Yearbook of Muslims in Europe

Volume 5

Editor-in-Chief
Jørgen S. Nielsen
Editors
Samim Akgönül
Ahmet Alibašić
Egdūnas Račius

LEIDEN • BOSTON
2013

© 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-25456-5

 CONTENTS

The Editors ........................................................................................................ ix
Editorial Advisers  ............................................................................................ xi
Foreword  ........................................................................................................... xiii
List of Technical Terms ................................................................................. xix

European Islams and Muslim Europes: Some Thoughts about

Studying Europe’s Contemporary Islam  ............................................. 1
Konstantinos Tsitselikis

COUNTRY SURVEYS

Albania  ............................................................................................................... 21
Olsi Jazexhi
Armenia  ............................................................................................................. 37
Sevak Karamyan
Austria  ................................................................................................................ 47
Thomas Schmidinger
Azerbaijan  ......................................................................................................... 65
Bayram Balci and Altay Goyushov
Belarus  ................................................................................................................ 87
Daša Słabčanka
Belgium  .............................................................................................................. 99
Nadia Fadil
Bosnia and Herzegovina  ............................................................................... 123
Aid Smajić
Bulgaria  .............................................................................................................. 143
Aziz Nazmi Shakir
Croatia  ................................................................................................................ 163
Dino Mujadžević
Cyprus ................................................................................................................. 173
Ali Dayıoğlu and Mete Hatay
Czech Republic  ................................................................................................ 195
Štěpán Macháček
Denmark  ............................................................................................................ 209
Brian Arly Jacobsen

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Estonia ................................................................................................................ 229
Ringo Ringvee
Finland  ............................................................................................................... 237
Tuomas Martikainen
France  ................................................................................................................. 247
Franck Frégosi
Georgia  ............................................................................................................... 263
Satenik Mkrtchyan
Germany  ............................................................................................................ 281
Mathias Rohe
Greece ................................................................................................................. 307
Konstantinos Tsitselikis
Hungary  ............................................................................................................. 319
Norbert Pap and Éva Ladányi
Iceland  ................................................................................................................ 327
Göran Larsson
Ireland  ................................................................................................................ 333
Victoria Montgomery
Italy  ..................................................................................................................... 351
Stella Coglievina
Kosovo  ................................................................................................................ 369
Besa Ismaili
Latvia  .................................................................................................................. 383
Valters Ščerbinskis
Liechtenstein  .................................................................................................... 391
Thomas Schmidinger
Lithuania ............................................................................................................ 399
Egdūnas Račius
Luxembourg ...................................................................................................... 407
Sylvain Besch
Macedonia ......................................................................................................... 417
Muharem Jahja
Malta  ................................................................................................................... 429
Martin R. Zammit
Moldova  ............................................................................................................. 437
Aurelia Felea
Montenegro  ...................................................................................................... 455
Sabina Pacariz
Netherlands ....................................................................................................... 465
Martijn de Koning

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 contents vii

Norway  ............................................................................................................... 487

Christine M. Jacobsen and Oddbjørn Leirvik
Poland ................................................................................................................. 501
Agata S. Nalborczyk and Stanisław Grodź
Portugal  .............................................................................................................. 517
José Mapril and Nina Clara Tiesler
Romania  ............................................................................................................. 531
Irina Vainovski-Mihai
Russia  .................................................................................................................. 547
Elmira Akhmetova
Serbia  .................................................................................................................. 569
Srđjan Barišić
Slovakia  .............................................................................................................. 585
Jaroslav Drobný
Slovenia  .............................................................................................................. 593
Christian Moe
Spain  ................................................................................................................... 603
Jordi Moreras
Sweden  ............................................................................................................... 619
Göran Larsson
Switzerland  ....................................................................................................... 633
Stéphane Lathion and Andreas Tunger-Zanetti
Turkey ................................................................................................................. 649
Ahmet Yildiz
Ukraine ............................................................................................................... 669
Elmira Muratova
United Kingdom  .............................................................................................. 681
Dilwar Hussain and Seán McLoughlin

© 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-25456-5

 ROMANIA

Irina Vainovski-Mihai1

1 Muslim Populations

The fijirst Muslim communities in Romania were formed (mainly in north-

ern Dobrudja and along the lower Danube) in the fourteenth century
when Ottoman rule was established in the region. Dobrudja remained part
of the Ottoman Empire for fijive centuries. After the Russian-Romanian-
Ottoman War (1877), Romania gained its independence and the Treaty of
Berlin (1878) acknowledged Dobrudja as part of Romanian territory. As
a result of the economic and political conditions in the early twentieth
century, Turks and Tatars migrated massively from Dobrudja to Turkey.
While the census of 1879 recorded Muslims as representing 56% of the
population in the Dobrudjan county of Constantza, the census of 1909
indicates that the percentage had dropped to 10.8%.2 Since its establish-
ment as an independent state, the Constitutions of Romania and special
laws have guaranteed the rights of certain religious groups, in addition to
Orthodox Christians who represent the majority of the population. The
law on religious denominations adopted in 1923 lists the Muslim faith
among the recognised ‘historical faiths’.3 The establishment of the Com-
munist regime (1948) introduced many formal changes with regard to the
recognition of religious denominations, but put them under strict state
control. Between 1948 and 1989, the Communist state acted systematically
to impose atheism and limit the impact of religious creeds on society.

