In July, Austria celebrated the centenary of Emperor Franz Joseph’s recognition of the Muslim faith (and Muslims in Bosnia Herzegovina returned the favour, showing complete loyalty to the Emperor). In the ranks of the continent’s most multiethnic army, Imams appeared next to Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox chaplains, making the army a model of peaceful co-existence among religions, highlighted also by Cardinal Schoenborn.
Historically, the number of Muslims in Catholic Austria was almost equivalent to the number of Protestants. But in recent years, the exodus of faithful from Christian Churches has made Islam rethink methods of interreligious dialogue (hence the “exchange” between a Catholic priest and an Imam in recent weeks).
But Muslim presence is increasing. The feast held in Prusac, in eastern Bosnia is a case in point.
In June, thousands of Muslims gathered here to celebrate their arrival in the country. A participant told French Catholic weekly La Croix that the occasion was linked to Ajvaz Dedo, who arrived in Bosnia after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
History says after invoking Allah, he managed to get water to pour out from a rock, supplying the Bosnian population.
Since then, his tomb has become a destination for pilgrimages which began again in 1990 after the fall of Communism.
As Dimitrijevic Dejan, a professor of ethnology and anthropology said: “a European Islam is being practiced in Bosnia, a sort of cultural mix between East and West.”
But within a few years time this could go further. Russia Beyond the Headlines suggested that in 2050, Islam could become the majority religion in Russia (it is currently the second main religion) because of the high birth rate in Muslim families.
According to Islamologist Roman Silantyev, there are 7-9 million practicing Muslims in Russia, the rest apparently just belong to the Muslim community. In total, there are said to be 22 million Muslims currently living in Russia.
The Muslim community is mainly concentrated around the Black Sea and Caspian sea region, but there are also many Muslim Tartars, although it is impossible to know exactly how many, given that the 2002 census did not ask people to state their faith.
Islam has been present in Russia since the era of Christian evangelisation, around 988. Today’s spiritual reawakening following the fall of Communism includes Islam.
In fact the mosque restitution process – there were at least 12 thousand mosques during the era of the Russian Empire - began in 1995 and apparently there are now at least 7 thousand active temples.
The first Muslim university was founded in Moscow in 1999 and in 1995, an Islamic studies department was opened in the city’s university.
Today, in Moscow, there are 4 mosques for over 2 million Muslims.
Hassan Fakhritdinov, an Imam at Moscow’s historic mosque, denounced this shortage in a statement to the BBC, saying it must be addressed as a matter of urgency.
He foresees a 14-15% increase in the number of Muslims in Russia by 2030.