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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Brazil
Islam
in
Brazil
was first practiced
by
African slaves.
The early Brazilian
Muslims led the
largest slave revolt
in Brazil, which
then had the largest
slave population of
the world. The next
significant
migration of Muslims
was by
Arabs from
Syria and
Lebanon. The
number of Muslims in
Brazil according to
the 2000 census was
27,239.[1]
Africans bring Islam
to Brazil
|
Capoeira
or the Dance
of War
by Johann
Moritz
Rugendas,
1835 |
The history
of Muslims
in Brazil
begins with
the
importation
of African
slave labor
to the
country.
Brazil
obtained 37%
of all
African
slaves
traded, and
more than 3
million
slaves were
sent to this
one country.
Starting
around 1550,
the
Portuguese
began to
trade
African
slaves to
work the
sugar
plantations
once the
native
Tupi people
deteriorated.
Scholars
claim that
Brazil
received
more
enslaved
Muslims than
anywhere
else in the
Americas.[2]
|
Malê
Revolt
The
Muslim uprising of
1835 in
Bahia
illustrates the
condition and legacy
of resistance among
the community of
Malês, as
African Muslims were
known in 19th
century Bahia.
Muslim African
tribes are
Ful,
Mandinka,
Yao, and
Makonde.
Beginning on the
night of
January 24,
1835, and
continuing the
following morning, a
group of African
born slaves occupied
the streets of
Salvador and for
more than three
hours they
confronted soldiers
and armed civilians.[3][4]
Even
though it was short
lived, the revolt
was the largest
slave revolt in
Brazil and the
largest urban slave
revolt in the
Americas.[5]
About 300 Africans
took part and the
estimated death toll
ranges from fifty to
a hundred, although
exact numbers are
unknown. This number
increases even more
if the wounded who
died in prisons or
hospitals are
included.[4]
Many participants
were sentenced to
death, prison,
whippings, or
deportation. The
rebellion had
nationwide
repercussions.
Fearing the example
might be followed,
the Brazilian
authorities began to
watch the malês
very carefully and
in subsequent years
intensive efforts
were made to force
conversions to
Catholicism and
erase the popular
memory of and
affection towards
Islam.[6]
However, the African
Muslim community was
not erased
overnight, and as
late as 1910 it is
estimated there were
still some 100,000
African Muslims
living in Brazil.[7]
Muslim immigrants in
Brazil
Following the forced
assimilation of the
Afro-Brazilian
Muslim community,
the next period of
Islam in the country
was primarily the
result of Muslim
immigration from the
Middle East and
South East Asia.
Some 11 million
Syrian and
Lebanese (mostly
Christians)
immigrants live
throughout Brazil.[8]
The biggest
concentration of
Muslims is found in
the greater
São Paulo
region.
Architecture and
cuisine also bear
the trademarks of
the culture brought
to the hemisphere by
the Arabs. Not even
fast food has
escaped the
immigrant influence,
as the second
largest fast food
chain in Brazil is
Habib's, which
serves Arab food.
And the diversity of
influence stretches
to businesses such
as the textile
industry, which is
dominated by Arab
merchants. The São
Paulo city council
even has a Muslim
Councillor by the
name of Mohammad
Murad, who is a
lawyer by
profession. A number
of mosques dot the
greater São Paulo
area. The oldest and
most popular of
these is found on
Av. Do Estado. Since
its establishment
over seventy years
ago, the mosque has
added a Quranic
school, library,
kitchen and meeting
hall for various
functions.
Today
Mosque in
Cuiabá,
Brazil. |
Number of
Muslims
According
to the
Brazilian
census
of 2000[1]
there were
27,239
Muslims
living in
the country,
primarily
concentrated
in the
states of
São Paulo
and
Paraná.
Muslim
community
leaders in
Brazil
estimated
that there
were between
700,000 and
three
million
Muslims,[9]
with the
lower figure
representing
those who
actively
practiced
their
religion,
while the
higher
estimate
would
include also
nominal
members.
The rise of
Islam in
Brazil
As has been
the case in
many of the
larger
metropolitan
mosques in
South
America,
foreign
assistance
and
individual
effort have
played major
roles in the
sustainability
of the
mosques in
the greater
São Paulo
area. For
example the
Imam of the
Av. Do
Estado
Mosque is
from the
Middle East
and often
Imams are
chosen
jointly by
the Mosques'
management
committees
and the Arab
governments
that pay for
the Imam's
services. |
Ismail Hatia, a
South African who
came to Brazil in
1956, built a mosque
in
Campinas two
years ago. Hatia,
who also runs a
language school,
felt that the
approximately 50
Muslim families in
Campinas were in
dire need of some
community
organization to help
provide cohesion and
direction for the
Muslims. The
Campinas mosque now
holds regular Friday
juma prayers and
is in the process of
establishing regular
night prayers on
Monday, Tuesday,
Friday and Saturday.
The mosque is
currently in need of
a full time
Imam whose
salary would be paid
for by the
Saudi Arabian
government.
A
recent trend has
been the increase in
conversions to Islam
among non-Arab
citizens.[9]
A recent Muslim
source estimated
that there are close
to 10,000 Muslim
converts living in
Brazil.[8]
Indeed, Brazil may
have become a hub
for Islam in Latin
America. During the
past 30 years, Islam
has become
increasingly
noticeable in
Brazilian society by
building not only
mosques, but also
libraries, arts
centres, and schools
and also by funding
newspapers.[10]
The growth of Islam
within Brazil is
demonstrated in the
fact that 2 of the 3
existing Portuguese
versions of the
Qur'an were
created by Muslim
translators in São
Paulo. |
