Islam in Suriname

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Mosque Keizerstraat in Paramaribo Moschee-Keizerstraat-Suriname.jpg
Mosque Keizerstraat in Paramaribo

According to the official data, the Muslim population of Suriname represents about 13.9 percent of the country's total population as of 2012, which is the highest percentage of Muslims in the Americas. Though the majority belong to the Sunni sect of Islam, there are some Shi'a

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Some speculate that Muslims first came to Suriname as slaves from West Africa and then were converted to Christianity over time, even though there is little proof for these speculations. The ancestors of the actual Muslim population came to the country as indentured laborers from India and Indonesia, from whom today most Muslims in Suriname are descended.

Because Islam came to Suriname with immigrants from Indonesia (Java) and India, who brought their local form of Islam to Suriname, it is strongly influenced by these regions. Apart from descent, most Surinamese Muslims also share the same culture and speak the same languages. Suriname has a small number of Afghan Muslims and their native-born children. [1]

East-west divide

The first Javanese Muslims to come to Suriname built their mosques facing west as they did in Java. It was only until contact with Hindustani Muslims in the 1930s that people realized that Mecca is east of Suriname. This created a divide between Muslims who prayed to the east (wong ngadep ngetan) and west (wong ngadep ngulon). The east-worshipping Muslims were more orthodox in their religion, whereas those who worshipped to the west were Javanese and clung more to their traditional Javanese culture. [2]

Demographics

Distribution of Muslims in Suriname (2004) Muslim Demographics of Suriname.png
Distribution of Muslims in Suriname (2004)

There are 75,053 Muslims in Suriname, according to the 2012 census. [4] This number is up from 66,307 Muslims in 2004. The share of Muslims of Indo-Surinamese descent decreased from 17% to 13% in the same period (-4%), mainly because of emigration to the Netherlands and declining fertility rates. The share of Muslims among Maroon people doubled from 0.1% to 0.2%.[ citation needed ]

Year [5] Suriname (population)Muslim populationShare (%)
1964324,89363,80919.6%
1971379,60774,17019.5%
1980355,24069,71319.6%
2004492,82966,30713.5%
2012541,63875,05313.9%

Ethnic groups

Islam is the main religion among Javanese Surinamese people (67%) and the second largest religion among Indo-Surinamese people (13%) and multiracial people (8%).

Islam by ethnic group as of 2012
Ethnic groupPopulationMuslims %
Javanese Surinamese 73,97549,53367.0%
Indo-Surinamese 148,44318,73412.6%
Multiracial people72,3405,4717.6%
All Afro-Surinamese 206,4236210.3%
Amerindians 20,3441380.7%
Chinese Surinamese 7,8851121.4%
White Surinamese 1,665321.9%
Others and indefinable10,5614123.9%

Geographical distribution

Mosque in Paramaribo Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 20018254 Een gebedsdienst in een moskee van Hindoestaanse moslims, Paramaribo-Noord.jpg
Mosque in Paramaribo

Commewijne District has the highest share of Muslims (mostly Javanese Surinamese), followed by Nickerie District and Wanica District (mostly Indo-Surinamese).

Share of Muslims by district according to 2004 Census
DistrictPercent of Muslims
Commewijne District 40.4%
Nickerie 22.5%
Wanica 21.7%
Saramacca 18.8%
Para 11.3%
Coronie 11.0%
Paramaribo 9.4%
Marowijne 6.8%
Brokopondo 0.2%
Sipaliwini 0.1%
Suriname 13.5%

International

Suriname (since 1996) and Guyana (since 1998) are the only countries in the Americas which are member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. [6]

Notable Muslims

See also

Related Research Articles

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Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, sometimes considered part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a medium level of human development; its economy is heavily dependent on its abundant natural resources, namely bauxite, gold, petroleum, and agricultural products. Suriname is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the United Nations, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Suriname</span>

This is a demography of the population of Suriname, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javanese language</span> Austronesian language

Javanese is a Malayo-Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family spoken primarily by the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, Indonesia. There are also pockets of Javanese speakers on the northern coast of western Java. It is the native language of more than 68 million people.

