NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Islam in North Korea

It is estimated that there are up to 40,000 Muslim adherents in Korea (does not include migrant workers who live in Korea). In South Korea, 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 large 20th-century mosque was built in 1976 using the funds of the Malaysian Islamic Mission and other Islamic countries. Korea (Korean: (ì¡°ì„ or í•œêµ, see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ... A Muslim (Arabic: Ù…Ø³Ù„Ù…, Turkish: MÃ¼slÃ¼man, Persian and Urdu: Ù…Ø³Ù„Ù…Ø§Ù†, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... Combatants UN combatants: Republic of Korea United States United Kingdom Communist combatants: Democratic Peopleâ€™s Republic of Korea Peopleâ€™s Republic of China Soviet Union Commanders Syngman Rhee Chung Il Kwon Douglas MacArthur Mark W. Clark Matthew Ridgway Kim Il-sung Choi Yong-kun Peng Dehuai Strength Note: All figures... Seoul (SÅul[1] ì„œìš¸) is the capital and largest city of South Korea (Republic of Korea). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Badshahi Masjid in Lahore, Pakistan with an iwan at center, three domes, and five visible minarets A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...

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

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 numerous Arab geographers, including the 9th-century writer Ibn Khurdadhbih, many of them settled down permanently in Korea, establishing Muslim villages.^[1] Some records indicate that many of these settlers were from Iraq.^[2] Other records suggest that a large number of the Alawi Shia faction settled in Korea.^[3] Further suggesting a Middle Eastern Muslim community in Silla are figurines of royal guardians with distinctly Persian characteristics. ^[4] In turn, later many Muslims intermarried with Korean women. Some assimilation into Buddhism and Shamanism took place, owing to Korea's geographical isolation from Arabia. [5] For other uses, including people named Islam, see Islam (disambiguation). ... 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: Ø¹Ø±Ø¨) are an ethnic group who are predominantly speakers of the Arabic language, mainly found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ... 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. ... Ibn Khurdadhbih (died 912) was a Muslim Arab explorer and geographer. ... Alawite is a Middle Eastern Syria. ... ... 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.^[6]During Mongol rule in Korea the Mongols relied heavily on Uyghurs to help them run their vast empire because of Uighur literacy and Uighur experience in managing extended trading networks. At least two of those Uyghurs settled down in Korea permanently and became the progenitors of two Korean clans. The Uyghur (Uyghur: Ø¦Û‡ÙŠØºÛ‡Ø±; Uighur Simplified Chinese: ç»´å¾å°”; Traditional Chinese: ç¶å¾çˆ¾; Pinyin: WÃ©iwÃºÄ›r; Turkish: Uygur) are a Turkic people, forming one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the Peoples Republic of China. ... 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. ...

One of those Central Asian immigrants to Korea originally came to Korea as an aide to a Mongol princess who had been sent to marry King Chungnyeol. Goryeo documents say that his original name was Samga but, after he decided to make Korea his permanent home, the king bestowed on him the Korean name of Jang Sunnyong. Jang married a Korean and became the founding ancestor of the Deoksu Jang clan.

His clan produced many high officials and respected Confucian scholars over the centuries. Twenty-five generations later, around 30,000 Koreans look back to Jang Sunnyong as the grandfather of their clan. They are aware that he was not a native of Korea. Many believe that he was an Arab Muslim. However, there is no evidence of Islamic influence on Deoksu Jang family traditions.

The same is true of the descendants of another Central Asian who settled down in Korea. A Central Asian (probably a Uyghur) named Seol Son fled to Korea when the Red Turban rebellion erupted near the end of the Mongol’s Yuan dynasty. He, too, married a Korean, originating a lineage called the Gyeongju Seol that claims at least 2,000 members in Korea today but shows no special signs of Muslim influence.

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. Joseon or Chosun (Korean: ì¡°ì„ ; Hanja: æœé®®; Revised: Joseon; McCune-Reischauer: ChosÅn; Chinese: ChÃ¡oxiÇŽn; Japanese: ChÅsen) 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 (Arabic: Ø§Ù„ØªÙ‚ÙˆÙŠÙ… Ø§Ù„Ù‡Ø¬Ø±ÙŠ; also called the Hijri calendar) 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. However, in the 19th century, Korean settlers in Manchuria came into contact with Islamic teachings once again; these became the first Korean Muslims in modern times.^[7] Manchuria (Manchu: Manju; Traditional Chinese: æ»¿æ´²; Simplified Chinese: æ»¡æ´²; pinyin: MÇŽnzhÅu, Russian: ) is a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ...

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 Muslim Society in 1955, at which time the first South Korean mosque was erected.^[8] The Korea Muslim Society grew large enough to become the Korea Muslim Federation in 1967. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity. ... 1955 (MCMLV) 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 Seoul Central Mosque was finally built in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood in 1976. Today there are also mosques 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.^[9] 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Seoul Central Mosque Directions Entrance Inside Calligraphy Towers Seoul Central Mosque 732-21 Hannam-dong, Seoul, Yongsan Ku , South Korea The Seoul Central Mosque opened in 1976 in Itaewon, Seoul. ... Itaewon is a neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea. ... 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. ... 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. ... Taegu now known as Daegu is the 4th largest city in South Korea (after Seoul, Busan and Incheon). ...

Notes

Wonseong of Silla (r. ... Events Coenwulf of Mercia invades Kent, deposes and imprisons king Eadbert Praen and makes his own brother Cuthred king. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 20 is the 79th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (80th in Leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 20 is the 79th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (80th in Leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 20 is the 79th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (80th in Leap years). ...

References

Contents

Early history

20th-Century reintroduction

Notes

References

See also

External links

Contents

Early history GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

20th-Century reintroduction

Notes

References

See also

External links

Early history