The statistics for Islam in Chile estimate a total Muslim population
of 3,196, representing 0.02 percent of the population.
There are a number of Islamic organizations in Chile, including
Sociedad Musulmana de Chile y Mezquita As-Salam
("Muslim Society of Chile and Masjid As-Salam") in
Santiago de Chile, Mezquita Bilal ("Bilal Mosque") in
Iquique and the Centro Cultural Mohammed VI
("Mohammed VI Cultural Center") in Coquimbo.
According to Chronicles of the History of Chile
by Aurelio Díaz Meza, there was a man in the expedition
of discoverer Diego de Almagro, called Pedro de Gasco
who was a morisco, or Moor from al-Andalus in Spain
who was forced to convert from Islam to Catholicism.
The coming of moriscos was covered by history but
recently scholars of Chilean history have started
acknowledging the country's Moorish heritage and
its effects on the development of Chilean culture
and identity.
The first major wave of Muslims to Chile began in 1856
with the arrival of Arab immigrants from the Ottoman Empire
territories consisting of today's Syria, Lebanon and Palestine
who founded the Sociedad Unión Musulmana. In 1988 the
construction of the mosque of Santiago de Chile was initiated
by Sheikh Taufiq Rumie', who had led the Muslim
community for more than sixty years. The mosque
was finished in 1989 and was inaugurated by a prince
of Malaysia in 1996.
By end of the 1980s many indigenous Chileans converted
to Islam, which increased after the completion of the mosque
Usama Abu Gazaleh was elected Imam of the mosque
following the passing of Taufiq Rumie'in 1998. In 1997
Pakistani retailers purchased land for the construction
of the Bilal Mosque and
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madrasa in Iquique, which was completed in 1999.
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