The Spread of Islam in South America
Islamic Stories
Secular Australian journalist CJ Werleman states: “There is nothing the West hates more than positive news about Muslims and Islam. Islam is growing in unexpected places, including South Korea, Japan, and other regions, and is growing rapidly in Latin America, which is now home to nearly two million Muslims, a number that continues to rise.
The Muslim population in the Americas is growing at a rate approximately five times faster than the non-Muslim population. During the current decade, the Muslim population is expected to double compared to its size just two decades ago.
Yet, no one in Western media is reporting this news; because there is nothing the West hates more than positive news about Muslims and Islam.
Reviewing demographic and educational data, as well as economic news:
Islam is rising rapidly in South America, a fact completely obscured by Western media, despite the Chilean government having presented an excellent study on how the religion has taken root in the continent.
After a century of rapid Islamic advancement, the religion is now visibly entrenched among the local population; the country now boasts numerous mosques.
The growing Muslim population and the acceptance of Islam among indigenous Chileans are reasons why the government welcomes Palestinian refugees who fled the brutal, criminal Zionist entity. Today, Palestinians in Chile constitute the largest Palestinian diaspora outside the Middle East, and they have become highly influential in the country’s economic and political spheres.
Although the Muslim population in Chile remains relatively small, it has risen in neighboring Argentina, jumping from one million in 2010 to 1.2 million within the following few years.
Argentine Muslims have made Islam the fastest-growing religion in the country, while also hosting the largest mosque in South America, which has become a focal point for Islamic outreach in the continent, helping millions of non-Muslims learn about Islam in Latin America.
Encouragingly, the Argentine government has enacted laws to protect Muslims from discrimination, including legislation allowing women to wear the hijab; this law was issued at a time when some European countries were banning Islamic clothing in public spaces.
Following Argentina, Venezuela has the second-largest Muslim population in South America, with over 125,000 Muslims. Like Argentina, Venezuela’s Muslim population is also growing by 20 percent every two decades, a testament to how the indigenous population has welcomed this religious minority with open arms.
Venezuela is also home to the largest mosque in Latin America, the Sheikh Ibrahim Mosque, located in the capital city.
Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions in Brazil, and many now view it as a solution to numerous social and economic issues that have plagued Brazilian society for decades.
The story of Latin America finding salvation in Islam from poverty and extreme hardship is being told everywhere in South America; from Peru to Cuba to Guatemala.
While other ideologies have offered only corruption, exploitation, and oppression to the South American continent, Islam, through its call for justice, equality, and hope, is tangibly improving the lives of formerly non-Muslim families. This is undeniable; in Islam, South Americans find identity, structure, and guidance.
Stephanie Lindono, a scholar at the University of Florida, who published a study on religious transformations in Latin America, noted: “It is important to report to the world the initial growth of Islam in Latin America and other parts of the world; because many of these stories illustrate how indigenous populations in those countries warmly embraced Muslims, without following the Western world’s approach of treating Islam as foreign and a civilizational threat. Muslims in Latin America have influenced the region through their religion, culture, and cuisine—an aspect that should be highlighted and celebrated in Western media.”
— Imam and Preacher
