Islam in Croatia
Islam is the third-largest religion or subdivision and second-largest religion in Croatia after Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, which are Christian religions. The religion is followed by 1.3% of the country's population according to the 2021 census. Islam was first introduced to Croatia by the Ottoman Empire during the Croatian–Ottoman Wars that lasted from the 15th to 16th century. During this period some parts of the Croatian Kingdom were occupied which resulted in some Croats converting to Islam, some after being taken prisoners of war, some through the devşirme system. Nonetheless, Croats strongly fought against the Turks during these few centuries which resulted in the fact that the westernmost border of the Ottoman Empire in Europe became entrenched on the Croatian soil. In 1519, Croatia was called the Antemurale Christianitatis by Pope Leo X.
The Islamic Community of Croatia is the main organization of Muslims in Croatia that is officially recognized by the state. The President of the Islamic Community is Aziz Effendi Hasanović. As of 2011, 62,977 Muslims live in Croatia. Most of them declare themselves as Bosniaks while others declare themselves as: Croats, Albanians, Roma, Turks, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Ahmadies and other.
The first modern mosque in Croatia was built in Gunja in 1969. Today there are 4 mosques and 2 Islamic centers in Croatia. Historically, during the Ottoman rule, there was a significantly larger number of mosques in Croatia. At one point there were 250 of them, but as of 2014 only 3 structures remained standing. The largest and most representative one of them, Ibrahim Pasha's Mosque, is located in eastern Croatian town of Đakovo but is today used as the Roman Catholic Church of All Saints. Another mosque in eastern Croatia, which today does not exist, was located in Osijek. It was the Kasım Pasha Mosque constructed after 1526 at the site of modern-day Church of Saint Michael. Most of the Ottoman structures in the region were systematically destroyed after the Treaty of Karlowitz.
Highest rate of Muslims live in Gunja municipality, followed by Cetingrad, Raša, Vojnić, Vodnjan, Labin, Kršan, Sveta Nedelja, Drenovci and Čavle. As of 2011, there are totally 56 municipalities in Croatia in which no Muslims live, biggest of them being Bednja with 3,992 inhabitants.
History
Ottoman times
The Turkish Ottoman Empire conquered part of Croatia from the 15th to the 19th century. Numerous Croats converted to Islam, some after being taken prisoners of war, some through the devşirme system. The westernmost border of Ottoman Empire in Europe became entrenched on Croatian soil. In 1519, Croatia was called the Antemurale Christianitatis by Pope Leo X.The historical names of many officials in the Ottoman Empire reveal their origin : Rüstem Pasha, Piyale Pasha, Memipaša Hrvat, Tahvilpaša Kulenović Hrvat etc.
There was some considerable confusion over the terms "Croat" and "Serb" in these times, and "Croat" in some of these cases could mean anyone from the wider South Slavic area.
In 1553, Antun Vrančić, Roman cardinal, and Franjo Zay, a diplomat, visited Istanbul as envoys of the Croatian-Hungarian king to discuss a peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire. During the initial ceremonial greetings they had with Rüstem Pasha Hrvat the conversation led in Turkish with an official interpreter was suddenly interrupted. Rustem Pasha Hrvat asked in Croatian if Zay and Vrančić spoke Croatian. The interpreter was then dismissed and they proceeded in Croatian during the entire process of negotiations.
In 1585, traveler and writer Marco A. Pigaffetta, in his Itinerario published in London, states: In Constantinople it is customary to speak Croatian, a language which is understood by almost all official Turks, especially military men. Crucially though, the lingua franca at the time among Slavic elites in the Ottoman Empire was still Old Church Slavonic. For Italians traveling through to Istanbul, the language of the Slavic Croats was often the only exposure they had to any of the Slavic languages; indeed, Bulgarian and Macedonian dialects were far more common in Istanbul than Croatian.
Since the nineteenth century
Within the territory of the present-day Republic of Croatia, Muslim believers were registered for the first time during the 1931 census: 1,239 of them were in Zagreb, and their overall number in Croatia was approximately 4,000.The Quran was translated into Croatian for the first time by Džemaludin Čaušević and Muhamed Pandža in 1937.
During the Second World War the mufti of Zagreb was Ismet Muftić. After the war he was tried and eventually publicly hanged by the Partisans in 1945 because he collaborated with the fascist regime of the Croatian World War II era dictator Ante Pavelić.
In the following censuses in the People's Republic of Croatia, registered Muslim believers numbered as follows:
- 1,077 persons in 1948
- 16,185 persons in 1953
- 3,113 persons in 1961
- 18,487 persons in 1971
- 23,740 persons in 1981
- 43,486 persons in 1991
Based on the figures recorded during the 1931 to 1961 census, it may also be concluded that a certain number of Muslim believers declared themselves as Croats or Yugoslavs.
After the dissolution of Yugoslavia, an additional increase can be attributed to the influx of Bosnian Muslims that took place during and after the 1992-1996 Bosnian conflict.
The 2001 Croatian census identified a total of 56,777 adherents of Islam, or 1.3% of the total population of Croatia.
Statistics
The published data from the 2021 Croatian census included a crosstab of ethnicity and religion which showed that a total of 50,981 Muslims was divided between the following ethnic groups:- 21,119 Bosniaks
- 10,841 Croats
- 7,421 Albanians
- 3,436 ethnic Muslims
- 3,287 Romani
- 4,877 Others, undeclared or unknown
By county
| County | Number of Muslims | Percent | Municipalities with most Muslims |
| City of Zagreb | 18,044 | 2.28% | Peščenica-Žitnjak, Sesvete, Novi Zagreb - zapad, Trešnjevka - sjever, Stenjevec |
| Primorje-Gorski Kotar | 10,667 | 3.60% | Rijeka, Viškovo, Crikvenica, Čavle, Kastav, Mali Lošinj, Bakar, Krk, Jelenje, Omišalj |
| Istria | 9,965 | 4.79% | Pula, Labin, Vodnjan, Poreč, Umag, Raša, Rovinj, Buzet, Kršan, Sveta Nedelja |
| Sisak-Moslavina | 4,140 | 2.40% | Sisak, Petrinja, Novska, Topusko, Kutina, Hrvatska Kostajnica, Sunja, Glina |
| Zagreb | 2,961 | 0.93% | Velika Gorica, Zaprešić, Samobor, Sveta Nedelja, Rugvica, Brdovec, Dugo Selo |
| Dubrovnik-Neretva | 2,927 | 2.39% | Dubrovnik, Župa dubrovačka, Ploče, Orebić, Konavle, Metković, Korčula |
| Vukovar-Syrmia | 2,619 | 1.46% | Gunja, Drenovci, Vinkovci, Županja, Vukovar, Vrbanja, Tovarnik, Bošnjaci |
| Split-Dalmatia | 2,282 | 0.5% | Split, Kaštela, Trogir, Makarska, Solin, Omiš, Hvar, Jelsa, Gradac, Supetar, Okrug |
| Karlovac | 2,163 | 1.68% | Vojnić, Karlovac, Cetingrad, Ogulin, Draganić, Slunj, Rakovica, Duga Resa, Krnjak |
| Osijek-Baranja | 1,625 | 0.53% | Osijek, Beli Manastir, Đakovo, Donji Miholjac, Našice, Darda, Čepin, Magadenovac |
| Brod-Posavina | 1,535 | 0.97% | Slavonski Brod, Nova Gradiška, Bukovlje, Sibinj, Oriovac, Stara Gradiška |
| Zadar | 1,207 | 0.97% | Zadar, Vir, Pag, Nin, Biograd na Moru, Obrovac, Pakoštane, Tkon, Preko, Benkovac |
| Šibenik-Knin | 458 | 0.42% | Šibenik, Vodice, Knin, Skradin, Tisno, Bilice, Drniš |
| Lika-Senj | 411 | 0.81% | Gospić, Novalja, Plitvička Jezera, Senj, Udbina, Otočac, Karlobag, Perušić |
| Varaždin | 349 | 0.20% | Varaždin, Lepoglava, Novi Marof, Gornji Kneginec |
| Bjelovar-Bilogora | 335 | 0.28% | Bjelovar, Daruvar, Grubišno Polje, Garešnica, Čazma, Veliki Grđevac, Berek |
| Virovitica-Podravina | 295 | 0.35% | Virovitica, Orahovica, Pitomača, Slatina, Suhopolje, Čačinci, Čađavica, Gradina |
| Koprivnica-Križevci | 280 | 0.24% | Koprivnica, Križevci, Đurđevac, Virje, Drnje, Sveti Ivan Žabno, Kloštar Podravski |
| Požega-Slavonia | 266 | 0.34% | Požega, Pakrac, Pleternica, Lipik, Kutjevo, Kaptol, Čaglin |
| Međimurje | 248 | 0.22% | Čakovec, Belica, Nedelišće, Prelog, Mursko Središće |
| Krapina-Zagorje | 200 | 0.15% | Zabok, Bedekovčina, Donja Stubica, Oroslavje, Krapina, Pregrada, Stubičke Toplice |