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Islam in Zimbabwe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kwekwe Mosque

Zimbabwe is a Christian majority country, with adherents of Islam being a small minority. Due to the secular nature of Zimbabwe's constitution, Muslims are free to proselytize and build places of worship in the country. Islam is the religion of less than 1 percent of the population of Zimbabwe.[1]

Demographics

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Estimates on the number of Muslims in Zimbabwe are around 136,000 as of 2020.[2] The Muslim community consists primarily of South Asian immigrants (Indian and Pakistani), a small but growing number of indigenous Zimbabweans, and migrants from other African countries such as the Yao tribe of neighbouring Malawi.[3] There are mosques located in nearly all of the larger towns. As a result of outreach efforts in rural areas, some chiefs and headmen have reportedly converted from Christianity to Islam.[4]

Remba (Lemba)

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The Lemba or Remba are an ethnic group in Zimbabwe who have cultural traditions similar to Muslims in the Middle East, such as male circumcision.[5]

Famous Zimbabwean Muslims

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Zimbabwe". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 5 April 2018. An estimated 1 percent of the total population is Muslim.
  2. ^ "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". 21 December 2022.
  3. ^ Haron, Muhammed (2020), "Southern Africa's Muslim Communities: Selected Profiles", The Palgrave Handbook of Islam in Africa, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 163–202, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-45759-4_10, ISBN 978-3-030-45758-7, retrieved 10 February 2023
  4. ^ "Zimbabwe". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  5. ^ Hove, Musavengana. "Muslims court Varemba community". The Herald. Retrieved 23 November 2020.

Further reading

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