[6] A Muslim congregation (Narva Muhamedi Kogudus) was registered there under the independent Republic of Estonia in 1928 and a second one (Tallinna Muhamedi Usuühing) in Tallinn in 1939.[3][6] A house built for funds received as donations was converted into a mosque in Narva.[citation needed]

According to the 1934 census, there were 170 Muslims in Estonia, of whom 166 were Tartars.[7]

In 1940, the Soviet authorities banned both congregations, and the buildings of the congregations were destroyed during World War II (in 1944). The overwhelming majority of Muslims immigrated to Estonia during the Soviet occupation of Estonia between 1940 and 1991.

The Muslim community in Estonia is considered tolerant and politically moderate. Unusually in the global context, the Sunnis and Shias worship jointly.[8]

## Mosque

[edit]

* Estonian Islamic Center

## Gallery

[edit]

* Islamic Golden Age coins found in Estonia.

## See also

[edit]

* Islam portal
* Estonia portal

* Religion in Estonia

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Muslim Population Growth in Europe Pew Research Center". 2024-07-10. Archived from the original on 2024-07-10.
2. ^ a b Ringvee, Ringo (2012). "Estonia". Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Volume 5. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-25586-9.
3. ^ a b c d Ozkan, Aysha (2009). "Estonia". In Larsson, Göran (ed.). Islam in the Nordic and Baltic Countries. Routledge. pp. 90–98\. ISBN 978-0-415-48519-7.
4. ^ ERR, ERR | (2024-01-22). "Foreign students dropping out but not on a mass scale". ERR. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
5. ^ Hussain, Tharik (March 2017). "The European Muslims You Have Never Heard About". Bahath. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
6. ^ a b c d Abiline, Toomas; Ringvee, Ringo (2016). "Estonia". Muslim Tatar Minorities in the Baltic Sea Region. Brill Publishers. pp. 105–127\. ISBN 978-90-04-30584-7. OCLC 934437242.
7. ^ "Eesti moslemitel on sõjaeelsest Eesti Vabariigist parimad mälestused." Postimees 21 March 2025.
8. ^ Islam in Estonia. Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine (in Estonian)

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Islam in Estonia.

* Mis on Islam
* Webmagazine about Middle-East and islam ISLAM.EE
* Halal food in Estonia

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Islam in Europe

Middle Ages|

* Conquest of Hispania
* Al-Andalus
* Islam in southern Italy
* Transmission of the Classics
* Cultural transmission
* Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture
* Medieval Christian views on Muhammad
* Crusades
* Reconquista
* Tatar yoke

Early Modern|

* Reception of Islam in early modern Europe
* Protestantism and Islam
* Anglo-Moroccan alliance
* Ottoman wars in Europe
* Ottoman–Habsburg wars
* Barbary pirates
* Barbary slave trade
* Islamization of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Russo-Turkish wars
* Islamization of Albania
* Orientalism in early modern France

Modern|

* Islam in the Far North
* Orientalism
* Islam and modernity
* Islam in the USSR
* Partition of the Ottoman Empire
* Nazi Germany and the Arab world
* Islam and secularism
* Islamic democracy

Contemporary issues|

* Islam in Europe
* European Islam
* Islamic terrorism
* Liberal and progressive Islam in Europe
* Religion in the European Union
* Hijab and burka controversies in Europe
* Islamophobia
* Jihadi tourism

By country|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Armenia
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Georgia
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* England
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* Wales

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