The Formation of New Islam

By the late 20th century, Muslims migrated to Greece as part of a broader mi­gration wave triggered by the collapse of the USSR, the wars in the Middle East, Iraq, Afghanistan and the extreme poverty and environmental disasters which struck Asia and Africa.

Muslim immigrants come mostly from African and Asian countries. Sunnism is the most widespread form of Islam and is followed by immigrants from Africa, Bangladesh, Pakistan and most Arab countries. Shi'ism is far less widespread, existing mainly among Kurdish, Pakistani and Iranian communi­ties, while Alevism is found mostly among Turks and Kurds. There are no reli­able statistics according to the 2011 census about the number of immigrants in Greece. They could be about 8% of the overall population, totalling 1,000,000. Around 200,000-300,000 of them are presumed to be Muslims, not including Albanians, the majority of whom are of Muslim background, but without ex­pressing affinities with Islam. By 2017, among the immigrants with an Islamic affiliation, the Afghani community numbers 20,000, the Pakistani 50,000, the Bangladeshi 30,000, Palestinians and Jordanians 12,000, Egyptians 15,000, Iraqis more than 40,000 and Syrians more than 50,000. They are mostly settled in Athens, except for those who, as asylum seekers, are scattered in camps and urban settlements all over the country. However such figures are highly un­reliable, as there is a large number of clandestine immigrants and constant population mobility. Moreover, leaders of Muslim associations are tempted to exaggerate community figures in support of political and social claims.

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