Islam is not something unusual in Brazil; in addition, there is a tendency for the religion to develop in the country. In the summer of 2024, in Kazan was held a meeting of BRICS Muslim religious leaders, which was attended by representatives of Russia, China, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, India, Ethiopia, South Africa and Brazil. A year earlier, the mufti of Tatarstan Kamil Hazrat Samigullin visited “Global Halal Brazil Business Forum”, where he spoke about the experience of implementing the “Halal Life Style” concept in the republic. The event was held in São Paulo with the aim of strengthening relations between Latin America and the Arab world.
Dialogue between countries is the basis of any reasonable foreign policy, which in turn continues the internal activities of the state. Yana Androsova's study "Features of Islamization in Latin America on the Example of Modern Brazil" allows us to get an idea of the situation of Islam inside the country, where the active spread of the religion began in the mid-19th century. One of the peaks of this process occurred in the 1870s, when many Arabs, mainly of Lebanese and Syrian origin, migrated to Latin America due to conflicts in the Ottoman Empire.
A new wave of migrants, mostly Muslim, from the Middle East in the 1970s and 1980s sought to preserve an “Arab identity” unlike their predecessors. This led to the growth of the Islamic community and an increase in the number of Brazilians converting to the religion. Brazil became the center of Islam in Latin America, thanks to the migrants’ perception of it as a stable and open country. By the time of the second wave of migration, there was already a significant Muslim community.
In the 1920s was founded the Muslim Charity Society of São Paulo – Sociedade Beneficente Muçulmana de São Paulo (SBM – editor's note) SBM became the first Islamic organization in the region aimed at preserving Arab culture and built the first mosque in Latin America in 1955.
In the 2000s, the descendants of migrants began to worry about their children’s lack of Arabic language skills, which led to the SBM’s work being stepped up. The organization founded an Islamic school that combined traditional Arabic and Quran studies with quality primary and secondary education. Following the success of the SBM, similar societies, Muslim centers, schools, and charities emerged in major Brazilian cities with the goal of maintaining connections between coreligionists and preserving culture and religion.
The policy of such organizations was initially aimed at “bringing back the lost”, but now the emphasis is shifting toward religious appeal to Brazilians. Locals are showing interest in Islam, although the influence of Muslim organizations is limited by the language barrier. Many Arab Muslims in Brazil do not study Portuguese, which makes proselytizing difficult.
The motivations of Brazilians themselves to change religion are most often related to marriage, lack of identity or personal difficulties. Some point to political and ethnic issues as reasons. The COVID-19 pandemic has also contributed to the growth of interest in Islam through online communities. The story of hip-hop artist Cesar Kaba Abdullah, broadcast by the Russian news agency Islam News in 2022, is noteworthy.
Cesar first learned about Islam by reading the biography of Malcolm X, whose persona is quite popular among the dark-skinned population of South America. However, this knowledge did not affect the life of the young man in any way, until in 2007 fate brought him together with an Egyptian preacher who gave the guy religious books. Cesar read, thought and decided that Islam was the most correct religion for him. The artist built a mosque in São Paulo, which he named in honor of his companion Sumaya bint Hayat. Many of Cesar's colleagues followed his example and also converted to Islam.
The low level of knowledge about Islam and Arab culture in Brazil creates obstacles to mutual understanding between Muslims and the local population, as well as between Muslim descendants and converts. However, interest in the religion has been growing in the last fifteen years. Every week, between four and six people convert to mosques in São Paulo, most of whom are educated women from the outskirts.
This is not only a sign of the population’s increasing level of education. Brazilian Islam is beginning to take on a face of its own and is uniting around common ideas, despite possible differences among coreligionists. The ideas of racial equality and justice brought by Islam are finding resonance in society. Although Muslims make up less than one percent of the population, the religion has become an increasingly visible phenomenon since the migration of its adherents.
According to the Federation of Muslim Associations of Brazil, there were more than a million Muslims in the country in 2020, although official figures vary from 20,000 to 1 million. Government agencies often do not consider Islam as a separate religion, classifying it as “other”. However, the development of Islam in Brazil continues to gain momentum, and the lack of any policy of prohibition or restraint on the part of the authorities facilitates the process. Possible bias and misunderstanding do not stop the trend, but on the contrary, contribute to the unification of Muslims and the formation of policies that allow them to integrate into Brazilian society.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Ana Paula Hirama/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS