Islam in the Czech & Slovak Republics: An Invisible Minority Becomes Visible (Research Brief)

Few publications in English have addressed Islam in the Czech and Slovak Republics. While these Muslim communities are more economically and socially assimilated than those in Western Europe, due largely to the legacy of Communist policies, Czech and Slovak Muslims have become politically more active and visible since 2004, when these countries joined the EU. Since then, there has been a noted increase in Islamophobic acts and rhetoric, and attempts to prevent the building of new mosques in both countries have intensified. For this research, I interviewed Muslims in Prague, Brno, Teplice, and Bratislava to better understand Muslim assimilation, immigration, conversion, tourism, and education in the Czech and Slovak Republics.

Download the pdf at the top of this page for the full brief.

Emily O’Dell, of Columbia University, was a 2010-11 Short-Term Travel Grants (STG) fellow.