Statistics for Islam in Bolivia estimate a
Muslim population of around two thousand,
representing less than .1% of the total
population.
There are many
Islamic organizations spread throughout the country,
including Centro Islámico Boliviano in
Santa Cruz, Centro Islámico Boliviano in
Sucre led by
Imam Hassan Tawafshah, Centro Islámico Boliviano in
Cochabamba led by Imam Daud Abujder, and Musulmana
Casilla in Sucre.
The Centro Islámico Boliviano
(Bolivian Islamic Center) was created in August 1986 by
Imam Mahmud Amer Abusharar, who arrived from the
Palestinian territories in 1974. In 1992 a
commission for the construction of the first mosque in
Bolivia was satisfied, which was completed in September
1994 in the city of Santa Cruz.Imam Mahmud Amer
Abusharar he died on 14/05/2011. Presently the CIB
doesn't have branches in Sucre, Cochabamba or
La Paz, with any indigenous Bolivians accepting
Islam. On the international level, CIB is not a
branch of the Islamic Organization for
Latin America.
In 2006 has been inaugurated the first Mosque As-salam
in La Paz city although the members of the Asociacion
Islamica de Bolivia where the majority of Muslims are
Bolivians converted to Islam along with Arab Muslim from
different countries and others gathered together for
practicing Islam during many years. There are also other
communities in La Paz and Sucre.