1 Irina Vainovski-Mihai is Associate Professor in Arabic Literature at Dimitrie Cantemir

Christian University, Bucharest. She holds a degree in Arabic language and literature and
a Ph.D. in Philology. She has published studies in Arab literature, comparative literature
and intercultural stereotyping.
2 Schmidt-Rösler, Andrea, “Dobrudscha”, in Weithmann, Michael (ed.), Der ruhelose
Balkan. Die Konfliktregionen Südosteuropas (Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1993),
pp. 94–106 (101), quoted in Bara, Maria, “Relaţii interetnice dintre creştinii ortodocşi şi
musulmani în Dobrogea. Studiu de caz: Medgidia şi Cobadin (Muslim-Orthodox Christian
interethnic relations in Dobrudja. A case study: Medgidia and Cobadin)”, Philologica Jassy-
ensia, vol. 2, no. 1 (2006), pp. 93–104 (95).
3 Gillet, Oliver, Religie şi naţionalism (Religion and Nationalism) (Bucharest: Compania,
2001), p. 6.

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532 irina vainovski-mihai

After 1959, education in the Tatar and Turkish languages was gradually
eliminated and in 1967 the Muslim Theological Seminary was closed.
Today, the majority of Muslim communities live in Dobrudja and are
mainly made up of the historical ethnic groups. The census which took
place in 2002 recorded 67,257 Muslims (0.3% of the total population of
Romania), of whom 31,118 were ethnic Turks, 23,641 Tatars, and 3,310
Romanians.4 As regards levels of education, out of the total Muslim pop-
ulation over the age of ten (i.e., 57,687 individuals), 2,637 were recorded
by the census of 2002 as having a university degree.5 The data from the
most recent census (October 2011) are still under review, but according to
provisional interpretations, out of the total population (of 19,043 million)
28,226 persons declared themselves to be ethnic Turks and 20,464 to be
Tatars.6 In light of the same data, 26,179 persons have Turkish as their
mother tongue and 18,143 Tatar.7 The preliminary results of this last cen-
sus include Muslims in the category of “other religions,” with a number of
less than 85,000 adherents.8
The main Muslim ethnic groups, Turks and Tatars, follow Sunni Islam.
In the census of 2002, a relatively small number of Turks and Tatars
declared themselves to belong to religions other than Islam, to be athe-
ists or to have no religion (980 Turks out of 32,098, and 294 Tatars out
of 23,641).9 According to the same statistics, the total number of Mus-
lim families was 16,807, out of which there were 12,584 families in which
both spouses were Muslims.10 Although the total number of Muslims in
Romania should have increased slightly due to immigration from Middle
Eastern countries and conversion (mainly as a consequence of marriage),

4 National Institute of Statistics fijigures available at www.insse.ro/cms/fijiles/RPL2002INS/

vol4/tabele/t5.pdf, accessed 4 February 2013.
5 National Institute of Statistics fijigures available at www.insse.ro/cms/fijiles/RPL2002INS/
vol4/tabele/t13.pdf, accessed 4 February 2013.
6 Provisional census results available on the census webpage of the National Institute
of Statistics at www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Comunicat_
DATE_PROVIZORII_RPL_2011_.pdf, accessed 4 February 2013.
7 Provisional census results available on the census webpage of the National Insti-
tute of Statistics at www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/TS5.pdf,
accessed 4 February 2013.
8 Provisional census results available on the census webpage of the National Insti-
tute of Statistics at www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/TS7.pdf,
accessed 4 February 2013.
9 National Institute of Statistics fijigures available at www.insse.ro/cms/fijiles/RPL2002
INS/vol4/tabele/t5.pdf, accessed 4 February 2013.
10 National Institute of Statistics fijigures available at www.insse.ro/cms/fijiles/RPL2002INS/
vol4/tabele/t30.pdf, accessed 4 February 2013.

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 romania 533

probably the overall fijigures kept with the general trend of population
decrease. The available updated estimates as of 2012 vary: 70,000 accord-
ing to the Muftiate in Romania, with 85% living in the south-eastern
county of Constantza11 and approximately 67,300 according to the State
Secretariat for Religious Afffairs (Secretariatul de Stat pentru Culte).12 After
the fall of the Communist regime in 1989, new Muslim groups appeared
in major cities such as Bucharest, Iasi, Cluj and Timisoara. These groups
are made up of Middle Eastern businessmen, former students who studied
in Romania before the fall of the Communist regime in 1989, and refu-
gees. They are mostly Palestinians, Kurds (from northern Iraq and south-
eastern Turkey), Iraqis, Syrians, Lebanese and Jordanians. These new
communities have not joined the old Muslim communities in Romania,
and the two groups live almost parallel lives,13 so discussion does not run
around the question of who is a Muslim, but rather what kind of Muslim
someone is and to which extent.14 After Romania’s accession to the EU
(in 2007), the number of migrants from the Middle East and North Africa
increased. According to the statistical bulletin of the General Inspectorate
for Immigration (Inspectoratul General pentru Imigrări), in the fijirst quar-
ter of 2012, there were 1,457 requests for asylum mainly from citizens of
such countries as Algeria, Morocco, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria.15

