Sicilian Muslims Today

In Sicily, there existed a native community of Muslims. It originated from the period of Sicily under Islamic rule when many of the population converted to Islam. Under the rule of Fredrich II, all Muslims were expelled from the Island following a rebellion of local Muslims who wished to keep their local independence in Western Sicily but were not allowed to due to Pope Gregory IX's demands. During the Islamic golden age in Sicily, many Islamic scholars were born on the Island. Including the Muslim jurist in the Maliki school of Sunni Islamic Law scholar named Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ali at-Tamimi al-Mazari.

The Sicilian Islamic community is one of the most significant non-Christian communities in Sicily. The Sicilian Muslim community consists of native ethnic Sicilians who, despite large amounts of persecutions and genocide, remained a small active religious community throughout history. In 1980, Catania, a city on the eastern coast of Sicily, became home to Italy's first modern mosque. Also known as the Omar mosque, the mosque in Catania was financed by Libya. After this, many more of Sicily's formally quiet Muslim population began to reemerge into the public eye. Today, there are over many open mosques in Sicily, and Siciliy's Muslims' population is nearly half a million. There is also a large amount of Islamophobia directed towards this population. The intensity of Islamophobia in Sicily is enhanced by the state's historical religious structure, which is, after the 13th century, heavily based on the Catholic Church.