 The Bab al-Islam Mosque in Tacna | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 5,000 (0.005%) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mostly in Lima and other urban areas | |
| Religions | |
| Sunni Islam | |
| Languages | |
|
Peru is a predominantly Christian country, with Muslims being a very small minority. Due to secular nature of the Peru's constitution, Muslims are free to proselytize and build places of worship in the country. The statistics for Islam in Peru estimate a total Muslim population of 5,000, largely based in the capital city Lima; this represents 0.015% out of total population of 32,555,000 inhabitants.
Islam was historically introduced by Spanish Moors, although today's population is almost entirely of Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian origin.
History
In 1560, the Spanish rulers of Peru sentenced Lope de la Pena, described as a "Moor from Guadalajara", to life imprisonment for the crime of "having practiced and spread Islam" in Cuzco and was also required to wear the Sanbenito around his neck for his entire imprisonment. Other sources give his name as Alvaro Gonzalez.
His colleague, the mulatto "son of a Spaniard and a black woman", Luis Solano was similarly convicted of spreading Islam, but was executed for the offence.
As persecution increased in the Spanish dependencies, Muslims ceased identifying themselves by their religion and became nominal Christians; eventually Islam disappeared from the country entirely.
In 1911, Stuart McNairn, a British missionary based in Cusco, wrote about "God's call to His Church to go in and possess the land Africa, in view of the great Moslem advance. We must take the Light to the Dark Continent before the apostles of Mohammedanism enshroud it in yet greater darkness".
Islam was reintroduced to Peru in the 1940s during the Palestinian exodus by Palestinian and Lebanese Muslims fleeing from the Arab-Israeli war.
In 1974, the Nation of Islam, through its counterpart in Belize, began importing Pacific Whiting fish from Peru to the United States, where it was sold as an Islamic alternative to mainstream fish markets.
A Peruvian by the name of Louis Castro converted to Islam and later studied at the Islamic University of Madinah in the 1980s. In 1993, the Muslim community opened a masjid in the Jesús María District of the capital, but it was later closed due to financial difficulty. Another location was opened in the Villa El Salvador district, but met with similar difficulties and also closed.
Present circumstances
| Year | Population | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 5,000 | — |
| 1992 | 15,000 | +200.0% |
| Source: | ||
There are a handful of Islamic organizations in Peru, including the Asociación Islámica del Perú, the Musulmanes Peruanos of Naqshbandi Haqqani tariqa and Asociación Islam Peru in Lima. A group of Muslims have also set up a webpage www.IslamPeru.org
In 2007, there were unsubstantiated claims that Islamist militant sympathisers were helping arrange entrance to the United States through their country.
The Latin American Muslim Unity (LAMU) organization, based in Fresno, California, United States, has drawn up a proposal for the first Islamic orphanage in Peru, although it has not yet materialized.
In January 2011, Peru joined a number of other Latin American countries in announcing its recognition of the State of Palestine as a legitimate nation. This decade also marked a migration of Muslims from Bangladesh and other Asian countries to Peru as well.
See also
References
- ^ Shaikh, Farzana. "Islam and Islamic groups: a worldwide reference guide", 1992
- ^ Cook, Matt (March 2007). "Islam in Latin America" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.
- Encyclopedia of African-American culture and history: the Black experience in the Americas, Volume 4, page 1561
- Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas, Page 147
- Central Institute of Islamic Research, Pakistan, Islamic studies, Volume 45, Issues 1-2, 2006
- ^ Lea, Henry Charles. "Inquisition of the Spanish Dependencies", Page 321
- ^ Bowser, Frederick P. "The African Slave in Colonial Peru", Page 251
- Louis Cardaillac, "Le Probleme Morisque en Amerique, Page 293
- The African Slave in Colonial Peru 1524-1650 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1974), 251.
- ^ LAMU, History of Islam in Peru
- Wherry, E. M. "Islam and Missions", 1911
- Curtis, Edward E. "Black Muslim Religion in the Nation of Islam", Page 105
- Ahsani, S. A. H. (1984). "Muslims in Latin America: A Survey—Part I.". Journal of the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs (5): 458.
- http://www.livinginperu.com/news-4948-law-order-us-target-muslim-terrorist-o
- "Peru recognizes Palestinian state". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2022-12-15.
External links
- Information about Islam en Perú (Spanish)