Islam in Argentina
Encyclopedia
Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
in Argentina is represented by one of Latin America's largest Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
minorities. Although accurate statistics on religion are not available (because the national census does not solicit religious data) the actual size of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
's Muslim community is estimated around 1% of the total population (400,000 to 500,000 members) according to the International Religious Freedom Report 2010.. The Pew Research Centre estimates about 1,000,000 Muslims in Argentina.http://features.pewforum.org/muslim-population/?sort=Pop2010
Early Muslim immigration
Because of the strong legacy left by Moorish Muslims on the Iberian peninsula, there were Muslims of Moorish and African descent who explored the Americas with Spanish and Portuguese explorers.The 20th century saw an influx of Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
migrants to the country, mostly from Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. It is estimated that today there are about 3.5 million Argentinians of Arab descent. The majority of these Arab immigrants were Christians and Sephardic Jews, and though accurate information is unavailable, probably less than a quarter of Arab migrants were actually Muslim. The descendants of Arab Jews are more likely to identify themselves as Jewish rather than Arab today.
Shi`a Islam in Argentina
There is a large shi`a community in this country mainly located in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Tucuman
Tucumán
San Miguel de Tucumán is the capital of the Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina at from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth biggest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario and Mendoza, and it is also the most important city of Northern Argentina...
, Rosario,Mar del Plata and spread around the different provinces.There are three shi`a islamic mosques in the country.The most representative religious authorities are: Hujjat al-islam Feisal Morhell, Hujjatulislam Abdulkarim Paz, sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
Abdallah Madina, Sheikh Ali Abdurrahman Pohl and Sheikh Mahmud Aid, all native from Argentina.
Islamic institutions in Argentina
There is a prominent mosque on Alberti St. in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, in the city center, that was built in 1989 by local Argentine Muslims. There are also several mosques in other cities and regions throughout the country, most notably the Triple Frontier
Triple Frontier
The Triple Frontier is a tri-border area along the junction of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil, where the Iguazú and Paraná rivers converge. Near the convergence are the cities of Ciudad del Este, Alto Paraná; Puerto Iguazú, Misiones and Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná...
(the tri-border area along the junction of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay).
The King Fahd Islamic Cultural Center, the largest mosque in South America, was completed in 1996 with the help of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques , a historical term, was a pious title taken by the Ayyubids, the Mamluk Sultans of Egypt, and the Ottoman Sultans; it has been revived by modern Saudi kings.-Saudi monarchy:...
, on a piece of land measuring 20,000 m². The total land area granted by the Argentine government measures 34,000 m², and was offered by President Carlos Menem
Carlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem is an Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He is currently an Argentine National Senator for La Rioja Province.-Early life:...
following his visit to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
in 1992. The project cost around US$30 million, and includes a mosque, library, two schools, a park, is located in the middle-class district of Palermo, Buenos Aires
Palermo, Buenos Aires
Palermo is a neighborhood, or barrio of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. It is located in the northeast of the city, bordering the barrios of Belgrano to the north, Almagro and Recoleta to the south, Villa Crespo and Colegiales to the west and the Río de la Plata river to the east. With a total...
.
The Islamic Organization of Latin America
Islamic Organization of Latin America
The Islamic Organization of Latin America , also known as the Organización Islámica Para América Latina , headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is considered the most active organization in Latin America in promoting Islamic affiliated endeavors...
(IOLA), headquartered in Argentina, is considered the most active organization in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
in promoting Islamic affiliated endeavors. The IOLA holds events to promote the unification of Muslims living in Latin America, as well as the propagation of Islam.
See also
- Arab ArgentineArab ArgentineAn Arab Argentine is an Argentine citizen or resident alien whose ancestry traces back to any of various waves of immigrants, largely of Arab cultural and linguistic heritage and/or identity, originating mainly from what is now Lebanon and Syria but also there are some individuals from the...
- Arab BrazilianArab BrazilianAn Arab Brazilian is a Brazilian citizen born in an Arabic country, or a Brazilian-born person of Arab descent, who is aware of such ancestry and remains connected, in some degree, to Arabic culture.- Immigration to Brazil :...
- Islamic Organization of Latin AmericaIslamic Organization of Latin AmericaThe Islamic Organization of Latin America , also known as the Organización Islámica Para América Latina , headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is considered the most active organization in Latin America in promoting Islamic affiliated endeavors...
- Religion in ArgentinaReligion in ArgentinaA majority of the population of Argentina is nominally Roman Catholic, however, a very significant fact is that 61.1% of Argentines said to be related to God "on their own way", 72.9% said to "never" or "rarely" attend ceremonies of worship....