L’islam

The first significant number of Muslims arrived on the actual territory of Romania in the 11th century with the migratory populations of Pechenegs and Cumans. Muslim presence is traditional in Dobruja, a region on the Black Sea coast which was part of the Ottoman Empire for almost five centuries (1420-1878).

The Muslim minority has also increased notably from 55,928 members in 1992 (0.2%) to 67,257 members in 2002 (0.3%) to 64337 members in 2011 (0.3 %). Muslims in Romania live predominantly in the Dobroudja area and their presence on Romanian soil is in fact quite a long story that goes back to the 9th and 10th centuries when the Petcheneg people – natives of Asia – settled in Moldavia at the end of the 9th century, then in Walachia and Transylvania after that. Their numbers increased significantly in Dobroudja especially after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when the Ottoman rule was introduced there.

The Muslims of Romania belong to the Sunnite branch and preserve their traditions and religious culture with much conviction. They belong to the Muslim religion and they receive support from both Romania (just like the other religions in Romania) and Turkey. According to data published by the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, they had 77 mosques.

The increased number of Muslims in Romania is to some extent due to the constant birth rate and immigration. This is the case for Muslim foreigners (Arabs, Syrians, Palestinians, Jordanians, and Turks) who settled in Romania after 1990 as a result of the country’s democratic freedom but also because of the increased commercial and economic relations with Turkey. Some of them have even asked for Romanian citizenship. There are also some rare cases of Christian Orthodox converting to Islam through mixed marriages.

Muslims in Romania are organised within four religious associations : the Islamic Cultural Centre, the "Crescent" Society, the Romanian Foundation of Islamic Services and the Islamic and Cultural League of Romania.

The 28 July 2015, the Romanian Government, the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs and the representatives of Muslim Worship have initialed an agreement on free disposal during 49 years of a land measuring 11.295 m2. In accordance with provisions of Protocole 1846/28.07.2015 (in Romanian), this land is intended to the construction of a mosque with annexes, a library and a school for the teaching of the Koran. Many discussions about the size and the funding of the future mosque have animated the public debate recently.