the city has a mixture of numerous religions. about 60% are muslims; most are rather pragmatic with regards to religious observancy. another 30% are christians of various denominations, including lutheran protestant, catholic, baptist and anglican. there has traditionally been few problems between the various religions, but a radicalization of islam does seem to have taken place during the last decade. married women in the area have traditionally worn a cloth over their hair (irrespective of religion), but garments like hijab were previously almost unknown. some muslim women now choose to wear the hijab, but other muslim dresses like the burqa are unknown.