2 Islam and the State

Romania is a secular republic with no state religion, though Orthodox

Christians constitute the majority (according to the 2011 census, 16,367
million out of the total population of 19,043 million).16 The Islamic faith, as
one of the 18 religious denominations recognised by law (Law 489/2006), is

11 Figures from the Muftiate in Romania, available at www.muftiyat.ro/comunitatea,

accessed 4 February 2013.
12 Figures from the State Secretariat for Religious Afffairs available at www.culte.gov.ro/
cultul-musulman, accessed 4 February 2013.
13 Grigore, George, “Muslims in Romania”, ISIM Newsletter, 3 July 1999, p. 34.
14 Kozák, Gyula, “Romániai muzulmán intézmények diskurzusa az identitásról és inte-
grációról (The discourse of Muslim institutions from Romania on identity and integra-
tion)”, Korunk, no. 5 (May 2009), pp. 54–61 (54).
15 Statistics available on the webpage of the General Inspectorate for Immigration at
http://ori.mai.gov.ro/api/media/userfijiles/analiza%20statistica%20sem%20I.pdf, accessed
4 February 2013.
16 Provisional census results available on the census webpage of the National Institute of
Statistics at www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/TS7.pdf, accessed
4 February 2013.

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534 irina vainovski-mihai

considered a public-utility legal entity.17 Costs are covered primarily from

the Muslim communities’ own income. Through their offfijicially recogn-
ised national leadership and representative body (the Muftiate), Muslims
can receive material support from the state for maintenance of mosques,
monuments and other communal buildings. According to the law, the
Muftiate is the only religious institution that represents the followers of
the Islamic faith in Romania and has the right to organise pilgrimages
to Mecca and Medina. Any other individual or legal entity that wishes
to organise pilgrimages must have the Muftiate’s approval.18 The Synodal
Council (Romanian: Consiliu Sinodal, Turkish: Şura-i Islam), headed by the
Mufti, takes decisions regarding the functioning and organisation of the
Muslim community. According to the same Law of 2008, the Synodal Coun-
cil is made up of the Mufti, four members nominated by the Democratic
Union of the Turkish-Muslim Tatars in Romania (Uniunea Democrată a
Tătarilor Turco-Musulmani din România, UDTTMR), four members nomi-
nated by the Turkish Democratic Union of Romania (Uniunea Democrată
Turcă din România, UDTR), the principal of the Kemal Atatürk High
School (Colegiul Naţional Kemal Atatürk) and 15 clerics.19 The UDTTMR
and the UDTR are two of the eighteen political parties and cultural asso-
ciations representing ethnic minorities in the Romanian Parliament. The
Mufti must be a Romanian citizen, born in Romania and with no other
previous citizenship, and a graduate of an Islamic theological institute in
Romania (or abroad, provided his qualifijication is recognised by the Roma-
nian state). Because the position of the head of a religious denomination
is regarded as equivalent to a high-ranking public position, after being
elected by the Synodal Council, the Mufti is confijirmed by a decree of the
President of the Republic.

17 “Hotărâre de guvern privind statutul cultului musulman (Goverment Decision regard-

ing the Recognition of the Muslim Denomination)” on the website of the State Secretariat
for Religious Afffairs www.culte.wbd.ro/library/fijiles/biserici/statutul_cultului_musulman.
doc, accessed 4 February 2013.
18 Cf. Chapter III, Art. 3.e and Art. 4(1) of the “Government Decision regarding the Rec-
ognition of the Muslim Denomination”, offfijicially published on 25 June 2008.
19 List of the present members available on the Muftiate’s website at www.muftiyat.ro/
muftiatul/organizare, accessed 4 February 2013.

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3 Main Muslim Organisations

The traditional (Sunni) Muslim denomination engages in public activities

mainly through the Muftiate (Str. Bogdan Voda nr. 75, Constantza, tel./fax:
++40 241611390, http://www.muftiyat.ro) together with the UDTTMR (Str.
B. P. Haşdeu, nr. 53, Constantza, tel./fax: ++40 241616643; ++40 241520186,
www.tatar.ro) and the UDTR (Constantza Str. Crişana nr. 44, tel./fax: ++40
241550903, www.udtr.ro). Although the Muftiate has a longer history in
the region of Dobrudja, it has functioned as the only institution repre-
senting Muslims in Romania since 1943. The present Mufti, Murat Yusuf
(b. 1977 in Medgidia, Constantza), was fijirst elected to this position in 2005
and was re-elected in June 2010.20 He studied in Romania and Turkey,
holds an MA in Comparative Religion and is currently a PhD candidate in
the Faculty of Orthodox Christian Theology (University of Constantza).21
In recent years, the Muftiate extended its international relations, includ-
ing with the Saudi-based Muslim World League.22
Newly established associations and foundations23 dominated by immi-
grants from various ethnic backgrounds are also actively engaged in pub-
lic activities, charities, translating and publishing religious literature, and
teaching Arabic. The main such organisations are:

– Crescent Islamic Cultural Centre Foundation (Fundaţia Centrul Cultural

Islamic Semiluna, Bucharest, sector 6, Str. Munţii Gurghiului, nr. 50–52,
www.musulman.ro/);
– Taiba Foundation (Fundaţia Taiba), which in 2011 changed its name to
Foundation “Islam Today” Cultural Center (Fundaţia Centrul Cultural
“Islamul azi”, Bucharest, sector 2, Şos. Colentina, nr. 373; Constantza,
Str. Maior Şofran, nr. 11, http://www.islamulazi.ro);
– Association of Muslims of Romania (Asociaţia Musulmanilor din
România, at the same address as the Foundation “Islam Today” Cultural
Center in Constantza);

20 www.muftiyat.ro/muftiatul/organizare/muftiu (The Muftiate of Romania), accessed

4 February 2013.
21 http://teologie.univ-ovidius.ro// (Faculty of Theology, University of Constantza),
accessed 4 February 2013.
22 State Secretariat for Religious Afffairs, www.culte.gov.ro/cultul-musulman, accessed
4 February 2013.
23 See the National Registry of Foundations, the Ministry of Justice, available at www
.just.ro/LinkClick.aspx?fijileticket=mwqfL9%2fN2NU%3d&tabid=91, accessed 4 February
2013.

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536 irina vainovski-mihai

– Muslim Sisters Association (Asociaţia Surori Musulmane) (at the same

address as the Foundation “Islam Today” Cultural Center in Bucharest
and Constantza, http://femeiamusulmana.blogspot.com/);
– Tuna Foundation (Fundaţia Tuna, Bucharest, Bd. Regina Maria, nr. 34,
http://www.tuna.ro and www.tunaforum.ro/);
– Islamic and Cultural League in Romania (Liga Islamică şi Culturală din
România), with a branch in Bucharest (Bucharest, sector 2, Str. Fabrica
de Gheaţă, nr.14, http://www.islam.ro) and another one in Cluj-Napoca
(Cluj-Napoca, str. Pastorului, nr. 17, www.islamcluj.ro/);
– Association of Romanian Converts to Islam (Asociaţia Românilor
Convertiţi la Islam, 617036 Rediu—Bira, Jud. Neamţ, www.arci.ro/).

The most active of them appear to be the Islamic and Cultural League
and the Foundation “Islam Today” Cultural Centre, formerly Taiba Foun-
dation. According to the spokesperson of the latter, the name has been
changed to make it more meaningful for non-Muslims and to allow
for more activities and departments.24 Both organisations have several
websites—two dedicated to children, The Little Muslim (Micul musulman,
www.miculmusulman.com) and Islam for Children (Islamul pentru copii,
http://islamulpentrucopii.wordpress.com/)—as well as blogs and Inter-
net discussion groups in Romanian, handbooks on Islam in Romanian,
stands in book fairs, charitable activities, and Internet broadcasting (see
Section 13 below).25 Most of the other organisations are offfshoots of the
Foundation “Islam Today” Cultural Centre, apart from the Tuna Founda-
tion, which is linked to the Gülen Movement. Under the Law of Denomi-
nations (489/2006) and particularly the Government Decision regarding
the Recognition of the Muslim Denomination (offfijicially published on
25 June 2008), all Islamic NGOs, associations and foundations need to be
endorsed by the Mufti. However, in 2010, the mufti expressed his opinion
that many of these associations are harmful to traditional Hanafiji Islam in
Romania because of their alleged persistent propaganda and conservative
views, which come from Arab schools of Islam, and also that they have
taken advantage of legal ambiguities and the need for religious education

24 “Another name”, Radio Islam, available at www.radioislam.ro/en/news-archive/277-

radio-islam-another-name-.html, accessed 4 February 2013.
25 See a report of activities for 1998–2010 at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfu_EFtH5Zs,
accessed 4 February 2013.

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after the collapse of Communism.26 The Taiba Foundation rejected this

opinion and accused the Mufti and the Synodal Council of libel.

4 Mosques and Prayer Houses

In Romania, there are 77 purpose-built mosques. Ten of them are histori-

cal monuments and still in use. The oldest, Esmahan Sultan Mosque in
Mangalia, was built in 1590. The Big Mosque Carol I in Constantza, com-
missioned by King Carol I of Romania (ruled: 1866–1914) and erected in
1910, was the fijirst reinforced concrete building in Romania.27 The Hun-
chiar mosque of Constantza, built in 1869 and included as a category A
monument on the list of the national cultural patrimony,28 is the issue
of bitter declarations and legal battles between the Mufti, the mayor of
the city, the prefect of Constantza County, and a private enterprise. On
account that both aesthetically and structurally the mosque is put in dan-
ger, the Mufti has asked for cancelation of the construction authorisation
and for the demolishing of the neighbouring building just 1.2 meters from
the place of worship.29 The issue was also followed abroad. On a visit to
Constantza in November 2011, the Turkish Minister of Culture, Ertuğrul
Günay, expressed his concern for the safety of the mosque30 and in Decem-
ber Neue Zürcher Zeitung offfered a detailed account of the problem.31

