Islam in the Americas

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

Suriname has the highest percentage of Muslims in its population for the region, with 13.9% or 75,053 individuals, according to its 2012 census. ^[2] However, the United States, in which estimates vary due to a lack of a census question, is generally believed to have the largest population, with approximately 3.45 million Muslims living there, ^[3] about 1.1 percent of the total U.S. population. ^[4]

Most Muslims in the former British Caribbean came from the Indian subcontinent as indentured servants following the abolition of slavery. ^[5] This movement also reached Suriname, although other Muslims there moved from a separate Dutch colony, which is now Indonesia. In the United States, the largest Muslim ethnic group is of white Arabs from the Middle East. ^[6] However, in South America, the Muslim population is mainly composed of upper-class immigrants from the Levant, including those from Lebanon and Syria. ^[7]

Population by country

The population of Muslims varies across the Americas. Below is the percentage of every American country that was Muslim in 2010, according to a Pew Research Center estimate: ^[8]

Muslims among total population

Country	Estimated % (in 2010) [9]
Suriname	15.2
Guyana	7.0(2012)
Trinidad and Tobago	5.9
Canada	4.9(2021)
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	1.5
British Virgin Islands	1.2
Bermuda	1.1
Argentina	2.14 [10]
Barbados	1.0
French Guiana	0.9
United States	1.34
Panama	0.7
Antigua and Barbuda	0.6
Cayman Islands	0.4
Guadeloupe	0.4
Anguilla Anguilla	0.3
Falkland Islands	0.3
Grenada	0.3
St. Kitts and Nevis	0.3
Venezuela	0.3
Aruba	0.2
Caribbean Netherlands	0.2
Curaçao	0.2
Martinique	0.2
Sint Maarten	0.2
St. Pierre and Miquelon	0.2
Bahamas	0.1
Belize	0.1
Dominica	0.1
Honduras	0.1
St. Lucia	0.1
U.S. Virgin Islands	0.1
Bolivia	<0.1
Brazil	<0.1
Chile	<0.1
Colombia	<0.1
Costa Rica	<0.1
Cuba	<0.1
Dominican Republic	<0.1
Ecuador	<0.1
El Salvador	<0.1
Greenland	<0.1
Haiti	<0.1
Jamaic	<0.1
Mexico	<0.1
Montserrat	<0.1
Paraguay	<0.1
Peru	<0.1
Puerto Rico	<0.1
Turks and Caicos Islands	<0.1
Uruguay	<0.1

Immigrant Muslims in America

During the rule of the Spanish and Portuguese in the Americas, Islam and any religion beyond Catholic Christianity were strictly forbidden. Some of the first Muslims to enter America were Wolof (Jelofe) slaves of Senegal who were introduced to Hispaniola in 1522. ^[11] Their entry was soon banned by Casa de Contratación that regulated Spanish trade in the Americas since they were considered Moors (Moros). This did however not stop their further import since African slaves who were introduced to Spanish America had their origin and faith obscured by slave traders. ^[11] Despite the suppression of Islam some Islamic customs and beliefs appear to have transferred to the Americas such as the idea of going to heaven riding horses and bathing on Saint John's Eve. ^[12]

In regards to Immigrant Muslims in America: at first, a population of African Muslims entered the United States as slaves, and at the next stage, while the immigration laws to this country eased the conditions for accepting immigrants from all over the world, another population of Muslim people entered there. In the last 25 years, new waves of immigrants as well as the tendency of a large group of American blacks to Islam have caused an increase in the number of Muslims in America. According to one of the professors of the University of Massachusetts, USA, the number of Muslims in America is estimated to be close to four million people, and is appraised that two thirds of this population are "immigrants and their children" apart from Muslim Americans.

