In The Name of Allalh The Almighty

Iceland

(17 June : National Day)

Dr Sajid Khakwani

drsajidkhakwani@gmail.com

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.