26 “Daca musulmanii ar respecta ceea ce scrie in Coran ar exista unitate (There

would be unity if Muslims respected what is written in the Qur’an)”, interview with the
mufti, Ziua de Constanta, 25 November 2010, available at www.ziuaconstanta.ro/rubrici/
interviu/%22daca-musulmanii-ar-respecta-ceea-ce-scrie-in-coran-ar-exista-unitate%22
.html, accessed 4 February 2013.
27 See a detailed presentation on the site of the Muftiate at www.muftiyat.ro/
monumente/119-kral and post #2 on the website of the Association of Romanian Converts
to Islam at http://forum.arci.ro/thread-1227.html, accessed 4 February 2013.
28 Ranking available on the site of the Ministry of Culture at www.cultura.abt.ro/Files/
GenericFiles/LMI-2010.pdf, accessed 4 February 2013.
29 “Mazăre, cu spatele la patrimoniul naţional. Acuzaţii grave în cazul geamiei Hunchiar”
(Mazăre turns his back to the national patrimony. Serious accusations in the case of Hun-
chiar mosque), on-line interview with the mufti, 15 November 2011, Ziua de Constanta, www
.ziuaconstanta.ro/rubrici/interviu-online/interviu-online-cu-muftiul-cultului-musulman-
din-romania-iusuf-muurat-tema-este-mazare-cu-spatele-la-patrimoniul-national-acuzatii-
grave-in-cazul-geamiei-hunchiar-12916.html, accessed 4 February 2013.
30 “Turcia cere salvarea Geamiei Hunchiar” (Turkey asks for the rescue of Hunchiar
mosque), RL Romania libera.ro, 15 November 2011, available at www.romanialibera.ro/
actualitate/dobrogea/turcia-cere-salvarea-geamiei-hunchiar-244641.html, accessed 4 Feb-
ruary 2013.
31 “Moschee in Bedrängnis. Streit um einen Neubau in Constanta” (Mosque in distress.
Contention for a new building in Constantza), NZZOnline, 3 December 2011, available at www

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538 irina vainovski-mihai

On 11 February 2012, the court gave its fijinal decision for the cancelation of
the construction authorisation.32 The consequent works of demolition did
not start yet. The oldest mosque in Bucharest was initially built in 1900. In
1956 the Communist regime disassembled and rebuilt it in another loca-
tion a year later.33 In Bucharest, in addition to the main mosque, it is esti-
mated that there are fijifteen other mosques funded by foreign residents,34
but these are in fact prayer halls adjacent to the buildings of associations
and foundations established in the capital city and principal towns.35 In
2011, Aledin Ahmet, the representative of the UDTTMR in the Parliament,
submitted an interpellation on behalf of the Muftiate addressed to the
State Secretary for the Relation with the Parliament. The fijive line text
signalled the fact that certain foundations had created in Romania, mainly
in Bucharest, illegal “units of Islamic faith” and asked for clarifijications.
A month later, the State Secretariat for Religious Afffairs sent its answer,
which asserted that it did not receive any information or complaint regard-
ing the creation of Islamic faith units by Muslim foundations and added
that, according to the Law of Denominations any person has the right to
practise his religion collectively and the State Secretariat cannot decide
against the creation of units for the practice of religion as long as they do
not violate public security and order or fundamental human rights.36

5 Children’s Education

The Law of Education adopted in 1995 introduced religion as a compulsory

subject in public schools. Pupils can express their wish to take courses in

.nzz.ch/nachrichten/politik/schweiz/moschee_in_bedraengnis_1.13497933.html, accessed
4 February 2013.
32 “Autorizatiile de constructie a hotelului de langa Geamia Hunchiar raman anulate”
(The construction authorisations for the hotel near Hunchiar Mosque remain cancelled),
14 February 2012, Observator de Constanta, http://observator.ro/131996/autorizatiile-
constructie-hotelului-langa-geamia-hunchiar-raman-anulate-131996.html, accessed 4 Feb-
ruary 2013.
33 For a presentation of the mosque see post #1 on the website of the Association of
Romanian Converts to Islam at http://forum.arci.ro/thread-1227.html, 4 February 2013.
34 Islam in the European Union: What’s at Stake in the Future? (Brussels: European Par-
liament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union, 2007), p. 155, available at
www.euromedalex.org/sites/default/fijiles/Islam_in_Europe.pdf, accessed 4 February 2013.
35 For a presentation of the Ar-Rahman Mosque (created in the building of the Cres-
cent Islamic Cultural Centre) see post #3 on the website of the Association of Romanian
Converts to Islam at http://forum.arci.ro/thread-1227.html., accessed 4 February 2013.
36 Both documents are available on the site of the Chamber of Deputies at www.cdep
.ro/pls/parlam/interpelari.detalii?idi=27672&idl=1, accessed 4 February 2013.