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Hinduism is a minority religion in South America, which is followed by even less than 1% of the total continent's population. Hinduism is found in several countries, but is strongest in the Indo-Caribbean populations of Guyana and Suriname. There are about 320,000 Hindus in South America, chiefly the descendants of Indian indentured laborers in the Guianas. There are about 185,000 Hindus in Guyana, 120,000 in Suriname, and some others in French Guiana. In Guyana and Suriname, Hindus form the second largest religion and in some regions and districts, Hindus form the majority. Though in recent times, due to influence of Hindu culture the number of Hindus converts have increased in other countries in South America, including Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Guyana</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism in the Netherlands</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indo-Surinamese</span> Surinamese people with ancestry from the Indian subcontinent

Indo-Surinamese, Indian-SurinameseorHindustani Surinamese are nationals of Suriname who trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent. Their ancestors were indentured labourers brought by the Dutch and the British to the Dutch colony of Suriname, beginning in 1873 and continuing during the British Raj. Per the 2012 Census of Suriname, 148,443 citizens of Suriname are of Indo-Surinamese origin, constituting 27.4% of the total population, making them the largest ethnic group in Suriname on an individual level. They are a subgroup of Asian Surinamese and Indo-Caribbean people.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Suriname</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koewarasan</span> Resort in Wanica District, Suriname

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surinamese people</span> Ethnic group

Surinamese people are people who identify with the country of Suriname. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Surinamese, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Surinamese.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in the Americas</span>

Islam is a minority religion in all of the countries and territories of the Americas, around 1% of North America population are Muslims, and 0.1% of Latin America and Caribbean population are Muslims.

Asian Surinamese, are Surinamese people of Asian descent. Asian migrants to Suriname came mostly from South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Historically, Asian Surinamese have been present in the country since the 19th century, the majority of which are descended from indentured labourers that were brought to Suriname after the abolition of slavery as replacements for African slaves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indonesia–Suriname relations</span> Bilateral relations

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">India–Suriname relations</span> Bilateral relations

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism in Suriname</span>

Hinduism in Suriname is the second-largest religion. According to ARDA, there are 129,440 Hindus in Suriname as of 2015, constituting 23.15% of the population. Suriname has the second largest percentage of Hindus in the Western Hemisphere, after Guyana (24.8%).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javanese diaspora</span> People of Javanese ethnicity residing outside Indonesia

The Javanese diaspora is the demographic group of descendants of ethnic Javanese who emigrated from the Indonesian island of Java to other parts of the world. The Javanese diaspora includes a significant population in Suriname, with over 13% of the country's population being of Javanese ancestry. Other major enclaves are found in French Guiana, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Caledonia, Singapore, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dance in Suriname</span> Dancing in the country of Suriname

Dance in Suriname is practiced from the amateur to the professional level for cultural, social and spiritual reasons, among others. Suriname has a variety of traditional and contemporary dance styles which have developed from the cultures of its ethnic groups. In addition, several foreign popular styles have been adopted from the West, the greater Caribbean, Java and Bollywood.

South Asians in the Netherlands, also referred to as South Asian Dutch or Dutch South Asians, are citizens or residents of the Netherlands whose ancestry traces back to South Asia. They are a subcategory of Dutch Asians.

References

  1. "The Afghan muslims of Guyana and Suriname".
  2. Hoefte, Rosemarijn (2015). "Locating Mecca: Religious and Political Discord in the Javanese Community in Pre-Independence Suriname". In Yelvington, Kevin A.; Khan, Aisha (eds.). Islam and the Americas. University Press of Florida. pp. 69–91. ISBN   978-0-8130-6013-2.
  3. "Censusstatistieken 2004" (PDF). Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  4. "Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek" (PDF).
  5. "Muslim Population in the Americas: 1950 – 2020" (PDF). p. 7.
  6. "Member States of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation". Archived from the original on 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2013-07-18.

Further reading