Western Muslims

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Western Muslims are Muslims who reside in the West. Ever since the rise of Islam, Muslims have lived in parts of the West alongside Jews and Christians. Until the twentieth century, very few Muslims had ever lived in Western Europe, with the main exceptions being southern Italy, Ottoman Greece, and Al-Andalus, the period of Islamic rule of the Iberian Peninsula (i.e. what is now Spain and Portugal). The scientific and literary accomplishments of this period are often seen as an important influence on the development of the Renaissance.

Western Muslims appeared during the time when Spain and other countries were conquered by Muslims.

The numbers of Western Muslims greatly decreased after the completion of the Reconquista, as non-Christians were forced to convert to Catholicism or leave the Iberian Peninsula during the persecutions of the Spanish Inquisition of the 15th century. For centuries afterwards, there were very few Muslims to be found in the West until the 20th Century, when Muslim populations began to expand throughout the West, mostly due to large-scale immigration, but also due to conversion by non-Muslims.

This page is an incomplete list of people identified as Muslims and does not differentiate between Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, or any other subcategory. This list takes a wide definition of a Muslim by including most individuals who might be in some way be identified as Muslim, but acknowledges that more restrictive definitions may be applied by the reader. For information on Islam and Muslims in various parts of the world, please see Islam by country.

Famous Western Muslims include:

Contents

[edit] Historical Figures

[edit] Theologians and Philosophers

[edit] Political Activists


[edit] Scientists, Philosophers, and Mathematicians

Ahmed Zewail - Winner of 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Farouk El-Baz - NASA rocket scientist

[edit] Physicians

  • Elias Zerhouni, Algerian physician and Director of the National Institutes of Health (USA).

[edit] Military

[edit] Politics

[edit] The Various Arts

[edit] Writers and Poets

[edit] Entertainers

[edit] Television

[edit] Other

[edit] Business Figures

[edit] Sport Figures

[edit] Basketball

[edit] Boxing

[edit] Football/Soccer

[edit] American Football

[edit] Ice Hockey

[edit] Rugby League

[edit] Tennis

[edit] Wrestling

[edit] Australian Football League

[edit] Others

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Languages