Islam in Germany: Facts and figures2025.10.15Article

Source: iStock | Canetti

5.5 million

Muslims live in Germany

About 5.5 million followers of Islam live in Germany. Nearly 3 million of them are German citizens. Muslims account for about 6.6% of Germany’s total population. They make up the second-largest religious community in Germany, after the much larger group of members of Christian churches (some 45 million, or more than half of Germany’s total population).

The Muslim community in Germany has nearly equal shares of men and women. At 52%, men account for a slightly larger proportion of the Muslim community than women (48%). The average age of Muslim men and women is roughly 32 years, which is relatively young compared to the average age of the total population of Germany, which is slightly over 44. The average size of Muslim households in Germany is 3.6 persons, the equivalent of a married couple with one or two children. The number of Muslims living alone is sometimes overestimated; it actually only accounts for about 11% of Muslim households.

Interested in more facts and figures?

The information given here is based on the study “Muslimisches Leben in Deutschland 2020” (Muslim life in Germany, MLD2020) which was commissioned by the German Islam Conference and conducted by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. In the study, you can find further information on specific topics. An executive summary in English is available from the BAMF website. The complete study in German is available here. Building on the main MLD2020 study, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has expanded on individual areas in follow-up studies:

• Research Report 47 on “Social belonging and social life” (in German only)
• Research Report 48 on “Experiences of discrimination of people from predominantly Muslim countries of origin” (in German only)
• Brief Analysis 2|2023 on “Interreligiousness and interreligious openness of people with a migration background from predominantly Muslim countries of origin” (in German only)

Also based on data from the MLD2020 study is Brief Analysis 5|2024 on “German as (part of) the family language”. The findings of the follow-up studies are equally taken into account below.

Muslims in Germany: A very diverse minority

The Muslim community in Germany is very diverse. Muslims in Germany have a broad range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds and follow many different denominations of Islam. Also, their personal commitment to religion varies widely.

45 %

of Muslims in Germany have Turkish roots

About 2.5 million Muslims in Germany (45%) have Turkish roots. They now make up a smaller share of the Muslim population in Germany than they did in 2015 (53%). Although Muslims of Turkish origin no longer constitute the majority of Muslims in Germany, they are still by far the largest group. The second-largest group is made up of Muslims with Arab roots (27%) from the Middle East (above all Syria) and North Africa. This group is followed by Muslims from south-eastern Europe (19%) and by Muslims from Afghanistan, Iran and their neighbouring countries (9%).

Germany’s Muslim community also includes people who have converted to Islam either because of their religious convictions, following marriage to a Muslim partner, or for other reasons. However, no statistics are available on the number of converts.

3/4

of Muslims in Germany are Sunni

Three-quarters of Muslims in Germany identify as Sunni. Sunni Islam is the predominant branch of Islam worldwide. There are various strands within Sunni Islam, as can be observed in Germany. And Islam has other currents and groups which differ from each other and from Sunni Islam. The second-largest branch of Islam in the world today is Shia Islam. Shia Muslims make up a relatively small share of all Muslims in Germany (4%).

By contrast, the share of those who belong to the Turkish-influenced tradition of Alevism is twice as large, at 8%. Some 40% of Alevis regard their faith as a separate religion distinct from Islam. Ahmadis and followers of other Islamic sects and movements each account for 1% of Germany’s Muslim community.

For many Muslims, religious practice is an important part of daily life

For many Muslims in Germany, practising their religion is an integral part of their daily life. This includes following religious rules and customs, such as dietary restrictions, which 70% of the Muslims surveyed for the study of Muslim life in Germany said they obeyed. Almost as many (66%) said they celebrated religious holidays, such as Eid al-Fitr, the festival of breaking the fast at the end of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha, the “Feast of Sacrifice” held during the same month as the Hajj pilgrimage.

40%

of Muslims in Germany pray every day

The rite of prayer – to be performed five times a day – is an important part of the daily practice of Islam. The share of Muslims who said they prayed daily is 39%. About 25% said they never prayed, and 11% said they only prayed a few times a year. Another cornerstone of Islamic religious practice is fasting, especially during the month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn until sundown. Three-quarters of Muslims living in Germany said they obeyed the Islamic rules on fasting completely (56%) or in part (20%). The remaining quarter does not fast.

The degree of religious observance may also differ between generations: Muslims born in Germany are often less observant than their parents who immigrated to Germany.

Muslims in Germany vary in their assessment of their religious knowledge of Christianity and Judaism. 42% say they know much or very much about Christianity. The majority have visited a church one or more times (89%). Knowledge of Judaism and visits to synagogues, on the other hand, are less common, as in the rest of society.

Are Muslim women religious even if they don’t wear a headscarf?

30%

of Muslim women wear a headscarf

Muslim women are somewhat more devout than Muslim men. In the study of Muslim life in Germany, one in three Muslim women surveyed said they were very devout. Among Muslim men, this figure is one in four. More women also pray daily: for example, nearly one-half of the women surveyed said they prayed daily, whereas not quite one-third of men said they did.

However, not all of the women who said they were very devout wear a headscarf. Fewer than one-third of Muslim women wear a headscarf. Muslim women who do not wear a headscarf said they did not regard it as necessary for practising their faith (77%) or simply did not like to cover their head (56%). However, more than one-third said they also feared social repercussions from wearing a headscarf (35%). Many Muslim women who wear headscarves report experiences of discrimination in various areas of life, such as when looking for work or housing, in school grading, and in other everyday situations.

However, these experiences are not limited to Muslim women who wear headscarves. Muslims in Germany generally experience various forms of hostility due to their faith and/or their origins in a predominantly Muslim country. The Independent Expert Group on Anti-Muslim Sentiment has presented a comprehensive analysis of the forms and extent of Islamophobia.