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a particular religion, those under 18 being spoken for by their parents or

guardians. Pupils are exempted from attending religious education classes
if they declare themselves to be non-religious. According to the new Law
of Education (Law of National Education 2011/Ch. I, Art. 18.3), only per-
sons authorised by the Ministry of Education and the heads of the legally
recognised religions can teach religion in public schools. How many this
applies to in practice is not recorded.
Islam is also taught in mosques and by religious and cultural associa-
tions on an extra-curricular and private basis. There are a number of pri-
vate schools functioning under the auspices of such associations. Two that
are worth mentioning are the Jerusalem School (Madrasat al-Quds www
.jerusalemschool.ro/), under the patronage of the Islamic and Cultural
League; the Crescent School and Kindergarten (Şcoala şi Grădiniţa Semi-
luna, www.ourhappykids.ro), under the patronage of the Crescent Islamic
Cultural Centre.
In 1996, a Turkish high school (Colegiul Naţional Kemal Atatürk) was
opened in Medgidia, a city with a sizable Turkish and Tatar population,
which is now functioning with the joint support of the Romanian and
Turkish governments (for example, the pupils in the boarding school are
fijinancially sustained by Turkey; the courses of Turkish language and Islam
are taught by visiting teachers from Turkey).37 The school comprises sev-
eral sections, including Theology. A similar institution existed before the
Communist period and was closed in 1967.

6 Higher and Professional Education

Academic courses on Islam and the Middle East are offfered at several
universities and consist of a general overview within courses on Arabic
language, history of Arab culture and civilisation and history of Arab lit-
erature. All holders of academic degrees in Islamic theology have studied
abroad, as no such higher education qualifijications are offfered in Romania.
Diplomas issued abroad are subject to the recognition by the Romanian
Ministry of Education after endorsement by the Mufti. In 2007, disputes

37 Gülşen Ismail, “De vorbă cu noul director adjunct, despre Colegiul Naţional ‘Kemal
Atatürk’ din Medgidia” (Speaking with the new vice-principal of the Kemal Atatürk
High School in Medgidia), Interetnica, 28 October 2011, available at http://interetnica
.ro/de-vorba-cu-noul-director-adjunct-despre-colegiul-national-%E2%80%9Ckemal-
ataturk%E2%80%9D-din-medgidia, accessed 4 February 2013.

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540 irina vainovski-mihai

emerged after the Mufti refused to endorse diplomas obtained from

Islamic theological institutions in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Sudan.
The Mufti offfijicially requested the Ministry of Education not to recognise
diplomas obtained by seven Tatars on the ground that they had studied a
radical form of Islam,38 and recognition of their diplomas was denied.

7 Burial and Cemeteries

The Muftiate owns 108 cemeteries. In some cities, e.g. Bucharest, there
is an acute need for a cemetery, while in others, e.g. Constantza, there
is need for additional provision. The creation of a Muslim cemetery in
Bucharest was put on the Municipality’s agenda some ten years ago. At
present, Muslims who die there are usually taken to Constantza (250 km
away) for burial. The matter seemed to have been settled after the Mayor
of Bucharest promised in 2008 to allot the Muslim community land for
this purpose on the outskirts of the city, but until now the situation has
been subject to delay. The implementation of the offfijicial decision taken
in this regard by the Municipality Council in 2009 was stalled due to legal
issues until 2010, when the Council decided on the relocation of the cem-
etery. In 2011 the local administration earmarked a two-year budget for
carrying out a feasibility study and for arranging the site. In March 2012,
the Muslim Synodal Council voted for a document meant to legally regu-
late the organisation and the functioning of the Muslim cemeteries.39 The
initiative came after some lavish family vaults were erected in the Muslim
cemetery of Constantza.40

38 “Plangere catre Sura-i Islam (Complaint to the Sura-i Islam)”, Clubul român-arab
de presă şi cultură (Romanian-Arab Club for Press and Culture), 19 April 2007, available
at www.ana-news.ro/index.php/limba-romana-i-156/stiri-i-171/440-plangere-catre-sura-i-
islam, accessed 4 February 2013.
39 “Regulament de organizare şi funcţionare a cimitirelor musulmane din România”
(Regulations for the organisation and functioning of the Muslim cemeteries in Romania),
available on the Muftiate’s website at www.muftiyat.ro/anunturi/169-regulament-de-orga
nizare-i-funcionare-a-cimitirelor-musulmane-din-romania, accessed 4 February 2013.
40 “Lux dincolo de moarte. Cavouri musulmane cu geam antiglont, in Cimitirul Musul-
man din Constanta” (Luxury after death. Muslim vaults with bulletproof windows in the
Muslim Cemetery of Constanta), Stirile ProTv.ro, 23 December 2011, available at http://
stirileprotv.ro/stiri/actualitate/lux-dincolo-de-moarte-desi-religia-le-cere-modestie-
cavouri-musulmane-cu-geam-antiglont.html, accessed 4 February 2013.

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8 ‘Chaplaincy’ in State Institutions

There are no imams in the armed forces. The Muftiate can assign an
imam to visit a prison inmate at the inmate’s request and at the Mufti-
ate’s expense. The same applies to patients in hospitals. Most prisons and
state hospitals have Orthodox Christian chapels. In hospitals in the towns
of Dobrudja, where there is a signifijicant number of Muslims, quotations
from the Qur’an are often displayed on the walls of the wards.

