In the days of the Caliphate states, Muslims took possession of the Christian territories of the Middle East and North Africa, and once Christian peoples began to profess Islam. However, there was also a reverse process in history. In this article, I have provided a list of former Muslim countries that have become Christian.
Spain and Portugal
The most obvious example is Spain. Muslim Arabs began to conquer the Iberian Peninsula in the early 8th century. At that time, the territory belonged to the Visigothic Kingdom. For a dozen years, the Muslims occupied almost the entire territory of the peninsula, calling it “Al-Andalus”. Immediately after the Muslim triumph, the Reconquista began, which lasted for the next 8 centuries. By the end of the 15th century, the Catholics had expelled the Muslims from the peninsula.
The county of Portugal appeared in the 9th century during the Reconquista. The Portuguese Reconquista ended in the 13th century under King Afonso III.
The size of the Umayyad Caliphate in 750.
Philippines
The Philippines is the most interesting example on this list. They border Indonesia, one of the most numerous Muslim countries. However, in the Philippines, the majority of the population is Christian.
Muslims began to dominate the Philippines in the 14th century, when Indian and Persian traders began to develop these territories. But then the Spaniards came with the Spanish Inquisition. Now in the Philippines there are more than 90% Christians.
Mozambique
Mozambique is located in the southern part of Africa. The territory of the country fell under the dominant influence of Islam in the 10th century, when the Kilwa Sultanate arose. The modern name of Mozambique comes from the name of the Arab merchant Musa bin Biq. He became the ruler of the island of Mozambique, and then the Portuguese named the country after the island. The Portuguese not only came up with the name, but also Catholicized Mozambique. They are followed by Protestant followers, who to this day have significant weight in Mozambique.
Malta and Sicily
Both islands were conquered by the Arabs in the 9th century due to the betrayal of the Byzantine military commander Euthymius of Sicily. The Muslims retained control of the islands until the end of the 11th century, when the Normans came. In the 12th century, the Catholics regained control of the islands. Malta eventually became a separate state, and Sicily became part of Italy.
Balkan States
The Christian Balkans came under Muslim rule after the Ottoman conquest in the 14th century. For almost half a millennium of Ottoman control, many Balkan peoples, mainly South Slavs, were Islamized. In the 19th century, the Balkan peoples marched en masse against the Ottomans, which led to the creation of new, mostly Christian, states. They are now known as Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Montenegro.
