Islam in the Netherlands

The Dutch Islamic population is very diverse. One of the first groups who established a fixed place in the Netherlands were people from Indonesia. At that time Indonesia was a colony of the Netherlands and people from Indonesia were allowed to learn and study in the Netherlands. However at the same time the Dutch people were introduced to Islam.

During the 1970s and 1980s the Netherlands needed a larger work force and were forced to seek beyond their borders. People from Turkey, Morocco, Algeria and some other Islamic orientated countries were allowed to stay temporarily in the Netherlands. However most of them stayed and began an new life in the Netherlands. As a result the Islamic community in the Netherlands became a lot bigger.

Demographic situation

According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), a Dutch government-controlled company, 5,8% of the total Dutch population are Muslims (1 January 2004):

"There were 945,000 Muslims living in the Netherlands on 1 January this year (2004), double the amount in 1990, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said on Monday. The number is expected to reach 1 million in 2006."

(....)

"The Islamic community made up 5.8 percent of the Dutch population on 1 January 2004 and its numbers will swell in coming years. The CBS expects there will be more than a million Muslims living in the Netherlands in 2006."

- Source: Netherlands Islamic community to hit 1 million in 2006

See also: Nearly one million Muslims in the Netherlands

See also

• Islam
• Islam by country

External links

• The Dutch Islam Broadcaster (Nederlandse Moslim Omroep)
• Amsterdam based Mosque El Tawheed
• Dutch Islamic site
• Links: Islam in Western Europe