Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

is an overwhelmingly

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 ...

majority country, with adherents of

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. Because of the secular 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. Islam first entered the country in 1987, when a

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian missionary belonging to the Ahmadiyya movement visited

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

on a reconnaissance trip lasting three years. Today, there are two major Islamic branches in the country, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and

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 disagre ...

. According to a 2007 report by the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

's International Religious Freedom Report, there are approximately 350 Muslims in the country. However, the

Australian Journal of International Affairs The ''Australian Journal of International Affairs'' is an academic journal that was established in 1947 as ''Australian Outlook''. It is published by Routledge on behalf of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. Its forerunner was the ...

suggests that there may be as many as 1,000 Ahmadiyya in the country alone, or 0.14% of the population.

Subgroups

Ahmadiyya

Islam was first introduced by an Ahmadi Muslim missionary, Hafiz Jibrail from Ghana. He visited the country from 1987 for three years and managed to draw a handful of converts to Islam, after which he left for Ghana. The Community then continued to flourish and practice their faith for over a decade without external contact from members of the international Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. In the years 2000 to 2005, the Community sent another missionary, as a result of which the Community grew to approximately 1,000 members. The Community is headquartered in

Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lie ...

, the capital of Solomon Islands, and is present in villages on Guadalcanal, the Russells,

Savo Savo may refer to: Languages * Savo dialect, forms of the Finnish language spoken in Savonia * Savo language, an endangered language spoken on Savo People * Savo (given name), a masculine given name from southern Europe (includes a list of people ...

, and

Bellona Bellona may refer to: Places *Bellona, Campania, a ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta, Italy *Bellona Reef, a reef in New Caledonia *Bellona Island, an island in Rennell and Bellona Province, Solomon Islands Ships * HMS ''Bellona'' (1760), a 74 ...

islands.

Sunni

Sunni Muslims first entered the country in 1995 as a result of

dawah Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات). Etymology The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...

efforts from members of the Tablighi Jamaat. Sunni Muslims have publicly differentiated from Ahmadi Muslims and claim to represent the 'true' orthodox Islam. The Community claims to have more members than the Ahmadiyya Community.

References

External links

Pacific: Islam making inroads in Melanesia
{{Oceania in topic, Islam in Religion in the Solomon Islands