El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
is a predominantly
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
country, with adherents
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
being a minuscule minority. Due to
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
nature of the country's constitution,
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
are free to proselytize and build places of worship in the country.
There is a small
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
community in
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
, largely consisting of Yemeni Arabs. However, the majority of the Palestinian Arab population in the country are Christian. It is estimated that there are about 1000-1500 Muslims in El Salvador, however the figure can reach up to 18,000.
There is an Islamic Cultural Association operated by the
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
community, named ''Fatimah Az-Zahra''. They published the first Islamic magazine in Central America: ''Revista Biblioteca Islámica''. Additionally, they are credited with providing the first and only Islamic library dedicated to spreading Islamic culture in the country.
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
Muslim Community also exists in the country.
Background
20th-century immigration
The arrival of families emigrating from Arab countries (
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
and
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
) primarily occurred during the early 20th century. However, the majority of these Middle Eastern immigrants were Christian - of the few Muslim families, little or nothing has been documented.
Centers
In 1994, the first center of Islamic worship was inaugurated in El Salvador, named ''Centro Islámico Árabe Salvadoreño'', founded in the capital city of
San Salvador
San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...
by a group of Salvadoran nationals and individuals of
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
ancestry. In 2004, a second mosque was inaugurated in the capital by Shiites, they named it ''Fátimah Az-Zahra'', in honor of
Fatimah
Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, th ...
, the daughter of the
Islamic prophet
Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God in Islam, God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. So ...
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
from his first wife
Khadija
Khadija, Khadeeja or Khadijah ( ar, خديجة, Khadīja) is an Arabic feminine given name, the name of Khadija bint Khuwaylid, first wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In 1995, it was one of the three most popular Arabic feminine names in t ...
. They began diffusing Islamic literature through the Internet, inaugurating the country's first Islamic Website that includes the publication of a quarterly magazine and that currently counts more than 100 digitized Islamic books. In 2007, a third mosque, called the
Dar-Ibrahim Mosque
The Dar-Ibrahim Mosque ( es, Mezquita Dar-Ibrahim) is a mosque in San Salvador, El Salvador.
History
The mosque was constructed in 2007.
Architecture
The mosque resembles the shape of a house without any dome or minaret.
See also
* Islam in ...
, was inaugurated in
San Salvador
San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...
.
The Islamic Centers are generally involved in performing the Friday congregational prayers known as ''
Salaat-al-Jummah'', distributing literature, charitable activities, online propagation and donating informative materials on Islam to various religious and cultural institutions throughout the country. For example, the ''Fátimah Az-Zahra'' Islamic Center provides introductory classes on Islamic doctrine and history. These classes, which are open to the general public, are not solely religious in nature: courses in foreign languages and efforts to improve adult literacy are also offered.
Revista Comunica de la UCA
Mosques
* Dar-Ibrahim Mosque
The Dar-Ibrahim Mosque ( es, Mezquita Dar-Ibrahim) is a mosque in San Salvador, El Salvador.
History
The mosque was constructed in 2007.
Architecture
The mosque resembles the shape of a house without any dome or minaret.
See also
* Islam in ...
See also
*Islam by country
Adherents of Islam constitute the world's second largest religious group. According to an estimation in 2022, Islam has 1.97 billion adherents, making up about 25% of the world population. A projection by the PEW suggests that Muslims number ...
Notes
References
El Islam en El Salvador
*Oficina de Divulgación Islámica, Fátimah Az-Zahra
*Pedro Escalante & Abraham Daura Molina (2001), ''Sobre Moros y Cristianos, y otros Arabismos en El Salvador'', Embajada de España en El Salvador y Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional, San Salvador, ES pp. 17
Archivo Electrónico de la Prensa Gráfica
correspondiente al 17 de febrero de 2008
*Mauricio Pineda Cruz, Carlos (July 2005)
''Al-Qaeda's Unlikely Allies in Central America''
Terrorism Monitor Vol. 3, Issue 1
*Marín-Guzmán, Roberto (2000). ''A Century of Palestinian Immigration into Central America: A study of their economic and cultural contributions''. San Jose, CR: Universidad de Costa Rica.
*Pagano, Néstor y Amoretti, Marí
''Los Imames de la Buena Guia de la familia del Profeta Muhammad''
Biblioteca Islámica Fátimah Az-Zahra
*Pagano, Nésto
''Jesús, Hijo de María En el Corán y la Tradición''
External links
El Sitio de Los Musulmanes Shiítas de El Salvador
*Oficina de Divulgación Islámica, San Salvador, San Salvador
Centro Islámico
{{Islam in the Americas