Islam in Brazil

Brazil is a predominantly Christian country with Islam being a minority religion, first brought by African slaves and then by Lebanese and Syrian immigrants. Due to the secular nature of Brazil's constitution, Muslims are free to proselytize and build places of worship in the country. However, Islam isn't independently included in charts and graphics representing religions in Brazil due to its very small size, being grouped in "other religions", which generally represent about 1% of the country's population. The number of Muslims in Brazil, according to the 2010 census, was 35,207 out of a population of approximately 191 million people. This corresponds to 0.018% of the Brazilian population. The history of Muslims in Brazil begins with the importation of African slave labor to the country. Brazil obtained 37% of all African slaves traded. Over 3 million slaves were sent to Brazil. Starting around 1550, the Portuguese began to trade African slaves to work the sugar plantations once the native Tupi people deteriorated. Scholars claim that Brazil received more enslaved Muslims than anywhere else in the Americas. During the days of the Barbary Wars, some native Brazilians came into interaction with Muslim lands. It was noted by Dr. Antonio Sosa, a Portuguese cleric held captive in North Africa in the 1570s, that the port of Algiers maintained one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world including Amerindians from Iberian colonies in the New World. Barbary pirates were known to attack the shipping of slaves and merchandise while taking prisoners coming from the Americas. In 1673, 140 prisoners were taken from a Rio de Janeiro fleet, while a 1674 capture of a Brazilian ship contributed in the decision to increase naval protection. Malê Revolt The Muslim uprising of 1835 in Bahia illustrates the condition and legacy of resistance among the community of Malês, as African Muslims were known in 19th-century Bahia. The majority of the participants were Nago, the local designation for ethnic Yoruba.