9 Religious Festivals

The annual ‘Id al-Fitr (in Turkish: Şeker Bayram) and ‘Id al-Adha (in
Turkish: Kurban Bayram) celebrations take place in the main cities (with
popular music concerts, etc.) and in villages with a signifijicant Muslim
population. They are open to the public. In Ramadan, iftar dinners offfered
by Turkish and Arab restaurants are open to the public. Non-Muslims
participate in events organised in public places (including sharing food),
while in the regions without a historical tradition of Muslim-Christian
coexistence (as in Dobrudja), they attend iftar meals in restaurants only if
accompanied by a Muslim, being wary of behaving inappropriately. Large-
scale iftars are also organised in cities with a quite small Muslim popula-
tion. The US Ambassador to Romania, Mark H. Gitenstein, organises an
annual iftar dinner. Representatives of every religion in Romania were
invited to the 2012 event meant as recognition of the common Abrahamic
heritage.41 In 2012, Murat Yusuf reciprocated the invitation and Ambas-
sador Gitenstein visited the Muftiate in Constanţa and participated in a
traditional dinner.
An estimated 150–200 Muslims perform the annual hajj, but there is
no offfijicial data available. The pilgrims are supported fijinancially by the
Muftiate, as well as by the foundations Crescent Islamic Cultural Centre
and “Islam Today” Cultural Centre. Most of them travel by bus to Bulgaria
and Turkey, where they join other groups of pilgrims.

41 “U.S. Ambassador Mark H. Gitenstein’s Remarks on the Occasion of an Iftar Dinner

at His Residence,” 24 July 2012, on the site of the US Embassy in Romania, http://romania.
usembassy.gov/policy/remarks/amb-07242012.html, accessed 4 February 2013.

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542 irina vainovski-mihai

10 Halal Products and Islamic Services

In the main cities, there are several halal food shops with both Muslim and
non-Muslim customers, as well as numerous ethnic restaurants (which
offfer halal food and do not serve alcohol). The meat for the shops and
restaurants is supplied by halal slaughter houses functioning in Romania
and certifijied by the Muftiate. Generally, halal food is not available either
in public institutions or in the supermarkets. As the Orthodox Christian
tradition has several annual fasting periods and two weekly fasting days
(Wednesdays and Fridays), during which abstention includes animal and
dairy products, Muslims may choose among the food labelled as “de post”
(“for fasting”). Usually, Muslims do not buy meat from general stores
and supermarkets but from the Arab and Turkish stores (see Section 11
below).
Small Arab and Turkish food stores, most of them carrying the name
of “măcelărie halal” (halal butchery), have been flourishing all around
Romania. They cater both to Muslims in search of halal products and to
non-Muslims looking for spices, special flavours and ingredients. In the
cities with a sizeable Muslim population, fast food restaurants and pizze-
rias started to accommodate their menus by including, for example, “Mus-
lim Pizza” (which had as an ingredient traditional Turkish dried beef and
mutton sausage). Some, but rather few, international companies present
in Romania obtained halal certifijicates for their merchandise.42 Islamic
banking and fijinance is present in Romania through the Bank of Lon-
don and Middle East and the European Islamic Investment Bank, which
have the right to provide services without the establishment of local
branches.43 The Foundation for Islamic Services in Romania (Fundaţia de
Servicii Islamice din România, Bucharest, sector 2, Şoseaua Fundeni, nr. 9,
www.fsir.ro), with branches in seven towns, offfers shelter and meals for
those in need. Islamic clothes and head scarves (as well as other items)
can be bought from ZamZam, an on-line shop in the Romanian language
opened in February 2011 (http://islamic.host.org/shop/). There are numer-
ous businesses run by Muslims, both Romanian and foreign citizens, but
they are not strictly related to Islam.

42 “The Production of Non-Dairy Whipping Creams Was Halal Certifijied”, Eurocas

Romania, www.eurocas.ro/en#, accessed 4 February 2013.
43 See the List of foreign banks exercising the freedom to provide services within the
territory of Romania on cross-border basis on the website of the National Bank of Romania
at ttp://www.bnro.ro/fijiles/d/RegistreBNR/XLS/AlteIC_En.xls, accessed 4 February 2013.

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11 Dress Codes

There are no rules restricting Muslim dress in public or for pupils in

schools, but it is mostly in villages with a large Muslim population that
women wear head scarves. In recent years, many new converts adopted
Islamic dress codes and the head scarf.44 No women have been observed
wearing niqab. As there are no regulations restricting the head scarf in
the photos attached to offfijicial documents, signals of the increasing num-
ber of requests coming from women in Dobrudja to wear the hijab when
photographed for their identity cards are evident in media coverage of
the issue.45

12 Publications and Media

The main printed media are the monthly Hakses (The Authentic Voice,
published by UDTR (Constantza 8700, Bd-ul Tomis nr. 99, bl. SO, ap. 3,
tel./fax: ++40 241550903; on-line issues: www.udtr.ro/hakses/index.htm)
and the periodicals published by the UDTTMR: Karadeniz (The Black
Sea), Kadinlar Dunyasi (The World of Women) and Cas (The Youngster)
all the three with the same address (Constantza 8700, Str. Stefan cel Mare
nr. 66, tel./fax: ++40 241616643). Back issues are also available on-line at:
www.tatar.ro/publicatii.php?arhiva.
The website http://www.tatar.ro, although it focuses on information
about the Tatar community, also offfers extended articles on Muslims in
Romania in general. Zaman Romania (www.zaman.ro) is the on-line local
edition of the Zaman newspaper. Published in Romanian and Turkish, it
has a special section for news from Dobrudja.
In March 2009, UDTR, UDTTMR and the Muftiate opened a broadcast-
ing station, Radio T, in Constantza with programmes in Romanian, Turk-
ish and Tatar, which adds to the already long-running similar programmes
aired by the local station of the state-owned Romanian Broadcasting
Society (Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune, SRR). DDTV (a television

