“Assalamu alaykum,” Yusef Sánchez says in greeting, meaning “peace be unto you” in Arabic, as he walks through the doors of the Muslim Cultural Center in the northeast San José district of Guadalupe. Bearded and dressed in loose and flowing Muslim garb, Sánchez is one of few Costa Rican converts to the Islamic faith. Active in their religion, he, his wife and baby son journey from their home in the central Pacific coast town of Jacó every Friday, the Islamic holy day, to attend meetings at the only mosque in Costa Rica.

The Muslim Cultural Center is a two-story white and blue building, decorated with a stunning minaret. Inside the center are offices, a courtyard and a large room used for feasts and events. Up a steep set of stairs is the mosque, intricately tiled and carpeted, where Muslims living all over the country gather to worship on Friday afternoons. ...