Islam in Jamaica
Encyclopedia
The statistics for Islam in Jamaica estimate a total Muslim
population of about 5,000. There are several Islamic organizations and mosques in Jamaica
, including the Islamic Council of Jamaica and the Islamic Education and Dawah Center, both located in Kingston
and offering classes in Islamic studies and daily prayers in congregation. Outside of Kingston, organizations include Masjid Al Haq in Mandeville
, Masjid Al-Ihsan in Negril
, Masjid-Al-Hikmah in Ocho Rios
, the Port Maria Islamic Center in Saint Mary
and the Ahmadiyya
Mahdi Mosque in the small town of Old Harbour
.
The first Muslims in Jamaica were West African slaves, sold to traders, and brought to Jamaica on ships. Over time most of them lost their Islamic identity due to forced mixing of ethnic groups. Mu’minun of African descent belonging to the Islamic nations of Mandinka, Fula, Susu, Ashanti and Hausa ceaselessly tried to maintain their Islamic practices in secrecy,
while working as slaves on the plantations in Jamaica. By the time the slaves were liberated, much of the Muslim faith of the past had faded, and the freed slaves picked up the faith of their slave masters.
About 16 percent of the 37,000 indentured India
n immigrants who arrived to Jamaica between 1845 and 1917 were Muslims. Muhammad Khan, who came to Jamaica in 1915 at the age of 15, built Masjid Ar-Rahman in Spanish Town
in 1957, while Westmoreland's Masjid Hussein was built by Muhammad Golaub, who immigrated with his father at the age of 7. The indentured Muslims laid the foundation of the eight other masjids established in Jamaica since the 1960s, with the advent of an indigenous Jamaican Muslim community that now forms the majority of the Muslim populace on the island.
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
population of about 5,000. There are several Islamic organizations and mosques in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, including the Islamic Council of Jamaica and the Islamic Education and Dawah Center, both located in Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
and offering classes in Islamic studies and daily prayers in congregation. Outside of Kingston, organizations include Masjid Al Haq in Mandeville
Mandeville, Jamaica
Mandeville is the capital and largest town in the parish of Manchester in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. In 2005, the town had an estimated population of 50,000, and including the immediate suburbs within a radius of the total population is about 72,000. It is located on an inland plateau at an...
, Masjid Al-Ihsan in Negril
Negril
Negril is a small but widely dispersed beach resort town located across parts of two Jamaican parishes of Westmoreland and Hanover. Westmoreland is the westernmost parish in Jamaica, located on the south side of the island...
, Masjid-Al-Hikmah in Ocho Rios
Ocho Rios
Ocho Ríos is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica. Although he landed in many spots along the Jamaican coast, many believe that Christopher Columbus first set foot on land in Ocho Rios...
, the Port Maria Islamic Center in Saint Mary
Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica
Saint Mary is a parish located in the northeast section of Jamaica. With a population of 115,000 it is one of Jamaica's smallest parishes, located in the county of Middlesex. Its chief town and capital is Port Maria, located on the coast. It is also the birthplace of established dancehall reggae...
and the Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic religious revivalist movement founded in India near the end of the 19th century, originating with the life and teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad , who claimed to have fulfilled the prophecies about the world reformer of the end times, who was to herald the Eschaton as...
Mahdi Mosque in the small town of Old Harbour
Old Harbour, Jamaica
- Transport :It used to be served by a station on the national railway network. the nearby Port Esquivel is a major shipping hub for the exportation of bauxite and sugar.- References :...
.
The first Muslims in Jamaica were West African slaves, sold to traders, and brought to Jamaica on ships. Over time most of them lost their Islamic identity due to forced mixing of ethnic groups. Mu’minun of African descent belonging to the Islamic nations of Mandinka, Fula, Susu, Ashanti and Hausa ceaselessly tried to maintain their Islamic practices in secrecy,
while working as slaves on the plantations in Jamaica. By the time the slaves were liberated, much of the Muslim faith of the past had faded, and the freed slaves picked up the faith of their slave masters.
About 16 percent of the 37,000 indentured India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n immigrants who arrived to Jamaica between 1845 and 1917 were Muslims. Muhammad Khan, who came to Jamaica in 1915 at the age of 15, built Masjid Ar-Rahman in Spanish Town
Spanish Town
Spanish Town is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the former Spanish and English capital of Jamaica from the 16th to the 19th century...
in 1957, while Westmoreland's Masjid Hussein was built by Muhammad Golaub, who immigrated with his father at the age of 7. The indentured Muslims laid the foundation of the eight other masjids established in Jamaica since the 1960s, with the advent of an indigenous Jamaican Muslim community that now forms the majority of the Muslim populace on the island.