Islam in Switzerland

Islam in Europe
by percentage of country population[1]
  95–100%
  90–95%
  50–55%
  30–35%
  10–20%
  5–10%
  4–5%
  2–4%
  1–2%
  < 1%
The Mahmood Mosque in Zürich (built in 1963).

Islam in Switzerland has mostly arrived via immigration since the late 20th century. Numbering below 1% of total population in 1980, the fraction of Muslims in the population of permanent residents in Switzerland has quintupled in thirty years, estimated at just above 5% as of 2013.[2] The Turks and those from The Balkans (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania) make up the largest group. There is also a large North African community (most of them are from Tunisia and Morocco) and a significant Middle Eastern community. This is due to the fact that in the 1960s and 1970s, Switzerland encouraged young men from Yugoslavia and Turkey to come as guest workers.[3] Initially these young men were only planning on staying in Switzerland temporarily, however, revised Swiss immigration laws in the 1970s permitted family regrouping.[4] Consequently, these men ended up staying in Switzerland as these new laws allowed the wives and children of these young men into the country.[4] Since this time period, most of the Muslim immigration to Switzerland stems from asylum seekers arriving primarily from Eastern Europe.[5] In more recent years, there has been migration from Turkey, the Balkans (mainly Albania, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina), Iraq, Syria, Morocco, Somalia, and Tunisia.

The vast majority of Muslims in Switzerland adhere to the Sunni branch.[6] Notable Swiss Muslims include Tariq Ramadan, Frithjof Schuon, Titus Burckhardt, Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri and Isabelle Eberhardt.

  1. ^ "Muslim Population Growth in Europe Pew Research Center". 2024-07-10. Archived from the original on 2024-07-10.
  2. ^ The Federal Statistical Office reported the religious demographics as of 2013 as follows (based on the resident population older than 15 years): total population of Muslims aged 15 or older: 341,572 (confidence interval ±1.8%, i.e. ±6150, based on a total (100%) of 6,744,794 registered resident population above 15 years). This corresponds to 5.1%±0.1% of total (adult) population. "Ständige Wohnbevölkerung ab 15 Jahren nach Kanton und Religions- und Konfessionszugehörigkeit 2013" (XLS). bfs.admin.ch (Statistics) (in German). Neuchâtel: Swiss Federal Statistical Office. 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  3. ^ Abbas, Tahir; Hamid, Sadek (2019-02-11). Political Muslims: Understanding Youth Resistance in a Global Context. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815654308.
  4. ^ a b Dodd, Savannah D. (2015-01-02). "The Structure of Islam in Switzerland and the Effects of the Swiss Minaret Ban". Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. 35 (1): 43–64. doi:10.1080/13602004.2015.1007665. ISSN 1360-2004. S2CID 144170410.
  5. ^ Lathion, Stephane (2008-04-01). "Muslims in Switzerland: Is Citizenship Really Incompatible with Muslim Identity?". Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. 28 (1): 53–60. doi:10.1080/13602000802011077. ISSN 1360-2004. S2CID 144696568.
  6. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-06-19. Retrieved 2014-07-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)