AhlulBayt News Agency

source : IQNA
Saturday

22 April 2017

5:29:05 PM
825315

Brazilian Shia cleric promoting Islam in Brazil / Pics

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Rodriguez Jilul is said to be the only Shia cleric in Sao Paulo who is originally from Brazil.

After embracing Islam, he traveled to Iran to study religious sciences in the holy city of Qom. 

Once he finished the studies in Qom, he returned to his home country to spread the message of Islam.

Jilul delivers speeches on Quranic and ethical issues and holds religious programs at Fatemeh Zahra (SA) Islamic Center in Sao Paulo.

The center has been established in the city with the aim of promoting Islam.

In Ramadan, the cleric organizes special programs, including Iftar (ast breaking) ceremonies, at the center.

He and other Shia Muslims of the city also take part in international Quds Day rallies during the last Friday of Ramadan.

"Our center also does a lot of charity activities and we help the needy and orphans,” he said.

"Most Muslims in Brazil are Sunnis,” he says, adding that Shia Muslims have four Islamic centers in Sao Paulo, including the Islamic Center of Brazil and Muhammad Rasulullah Mosque.

The number of Muslims in Latin America according to some estimates is over four million. Followers of Islam in Latin America are mainly concentrated in Brazil, El Salvador and Argentina.

Christianity is the dominant religion in Brazil but there is also a small Muslim minority living in the country.

The Federation of Muslim Associations of Brazil estimates there are about 1.5 million Muslims in the world’s fifth-largest country by both area and population.

Islam in Brazil is said to have first been practiced by African slaves brought from West Africa. Scholars note that Brazil received more enslaved Muslims than anywhere else in the Americas.

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