LIECHTENSTEIN

Thomas Schmidinger1

1 Muslim Populations

Islam in the Principality of Liechtenstein is a very recent phenomenon. Muslims immigrated in the last 20 years predominately from , Bosnia, Serbia and . While in 1990 only 2.4% of the popu- lation were Muslims, in 2000 it doubled to 4.8% or 1,593 persons.2 The results of the next census in December 2010 will not be available until 2011 but it is estimated that the Muslim population continued to grow. The large majority of Muslims in Liechtenstein are Sunnis. There is no reference to Shi’i Muslims in Liechtenstein. There are some Alevis, but their numbers are uncertain.

2 and the State

The present legal situation concerning the relation of state and religion in Liechtenstein is still based on the laws set up by Prince Johann II in the 19th century, when Liechtenstein was nearly entirely Roman Catholic. Until now the Principality and the Catholic Church are closely related. Article 37 of the constitution still defines the Roman Catholic Church as the official religion (“ ”) of the Prin- cipality, but also guarantees freedom of religion to other religious denominations. Since the 1990s, debates about the separation between church and state have been going on, and the Principality is trying to establish a new secular legal order with a new relationship between the state and the religious communities. While the Catholic and the Protestant churches are financially supported by the state, Islam is not regularly financed. The government has announced that it would be willing to support an Islamic religious community if the two Muslim

1 Thomas Schmidinger is a lecturer at the Institute of Political Science at the Uni- versity of Vienna and a Research Fellow at the University of Minnesota (US). 2 Liechtensteinische Volkszählung 2000. Religion und Hauptsprache. Band 2; p. 12. 344 thomas schmidinger

organisations would unite.3 Until now it has not been possible to realise this. In 2004 the European Institute for Intercultural and Interreligious Research (Europäisches Institut für interkulturelle und interreligiöse Forschung) was established by the government. Since then the Muslim communities also receive some minor funding. The government issues a residence permit for one imam. During Ramadan a second visiting imam is permitted.

3 Main Muslim Organisations

The Islamische Gemeinschaft des Fürstentum Liechtenstein (Islamic Community in the Principality of Liechtenstein, Alleestraße 8, 9495 Triesen) is affiliated to theDachverband islamischer Gemeinden der Ostschweiz und des Fürstentums Liechtenstein, DIGO (Umbrella asso- ciation of Islamic Communities in the East of and the Principality of Liechtenstein). The Liechtenstein Türk Birliği,4 that runs the Yeşil Camii (Industriestraße 32, 9495 Triesen), is affiliated to the Turkish Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı. Despite the fact that a significant minority of the Muslims of Turk- ish origin in Liechtenstein are Alevis, there is no Alevi organisation in the Principality. Some Alevis from Liechtenstein participate in Alevi activities in nearby regions of Austria and Switzerland. The activi- ties of the Muslim Jamaat, which calls its Swiss branch Ahmadiyya Bewegung des in der Schweiz und in Liechtenstein (Ahmadiyya Movement of Islam in Switzerland and Liechtenstein), that happened in 2009 did not continue in 2010.

4 Mosques and Prayer Houses

There are only two prayer houses in Liechtenstein. The Yeşil Camii (Green Mosque) and the Islamische Gemeinschaft des Fürstentum Liechtenstein (Islamic Community in the Principality of Liechtenstein) run both prayer rooms in the village of Triesen.

3 http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/132836.pdf, accessed 25 Septem- ber 2010. 4 http://www.tuerkische-vereinigung.li/, accessed 25 September 2010.