Islam in South America

This is both a cultural and historical perspective of Islam in Latin South America

1. Curated by
Javed Mohammed
2016
Islam in South America

A Cultural history

2. Muslim have a long
presence in
Latin America

3. Argentina,
Venezuela, and
Brazil along with
Suriname and
Guyana have largest
Muslim populations

9. But first a little history

10. Native Americans - first to settle Latin
America

–Maya—Yucatan Peninsula
–Aztec—central Mexico
–Inca—Peruvian highlands

11. The Triangle of Influence
•Latin America was
created in 1492. There
was no “Latin” before
that time
•
The old world collided with the “new world”

12. Spain’s
influence
Islam was in the country from 711 to
1492. Granada had been the last
Islamic stronghold on the continent.
After its fall, Spanish Christians now
moved on to new territory
The Muslim Moors did leave some
things behind
1)Crops like oranges, rice, bananas,
cotton
2)Irrigation systems
3)Racial mixing
4)Double standards for gender
5)The notion that the strongest man
rules

These ideas were then carried into the soon to be conquered Americas

The Spanards were on a
quest for the 3 Gs: God,
Gold, and Glory

13. African
influence

More African slaves were sent to
Brazil alone than all of the British
colonies in North America.

Today’s culture of Brazil evolved
from a mixture of African tribal culture




300,000
British Colonies
3,500,000
Brazil

14. Native influence




They incorporated people as
opposed to killing them.
Theirs was the largest and most
important empire in South
America --- Stretched 3,000 miles
from Colombia to Northern Chile
They were masters of the indirect
rule. 1/3 of the food in the
conquered regions went to them.
A vast road system existed.
Mita “your turn” was a policy of
mandatory community service
Quick facts:
Cuzco was the capital.
Twantansuja was what the Icans called
their empire
In the Potosi silver mines the mineral was
in such abundance it could be scraped off
the sides of the mountain.

15. •Early culture hearths
–traditional cultures are still preserved
and many Native Americans still live in
Mexico, Central America, Ecuador, Peru
& Bolivia

Blending of Peoples

16. And now a little
geography and facts

17. SOUTH
AMERICA

18. Distribution of Population in
Latin America, 2004

19. Quick Facts about South America
•Latin America makes up 9% of world’s population
•12 Countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru,
Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela
•4 Main Languages Portuguese, Spanish,
English, French, and other native languages
•415 Million Population (2015: Statistic Times)
•The largest city is Sao Paulo, Brazil
•Greater Sao Paulo has a population of ~20Million

20. Quick Facts about South America
•The Amazon-Ucayali River is 4,000 miles long
•1/5 of the world’s fresh water is in the Amazon.
•6% of the land is arable; 25 % is grazeable.
•90% of the population is Roman Catholic.
•1/2 of all Latin America’s people live in Brazil
(This includes Central America and the
Caribbean)
•Paraguay and Bolivia are the 2 land- locked
countries.

21. Quick Facts about South America
•Iguazu Falls one of the largest in the world and
borders between Brazil, Argentina, and
Paraguay.
•90% of South Americans live within 150 miles
of the coast
•Ethnically diverse: Native Americans,
Europeans, Africans, Asians and Mixed races
•Aconcagua in the Andes is 22,831 ft high.

22. And back to some
Muslim history

23. Europeans were not the first to explore
the oceans in search of new trade routes
Islamic merchants explored the Indian Ocean
& had dominated the Asian spice trade for
centuries before European exploration

24. But in the late 1400s, the European sailors did
what neither Muslim nor Chinese explorers could:
Begin global (not regional) exploration &
create colonies to increase their wealth & power

26. More history

27. Europeans
•Spanish & Portuguese colonized in late
1400s after Columbus’ discovery of the
New World

•other European groups immigrated to
Latin America later

•Italians, French, British, Germans

•Argentina & Uruguay are still
considered immigrant nations

28. Africans
•Came as slaves in 1500s

•Mainly in Brazil & the Caribbean Islands

•Late 1800s — slavery ended and many
Africans stayed (families had been there
for generations)

•Added their cultural influence to food,
music, arts & religions of Latin America

29. Asians
•Came as temporary workers in the 1800s
and stayed
•Guyana — almost half of the Asian
population is of South or SE Asian descent
•Argentina — 85% of the Asian population
is South or Southeast Asian
•Peru, Mexico, Cuba — there are many
Chinese immigrants
•Brazil & Peru — Japanese immigrants;
Peru even had a Japanese Prime Minister

30. Language
•Mostly adopted from European
countries that colonized the area

–Spanish — most common language
spoken

–Portuguese — in Brazil

–French & English — also spoken in
many Caribbean Islands

31. •Dialects — forms of a language unique to a
particular place or group
–many countries have different dialects of the
same language
•Millions still speak Native American
languages
•Many Latin Americans are bilingual
•
Others speak one of many forms of patois
—dialects that blend elements of indigenous,
European, African & Asian languages

Language

32. 4 culture regions
1.The Middle East (Southwest Asia) –
mostly Arab Muslim

2.South Asia – mostly India and Pakistan

3.Southeast Asia – Philippians, Indonesia,
Vietnam, etc.

