IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 9 ENGLISH | Page 120

town and cities.
Relatively numerous Muslim groups are
in other towns of Matanzas Province
and in Cienfuegos, Holguin and
Santiago de Cuba. Some of them have
no communication with each other, but
sometimes they could establish contact
through the Havanan communities.
Diversity is also seen in the religious
guidance, ranging from Sunnis and
Shias to followers of Tabligh. They may
be considered close to the Salafi
movement or within the Maliki school,
but there are some groups inclined to
Tasawwuf. Some communities were set
up years ago and others more recently;
some have virtually disappeared after
having vigorously emerging, as the
community
of
Jagüey
Grande
(Matanzas).
Such diverse and complex reality has
the sociological indicator of Muslim
groups trying to stay working in
autonomous settings, although there is
some communication between them.
The relationships with LIC include all
the
nuances:
some
assiduously
collaborate, while others keep more
timely or incidental relations focused in
the Ramadan or the mutual visits.
Others do not even relate to LIC and do
not recognize its leadership either.
There is no exact data yet, but it can be
clearly seen that the Muslim community
is constantly growing with people of all
ages, education levels and vocational
training. After the first approach to
Islam, some decide to practice it.
Around 3,500 Cubans have declared
their profession of faith, but this figure
has been questioned. On a visit to
Cienfuegos, for example, it was found
that in fact there were 20 Muslims
where the estimated figure was 70. The
visits also show that dozens have given
the shahada, but then ceased to practice
Islam. Even Muslims engaged in the
practice do not gather on Friday for
different reasons. It makes the statistical
work more difficult; however, the
consensus among several brothers from

different parts of Cuba has numbered
the faithful Muslims in around one
thousand.
The interaction inside and outside
The communities of Muslim believers
have no other viable alternative to meet
than the Friday prayers. It was so at the
very beginning, more than three decades
ago, and it remains so today. However,
more space is needed to meet the
requests of growing communities. It is
also required that these spaces move
from private houses to places
specifically devoted to religious
practices, including room for prayer,
library and a retail store of halal
products. Cuban Muslims are willing to
convert their homes with such a purpose
and even to leave them to the new
generations as places of worship.
To understand the dynamics of the
Cuban Muslims, it must be considered
their relationship with foreign Muslims
who have been and are still crucial for
setting up and developing the Muslim
communities in Cuba, above all the
Muslim scholarship recipients from
Saharawi, Yemen and Palestine who
came to study in Cuba since the decade
of 1980. Earlier this century, hundreds
of Pakistani students arrived and put
new twists on the traditional orientation.
Occasionally, the Cuban Muslims
interact with Muslims from Qatar,
Malaysia, Indonesia and elsewhere, who
visit them, organize meetings, share
knowledge of Islam and even give
financial support. Another possibility of
interaction emerged with Cuban
Muslims embarking on Islamic studies
in Panama and Trinidad and Tobago.
By 2014, seven of them have received
Islamic education in Konya (Turkey).
Although diplomatic missions do not
generally interact with Cuban Muslims,
both the embassies of the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic
of Iran make the exception. The first
one has been awarded at the
International Book Fair in Havana for

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