In The Name of Allalh The
Almighty
(17 June : National Day)
Iceland is a Scandinavian country, the world's oldest democracy but modern in
nearly every respect. It is located in the North Atlantic Ocean. Lying on the
constantly active geologic border between North America and Europe, Iceland is a
land of vivid contrasts of climate, geography, culture and sparkling glaciers.
Despite its physical isolation some 500 miles from Scotland—its nearest European
neighbor—Iceland has remained throughout its history very much a part of
European civilization. The capital “Reykjavík” is the site of the island's first
farmstead and is a thriving city, handsome in aspect and cosmopolitan in
outlook. Other major population centers are Akureyri, on the north-central
coast; Hafnarfjördhur, on the southwestern coast; and Selfoss, in the southern
lowlands.
Iceland's rugged coastline, of more than 3,000 miles, meets the Greenland Sea on
the north, the Norwegian Sea on the east, the Atlantic Ocean on the south and
west, and the Denmark Strait—which separates it from Greenland by about 200
miles on the northwest. Glacier ice and cooled lava each cover approximately
one-tenth of the country's total area. The glaciers are a reminder of Iceland's
proximity to the Arctic Circle, which nearly touches its northernmost peninsula.
Heavy rainfall feeds the numerous rivers and lakes in the glaciated landscape.
Many of the lakes are dammed by lava flows or glacial ice. The presence of
waterfalls is typical of the geologically young mountain landscape.
The climate of Iceland is maritime sub arctic. It is influenced by the location
of the country on the broad boundary between two contrasting air currents, one
of polar and the other of tropical origin. The climate is affected also by the
confluence of two ocean currents: the Gulf Stream, from near the Equator, and
the East Greenland Current. The latter sometimes carries Arctic drift ice to
Iceland's northern and eastern shores. Iceland is much warmer than might be
expected. Temperatures do not vary much throughout the country. The mean annual
temperature for Reykjavík is 4 °C. The mean January temperature is −0.5 °C, and
the mean July temperature is 11 °C. Snow falls about 100 days per year in the
northwest, about 40 in the southeast. Annual precipitation ranges from 16 inches
on some high northern plateaus to more than 160 inches on the southern slopes of
some ice-capped mountains. In the south it averages about 80 inches.
Only about one-fourth of the country is covered by a continuous carpet of
vegetation. The remains of large birch forests are found in many places. Foxes
were the only land mammals in Iceland at the time of its settlement. Humans
brought domestic and farm animals and accidentally introduced rats and mice.
Later, reindeer were introduced, and many are still found in the northeastern
highlands.
Iceland was founded more than 1,000 years ago during the Viking age of
exploration and settled by a mixed Norse and Celtic population. The early
settlement, made up primarily of Norwegian seafarers and adventurers. Before
second world war Denmark and Iceland were united . The German occupation of
Denmark in April 1940 effectively dissolved the union between Iceland and
Denmark. A month later British forces occupied Iceland. In 1941 the United
States took over the defense of Iceland .The war made it impossible for Iceland
and Denmark to renegotiate their treaty. In spite of great resentment in
Denmark, the Icelanders decided to terminate the treaty, break all
constitutional ties with Denmark, and establish a republic. On June 17, 1944,
now celebrated as National Day.
The population of Iceland is extremely homogeneous. The inhabitants are
descendants of settlers who began arriving in AD 874 and continued in heavy
influx for about 60 years thereafter. Historians differ on the exact origin and
ethnic composition of the settlers but agree that between 60 and 80 percent of
them were of Nordic stock from Norway. The rest, from Scotland and Ireland, were
largely of Celtic stock. The dominant language in the period of settlement was
Old Norse, the language spoken in Norway at the time. Through the centuries it
has evolved into modern Icelandic, which is used throughout the country. Modern
Icelanders can still read Icelandic sagas in Old Norse without difficulty. There
are no ethnic distinctions. The early Nordic and Celtic stocks have long since
merged, and the small number of subsequent immigrants have had no major effect
on the population structure.
The Lutheran faith has been the dominant religion since the mid 16th century.