The Independent Expert Group on Anti-Muslim Sentiment (UEM)

In June 2023, the Independent Expert Group on Anti-Muslim Sentiment (UEM) presented its final report, “Anti-Muslim Sentiment – Germany Takes Stock”. In its nearly 400 pages, the report thoroughly examines the phenomenon of anti-Muslim sentiment and offers extensive recommendations for policy-makers, public administration, economy and civil society. You can find more information here (in German only).

Anti-Muslim sentiment also affects how Muslims perceive themselves. For example, 14% of Muslims strongly agree with the statement “Muslims are not recognised as part of society in Germany” and another 30% somewhat agree. Moreover, it is striking that second-generation migrants perceive more discrimination than first-generation migrants. One explanation for this finding is that Muslims born in Germany are much more likely to expect social acceptance as a matter of course and to demand equal treatment. They are more sensitive to persistent discrimination.

Muslims are active in their communities and mosque congregations in many ways

1/8

of Muslims living in Germany are active in a mosque congregation

Nearly one in eight Muslims living in Germany are active in a mosque congregation. The number of Muslims who regularly visit or volunteer at a mosque is actually much higher.

And many Muslims are active in their communities beyond their mosque congregation. A large share of Muslims who belong to an association such as a sport club (33%) belong to one that is not connected in any way to their own country of origin or to that of their parents (23%). At the same time, Muslims have a predominantly open view of society, which is reflected in their attitudes towards social belonging and social life. As a result, they are in frequent contact with Germans who do not have an immigrant background. For example, about 65% of Muslims surveyed said they were in touch with native German friends at least once a week. And Muslims who do not (yet) have much social contact with native Germans said they were very interested in more such interaction. So there are no indications that Muslims are seeking to distance themselves in religious or ethnic terms from the majority population in Germany. On the contrary, the majority of Muslims (more than 80%) said they felt a strong connection to Germany.

This sense of belonging is also evident in the use of the German language in Muslim families. In 75% of families, German is (also) spoken with the children. Often, German is combined with the parents’ native language at home.

source https://www.deutsche-islam-konferenz.de/EN/DatenFakten/daten-fakten_node.html

Ahmadiyya in Germany

The Ahmadiyya are movement that comprise a minority of Germany, numbering some 35,000–45,000 adherents and found in 244 communities as of 2013.^[1][2][3]

History

The Ahmadis were one of the earliest Muslim communities to have been established in Germany and built the first central mosque, the Wilmersdorfer Moschee in Berlin-Wilmersdorf between 1923 and 1925. The mosque, run by the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat-i-Islam, was open to all Muslims, published the Moslemische Revue (Muslim Review) between 1924 and 1940, and its first Imam, Maulana Sadr-ud-Din, wrote the first German translation of the Quran in cooperation with the German convert Hugo Marcus.^[4] This translation was published in 1939.^[5] Organised activities by the larger Ahmadiyya Muslim Community under the leadership of the Caliph began only after the Second World War when a centre was established. The movement has increasingly taken root in Germany since the 1980s through the arrival of South Asian immigrants and converts to Islam. The Ahmadi community in Germany consists mainly of Pakistani immigrants with a relatively small number of native German converts. Significant communities exist in Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Bremen.^[6] The Khadija Mosque in Berlin, designed and financed by Ahmadi Muslim women in Germany was opened in 2008.

Acknowledgement with Church status in Germany

Historically, due to the Landeskirchen concept, the organizational setup of the churches in Germany has always been in close interaction with the state administration and mirrored the territorial patchwork. As a legacy of the Prussian education system, the various confessions in Germany (including in the meanwhile Jewish and secular bodies as well) have contributed to primary and secondary education in Germany and do so still. The Ahmadiyya community outstanding organizational setup mirrors that system and allowed the German Ahmadiyya community to be (2013) acknowledged as first Islamic community with the status of Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts as legal entity of public law.^[7] Ahmadiyya applied for the status just to be able to offer religious education in Hessian state schools, but is allowed now to maintain their own cemeteries and have their members funds being collected by the German state’s church tax system.^[8] It has been deemed as historical milestone and German daily Die Welt titled the event with Islam is a part of Germany now, quoting a famous speech of former President Christian Wulff.^[8]

Notable German Ahmadis

Prominent German Ahmadi Muslims include:

• Abdullah Wagishauser – Ameer (president) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Germany
• Hadayatullah Hübsch^[9] – German writer and journalist
• Khola Maryam Hübsch^[10] – German writer and journalist, daughter of Hadayatullah

source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmadiyya_in_Germany

AI Overview

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Germany has roughly 40,000 members and is the first Islamic organization in the country to achieve official legal status as a public law corporation (Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts). [1, 2, 3]

Legal Status and Recognition

• Public Corporation Status: Granted first by the state of Hesse in 2013, this status puts the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on par with major Christian churches and Jewish communities. [1, 2]
• Rights: The designation allows the group to offer religious education in state schools, manage its own cemeteries, and collect religious member taxes through the German state system. [1]

History and Growth

• Early Presence: The community established its roots in Germany during the early 20th century, opening its first post-WWII mosque in Hamburg in 1957. [1, 2]
• Influx of Members: Many followers relocated to Germany in the 1970s to escape severe religious persecution in Pakistan. [1]
• 100-Mosques-Plan: Initiated in 1989, this ongoing project aims to build 100 new mosques across Germany, featuring dozens of completed local prayer spaces and community centers. [1]

If you would like to know more, let me know if you are interested in:

• The challenges and local opposition some mosque projects face
• Details about their annual convention (Jalsa Salana) in Germany
• Their social integration and community outreach efforts

Berlin Mosque