‘Largest mosque, Muslim population in South America’: Find out more about Islam in Argentina

After winning the FIFA World Cup, Argentina is in the news these days because of its football but do you know that around four lakh Muslims live in the predominantly Christian country?

Dr. Waleed Hakeem, who is known as ‘The Travelling Imam’ on Facebook, has come up with some interesting facts about Argentina.

In a detailed Facebook post, he has discussed many aspects of Muslim life in Argentina ranging from its history to availability of halaal food.

Read his complete post here:

“Did you know that ARGENTINA has the LARGEST Muslim community and largest Mosque in the ENTIRE continent of South America?!! 🇦🇷
In fact, the Argentinian Muslim community goes back 5 centuries ago, and some trace their origins to a 9th century Muslim Emirate! ☪️

Let’s check out a 2 minute summary of the story, compare Muslim rights in France and Argentina, and learn about the mosque in the photo! 🕌

When Muslims were prosecuted in Andalus during the 15th century catholic inquisitions ⛪, the majority escaped to Morocco 🇲🇦, and some escaped to the then-emerging Ottoman Empire 🇹🇷. However, a group of Muslims also decided to go as far as possible to the “newly discovered lands” in South America!
The Muslims were welcomed on the boats of the Spanish 🚢 due to their expertise in boat-building, engineering, architecture, and navigational sciences, as the Spanish themselves wouldn’t reach too far in their journey without the wealth of knowledge and experience Muslims had at the time. This helped the skilled Muslims to get spared from torture and the death penalty “back home” in Andalus! 🇪🇸

Argentina being on the Eastern-most side of the continent, made it a convenient first spot for arrival and settling 🇦🇷. The numbers were not large. The early generations held on their faith while hiding it, while part of the later generations gradually lost it and adopted Catholicism (just like some Muslim youth in the West today are gradually losing faith too).
If you need any proof of this, the second largest city in Argentina today after the capital, is called… CORDOBA! Yes, the same Cordoba that was the administrative, cultural, and educational capital of Andalus for the majority of the 8 centuries of Muslim presence! ☪️

Later in the 19th century, 2 groups started to arrive to Argentina in MASS NUMBERS:
1- The Italians 🇮🇹: who were having a civil war back home and wanted to escape to safety. The numbers were so large that today, 60% of Argentinians are ethnically Italian, which is unique on a continent that has a majority of Spanish 🇪🇸, Portuguese 🇵🇹 and indigenous people!

As many of the Italians sailed from South Italy, they traced their ancestry partially to Sicilian Muslims, who lived in Sicily from 831 to 1302! (Muslims ruled Sicily half of that period!) DNA samples today confirm the trace lineage! 🧬
2- Arabs 🇦🇪: running away from the turbulent last days of the Ottoman Empire against the oppressive French republic 🇫🇷 and the British empire 🇬🇧, during the 19th century.

In fact, over 4 million Argentinian citizens today are ethnically Arab! (About 10%) While the majority of them are Christian Arabs, the Muslims are approximately over 1 million!
Worth noting, the most prominent Argentinian president, Carlos Menem, was born a Muslim to Syrian parents 🇸🇾. Later in his life, he converted to Catholicism to pursue his political career!

Today, the mosque you see in the photo is the King Fahd Islamic Centre built in 1996 in the capital Buenos Aires 🕌. Having a library 📚, 2 Islamic Schools 🏫, a park 🌳, and costing $30 million, it is the largest on the continent, and the centre for Dawah for a growing community!
Halal meat? 🥩 Yes, Argentinian steak is famous around the world for quality and flavour, and many Muslim countries import it from Argentina! 🐄 (7% of the world’s meat exports! 🌎)
The reason I was rooting for Argentina 🇦🇷 over France 🇫🇷, is that the treatment of the Muslim community in Argentina is WAY better than France! Muslims in Argentina are free to work or study in Hijab, to swim in covered clothing, to have ID photos in Hijab, all which are banned or fined in oppressive France! 🧕
In fact, there was a legal legislation introduced in 2011 specifically guaranteeing protection for Muslims in Argentina from discrimination, the polar opposite of what the French gov is doing! 🇫🇷 Argentinians also support Palestine more than the other side! 🇵🇸

May Allah protect the Muslim community in Argentina 🇦🇷 (and the whole world) and allow them to continue a legacy of 5 centuries as a faithful representative of Islam in South America. Ameen!
🤲
“