Islam in Timor-Leste
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Islam in Timor-Leste (O Islã em Timor Leste) is the minority religion . According to official figures, 3.6% of the population of Timor Leste are Muslims 2020.[1] The majority of Muslims are Sunni.
Spread of Islam
[edit]Timorese Muslims include indigenous Arabs and Indonesians. They have settled in East Timor over the past decade, either seeking business opportunities or as part of Indonesia's national policy of supporting the transition to the province, which is struggling for independence. 2015 census found that 2,850 Timorese citizens declared themselves Muslim (1,695 Muslims live in the country's capital, Dili, 258 in Baucau, 236 in Lautém, 212 in Viqueque, etc.).[2]
Since 2005, along with numerous Christian holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha have been declared public holidays.[3]
Timorese Arabs
[edit]
Muslims have always been a minority in East Timor, where the Roman Catholic Church dominates. However, the two communities have lived in harmony for centuries.
The first Arab traders bought sandalwood, slaves, and honey in Timor-Leste and transported it via Java and Sulawesi to China and India. Their descendants live mainly in the Kampung Alor district of West Dili. At the time of the 1949 census, there were 149 Arabs in the country.
Yemeni Arabs from Hadhramaut settled in the Portuguese colony of Timor-Leste in the late 19th century, where they were partly assimilated with the people of Southeast Asia. Some members of the Arab community held administrative positions in the Japanese military police during the Japanese occupation (1942–1945), and were accused of collaborating with the tyrants.
In 1957, many Arabs applied to the Indonesian consulate in Dili to obtain citizenship in the Muslim-majority country of Indonesia, to which Portugal responded by offering them Portuguese citizenship.
Since the 1970s, Arabs have been one of the four socio-ethnic groups in East Timor, along with Europeans, Chinese, and Timorese.
Mosque
[edit]
- An-Nur Mosque[4] is a mosque in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. It is located in the Kampung Alor district of the capital, where the majority of Arabs live.
- Masjid Liquica hekar
- Masjid Al-Hidayah
In the 1940s, the Arab minority began to make efforts to build the first mosque in Dili. The mosque was completed in 1955 by Imam Haji Hassan ibn Abdullah Balatif. The head of the Roman Catholic Church diocese in Dili provided bricks for the building. Later, he often visited the mosque during Muslim holidays. The mosque building was renovated in 1981.
During the 1999 Timorese crisis and the 2006 Timor-Leste crisis, the mosque served as a shelter for refugees, who were housed in classrooms within the mosque complex. The mosque was protected from the bandits who were attacking it by well-armed UN peacekeepers ([USA, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Portugal).[5][6]
Basilio do Nascimento,[a] visited a mosque before the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, marking the end of the Ramadan month, and promised Muslims that he would protect their historic mosque and other Islamic places of worship from attacks by bandits.
In December 2002, the mosque was set on fire by protesters against the Muslim Prime Minister Alkatiri. Bishop (since 2002) Basilio do Nascimento apologized to Muslims for the actions of Catholics; offers the Imam of the Muslim community the use of the Catholic Church's radio station to broadcast Friday sermons, and also invites them to give lectures on Islam at a Catholic seminary.[7]
During the unrest following the 2012 parliamentary elections, some demonstrators attempted to damage a mosque. Sixteen of the attackers were detained by police.[8]
The imam of the Dili Mosque (since 2018) is Julio Muslim António da Costa.
The chairman of the Muslim National Council of Timor-Leste (since 2019) is Ahmad Ali Alayudi.
Since 2018, the President of the Islamic Community Center of Timor-Leste (CENCITIL) is Arif Abdullah Sagran. The President of the Islamic Community, Arif Abdullah Sagran, stated that the level of Islamic education in Timor-Leste is very low. The Ministry of Religious Affairs has provided scholarships to send 5 Muslim children to study Indonesia. Most of the students do not return. They prefer to settle in Indonesia.[9]
Notable Muslims
[edit]- Mari bin Amude Alkatiri GCIH :-Former Prime Minister of Timore
- Ali Alkatiri
- Djafar Alkatiri
- Marina Alkatiri
- Nurima Alkatiri
See also
[edit]References
[edit]footnotes
- ^ 1996 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to peacefully and justly resolve the conflict in Timor-Leste
Citarions
- ^ "National Profiles | World Religion". The Association of Religion Data Archives (the ARDA). Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ Direcção-Geral de Estatística, archived from the original on 2019-09-23, retrieved 2025-04-06
- ^ "Governo aprova novo feriado e data da invasão indonésia passa a Dia da Memória - Notícias SAPO - SAPO Notícias". noticias.sapo.tl. Archived from the original on 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
- ^ "Home - The Revert Project". The Revert Project. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ "Supporting all faiths in Timor-Leste - Timor-Leste | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2006-06-13. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
- ^ "Dili's Muslims". etan.org. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
- ^ "CNS: East Timor bishop apologizes for rioting, attack on mosque". www.etan.org. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
- ^ "East Timor president calls for security forces to restore order after post-election violence". Retrieved 2025-04-06.
- ^ Suaramuslim.net (2018-08-15). "Minim pendidikan Islam, Pelajar Timor Leste Banyak yang Tidak Mau Kembali ke Negaranya. -". Retrieved 2025-04-06.
