Statistics for Islam in the Dominican Republic estimate that 0.02 percent of the population (3,000 individuals) are Muslim, but accurate statistics of religious affiliation are difficult to calculate and there is a wide variation concerning the actual numerical amount. Although the majority of the population is Roman Catholic, Muslim students and local organizations such as the Círculo Islámico de República Dominicana (The Islamic Circle of Dominican Republic) and the Islamic Center of the Dominican Republic (located in Miami) have helped spread Islam in this country. Currently, the Círculo Islámico estimates that Muslims number over 3,000 (most recent statistics), including of a good number of local converts.

The Círculo Islámico established the first mosque in the Dominican Republic in the center of Santo Domingo, about a five minute walk from the Palacio de Policía Nacional and the Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) where Muslims from around the city would have easy access to reach it. They made an agreement with the owner to purchase the land and the building for an amount of 2.85 million pesos. The mosque is open daily for the five prayers (salat) and offers classes on Islamic studies for ladies and children on weekends. They also provide free medical consultation along with a free pharmacy, Consulta Al-Foutory, which is located in a separate building at the back of the mosque. Presently, there might be as many as three mosques in Santo Domingo, including; Masjid-e-Islam, Masjid-e-Makki, and Masjid-al-Noor. The former two are no longer thought to be active. Masjid al Noor is largely believed to be the only active Masjid on the Island and receives the bulk of the Muslim population for the two Eids, Ramadan, Salat al Jummah, and the five daily prayers. There is another Masjid which remains under construction in Los LLanos, Dominican Republic. Los LLanos is roughly a 30 minutes drive from Mezquita al Noor.

History

Map of the Dominican Republic

Slavery Like other countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, the history of Islam in the Dominican Republic began with the importation of African slaves, which first arrived to the island of Hispaniola (modern day Haiti and DR), beginning in 1502. These people arrived with a rich and ancient culture, although brutal repression and forced conversions gradually diluted their original cultural identity and religions. The first recorded instances of resistance were in 1503, when Nicolás de Ovando, Hispaniola’s first royal governor, wrote to Isabella requesting that she prevent further shipments to the colony of enslaved Black ladinos, or persons possessing knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese languages and cultures, but who also often had connections to either Senegambia, Islam, or both. De Ovando had arrived earlier in April 1502 and was already complaining that the ladinos on the island were “a source of scandal to the Indians, and some had fled their owners,” establishing maroon communities in the mountains.

Slave Revolt of 1522