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Islam in Suriname

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions

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Definition

This article covers the historical development and present community of Muslims in Suriname.

Introduction

Suriname has a historically strong Muslim population, first founded with the arrival of indentured laborers from South Asia and Indonesia during the Dutch colonial period. According to the most recent census data from Suriname, the Muslim population there represents nearly 20% (114,821) of the population (Chitwood 2016), making Suriname the country with the highest proportion of Muslims in the Americas. The majority are Sunni, although there is a robust Ahmadiyya community as well. Together with Guyana (since 1998), Suriname (since 1996) is one of only two countries in the Americas that are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation – an organization consisting of 57 member states that seeks to serve as a collective voice for the Muslim world.

Historical Background

Suriname is a former Dutch colony that still has strong ties to the Netherlands. The Dutch...

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References

  • Bal E, Sinha-Kerkhoff K (2005) Muslims in Surinam and the Netherlands, and the divided homeland. J Muslim Mino Aff 25(2):193–217

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  • Chitwood K (2016) American Islam: the study of American Islam from demographic & ethnographic perspectives, Yearbook of International Religious Demography: 2016. Brill Publishing, Leiden

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  • Hoefte R (2015) Locating Mecca: religious and political discord in the Javanese community in pre-independence suriname. In: Khan A (ed) Islam and the Americas. University Press of Florida, Gainesville

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Florida, 107 Anderson Hall, P.O. Box 117410, Gainesville, FL, 32611-7410, USA

    Ken Chitwood

Authors
  1. Ken Chitwood
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ken Chitwood .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sociology/Anthropology, Oakland Univ Sociology/Anthropology, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Henri Gooren

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Chitwood, K. (2017). Islam in Suriname. In: Gooren, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_266-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_266-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-08956-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-08956-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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