About nine-tenths of the population belongs to the state-supported Evangelical
Lutheran church. There is freedom of religion. By the end of the 10th century,
the Norwegians were forced by their king, Olaf I Tryggvason, to accept
Christianity. The king also sent missionaries to Iceland who, according to
12th-century sources, were highly successful in converting the Icelanders. In
999 or 1000 the parliament made a peaceful decision that all Icelanders should
become Christians.
Because agriculture was the chief economic activity, the population of Iceland
was evenly distributed throughout the inhabitable parts of the country until the
end of the 19th century. With the advent of the fishing industry, commerce, and
services at the beginning of the 20th century, the population became
increasingly concentrated in towns and villages. At the beginning of the 21st
century, more than 90 percent of the population lived in communities of 200 or
more people. As is the case throughout the Nordic countries, less than 5 percent
of Iceland's population is engaged in agriculture, and this number continues to
decline. The raising of livestock—mostly sheep—and dairy farming are the main
occupations. About one-fifth of the land is arable, most of it used for grazing.
Greenhouses are common. Iceland is virtually self-sufficient in fresh foods and
dairy items, but it imports most other foodstuffs.
The mainstay of most coastal towns is fishing and fish processing. The Icelandic
economy is based heavily on fishing and the production of a broad variety of
fish products, but it also includes manufacturing and services. Exports account
for about two-fifths of the gross national product. Despite Iceland's small
population, the economy is modern, and the standard of living is on a par with
that of other European countries. Most of Iceland's production is in private
hands. Government ownership has declined since the early 1990s through increased
privatization of government-owned enterprises.
The main manufacturing enterprise for export is aluminum production. There are
also small industries that produce computer software, cement, fertilizer, food,
clothing, and books. More than three-fifths of Iceland's exports go to the EU,
which also is responsible for more than half of Iceland's imports. About
one-eighth of exports go to the United States and about one-tenth to Japan.
Iceland's constitution, which was adopted in 1944, established a parliamentary
democracy with a directly elected president as head of state. The president,
Parliament , and local councils are elected every four years, but not
necessarily all at once. All citizens 18 years of age and older may vote.
Members of the Parliament are selected by proportional representation in
multimember constituencies.
The powers of the president are similar to those of other heads of state in
western European democracies. Real power rests with the 63-member parliament.
One of the oldest legislative assemblies in the world, it is a unicameral
legislature in which members serve four-year terms unless parliament is
dissolved and new elections called. The executive branch is headed by a cabinet
that must maintain majority support in parliament—or at least avoid
censure—otherwise it must resign. Citizens are guaranteed the civil rights
customary in Western democracies.
Local government in Iceland is chiefly responsible for primary education,
municipal services, and the administration of social programs. The country is
divided into 17 provinces, which are further subdivided into fewer than 100
municipalities. Since the 1970s their number has decreased by nearly half as a
result of consolidation. Each municipality administers local matters through an
elected council. The judiciary consists of a supreme court and a system of lower
courts, most of which hear both civil and criminal cases. Cases are heard and
decided by appointed judges; there is no jury system.
Iceland, with compulsory health insurance that finances most medical services,
has a high standard of public health and one of the highest life expectancies in
the world. Hospital inpatient services are provided entirely without charge,
other medical services at low cost. Dental care is partially subsidized for
children up to age 16 and for retirees with low incomes. Welfare services
include unemployment insurance, old-age and disability pensions, family and
childbearing allowances, and sickness benefits. The medical and welfare systems
are financed through taxation by central and local government. Almost all
schools from the primary level through the university are free. Education is
compulsory through age 16, and secondary and higher education is widely
available.
In 1154, Muhammad Al Idreesi was first Muslim who visited this territory. The
Association of Muslims in Iceland was founded in 1997. The community has had its
own mosque since 2002. The mosque offers daily and nightly prayers, which
attracts a core group with a mix of local Icelanders and Muslims from all over
the world. The mosque also offers weekly Friday prayers for Juma'a. The mosque
is located inside an office style building on the 3rd floor in the Áramúli
section of Reykjavík.
In 2000 the Muslim Association applied to build a mosque in Reykjavik. by 6 July
2013, after a long process, the approval was granted. There are three muslim
women in Icwland work on the translation of the Qur'an from Arabic to Icelandic
language, as they also speaks Arabic.