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Guyana Islam
Like the Hindus, Guyana's Muslims are organized into orthodox
and reform movements. The Sunnatival Jamaat is the orthodox
Sunni (see Glossary)
Islamic movement. The largest Islamic organization
in the country is the Guyana United Sadr Islamic Anjuman. The
reform movement, the Ahmadiyah, was founded in India in the late
nineteenth century; its first missionary to Guyana arrived in 1908.
The reform movement has had considerable success, even including
some Afro-Guyanese among its converts. The rites of orthodox and
reform Islam are similar, but the reform movement allows the Quran
to be read in English and women to enter a designated section of
the mosque. In contrast to the situation found on the Indian
subcontinent, Muslims and Hindus experience little friction in
Guyana. These two religious communities have a tacit agreement not
to proselytize each other's members. In smaller villages,
Christians and Muslims come together to participate in each other's
ceremonies.
Until the 1970s, Hindu and Muslim holidays were not officially
recognized. A number of non-Christian religious days are now public
holidays. Hindu holidays include Holi, the spring festival, and
Divali, the festival of lights. Muslim holidays include Id al Fitr,
the end of Ramadan, the sacred month of fasting; Id al Adha, the
feast of sacrifice; and Yaum an Nabi, the birthday of Muhammad. The
dates for these holidays vary. An East Indian heritage day is
celebrated and on May 5, an Amerindian festival is held on Republic
Day, in February.
Data as of January 1992
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