Asuncion, Shawwal 1//Dec 16 (IINA) - Muslims in this South American country hail mainly from the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine), and most of them are concentrated in the capital, Asuncion, with the rest scattered over various other towns and cities of the country, a good many of them living in the border areas with Brazil and Argentina There they have built the Omar bin Al-Khattab Mosque, plus the Ali bin Abi Talib School, both of which are supervised by the Islamic-Arabic Cultural Center of that area. The Muslims of this area have also been able to set up their own television station, thanks to the generosity of one of their philanthropists.

There are about 70 Muslim families in the capital, Asuncion, and they have a prayer premises (not a proper mosque) where they congregate for their prayers and other spiritual and social pursuits, plus the Utbah bin Nafe School for their children.

In another city called Cabalero there are about 20 Muslim families, most of them engaged in business and commerce, but like their brethren elsewhere in Paraguay, are finding it difficult to instill in their children proper Islamic cultural and spiritual enthusiasm, and are worried about the future of their children on this score.

The Muslims in this country feel that their children are far removed from the mainstream of Islamic and Arabic influence, add to which the fact that Islamic organizations do not pay much attention to the religious development of their children. They therefore fear that sooner or later their children would be absorbed in the mainstream of Paraguayan life, and thus loose their Islamic identity.