Islamis a minority religion in all of the countries and territories of theAmericas,around 1% ofNorth Americapopulation areMuslims,and0.1%ofLatin AmericaandCaribbeanpopulation areMuslims.[1]

Surinamehas the highest percentage ofMuslims in its populationfor the region, with 13.9% or 75,053 individuals, according to its 2012 census.[2]However, the United States, in which estimates vary due to a lack of a census question, is generally believed to havethe largest population,with approximately 3.45 million Muslims living there,[3]about 1.1 percent of the total U.S. population.[4]

Most Muslims in the former British Caribbean came from theIndian subcontinentas indentured servants following the abolition of slavery.[5]This movement also reached Suriname, although other Muslims there moved from a separate Dutch colony, which is nowIndonesia.In the United States, the largest Muslim ethnic group is ofwhiteArabsfrom theMiddle East.[6]However, in South America, the Muslim population is mainly composed of upper-class immigrants from theLevant,including those from Lebanon and Syria.[7]

Shias in the Americas

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The Islamic Center of America, the largest mosque in the USA, located in Michigan

ShiaMuslims comprise 15-20% of Muslims in the Americas;[8]which is nearly 786,000[9]to 2.500.000 persons in the U.S.[10] Shia Muslims are situated on United States. The American Shia Muslim community are from different parts of the world such asSouth Asia,Europe,Middle East,andEast Africa.[11][12]

The American Shia Muslim community have many activities and have founded several organization such as theIslamic Center of Americaand North America Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities Organization (NASIMCO).[13]

The first group of immigrant Shiites (Shias) migrated to the United States from Lebanon and Syria about one hundred and eighty years ago (1824-1878). These Shiite Muslims migrated to cities such as Detroit, Michigan, and Ross (California) and North Dakota.[14]

Population by country

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The population of Muslims varies across the Americas. Below is the percentage of every American country that was Muslim in 2010, according to aPew Research Centerestimate:[15]

Country Estimated % of Muslims among total population in 2010
Suriname 15.2
Guyana 6.4
Trinidad and Tobago 5.9
Canada 2.1
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 1.5
British Virgin Islands 1.2
Bermuda 1.1
Argentina 1.0
Barbados 1.0
French Guiana 0.9
United States 0.9
Panama 0.7
Antigua and Barbuda 0.6
Cayman Islands 0.4
Guadeloupe 0.4
Anguilla 0.3
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) 0.3
Grenada 0.3
St. Kitts and Nevis 0.3
Venezuela 0.3
Aruba 0.2
Caribbean Netherlands 0.2
Curaçao 0.2
Martinique 0.2
Sint Maarten 0.2
St. Pierre and Miquelon 0.2
Bahamas 0.1
Belize 0.1
Dominica 0.1
Honduras 0.1
St. Lucia 0.1
U.S. Virgin Islands 0.1
Bolivia <0.1
Brazil <0.1
Chile <0.1
Colombia <0.1
Costa Rica <0.1
Cuba <0.1
Dominican Republic <0.1
Ecuador <0.1
El Salvador <0.1
Greenland <0.1
Haiti <0.1
Jamaica <0.1
Mexico <0.1
Montserrat <0.1
Paraguay <0.1
Peru <0.1
Puerto Rico <0.1
Turks and Caicos Islands <0.1
Uruguay <0.1

Immigrant Muslims in America

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In regards to Immigrant Muslims in America: at first, a population of African Muslims entered the United States as slaves, and at the next stage, while the immigration laws to this country eased the conditions for accepting immigrants from all over the world, another population of Muslim people entered there. In the last 25 years, new waves of immigrants as well as the tendency of a large group of American blacks to Islam have caused an increase in the number of Muslims in America. According to one of the professors of the University of Massachusetts, USA, the number of Muslims in America is estimated to be close to four (4) million people, and is appraised that two thirds of this population are "immigrants and their children" apart from Muslim Americans.

In 1991, more than 100,000 immigrants entered the United States legally, most of whom were people (mostly Muslim) from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt and India. Also, another unknown figure should be allocated to illegal Muslim immigrants who entered the United States this year.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"The Global Religious Landscape"(PDF).Pewforum.org. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 25 January 2017.Retrieved7 May2020.
  2. ^2012 Suriname Census Definitive ResultsArchived2015-09-24 at theWayback Machine.Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek - Suriname.
  3. ^"A new estimate of U.S. Muslim population".Pew Research Center.Retrieved2019-11-11.
  4. ^"New estimates show U.S. Muslim population continues to grow".Pew Research Center.January 3, 2018.RetrievedAugust 16,2018.
  5. ^.2011-07-27https://web.archive.org/web/20110727173718/http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Demographics/Muslimpopulation.pdf.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2011-07-27.Retrieved2019-11-11.{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title=(help)
  6. ^https:// pewresearch.org/religion/2017/07/26/findings-from-pew-research-centers-2017-survey-of-us-muslims/#:~:text=Pew%20Research%20Center%20estimates%20that,1.1%25%20of%20the%20U.S.%20population.{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title=(help)
  7. ^"Islam in the Caribbean".Archived fromthe originalon 2014-09-08.
  8. ^"World Shia Muslims Population".shianumbers.Retrieved19 December2015.
  9. ^Zahid Hussain Bukhari (1 January 2004).Muslims' Place in the American Public Square: Hope, Fears, and Aspirations.Rowman Altamira. p. 37.ISBN978-0-7591-0613-0.
  10. ^Shiite justice teachings in the westernmost society of the world / The ups and downs of two and a half million Shiites in AmericaRetrieved 2 April 2023
  11. ^Daniel Brumberg; Dina Shehata (2009).Conflict, Identity, and Reform in the Muslim World: Challenges for U.S. Engagement.US Institute of Peace Press. pp. 366–370.ISBN978-1-60127-020-7.
  12. ^"Mapping the Global Muslim Population".pewforum.org.7 October 2009.Retrieved16 December2015.
  13. ^Mohsen Saleh (1 January 2009).American Foreign Policy and the Muslim World.Al Manhal. p. 179.ISBN978-9953-500-65-2.
  14. ^Shiism in AmericaRetrieved in 24 June 2022
  15. ^"Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050".Pew Research Center.2 April 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 2 August 2017.Retrieved18 August2017.
  16. ^The spread of Islam in AmericaRetrieved 4 July 2022