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Islam in some EU countries is a traditional religion, which has existed in their territories for centuries, while in other it constitutes a new phenomenon. In countries where there is a traditional Muslim presence, Islam is officially recognised by the state and its functioning is defined by the law concerning traditional religions. The functioning patterns differ from country to country due to different models of state-church relations, confessional laws and legal traditions. Sometimes Islam as a religion and its spiritual functionaries are financed by the state (e.g. in Romania), but there are countries where the state funding of religion is prohibited by law (e.g. in Poland). This paper collects some characteristic cases of the legal situation of Muslims in various European states and presents the extent to which the Muslim religion is financed, or the lack of such financing resulting from the legal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]