Curated by Javed Mohammed

2016

Islam in South America A Cultural history

Muslim have a long presence in

Latin America

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

But first a little history

Native Americans - first to settle Latin America

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

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”

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

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

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.

• Early culture hearths – traditional cultures are still preserved

and many Native Americans still live in Mexico, Central America, Ecuador, Peru & Bolivia

Blending of Peoples

And now a little geography and facts

SOUTH AMERICA

Distribution of Population in Latin America, 2004

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

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.

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.

And back to some Muslim history

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

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

More history

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

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

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

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

• 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

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

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

Enough history here

Let’s talk about Muslims in Latin America

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

Clarification

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.

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

600K-1M (1% pop)

LARGEST MUSLIM POPULATIONS IN SOUTH AMERICA 100K (0.5% pop)

Suriname 100K (20% pop)

Guyana 56K (7% pop)

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

It’s hard to encapsulate a whole continent and faith

in one presentation. Check out the references

for more details

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