Islam in Cuba

Islam was largely introduced to Cuba during the colonial times (the late sixteenth century to the nineteenth century). This introduction, though, was not from colonists, but from Muslim Western African slaves who arrived in Cuba. Between 1808 and 1848, 49.4% (20,654) of the enslaved Muslim Africans who were captured and brought to the Americas arrived in Cuba, and many more who lack proper documentation have been suggested to have arrived. The majority of these slaves were Mandingo from Senegambia or, as the British colonists called them, Mohammedanists. Many different groups of Africans arrived in Cuba in the nineteenth century and joined with the Mandingas because of a jihad in Western Africa. Also, evidence pointing to African origins of Islam in Cuba comes from the many Islamic names found by scholars, such as Henry Lovejoy, belonging to these slaves, such as Mohammed, Hausa, and Nupe. In 2011, Islam scholars also analyzed the different names found on the records from the Mixed Commission Courts of Havana to identify the names of Muslim and Arabic origin. Cuban Muslims learned Islam through embassies of Middle Eastern countries as well as through students coming to study in Cuba from Muslim countries. Islam started to spread among Cubans in the 1970s and '80s. Printed and audio-visual Islamic resources are now almost nonexistent in Cuba. Spanish translation of the Quran and other major Islamic books are not available in the country. The Muslim community of Cuba even lacks educated religious cadres. Islam became gained in popularity while the country endured an economic crisis, and would come to be more organized by the 1990s. Islam was not organized very well in the past because the main worshipers were slaves and they did not have the freedom to make Islam more organized in Cuba. Cuba's government also had problems with accepting Islam as an official religion at first. By the 1990s, the Cuban government was becoming more accepting of public practice. At first, Islam in Cuba was difficult to practice because of the lack of Islam books in Spanish—but with the completion of a mosque in Havana in 2015, it has become easier for people to worship. A lot has changed from the time when Muslims in Cuba could have faced consequences because of the government to having their own mosque with teachers. The change for some Muslim Cubans are difficult because they have always eaten pork and used alcohol. The change for many will be gradual because of lack of formal teaching and imams in the past. Since the Cuban Muslim community is still young many of the Cuban traditions have blended with the new Muslim traditions. With new teachers and a public place to worship more Cubans will be exposed to Islam and the religion will grow. ==Mosque==