Islam in Samoa

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Wikipedia

Samoa is mainly a secular Christian majority country, with adherents of Islam being a minority.

Mariam Masjid in samoa

History

The introduction of Islam into the country began centuries ago. But in recent years significant attention was brought in the 1980s when the Saudi Arabia-based World Assembly of Muslim Youth and Malaysia-based Regional Islamic Da'wah Council of Southeast Asia and the Pacific began their dawah activities in Pacific countries.[1]

Mosques

There is one prominent mosque(masjid mariam) in the country, although small prayer rooms can be found across the island. [2][3] located in the village of Vaiusu.[4]

Demographics

During the 2001 census, Muslims accounted for 0.03% of the population.[5] The Western Samoa Muslim League is the Islamic organisation in the country which was established in 1986.[6]

Notable Muslims

Sonny Bill Williams. 2014
  • Sonny Bill Williams:- New Zealand rugby union player, converted to Islam in 2009 while playing for Toulon in France.[1] He was the first Muslim to play for the All Blacks. He performed the Hajj pilgrimage in 2018. He is a New Zealand and Samoan citizen

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Terdima, Moshe (22 May 2016). "History of Islam in Samoa". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Autagavaia, Tipi. "Fear of Islam drives proposal to change Samoa's constitution". RNZ. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  3. ↑ Wyeth, Grant (16 June 2017). "Samoa Officially Becomes a Christian State". The Diplomat. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  4. ↑ Membrere, Marc (5 February 2022). "Muslims open mosque on open day". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  5. ↑ "Academic says Islam stance in Samoa 'reasonable'". RNZ. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "Samoa a Christian country – PM calls for constitution review". CathNews New Zealand. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2021.