Islam in Cuba

Cuba is a majority Christian nation, with Islam being one of the smallest minority faiths in the country. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center report, there were then 10,000 Muslims in Cuba who constitute less than 0.1% of the population.[1] As of 2012, most of the 10,000 Cuban Muslims were converts to the religion.[2]

At a certain point, there were many Muslim students entering the nation of Cuba interested in studying at Cuba's prestigious schools. The number of students was approximately 1500–2000. That group included students of Pakistani origin, among others. It is known that the dominant population that went to study in Cuba was the Pakistani students, who were about 936 in strength. In 2001, Sheikh Muhammad bin Nassir Al-Aboudy, the Assistant Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL), traveled to Cuba to obtain permission from the Cuban authorities to establish an Islamic organization that would support Cuba's Muslim community. Among the other aims of the proposed organization would be the construction of mosques and the dissemination of Islamic culture among Muslims.

As of July 2015, the Turkish Religious Affairs Foundation had opened the first prayer room for Cuban Muslims and the first mosque in Cuba was under construction with Turkish funding.[3]

  1. ^ http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Demographics/muslimspopulation.pdf[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ John Andrew Morrow (15 Mar 2012). Religion and Revolution: Spiritual and Political Islam in Ernesto Cardenal. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 116. ISBN 9781443838337.
  3. ^ Şafak, Yeni. "Local Muslim Cubans get first prayer room". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-12-31.