4.East Asia – China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan,
Mongolia

33. Religion
•Most Native Americans became Christians
during the colonial era
•Now most Latin Americans are still Christians
with the majority being Roman Catholic
•Other religions in the region include:
–Traditional Native American & African religions
sometimes mixed with Christianity
•In West Indies & parts of South America —
Islam, Hinduism & Buddhism practiced by Asian
immigrants

34. Enough history
here
Let’s talk about Muslims
in Latin America

35. Latin Americans
and Muslims
•Natural affinity exists between Latin Americans
and Muslims
•Prior history of Spaniards and Portuguese living with
Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula for 800 years
•Cultural commonality
–Hospitality
–Generosity
–Spicy Foods
–Looks

36. Clarification

37. Latin Americans
and Muslims
•Muslim are a minority in South America but well
established in in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela
•Muslims have a small presences in every country
including Central America
•Muslims arrived in 3 different waves through
diverse means
–African slaves.
–In Peru, Muslims initially arrived with the Spaniards
–
Later with the Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian
Diasporas.

38. ISLAM HAS HAD A PRESENCE IN SOUTH
AMERICA FOR A LONG LONG TIME

39. 600K-1M (1% pop)
LARGEST
MUSLIM
POPULATIONS
IN SOUTH
AMERICA
100K (0.5% pop)
Suriname
100K (20% pop)
Guyana
56K (7% pop)

40. Argentina is home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the
South America. Over the next 20 years, Argentina is expected to have
the third largest-number of Muslims in the Americas. The King Fahd
Islamic Cultural Center in Buenos Aires is home to the largest mosque
in Latin America.1 There are an estimated one million Muslims living in
Argentina. 2 

41. Argentina
•With the exception of Suriname, Guyana,
Argentina has the largest Muslim population
•
The numbers vary but there anywhere from 600K-1Million+ Muslims in Argentina

42. Brazil
• Brazil has from 34K to 204,000 Muslims and is
expected to grow to 227,000 by 2030
•
Sao Paulo has the largest and oldest
community followed by Rio De Janero and
smaller towns like Florianopolis

43. Venezuela
•Venezuela has 95,000 Muslims and will grow
to 121,200 by 2030
•.5 Venezuela is home to 100,000 Muslims. The
capital, Caracas has the second largest
mosque on the continent, the Ibrahim Ibin
Abdul Aziz Al-Ibrahim mosque.

44. Peru
• Lima, Peru has a population of 5,000
Muslims; this number has remained fairly the
same over the past 30 years. There are two
main mosques in Peru, one located in the
capital and the other in the southern city of
Tacna; prayers are offered in both Spanish and
Arabic. Tacna is also home to an Islamic school
for children.

45. World Distribution of Muslims
Africa 308,660,000 27.4%
Asia 778,362,000 69.1%
Europe 32,032,000 2.8%
Latin America 1,356,000 0.1%
North America 5,530,000 0.5%

World 1,126,325,000 100%
Source: Britannica Yearbook, 1997

47. Monotheistic Tradition
•Islam literally means achieving peace with
oneself and one’s environment through
submission to God
•It is seen as a continuation of the previous
monotheistic teachings, particularly Judaism
and Christianity (the people of the Book)
•
The Qur’an confirms the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel as divinely revealed scriptures before the Qur’an

48. Islamic Values
Monotheism and commitment to one God
Education and Literacy
Modesty and Chastity
Honesty, Trustworthiness, Humility
Family as a basic unit of society
Consultation and Consensus
Purity of intent and action

49. It’s hard to encapsulate a
whole continent and faith
in one presentation.
Check out the references
for more details

50. References
•Islam in Latin America
•http://www.sbts.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2011/09/4_sbjt-v15-n2_sills-baggett.pdf

Islam in Costa Rica, Mexico, Central and South
America:
Profile of a New Religious MovementBy Sally May
http://www.prolades.com/profiles/islam_eng.pdf


South American Geography: An Overview by Patrick Vernon