Islam in Finland
After Finland Islam came in the 19th century with the influx of Russian Tatars. Today, living in Finland around 40,000 Muslims (0.74 %), most of them immigrants from the Middle East or Africa.
Tatars
The first Muslim Tatars and Bashkirs came already in 1809 with the Russian army into the country after Finland came under Russian rule. They helped, for example, in 1832 the construction of the fortress Bomarsund on the Aland Islands, where there is also an Islamic cemetery. Since 1836 there was an imam on the fortress island of Suomenlinna (now Suomenlinna ) off the coast of Helsinki. In 1870 lived in Helsinki around 100 Muslim soldiers stationed on Suomenlinna and their families. Unlike the Jewish soldiers but left almost all the Muslim army personnel Finland after their service again.
The ancestors of the present-day Tatars came Finland 1870-1920 as a trader from a group of 20 villages in the upper reaches of the Volga to Finland. They were originally farmers, but earned in the winter their living as traders. In Finland, they settled in the larger cities of Helsinki, Turku and Tampere and operated in a fur and textile trade. Most traders brought their families but only after the October Revolution of 1917 in Finland. After the freedom of religion was introduced politically in Finland in 1923, they founded in 1925 the Finnish Islamic community.
Today, living in Finland around 800 Tatars, most of them in and around Helsinki. Despite their small numbers they were able to preserve their culture and language in the fifth and sixth generation. However, they are fully integrated into society and speak consistently fluent Finnish or Swedish. The Tatars but is quite distinct from other Muslim groups in Finland from: converts and non- Tatar Muslims can not be members of the Tatar communities.
Immigrants
Due to the immigration from Islamic countries, the number of Muslims in Finland has grown to become 15,000-20,000, according to other data on 40,000 (of which 30,000 Sunnis and Shiites 10,000 ). The largest group of refugees from Somalia, along with immigrants from Iraq, Iran, Bosnia - Herzegovina and Kosovo. In addition, several hundred Finns have converted to Islam.