Prayer Times in Belgium

Muslims and mosques in Belgium

Belgium does not collect statistics on religion, so the size of its Muslim community is an estimate. Sources give between 4.0% and 7.6% of the population, with the Pew Research Center's 2016 figure of 7.6% at the top and its accuracy disputed; estimates for 2014 ranged from 4.0% to 6.5%. The wide range reflects the lack of official data, not a change in the community itself. Islam is the second-largest religion after Christianity. About 40% of Belgian Muslims live in Brussels, around 39% in Flanders and 21% in Wallonia, and they live mainly in working-class districts of the big cities, among them Molenbeek and Anderlecht in Brussels, Antwerp and Liège.

The community was created by labour migration. In 1964 Belgium signed labour agreements with Turkey, Morocco and other countries that brought over 10,000 workers, who were followed by their families, and Moroccan and Turkish Belgians are still the two largest groups. Islam was officially recognised in Belgium in 1974 and is one of the religions that the state subsidises, which sets the country apart from some of its neighbours, where Islam has no such legal standing. Around the year 2000 the Centre de Relations Européennes estimated that there were about 30,000 converts.

The Muslim Executive of Belgium, founded in 1996, is the body that deals with the state on behalf of the community. In 2006 the government gave 6.1 million euros to Islamic groups, and the US State Department counted 328 mosques that year, while another source counted 380. The Great Mosque of Brussels, in the Cinquantenaire park, was opened in 1978 and is the best known. Most other mosques are in rented halls, former shops and houses.

For prayer times, Belgium lies at about 49.5 to 51.5 degrees north, so in June Fajr and Isha are difficult to calculate with the usual angles and a high-latitude rule is used. On this site's calculation the fast from Fajr to Maghrib in Brussels lasts about 17 and a half hours on 21 June and 10 hours on 21 December. The communities do not all decide the start of Ramadan in the same way: for 2026 the Muslim Executive announced 19 February, based on astronomical calculation, while mosques that follow Saudi Arabia started on 18 February. Belgium keeps Central European Time, and the sun rises about ten minutes earlier in Liège than in Ostend. Congregation times are set by each mosque, so check your own mosque's timetable.

Sources, checked 2026-10: Wikipedia: Islam in Belgium; Wikipedia: Great Mosque of Brussels.