44 Daniela Stoica, “New Romanian Muslimas: Converted women sharing knowledge in

online and offfline communities”, in Katarzyna Górak-Sosnowska (ed), Muslims in Poland
and Eastern Europe: Widening the European Discourse on Islam (Warsaw: University of
Warsaw, Faculty of Oriental Studies, 2011), pp. 274–277.
45 T.G. Horia, “Cu vălul islamic pe cartea de identitate” (With the Islamic Veil on the
Identity Card), evz.ro, 19 February 2012, available at www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/cu-valul-
islamic-pe-cartea-de-identitate-967063.html, accessed 4 February 2013.

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544 irina vainovski-mihai

channel broadcasting from Bucharest nationally, although with a small

audience) hosted a weekly programme, Islamul azi (Islam Today) pre-
sented in Romanian by the Foundation “Islam Today” Cultural Centre.
The programme was cancelled after DDTV started broadcasting movies
only. Webcasting is used increasingly: video clips (in Romanian or with
Romanian subtitles) on dailymotion (www.dailymotion.com/Asociatia
SuroriMusulmane), YouTube (www.youtube.com/islamulazi, www.youtube
.com/muhlisun) and Ikhwan Tube (www.ikhwantube.org/), and audio
streaming on websites such as Radio Islam (www.radioislam.ro/radio.
html). The web portal Islam Romania (http://islamromania.ro/), admin-
istered by the Islamic and Cultural League and the Foundation “Islam
Today” Cultural Centre, presents information from diverse sources in the
Romanian language and offfers downloadable books in Romanian.

13 Family Law

The Romanian legal system is secular. According to the Civil Code, mar-
riages are only recognised if they are performed and registered by a state
(secular) authority. Marriages in mosques (as in the places of worship of
other religions) have a rather ceremonial function. In litigation, a non-
denominational premarital contract may be taken into account. The Civil
Code prohibits polygamy but marriages are recognised if they were legal
in the jurisdictions where they were contracted. There are circumstances
(almost exclusively among Arab expatriates) when marriages contracted
in countries with legal systems diffferent from the Romanian are offfijicially
recorded as such in the Romanian civil status register. Painful litigation
(mainly over custody of children) emerges in cases of separation when
the spouses bring to court the laws of their respective countries. Gener-
ally, such cases are not resolved because they end with two separate court
decisions pronounced under diffferent legal systems.

14 Interreligious Relations

Muslim festivals and special events are regularly attended by non-Muslim

representatives of local authorities.
Government agencies, such as the Department for Interethnic Rela-
tions (Departamentul pentru Relaţii Interetnice, www.dri.gov.ro/) and non-
governmental institutions, such as the Intercultural Institute Timisoara

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(Institutul Intercultural Timişoara, www.intercultural.ro/rom/index.html)

are promoting dialogue through symposia, publications and websites,
such as Intercultural Calendar (Calendar Intercultural, www.calendarinter
cultural.ro/index.php), comprising both ethnic and religious festivals.
Probably as a result of the long tradition of coexistence with Muslims,
those who are long-established in Romania are regarded as familiar, while
outsiders (i.e., Muslims from other countries, including the Balkan coun-
tries), are regarded with suspicion (even if contact is indirect, through
media coverage, etc.).

15 Public Opinion and Debate

Media coverage concerning Muslims in Romania at the national level

focuses almost exclusively on signifijicant events (cultural exhibitions, eth-
nic festivals and public performances) (see also Section 17). The regional
media (in Dobrudja) covers in detail the life of the community, as it
addresses a broad audience and presents both religious and ethnic points
of view. Internal debates within the community and tensions between
the version of Islam professed by the historical Muslim community and
that professed by new-comers are irrelevant to the non-Muslim popula-
tion and not understood by them. Media focus on Islam tends mostly to
be related to international events, and presentations and debates about
international Islam-related subjects are usually presented by non-Muslim
commentators, Middle East experts and ad-hoc analysts.

16 Major Cultural Events

Nawruz, the annual spring holiday, is observed with public festivities

organised by the Turkish and Tatar minorities, as well as Kurdish immi-
grants. There are several other festivals and contests with a mainly ethnic
dimension, such as Küreş (traditional Tatar wrestling) and Hîdîrlez (a Tur-
kic spring festival). While the Parliament rejected a proposal to institute
Nawruz and Hîdîrlez as legal holidays, on 5 May 2011 the Day of the Tatar
Language was celebrated for the fijirst time, after the Parliament voted in
favour of establishing it as an offfijicial annual feast.

© 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-25456-5