{"id":9302,"date":"2025-12-01T07:00:53","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T07:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/natharatmouchrika.net\/home\/?p=9302"},"modified":"2025-12-01T07:00:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T07:00:53","slug":"islam-in-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/natharatmouchrika.net\/home\/?p=9302","title":{"rendered":"Islam in Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mexico<\/a>\u00a0has a religious minority of\u00a0Muslims<\/a>, mostly constituted by converts,[<\/span>1]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and Mexicans of African, Asian, European, and South American origin, as well as their children, born in Mexico.<\/p>\n

Mexico is a\u00a0predominantly Christian country<\/a>, with adherents of\u00a0Islam<\/a>\u00a0representing a very small minority. But they are free to\u00a0proselytize<\/a>\u00a0and build\u00a0places of worship<\/a>\u00a0in the country[<\/span>2]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0due to the\u00a0secular<\/a>\u00a0nature of the state, established by\u00a0Mexico’s constitution<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to the 2010\u00a0INEGI<\/a>\u00a0census, there were only about 2,500 individuals who identified\u00a0Islam<\/a>\u00a0as their religion.[<\/span>3]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0And the number of Muslims in Mexico had risen to more than 7,500 as of 2020.[<\/span>4]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>[<\/span>5]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Muhammad Ruiz Al Meksiki, general director of the Salafi Center of Mexico (CSM), had estimated that in 2015, there were about 10,000 Muslims in Mexico and has been rapidly growing after due to excessive waves of\u00a0mass immigration<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0African<\/a>,\u00a0Arab<\/a>, and\u00a0South Asian<\/a>\u00a0countries with a minority of\u00a0Eurasian<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0European<\/a>\u00a0countries.[<\/span>6]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\n

History and Organizations<\/h2>\n

[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/a>
Suraya Mosque<\/a>, the first mosque ever in Mexico<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During the Mexican\u00a0Porfiriate<\/a>, there was an open policy regarding investment and migration, mainly of people of European countries.<\/p>\n

Although, some immigrants from other countries, such as\u00a0Turkey<\/a>,\u00a0Syria<\/a>,\u00a0Lebanon<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Palestine<\/a>, also arrived during that period.<\/p>\n

For the most part, they were Christians escaping\u00a0religious persecution<\/a>\u00a0of the Ottoman Empire; but there were a few\u00a0Jews<\/a>, some\u00a0non Sunni Muslims<\/a>, and people of\u00a0other religions<\/a>, also immigrating into Mexico due to economic opportunity or escape from religious persecution.<\/p>\n

The muslims who immigrated during the Porfiriate however, decided to settle down in places such as\u00a0Yucat\u00e1n<\/a>,\u00a0Veracruz<\/a>,\u00a0Nuevo Le\u00f3n<\/a>,\u00a0Coahuila<\/a>,\u00a0Mexico City<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Puebla<\/a>; due to the economic opportunities said states had to offer.<\/p>\n

Once there, several Islamic Organizations were formed, with most of them adhering to the\u00a0Sunni<\/a>\u00a0Branch of\u00a0Islam<\/a>; however,\u00a0Salafists<\/a>,\u00a0Shia’s<\/a>, and\u00a0Sufi<\/a>\u00a0muslims also have presence and mosques of their own.<\/p>\n

Today, most Mexican Islamic organizations focus on grassroots missionary activities, which are most effective at the community level.<\/p>\n

The most important Islamic organizations in Mexico include:<\/p>\n

The Educative Center of the Muslim Community In Mexico:<\/b>\u00a0Sunni<\/a>\u00a0organization, which operates in\u00a0Mexico City<\/a>. It runs an educational center, managed mainly by Muslims from Egypt and the Middle East, and is run by\u00a0Said Louahabi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cultural Islamic Center of Mexico:<\/b>\u00a0Sunni<\/a>\u00a0organization headed by\u00a0Omar Weston<\/a>, a British-born Mexican convert to Islam, which has been active in several cities of northern and central Mexico.<\/p>\n

In the state of\u00a0Morelos<\/a>, it operates a\u00a0mosque<\/a>, called \u201cDar as Salaam<\/a>\u201d, and it also operates Hotel Oasis, a hotel that offers\u00a0halal<\/a>\u00a0vacation alternatives for Muslim travelers and accommodation for non-Muslims sympathetic to Islam.<\/p>\n

This group was the subject of a study carried out by British anthropologist Mark Lindley-Highfield, of the Department of Anthropology at the\u00a0University of Aberdeen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Musalla Al-Ajirah:<\/b>\u00a0Run by\u00a0Muhammad Abdullah Ruiz<\/a>, a former deputy to Weston, the\u00a0Musalla<\/a>\u00a0is considered to be the only center of\u00a0salafists<\/a>\u00a0in the country.<\/p>\n

