Islam in Korea

In South Korea, the Muslim population has been steadily increasing since the introduction of the Islamic faith shortly after the Korean War. The Muslim (both Korean and foreign born) 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.

There was a slow but evident growth of South Asian (Bangladeshi and Pakistani), Middle Eastern (i.e. Iranian, Iraqi, Kuwaiti and Qatari) and Malaysian immigration to South Korea, the majority are Muslims, during the 1990s and 2000s, usually arrived as guest workers to the country. There are some 100,000 foreign workers from Muslim countries, [ [http://www.islamawareness.net/Asia/KoreaSouth/ks_news002.html Islam takes root and blooms] ] particularly Bangladesh and Pakistan. [cite web|title=Korea’s Muslims Mark Ramadan|publisher=The Chosun Ilbo|date=September 11, 2008|url=http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200809/200809110016.html|accessdate=2008-10-09]

Early history

During the middle to late 7th century, Muslim traders had traversed from the Caliphate to Tang China and established contact with Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. In 751, the Korean Goguryeo general Gao Xianzhi led the Battle of Talas for Tang China against the Abbasid Caliphate but was defeated. The earliest reference to Korea in a non-East Asian geographical work appears in the "General Survey of Roads and Kingdoms" by Ibn Khurdadbih in the mid-9th century. [cite journal|last=Baker|first=Don|title=Islam Struggles for a Toehold in Korea |journal=Harvard Asia Quarterly|date=Winter 2006|url=http://www.asiaquarterly.com/content/view/167/|accessdate=2007-04-23]

Trading relations between the medieval Islamic world and the Korean peninsula continued with the succeeding Goryeo kingdom through to the 15th century. As a result, a number of Muslim traders from the Near East and Central Asia settled down in Korea and established families there. At least one major Korean clan, the Chang family with its seat at Toksu village, claim descent from a Muslim family.citation|title=Korea: A Religious History|first=James Huntley|last=Grayson|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|isbn=070071605X|page=195] Some Muslim Hui people from China also appear to have lived in the Goryeo kingdom. [citation|title=Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary|last=Keith Pratt|first=Richard Rutt, James Hoare|publisher=Routledge|year=1999|isbn=0700704647|page=189] In 1154, Korea was included in the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi's world atlas, "Tabula Rogeriana". The oldest surviving Korean world map, "Kangnido", drew its knowledge of the Western Regions from the work of Islamic geographers. [citation|title=Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary|last=Keith Pratt|first=Richard Rutt, James Hoare|publisher=Routledge|year=1999|isbn=0700704647|page=36]

The earliest record of indiginous Korean Muslims dates back to the 19th century, when there was a significant Muslim community that established itself in Manchuria. These were mainly descendants of Central Asian traders who had settled in the cities of Manchuria. It was there that native Koreans first came to accept Islam as their religion. However, it was only after the Korean War that Islam began growing significantly in Korea. Islam was introduced to Korea by the Turkish Brigade which came to help Korea during the war. Since then, Islam has been steadily growing in Korea and adopted by a fairly significant number of indigineous Koreans. [citation|title=Korea: A Religious History|first=James Huntley|last=Grayson|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|isbn=070071605X|page=196]

Today

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. Some Koreans working in Saudi Arabia converted to Islam; when they completed their term of labour and returned to Korea, they bolstered the number of indigeneous Muslims.Baker 2006] 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 highly active practitioners.The article (in Korean) at [http://www.arisok.com/news_view.asp?id=5821] quotes Lee Hee-Soo (Yi Hui-su), president of 한국 이슬람 학회 (Korea Islam Institute), with these figures.]

The Korean Muslim Foundation said that it would open the first Islamic primary school named Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Elementary School in March 2009 with the objective of helping Muslims in Korea learn about their religion through an official school curriculum. Plans are underway to open a cultural center, secondary schools and even university. Abdullah Al-Aifan, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Seoul, delivered $ 500,000 to KMF on behalf of the Saudi Arabian government. [http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/03/117_20746.html First Muslim School to Open Next Year]

Many Korean Muslims say their different lifestyle makes them stand out more than others in society. However, their biggest concern is prejudice they feel after the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001, when many people showed an interest in Islamic ideas, but most are ignorant about it. [http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2007/08/117_8104.html Life is Very Hard for Korean Muslims]

References

Notes

ources

*
*Kwon, Young-pil. (1991). Ancient Korean art and Central Asia: Non-Buddhist art prior to the 10th century. "Korea Journal 31"(2), 5-20. [http://www.ekoreajournal.net/archive/detail.jsp?BACK
]
*Lee, Hee-Soo. (1991). Early Korea-Arabic maritime relations based on Muslim sources. "Korea Journal 31"(2), 21-32. [http://www.ekoreajournal.net/archive/detail.jsp?BACK
]

ee also

*List of Korea-related topics
*Religion in Korea
*Religion in South Korea
*Korean culture

External links

* [http://www.koreaislam.org/e-index.php Korea Muslim Federation]
* [http://msa.kaist.ac.kr/ Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology ( KAIST ) - Muslim Students Association ( MSA )]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Center_of_Daejeon Islamic Center & Masjid of Daejeon]
* [http://www.islamkorea.com/ Cheonju Masjid]
* [http://www.islamawareness.net/Asia/KoreaSouth/ Islam and Muslims in South Korea ]
* [http://www.quran.or.kr/Islam/Islam-eng.htm Collections of Korean Muslim Sermons (Audio)]
* [http://www.asiaquarterly.com/content/view/167/42/ Islam Struggles for a Toehold in Korea ]