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Invisible Yet Invincible: The Muslim Ummah in Jamaica

2003; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 23; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13602000305933

1469-9591

Sultana Afroz,

Caribbean history, culture, and politics

It was the romantic island of wood and water, Jamaica in the Caribbean, which was sighted by the Morisco pilot who steered the lead boat of Columbus from Spain to the West Indies in 1494.1 The current invisibility of the Muslim ummah (community) in Jamaica is overshadowed by the historic role played by the al-Andalus Muslim mariners in the discovery voyages of Columbus and the illustrious military feats of the historical Muslim Maroons who had brought the world’s ‘mightiest’ Red Coats to sue for peace. The splendorous past of the Muslim ummah serves as a source of spiritual inspiration to maintain its Islamic identity in the multicultural and religiously diverse society of Jamaica. The country’s coat of arms, ‘Out of Many, One People’, embraces the ummah under the broad spectrum of its historical diversity. Nonetheless, Christianity is acknowledged as the most important part of the national heritage within which various religious faiths exist. Although the Muslim community remains constitutionally unrecognized, the guarantee for freedom of religion and the democratic nature of the parliamentary form of government have allowed the continuity and growth in the number of adherents to Islam in Jamaica. The acceptance of Muslim membership in the Jamaica Interfaith Organization, which is patronized by the Governor General, has provided the Muslims with a sense of recognition and a wholesome basis for living together despite some popular prejudices. Currently, numbering about 4000, the Muslims in Jamaica form 0.15% of the estimated total population of 2,590,400 persons. Jamaica has an annual population growth rate of 0.7% and the total fertility rate of 2.8 children per woman. The Muslims are predominantly of African descent. Approximately 50% of the Muslim population of Jamaica resides in the Kingston Metropolitan Region, where some 43.3% of Jamaica’s population lives. Kingston is the capital and the biggest seaport of the island. It is also the financial and commercial centre of the country. The other important cities of Muslim concentration are Spanish Town in Saint Catherine Parish, the island’s second oldest capital, and Montego Bay in Saint James, popularly known as the ‘Tourist City’ on the northern coast of the island. The parishes of St. Elizabeth, St. Mary and Westmoreland also have a good concentration of this tiny Muslim community. A few others are scattered throughout the country. Although invisible as a community, their presence in society is easily recognized by their mode of dressing and behavioural patterns. The Muslim community emphasizes the Islamic principles of