Total population | |
---|---|
124,668 (2023) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Largest concentrations in the northeastern municipalities Bijelo Polje, Petnjica, Rožaje, Gusinje and Plav and southeastern municipalities Ulcinj, Bar and Tuzi. | |
Religions | |
Sunni Islam | |
Languages | |
Montenegrin, Bosnian, Albanian and Roma |
Islam by country |
---|
Islamportal |
95–100% | |
90–95% | |
50–55% | |
30–35% | |
10–20% | |
5–10% | |
4–5% | |
2–4% | |
1–2% | |
< 1% |
Islam in Montenegro refers to adherents, communities and religious institutions of Islam in Montenegro. It is the second largest religion in the country, after Christianity. According to the 2011 census, Montenegro's 118,477 Muslims make up 19.11% of the total population. [2] Montenegro's Muslims belong mostly to the Sunni branch. In 2023, Montenegro's 124,668 Muslims made up 19.99% of the total population.
In the 15th century the Montenegrin ruler Ivan Crnojević (1465–1490) was at war with the infiltrating Venetians. Unable to maintain war on both fronts, the Ottoman Empire had conquered much of Montenegro's territory and introduced Islam. Ivan's third son Staniša Crnojević was the first prominent Montenegrin of the Muslim faith.
Staniša Crnojević took up the name Skenderbeg Crnojević and ruled from his capital in Shköder from 1513 to 1530. He is well known as one of the most prominent Muslim administrators of Slavic origin in the northern reaches of the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Sultan Selim I. Staniša Crnojević is known to have commanded an army of approximately 3000 Akıncı. He also maintained a correspondence with neighboring contemporaries, such as Gazi Husrev-beg.
The Muslims of Montenegro are mostly Bosniaks and Albanians by ethnicity, but also some are declared as ethnic Muslims and Montenegrins. The adherents of Islam in Montenegro can be mostly found in the Sandžak region in northeastern Montenegro and the municipalities of Bar, Tuzi and Ulcinj. Bosniaks have a similar ethnic background to ethnic Muslims, but differ in ideology of what ethnicity they belong to. [3] There are 13 established Councils of the Islamic Community in Montenegro, which include Bar, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Dinoša, Gusinje, Ostros, Petnjica, Plav, Pljevlja, Rožaje, Tuzi, Ulcinj and Podgorica. Montenegro has 145 active mosques in the country. [4]
According to the 2011 census, there are 118,477 adherents of Islam in Montenegro.
The ethnic composition of Muslims (adherents of Islam) in Montenegro: [5]
There are large regional differences in the distribution of the Muslim population. The Rožaje Municipality, for example, is almost exclusively inhabited by adherents of Islam, while there are no Muslims living in the Plužine Municipality.
Municipality | Population (2011 census) [6] | Islam/Muslim (%) |
---|---|---|
Rožaje Municipality | 22,964 | 94.95 |
Plav Municipality | 13,108 | 76.64 |
Ulcinj Municipality | 19,921 | 71.82 |
Bijelo Polje Municipality | 46,051 | 46.18 |
Bar Municipality | 42,048 | 30.14 |
Berane Municipality | 33,970 | 27.97 |
Pljevlja Municipality | 30,786 | 16.37 |
Podgorica Municipality | 185,937 | 11.23 |
Tivat Municipality | 14,031 | 5.10 |
Budva Municipality | 19,218 | 3.40 |
Herceg Novi Municipality | 30,864 | 2.01 |
Kotor Municipality | 22,601 | 1.66 |
Danilovgrad Municipality | 18,472 | 1.41 |
Nikšić Municipality | 72,443 | 1.39 |
Cetinje Municipality | 16,657 | 0.76 |
Šavnik Municipality | 2,070 | 0.58 |
Kolašin Municipality | 8,380 | 0.55 |
Mojkovac Municipality | 8,622 | 0.29 |
Andrijevica Municipality | 5,071 | 0.16 |
Žabljak Municipality | 3,569 | 0.14 |
Plužine Municipality | 3,246 | 0.00 |
Montenegro | 620,029 | 19.11% |
Pljevlja is a town located in the Northern Region of Montenegro, situated along Ćehotina river.
