There are up to 40,000 Muslim adherents in Korea. Most of them live in South Korea, where the Muslim population has been steadily increasing since the introduction of the faith shortly after the Korean War. The Muslim community is centered around Seoul, where the first 20th-century mosque was built in 1976 using the funds of the Malaysian Islamic Mission. Note: This article contains special characters. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) (sometimes also spelled Moslem) is an adherent of Islam. ... The Korean War, from June 25, 1950 to cease-fire on July 27, 1953 (the war has not ended officially), was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. ... Seoul (서울, (help· info)) is the capital of South Korea (the Republic of Korea) and is one of the most populous cities in the world, located in the northwestern part of the country on the Han River. ... The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar. ... Yeni Camii (the New Mosque), one of the landmarks of İstanbul A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Early history

The first verifiable presence of Islam in Korea dates back to the 9th century during the Unified Silla period with the arrival of Arab and Persian navigators and traders. According to the geographer, Ibn Khurdadhbih, many of them settled down permanently in Korea, establishing Muslim villages. In turn, later many intermarried with Korean women. Some assimilation into Buddhism and Shamanism took place, owing to Korea's geographical isolation from Arabia. Islam (Arabic: ; ( (help· info)), peaceful submission (to the will of God)) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, the worlds second-largest religion, and the fastest growing religion in the world. ... As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was that century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... Unified Silla is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla after 668. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ʻarab) are a large and heterogeneous ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa, originating in the Arabian Peninsula of southwest Asia. ... For other uses of this term see: Persia (disambiguation) The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... Traders was a Canadian television drama series, which aired on Global Television Network from 1995 to 2000. ... A geographer is a crazy psycho whose area of study is geocrap, the pseudoscientific study of Earths physical environment and human habitat and the study of boring students to death. ... Cultural Assimilation, or assimilation for short (but that word also had other meanings), is an intense process of consistent integration whereby members of an ethno-cultural group, typically immigrants, or other minority groups, are absorbed into an established, generally larger community. ... The grounds of Koreas Buryeongsa Temple. ... There are a number of shamanistic practices that are developed in Korea, where the role of a shaman is most frequently taken by women. ... The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a mainly desert peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia and an important part of the greater Middle East. ...

Small-scale contact with predominantly Muslim peoples, particularly the Uyghurs, continued on and off. One word for Islam in Korean, hoegyo (회교, 回敎) comes from huihe (回紇), an old Chinese name for the Uyghurs. During the late Goryeo period, there were mosques in the capital Gaeseong. In the early Joseon period, the Islamic calendar served as a basis for calendar reform owing to its superior accuracy over the existing Chinese-based calendars. The Uyghur (Uyghur: ئۇيغۇر; Turkish: Uygur; Simplified Chinese: 维吾尔; Traditional Chinese: 維吾爾; Hanyu Pinyin: ) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group living in northwestern China, mainly in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where they are the largest ethnic group, together with Han Chinese, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Turks, and Russians. ... The state of Goryeo ruled Korea from the fall of Silla in 935 until the founding of Joseon in 1392. ... Kaesŏng (Gaeseong) is a city in North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, a former Directly Governed City, and the capital of Korea during the Goryeo Dynasty. ... Joseon or Chosun (Korean: ì¡°ì„ ; Hanja: 朝鮮; Revised: Joseon; McCune-Reischauer: Chosŏn; Chinese: CháoxiÇŽn; Japanese: Chōsen) is a name for Korea, as used in the following cases: As part of the name of several ancient kingdoms (including Gojoseon, Gija Joseon, and Wiman Joseon); During most of the Joseon... The Islamic calendar or Muslim calendar (also called Hijri calendar, Arabic التقويم الهجري) is the calendar used to date events in many predominantly Muslim countries, and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic holy days. ...

However, due to Korea's geographic and political isolation during the Joseon period, Islam had all but disappeared in Korea by the time it was reintroduced in the 20th century. It is believed that many of the religious practices and teachings did not survive.

20th-Century reintroduction

During the Korean War, Turkey sent the second-largest number of troops (after the United States) to aid South Korea under the United Nations command. In addition to their contributions on the battlefield, the Turks also aided in humanitarian work, helping to operate war-time schools for war orphans. Shortly after the war, some Turks who were stationed in South Korea as UN peacekeepers began teaching Koreans about Islam. Early converts established the Korea Islam Society in 1955. United Nations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... 1955 (MCMLV in Roman) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1962 the Malaysian government offered a grant of US$ 33,000 for a mosque to be built in Seoul. However, the plan was derailed due to inflation. It was not until the 1970s, when South Korea's economic ties with many Middle Eastern countries became prominent, that interest in Islam began to rise again. The first South Korean mosque was finally built in Seoul in 1976. Today there are mosques also in Busan, Anyang, Gwangju, Jeonju and Daegu. According to Lee Hee-Soo (Yi Hui-su), president of the Korea Islam Institute, there are about 40,000 listed Muslims in South Korea, and about 10,000 are estimated to be active practitioners. 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Busan tower by night Haeundae beach at dawn, February 2005 Busan Metropolitan City, also commonly referred to as Pusan, is the largest harbor city in Korea, with a population of about 4 million, Busan is South Koreas second largest metropolis next to Seoul. ... Anyang is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. ... This article is about Gwangju Metropolitan City in South Korea. ... Jeonju (Jeonju-si) is a city in and the capital of North Jeolla Province, South Korea. ... Daegu is the 4th largest metropolitan area in South Korea, and is officially called Daegu Metropolitan City. ...

It is believed that there is no significant presence of Islam in North Korea, where autonomous religious activity in general is almost non-existent.

External links

• Collections of Korean Muslim Sermons (Audio)