Mesquita Brasil

Mesquita Brasil (Mosque Brazil) is a mosque located in Cambuci, central district of São Paulo city, Brazil.^[3] It was first founded in 1929^[1][2] by the Muslim Beneficent Society of São Paulo.^[1] Mesquita Brasil is the oldest mosque in Brazil^[3][4][2] and one of the oldest mosques in South America.^[1]

Mosque Brazil (São Paulo)
Mesquita Brasil
Mesquita Brasil as of June 2007
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Governing body	Muslim Beneficent Society of São Paulo.[1]
Status	Open
Location
Location	Avenida do Estado, 5382 - Cambuci, São Paulo
State	São Paulo
Country	Brazil
Location in Brazil
Geographic coordinates	21°34′S 41°55′W
Architecture
Type	Mosque
Founder	Muslim Beneficent Society of São Paulo.[1]
Date established	1929[1][2]

History

History of Mesquita Brasil dates back to the 1920s. In the aftermath of the World War I, many Muslim immigrants began arriving in São Paulo after fleeing troubles in the Middle East region. In 1927, Palestinian Muslim Charitable Society was formed by some Palestinian immigrants including Darwich Gazal and Hosni Adura. As more immigrants arrived from Syria and Lebanon, they changed the name of the society to Muslim Beneficent Society (SBM) in 1929. The Mesquita Brasil began in 1929 with the formation of the Muslim Beneficent Society (SBM) of São Paulo.^[4]

The Muslim Beneficent Society (SBM) first began holding congregation prayers in rented rooms in Av Rangel Pestana and Barão de Duprat in São Paulo. In 1938, they acquired a land and shifted prayers to the Avenue of the State.^[4]

In 1940, the society moved permanently to the present premises of the Mesquita Brasil in Av. Do Estado, 5,382, Cambuci, São Paulo and began construction of the first Brazilian mosque. Construction took many years and the mosque was officially inaugurated in 1960. The inauguration was attended by Arab and Brazilian officials, including H.E. Hussein Zulfaqqar Sabry, Deputy Foreign Minister of the United Arab Republic, representing the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).^[4][5]

See also

• Islam in Brazil
• List of mosques in Brazil
• List of mosques in the Americas
• List of the oldest mosques

References

1. "Mesquita Brasil não quer arrebanhar fiéis, garante entidade ao JM Notícia". jmnoticia.com.br. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
2. "Brazil's 'oldest' mosque - an historic reminder of the country's diversity". youtube.com. AP Archive. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
3. "Mesquita Brazil". vejasp.abril.com.br. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
4. "Muslims and Brazil". mesquitabrasil.com.br. Archived from the original on 11 October 2002. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
5. https://www.facebook.com/Dr.AbdallahshakourKamel/videos/1519646168363795/ ^{[user-generated source]}