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Cuban Muslims to benefit from lifting of US embargo

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The United States (US) earned significant praise earlier this year after President Barack Obama sought to improve relations with the Caribbean nation of Cuba, making moves to lift a more than 50 year embargo against the Western Hemisphere’s only remaining communist state. Whilst restrictions still remain, there has been a significant thaw in tensions between the two, with travel and trade bans amongst those lifted thus far.

There’s no denying the embargo has had a substantially negative impact on Cubans, in particular those amongst religious minority communities. In a secularist country where opposing religious practices and ideologies (the core of Cubans are either Catholic or adhere to a more native religion called Santería) have largely been restricted, minority communities have often garned little assistance from the local communist leadership.

However, religion is expanding in the Caribbean and Islam in particular is making some headway on the island.

Statistics claim that the Muslim community in Cuba currently stands at between 9000 and 10 000 people, constituting a meagre 0.1% of the population. Most of these are recent converts to the religion, and the community has seen a vast improvement from the few thousand seen just 10 years prior.

How Islam reached the Caribbean

Cuba’s history is one riddled in nearly 600 years of colonialism and accompanying conflicts; the nation having long been occupied and ruled by Spanish settlers, bar a short period of British control. It only fully received independence in 1902 after an ensuing war between Spanish colonialists and the US. Having taken control of the island state after the War, the US relinquished control to the Cubans, subject to certain conditions.

Whilst the country’s own history is rich, the roots of Islam is somewhat less so. Following Cuba’s independence many Muslim students, especially those from indo-Asian countries like Pakistan, took up the option of studying there. Many Cubans also picked up on the religion after several Muslim countries opted to open up embassies on the island. Islam witnessed sizable growth in the years succeeding the US embargo, particularly during the 1970s and 80s.

The battle for a mosque

Religious restrictions have long deterred the ability of minority communities in Cuba to go about their respective religious practices and obligations, and the Muslim community has been no different. Despite the immense growth of Islam, there has been little fruition in attempts to get the government to construct a mosque in the capital Havana.

Whilst this could be construed as being in line with the states secular stance, it has to be noted that local authorities previously authorised and assisted in, amongst others the construction of a Russian Orthodox Church in the city. Plain and simply put, there are no official mosques in Cuba, and the government has yet to allow the construction of one.

This has led to most Cuban Muslims praying within their own homes, and the homes of regional scholars. The only real public sphere for prayer is a state-run museum in Havana known as the Casa de los Árabes, or The Arab House.

The facility, constituting a single room for prayer, only opens for salah purposes during Jumuah. The catch is that the facility is only open to ‘non-Cubans’ and tourists, with locals barred from using the prayer room.

Moves to construct a Mosque

Should Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have his way however, that situation may soon change. Erdoğan has made public the fact that he has engaged with Cuban leadership over the possibility of Turkey constructing a mosque in the country.

His plans are reportedly fuelled by a belief that Latin America was not discovered by 15th century explorer Christopher Columbus, rather that Muslims settled in the region at least three centuries prior to Columbus’s discovery of the “New World”. This declaration was made during a summit of Latin American leaders in Istanbul.

This new facility, should it be approved, will likely be modelled on one of Turkey’s biggest and most beautiful attractions, the Ortaköy Mosque in Istanbul. However Turkey could well be beaten to the punch by Saudi Arabia, already in possession of land in Havana which has been reserved for the Gulf state’s own mosque project.

The Arab House

As mentioned, the Arab House remains one of the only public places where Muslims in Cuba are allowed to pray in congregation. The museum, seeking to highlight the Arab roots within Cuba, is actually modelled on architecture from the Southern Spanish region of Andalusia. This is due to the fact that the Arab community in Cuba have historically hailed from North Africa; a region itself heavily influenced by Spanish culture and design. The facility was constructed in 1940 by wealthy Arab immigrants, and is often used by foreign Arab diplomats for prayer. The museum was recently renovated after a $ 40,000 donation from the Qatari government.

The life of a Muslim in Cuba

The country’s communist ideology and the long standing US embargo on Cuba have severely affected those residing on the island nation but sharing contradictory religious views to what is the norm. Muslims have limited to zero access of Islamic literature and recourses, whilst dining options are extremely limited. Pork represents the most popular choice of meat in Cuba, and the lack of any halal butchers makes acquiring meat a major challenge.

There is also a shortage of religious leaders in the country, with those that are sufficiently educated in the deen hardly able to cope with the growing numbers that are converting to Islam. This, coupled with harsh restrictions and lack of access to Islamic content, has severely hampered the expounding of Dawah.

Islamophobia is an issue plaguing Muslims communities the world over and Cuba is no exception. In a country that has historically sought to cut itself off from external influences, Islam is something of a mystery to most Cubans. This has also brought about a lack of understanding on Islamic tradition and practices, leading to subjectively negative opinions of the Muslim community as a whole.

Regardless of the challenges, the thaw in economic and social relations between the US and Cuba is likely to benefit minorities and the Cuban population as a whole. Bar the US Congress rejecting Obama’s move to remove Cuba from its terror list and restore all diplomatic ties, 2015 may well mark a significantly beneficial year for Cubans, the Muslim community included. VOC (Mubeen Banderker)


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