Sandžak is a historical and geo-political region in the Balkans, located in the southwestern part of Serbia and the eastern part of Montenegro. The Serbo-Croatian term Sandžak derives from the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, a former Ottoman administrative district founded in 1865.
Muslims is a designation for the ethnoreligious group of Serbo-Croatian-speaking Muslims of Slavic heritage, inhabiting mostly the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The term, adopted in the 1971 Constitution of Yugoslavia, groups together several distinct South Slavic communities of Islamic ethnocultural tradition. Before 1993, a vast majority of present-day Bosniaks self-identified as ethnic Muslims, along with some smaller groups of different ethnicities, such as Gorani and Torbeši. This designation did not include Yugoslav non-Slavic Muslims, such as Albanians, Turks and some Romani people.
The demographic history of Montenegro can be shown through census results and official documents which mention demographic composition.
Ulcinj is a town in the Coastal region of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 11,488.
Bijelo Polje is a town located in the Northern Region of Montenegro, situated along Lim River. It has an urban population of 12,900. It is the administrative, economic, cultural and educational centre of northern Montenegro.
Tuzi is a small town in the central region of Montenegro, and the seat of Tuzi Municipality. It is located along a main road between the city of Podgorica and the Albanian border crossing, just a few kilometers north of Lake Skadar. The Church of St. Anthony and Qazimbeg's Mosque are located in the centre of the town.
Demographic features of the population of Montenegro include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects.
Rožaje is a town located in the Northern Region of Montenegro, situated along the Ibar river. The town is the cultural center of the Bosniaks in Montenegro.
Ulcinj Municipality is the southernmost municipality of Montenegro, bordered by Albania to the east, Bar Municipality to the north and Adriatic Sea to the south and the west. It has an area of 255 km², and a population of 19,921 as of the 2011 census. Its seat is the town of Ulcinj.
Albanians in Montenegro are ethnic Albanians who constitute 4.97% of Montenegro's total population. They belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-group of Ghegs, and they are the largest non-Slavic ethnic group in Montenegro.
Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the largest religion in Montenegro at 71% of the population, and is the religion of choice for the vast majority of ethnic Montenegrins and Serbs. In addition to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, there is also a sizeable number of adherents to Sunni Islam at 20% of the population, mainly from ethnic Bosniaks and Albanians.
Television in Montenegro was first introduced in 1956. This is a list of television channels that broadcast in Montenegro.
Languages of Montenegro are languages that are spoken in Montenegro. According to the Constitution of Montenegro that was adopted in 2007, Montenegro has only one official language, specified as Montenegrin, even though Serbian is used by 43% of the population and Montenegrin by 35% of population. There is an ongoing debate about the distinct nature of Montenegrin language in relation to the Serbo-Croatian dialectal continuum. Montenegrin can be written in both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets, but there is a growing political movement to use only the Latin alphabet.
This is a list of coats of arms of Montenegro. Most municipalities of Montenegro have their own coat of arms. Many Montenegrin military units and other public agencies and some private families have coats of arms. There are also many historical Montenegrin coat of arms throughout history.
Rožaje Municipality is one of the municipalities of Montenegro. The main centre and capital of the Rožaje municipality is Rožaje. It covers an area of 432 km2, and has a population of 22,964 inhabitants in the 2011 Census. It is located in northern Montenegro.
The Islamic Community of Montenegro is an independent religious organization of Muslims in Montenegro, established as the Muftiate of Montenegro in 1878. The headquarters of the community is in Podgorica and the current leader, titled Reis, is Rifat Fejzić.
Bosniakisation designates the process of ethnic and cultural assimilation of non-Bosniak individuals or groups into the Bosniak ethnocultural corpus. Historically, bosniakisation was directed mainly towards some other South Slavic groups, like ethnic Muslims (Muslimani) in former Yugoslavia. Since Bosniaks are Sunni Muslims, Bosniakisation was also manifested towards some distinctive ethnoreligious minorities within Serbian and Croatian national corpus, mainly towards Serbian Muslims and Croatian Muslims.
Tuzi Municipality is one of the 25 Municipalities of Montenegro. The municipal seat is the town of Tuzi. The municipality is located about 10 km south of the capital Podgorica and consists of more than 40 distinct settlements. The municipality roughly encompasses the Montenegrin part of the Malesija region.