Islam is one of the smallest minority faiths inCosta Rica, whose state religion isCatholic Christianity.[1] Without an official number by any state entity, it is considered that the number of Muslims in Costa Rica could be between 1000 and 1500 people,[2][3] mostly emigrants fromAlgeria,India,Iraq,Iran,Lebanon,Morocco,Egypt,Somalia,Pakistan,Palestine andSyria.[4] This number includes Muslims who have immigrated to Costa Rican territory as well as those Costa Ricans who have embraced the Islamic faith through conversion, whose number is estimated to be at around 100. The number of Muslims corresponding to theSunni andShia factions is also unknown, although it is generally considered that the Sunnis are the majority.[2]
The first migrations ofArabs to Costa Rica date back to the beginning of the 20th|century and were mostlyLebanese. Some of these immigrants carried the family names Ayales, Salom, Yamuni and Beirute.[5] Second and third generation members of these families who emigrated toCosta Rica have held important positions within the Public Administration in different governments as well as in companies that were founded during the second half of the 20th century. 20thcentury and are still part of the market. Some of these families come from eastern branches of Christianity (Maronite Church) and currently profess theCatholic religion.[5] Later migrations of Arab settlers arose in the mid-20thcentury, in many cases byrefugees fleeing various armed conflicts that afflicted theMiddle East andNorth Africa[5] mainly Lebanese andPalestinians.[5][4] One of the first Muslim residents of the country was the Palestinian doctor Abdul Sasa who remembers that in 1976 there were only four Muslims in all of Costa Rica.[6]
Costa Rican foreign policy has been particularly close to the interests of the State ofIsrael, with theRepublic of Costa Rica being one of the nations that voted for that nation's acceptance as a member of theUnited Nations in 1947, and also witnessing a high immigration ofJews from Poland to the country during pre-war andpost-war times. Until 2007, Costa Rica andEl Salvador were the only countries that maintained their diplomatic headquarters in the city ofJerusalem. During the administration ofÓscar Arias Sánchez, the Costa Rican embassy was relocated from Jerusalem toTel Aviv. Subsequently, a diplomatic rapprochement was made with theState of Palestine, specifically with the representation of thePalestinian National Authority to the United Nations in New York City.Riyad Mansour was appointed ambassador plenipotentiary to Costa Rica, however, there is currently no embassy of the State of Palestine in Costa Rica andRiyad Mansour continues to serve as ambassador to theUnited Nations.
There are four mosques in Costa Rica:
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