ABSTRACT
Muslims have been present in Europe since the emergence of Islam itself, in the seventh century CE. There were three main waves of Islam into Europe, starting with the Moorish civilization in Iberia, followed by Muslim Tatars in the northern Slav regions, and then the Ottomans, who moved into the heart of the old continent until the beginning of the twentieth century. Europeans and Muslims also encountered each other as a result of the Crusades and European colonization efforts. Muslim immigrants of the twentieth century represent the fourth Muslim tide into Europe.
