Islam di Brazil

Menurut statistik rasmi pada tahun 2000, terdapat 27,239 yang bermastautin di Brazil. Di negara ini tumpuan penduduk muslim adalah terletak pada daerah São Paulo dan Paraná. Sebahagian besar daripada mereka merupakan immigran Lubnan yang berhijrah daripada negara asal mereka akibat perang saudara Lubnan. Walaupun demikian, sesetengah surat khabar ,menganggar jumlah penduduk muslim di Brazil adalah di antara 56,000 kepada 70,000. Bagi authoriti Islam yang lain pula, bilangan muslim di Brazil adalah sekitar 1 juta kepada 1.5 juta termasuk penganut tempatan.[1]

Islam dan Sejarah penduduk Afro-Brazil

Sejarah muslim di Brazil bermula dengan adanya kemasukkan orang Afrika dalam bentuk hamba abdi ke dalam negara ini. Brazil telah menerima 37% daripada kesemua hamba abdi berbangsa Afrika yang diperdagangkan, dan dengan itu sebanyak 3 juta orang hamba berbangsa Afrika telah dihantar ke dalam negara ini. Sejak tahun 1550, orang Portugis telahpun menggunakan hamba berbangsa Afrika untuk berkerja di kebun tebu yang sebelum itu dimusnahkan oleh penduduk Tupi tempatan. Adapun sarjana yang menyatakan bahawa Brazil merupakan negara Amerika yang paling banyak menerima orang muslim berbangsa Afrika yang telah diperhambakan. Pada tahun 1835 di Bahia, muslim berbangsa pernah mengadakan satu pemberontakan. Peristiwa itu telah menyebabkan ramai orang terbunuh. Semenjak itu, pihak Portugis telah mengadakan langkah berjaga-jaga terhadap afro-muslim malah telah mempaksa mereka menganut agama Katholik. Walaupun demikian, komuniti muslim di Brazil tidak dapat dihapuskan begitu sahaja. Sehingga tahun 1900, dianggar masih terdapat 10,000 Afro Muslim yang hidup negara Brazil.[2]

The history of Muslims in Brazil begins with the importation of African slave labor to the country. Brazil obtained 37% of all African slaves traded, and more than 3 million slaves were sent to this one country. Starting around 1550, the Portuguese began to trade African slaves to work the sugar plantations once the native Tupi deteriorated. Scholars claim that Brazil received more enslaved Muslims than anywhere else in the Americas.[2] The Muslim uprising of 1835 in Bahia illustrates the condition and legacy of resistance among the community of Males, as African Muslims were known in 19th century Bahia. Beginning on the night of January 24, 1835, and continuing the following morning, a group of African born slaves occupied the streets of Salvador and for more than three hours they confronted soldiers and armed civilians. Even though it was short lived, this was considered the most effective urban slave rebellion ever to occur on the American continent. Hundreds of Africans took part and nearly seventy were killed. More than five hundred, according to conservative estimates, were sentenced to death, prison, whippings, or deportation. The rebellion had nationwide repercussions. Fearing the example might be followed, the Brazilian authorities began to watch the males very carefully and in subsequent years intensive efforts were made to force conversions to Catholicism and erase the popular memory and affection towards Islam.[3] However, the African Muslim community was not erased overnight, and as late as 1910 it is estimated there were still some 100,000 African Muslims living in Brazil.[4]