which country had a large muslim population for almost 800 years
Islam in Spain Islam was a widespread religion in what is now Spain and Portugal for nine centuries, beginning with the Umayyad conquest of Hispania and ending (at least overtly) with its prohibition by the modern Spanish state in the mid-16th century and the expulsion of the Moriscos in the early 17th century. Although a significant proportion of Moriscos returned to Spain or avoided expulsion through various means, and the decree never affected the country's large enslaved Muslim population, the indigenous practice of Islam had faded into obscurity by the 19th century.[1]