Sufi Order in Mexico City:<\/b>\u00a0Sufi organization, which is a Mexican branch of the\u00a0Nur Ashki Jerrahi order<\/a>, headed by two women,\u00a0Shaykha<\/a>\u00a0Fatima Fariha<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Shaykha<\/a>\u00a0Amina Teslima<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Al Hikmah Institute of Arabic Language and Culture:<\/b>\u00a0Sunni<\/a>\u00a0organization run by\u00a0Isa Rojas<\/a>. A Mexican convert to Islam, who\u00a0studied Islam<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0University of Medina<\/a>, within the capital city.[<\/span>7]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Amir al-Muminin Islamic Center:<\/b>\u00a0Twelver Shia<\/a>\u00a0organization which operates in\u00a0Mexico City<\/a>,\u00a0Mexico State<\/a>, and\u00a0Morelos<\/a>. It hosts religious events for Mexican Shia Muslims, such as the commemoration of\u00a0Muharram<\/a>,[<\/span>8]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Mawlid<\/a>,[<\/span>9]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Fatimiyya<\/a>,[<\/span>10]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0among others.[<\/span>11]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

It also provides\u00a0halal<\/a>\u00a0food options for Mexican Muslims[<\/span>12]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and educative resources for Shia’s, Sunnis, and non Muslims alike.[<\/span>13]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\n

Indigenous Muslims<\/h2>\n

[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/a>
A figure of a Moor being trampled by a\u00a0conquistador<\/a>‘s horse at the\u00a0National Museum of the Viceroyalty<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Tepotzotlan<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Islam gained significant popularity in Indigenous communities in the\u00a01930s<\/a>\u00a0due to mass Spaniard and Moroccan settlement, resulting in Mayans becoming indentured servants for the two, for some periods of time as well as business owners interbreeding with the Native women. By\u00a01957<\/a>, about 200 people of Mayan descent had been involved with Islam. This amount did not significantly rise until the late\u00a01970s<\/a>\u00a0but practicing stayed stagnant within the communities.[<\/span>15]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

In\u00a01978<\/a>\u00a0The Spanish\u00a0Murabitun<\/a>\u00a0community, now based in Granada, Spain, had one of its missionaries involved in the\u00a0spread of Islam<\/a>\u00a0throughout the\u00a01980s<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a01990s<\/a>.[<\/span>16]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Muhammad Nafia (formerly Aureliano P\u00e9rez), arrived in the state of\u00a0Chiapas<\/a>\u00a0shortly after the\u00a0Zapatista uprising<\/a>\u00a0and established a commune in the city of San Crist\u00f3bal.<\/p>\n

The group, characterized as\u00a0anti-capitalistic<\/a>, entered an ideological pact with the socialist\u00a0Zapatistas<\/a>[<\/span>17]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0group. The\u00a0President<\/a>\u00a0Vicente Fox<\/a>\u00a0voiced concerns about the influence of the\u00a0fundamentalism<\/a>\u00a0and possible connections of the\u00a0Zapatistas<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0Basque<\/a>\u00a0terrorist organization\u00a0Euskadi Ta Askatasuna<\/a>\u00a0(ETA), but it appeared that most converts had no interest in political extremism.[<\/span>18]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

By 1994, many\u00a0indigenous<\/a>\u00a0Mayans<\/a>\u00a0and more than 700[<\/span>19]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Tzotzils<\/a>\u00a0had converted to Islam.[<\/span>20]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>[<\/span>21]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

In San Crist\u00f3bal, the\u00a0Murabitun<\/a>\u00a0established a pizzeria, a carpentry workshop[<\/span>22]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and a\u00a0Quranic<\/a>\u00a0school (madrasa<\/a>) where children learned\u00a0Arabic<\/a>\u00a0and prayed five times a day in the backroom of a residential building. It is reported that women in\u00a0headscarves<\/a>\u00a0had become a common sight by then.[<\/span>18]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Nowadays, most of the Mayan Muslims[<\/span>23]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0have left the\u00a0Murabitun<\/a>\u00a0and established ties with the CCIM, now following the\u00a0orthodox Sunni school of Islam<\/a>. They built the\u00a0Al-Kausar Mosque<\/a>\u00a0in San Cristobal de las Casas. Nevertheless, the vast majority of Native Mexicans today are not muslims.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Subcomandante Marcos<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Zapatistas<\/a>\u00a0entered into an alliance with Chiapas Muslims in the 1980s.[<\/span>18]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Mosques<\/h2>\n

[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

Main article:\u00a0List of mosques in Mexico<\/a><\/div>\n

This is a list of some, but by no means all\u00a0mosques<\/a>\u00a0and Islamic meeting centers in Mexico.[citation needed<\/span><\/a><\/i>]<\/sup><\/p>\n