200px, The Mosque of Umar is the third largest mosque in Latin America.
Islam in
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
is a minority religion, with most Colombians professing to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
(
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
). According to a 2018 study conducted Pew Research Center, the size of the Colombian Muslim population ranges from about 85,000–100,000 people out of a total population of 50.4 million. In 2011, it was estimated that Colombian Muslim community numbered just 10,000 people
or (0.02% of the total Colombian population). The Muslim population of Colombia has reportedly been growing, mostly due to conversion. Most Colombian Muslims are converts or Muslim immigrants from the
Arab World
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
.
The majority of converts to Islam in Colombia (70%) are women.
There are a number of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
ic communities in
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
, the most important of which, according to their size, are in
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
,
Maicao and
Buenaventura. There are also Islamic centers in
San Andrés,
Nariño Department,
Santa Marta
Santa Marta (), officially Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta ("Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta"), is a city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena ...
and
Cartagena. There are also primary and secondary Islamic schools in Bogotá and
Maicao. Maicao plays host to the continent's third largest mosque, the
Mosque of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab
The Mosque of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab ( Spanish transcription Omar Iban Al-Jattab) is a mosque in Maicao, La Guajira, Colombia. It is the third largest mosque in Latin America. It is locally known as "La Mezquita" ("The Mosque"), simply because it i ...
. Most Muslims in Colombia are descendants of Arab immigrants from Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine during the late 19th to early 20th century. The Afro-Colombian Muslims in Buenaventura, Colombia's main Pacific port city, have over the years embraced the teachings of the
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930.
A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...
, mainstream
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disag ...
, and the
Shia Islam
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...
denomination.
The
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 ...
Community also has a presence in the country.
Mosques
*
Abou Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque
*
Mosque of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab
The Mosque of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab ( Spanish transcription Omar Iban Al-Jattab) is a mosque in Maicao, La Guajira, Colombia. It is the third largest mosque in Latin America. It is locally known as "La Mezquita" ("The Mosque"), simply because it i ...
See also
*
Arab diaspora in Colombia
*
Lebanese Colombian
Lebanese Colombians are Colombians of Lebanese descent. Most of the Lebanese community's forebears immigrated to Colombia from the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for economic, political and religious reasons. The first ...
*
Palestinian Colombian
*
Religion in Colombia
Religion in Colombia is dominated by various branches of Christianity and is an expression of the different cultural heritages in the Colombian culture including the Spanish colonization, the Native Amerindian and the Afro-Colombian, among o ...
References
Society of Colombia
Col
In geomorphology, a col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks.Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984, p. 103. . It may also be called a gap. Particularly rugged and forbidding co ...
{{Colombia-stub