In 1991, more than 100,000 immigrants entered the United States legally, most of whom were people (mostly Muslim) from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt and India. Also, another unknown figure should be allocated to illegal Muslim immigrants who entered the United States this year. ^[13]

Islamic worship traditions

Sunnis in the Americas

Main article: Sunni Islam in the Americas

Shias in the Americas

Main article: Shia Islam in the Americas

The Islamic Center of America, the largest mosque in the USA, located in Michigan

Shia Muslims comprise 15-20% of Muslims in the Americas; ^[14] which is nearly 786,000 ^[15] to 2.500.000 persons in the U.S. ^[16] Shia Muslims are situated on United States. The American Shia Muslim community are from different parts of the world such as South Asia, Europe, Middle East, and East Africa. ^{[17] [18]}

The American Shia Muslim community have many activities and have founded several organization such as the Islamic Center of America and North America Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities Organization (NASIMCO). ^[19]

The first group of immigrant Shiites (Shias) migrated to the United States from Lebanon and Syria about one hundred and eighty years ago (1824-1878). These Shiite Muslims migrated to cities such as Detroit, Michigan, and Ross (California) and North Dakota. ^[20]

Sufism is the Americas

Main article: Sufism in the Americas

Other traditions

Main articles: Ahmadiyya in the United States and Ahmadiyya in Canada

See also

• Islam portal
• North America portal
• Central America portal
• South America portal

• Islam in Asia
• Islam in Europe
• Islam in Oceania
• Lists of mosques in North America
• Lists of mosques in South America
• Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

References

1. "The Global Religious Landscape" (PDF). Pewforum.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 25, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
2. 2012 Suriname Census Definitive Results Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine . Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek - Suriname.
3. "A new estimate of U.S. Muslim population". Pew Research Center. January 3, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
4. "New estimates show U.S. Muslim population continues to grow". Pew Research Center. January 3, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
5. "Demographics: Muslim population" (PDF). Pew Research Center. July 27, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
6. "Findings from Pew Research Center's 2017 survey of US muslims". Pew Research Center . July 26, 2017.
7. "Islam in the Caribbean". El Independiente.com.ar. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014.
8. "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". Pew Research Center . April 2, 2015. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
9. "National Profiles | World Religion". The Association of Religion Data Archives (the ARDA). Retrieved February 8, 2025.
10. "Argentina Report 2023". www.acninternational.org. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
11. Roa Contreras, Felipe Andrés (2010). "Negros musulmanes, esclavos y libres en la América Colonial: Cofradía de Jolofos de Lima correspondiente de la nación de los Jolofos" (PDF) (Thesis) (in Spanish). University of Chile . Retrieved February 4, 2025.
12. Salinas, Maximiliano (2005), "Las hablas populares sobre la religión en Chile (1541-1840)", in Sagredo, Rafael; Gazmuri, Cristián (eds.), Historia de la vida privada en Chile (in Spanish), vol. I: El Chile tradicional. De de la Conquista a 1840 (4th ed.), Santiago de Chile: Aguilar Chilena de Ediciones, pp. 199–229, ISBN   956-239-337-2
13. The spread of Islam in America Retrieved 4 July 2022
14. "World Shia Muslims Population". shianumbers.com. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
15. Zahid Hussain Bukhari (January 1, 2004). Muslims' Place in the American Public Square: Hope, Fears, and Aspirations. Rowman Altamira. p. 37. ISBN   978-0-7591-0613-0.
16. Shiite justice teachings in the westernmost society of the world / The ups and downs of two and a half million Shiites in America Retrieved 2 April 2023
17. Daniel Brumberg; Dina Shehata (2009). Conflict, Identity, and Reform in the Muslim World: Challenges for U.S. Engagement. US Institute of Peace Press. pp. 366–370. ISBN   978-1-60127-020-7.
18. "Mapping the Global Muslim Population". pewforum.org. October 7, 2009. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
19. Mohsen Saleh (January 1, 2009). American Foreign Policy and the Muslim World. Al Manhal. p. 179. ISBN   978-9953-500-65-2.
20. Shiism in America Retrieved in 24 June 2022