Islam is a minority religion in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

. All Muslims in the country belong to the minority

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 ...

sect.International Religious Freedom Report 2009: Marshall Islands
United States

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs (DRL) is a bureau within the United States Department of State. The bureau is under the purview of the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. DRL's resp ...

(September 14, 2007). The Ahmadiyya mosque in

Uliga Uliga ( Marshallese: , ) is an island district in the Marshall Islands, located in the eastern portion of Majuro Atoll. Along with Delap and Djarrit, it forms a town known as "Delap-Uliga-Djarrit Delap-Uliga-Djarrit (DUD, mh, Teļap-Wūlik ...

, first constructed in 2012 in the Marshall Islands is the only mosque in

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

's subregion of

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

. According to a 2009 report there were about 10 Muslims in the Marshall Islands, although more recent reports indicate about 150 believers in the country.

History

Islam entered the country in the 1990s when Fijian missionaries were sent to the country by the Ahmadiyya movement. In 2001, the religion was officially recognized by the country and in 2012, the community built Marshall Islands first mosque, named Baet-Ul-Ahad Mosque, in the town of

, in the east coast of the

Majuro atoll Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...

. While Majuro has the only mosque in the Marshall Islands, Ahmadi Muslim communities exist in atolls around the country.

Modern community

Ahmadi Muslims have had a growing presence in the Marshall Islands for a number of years. However, it was not until 2012, when the Muslim community decided to construct Marshall Islands' only mosque, that it began to draw attention from religious and political figures. In light of unfavourable public opinion about Islam in general, the Muslim community's right to exist in an overwhelmingly Christian Marshall Islands, was questioned in a number of live broadcast sessions in the Marshallese parliament. This was despite Marshall Islands' constitution that guarantees religious freedom. The Ahmadi Muslims play an active role in the life of local Marshallese, by working with local youth groups, the Ministry of Health and through the international charitable trust, Humanity First.

Mosques

* Baet-Ul-Ahad Mosque

References

External links

Interview with Imam Matiullah Joyia
{{Oceania topic, Ahmadiyya in, state=collapsed

History

Modern community

Mosques

See also

References

External links