The history of Islam in the Netherlands started in the 16th century when the first Dutch converts arrived from sailing trips abroad and Ottoman traders settled in cities such as Antwerp and Amsterdam. Recently it has been discovered that at least in Amsterdam there were several mosques in the early 17th century. From that time onward the Netherlands also experienced sporadic Muslim migration from the Dutch East Indies when it was a colony of the Netherlands. For some years in the early 20th century, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and until the independence of Indonesia, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was the largest Muslim country in the world. The number of Muslims in the European provinces of the kingdom remained very small, however, and accounted for less than 0,1% of the population. Economic growth from 1960 to 1973 lead the Dutch government to recruit large numbers of immigrant workers, chiefly from Turkey and Morocco, and migration has continued by way of family reunification and asylum seekers. Others came from former colonies after they gained independence, like Indonesia and Suriname.
Data from 2009 show that the Netherlands hosts an estimated 825,000 Muslims. Most of them live in the four major cities of the country, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. The first mosque was Mobarak Mosque, built by Ahmadiyyas.
Read more about Islam In The Netherlands: Demographic Situation, Mosques, Religious Education, Umbrella Organizations, Politics, Controversies
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“The exact objectives of Islam Inc. are obscure. Needless to say everyone involved has a different angle, and they all intend to cross each other up somewhere along the line.”
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