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According to various sources, the Muslim population of Suriname represents about 20 percent of the country's total, [1][2] and therefore the nation has the highest percentage of Muslims than any other nation in the New World.
Muslims first came to Suriname as slaves from Africa, however a substantial portion of the African population has converted to Christianity through time, so they did not contribute to the current population in any significant way. The next group of Muslims to come to the country consisted of indentured laborers from India and Indonesia. Most of the Muslims in Suriname today are descended from these people.
The country's Muslims are largely Sunni but there is a small population of Ahmadi Muslims as well.
[edit] Sources
[edit] Further reading
- Bal, Ellen; Kathinka Sinha-Kerkhoff (August 2005). "Muslims in Surinam and the Netherlands, and the divided homeland". Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 25 (2): 193–217.
[edit] References
- ^ Muslim Minorities in the West: Visible and Invisible By Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, Jane I. Smith, pg. 271
- ^ Americas Review By World of Information Staff, pg. 152
