Islam in Macau

Islam has been present in Macau since the Yuan Dynasty. It is generally accepted that Islam was brought to Macau by traders from the Middle East and Persia during that time until the Qing Dynasty era.{{cite web |url=http://www.muslim2china.com/china-mosques/list-Macau.html |title=Macau Mosques - Mosques in China |publisher=muslim2china.com |access-date=30 May 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724111712/http://www.muslim2china.com/china-mosques/list-Macau.html |archive-date=2014-07-24 }} Some of this evidence can be found at the Muslim Cemetery nearby Macau Mosque where some of the tombs date back to hundreds of years ago.{{cite web |url=http://www.muslim2china.com/china-mosques/Macau-Mosque-58.html |title=Macau Mosque - Mosques in China |publisher=muslim2china.com |access-date=2014-05-30 |archive-date=2017-11-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107024905/http://www.muslim2china.com/china-mosques/Macau-Mosque-58.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.fiqhislam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78087&Itemid=360 |title=Islam di Kota Judi Macau |publisher=Fiqhislam.Com |date=9 April 2013|access-date=30 May 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017000140/http://www.fiqhislam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78087&Itemid=360 |archive-date=17 October 2013}}

During the Portuguese rule of Macau, many Muslims came from South Asia with the Portuguese Army. In the 1880s, they founded a Mosque for their prayer place.{{Cite web |url=http://www.macaunews.com.mo/content/view/3427/5/lang,english/ |title=Macau News - Muslim community in Macao grows rapidly |access-date=4 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304124336/http://www.macaunews.com.mo/content/view/3427/5/lang,english/ |archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead }}{{cite news|last=Salama|date=6 June 2015|url=https://halalfocus.net/muslim-community-in-macao-grows-rapidly/|title=Muslim community in Macao grows rapidly|website=Halal Focus|access-date=1 September 2021}}

During World War II, many Hui people escaped to then-Portuguese Macau from the Republic of China to avoid the devastation from the war. Many of them are from Zhaoqing in Guangdong province. However, many of them moved to Hong Kong after the end of the war.{{cite web |url=http://www.iuhk.org/Eng/E_iuhk.htm |title=Masjids & Islamic Centers In Hong Kong |publisher=Iuhk.org |access-date=30 May 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010023723/http://www.iuhk.org/Eng/E_iuhk.htm |archive-date=2014-10-10 }} Some Muslims also came to Macau from Northwest China after the end of Chinese Civil War in 1949.{{cite web |url=http://www.jmlib.com:8088/datalib/2003/AreaSummary/DL/DL-20031214205555 |title=文化共享 - 澳门伊斯兰教 |access-date=25 December 2013|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226110819/http://www.jmlib.com:8088/datalib/2003/AreaSummary/DL/DL-20031214205555 |archive-date=26 December 2013}}

Before the Macau handover from Portugal to China in 1999, the Islamic Union of Hong Kong used to provide about HK$150,000 to support the Muslim community in Macau.

Over the past ten years, the Muslim community in Macau has grown to more than 10,000 with the arrival of Muslim workers from South and South East Asia, working at various sectors in Macau.

{{main|Macau Mosque and Cemetery}}

File:Macau Mosque.JPG

Macau currently has one mosque, which is the Macau Mosque, located at 4 Ramal Dos Moros in Our Lady of Fatima Parish. The mosque was built in the 1980s by the Muslim people from the second wave of immigrants during the Portuguese rule of Macau. This mosque is especially crowded during Sunday where most of the employees have their work break days.{{cite news|last=Jumaat|date=30 March 2018|url=https://www.mstar.com.my/travel/destinasi/2018/03/30/percutian-mesra-muslim-macau|title=Tak kenal maka tak cinta... Segalanya ada di Macau, paling penting mesra Muslim|work=mStar|access-date=1 September 2021|language=ms|trans-title=Not Recognize Means Not Love ... Everything is Here in Macau, as Long as It is Muslim-Friendly}}

Every year during Eid al-Adha, Muslims in Macau gather at Macau Mosque to celebrate the Muslim festivity by performing prayer and animal slaughtering for the needy and poor.{{cite web|last=Lau|first=João Pedro|date=6 October 2014|url=http://macaudailytimes.com.mo/local-muslim-community-celebrates-eid-al-adha.html|title=Local Muslim community celebrates Eid al-Adha|work=Macau Daily Times|access-date=30 August 2021}}{{cite web|last=Pinto|first=Catarina|date=25 September 2015|url=http://macaudailytimes.com.mo/muslims-gather-to-celebrate-eid-al-adha-in-macau.html|title=Muslims gather to celebrate Eid al-Adha in Macau|work=Macau Daily Times|access-date=1 September 2021}} The same thing also happen during the annual Eid al-Fitr celebration which is held at the mosque.{{cite web|date=20 July 2015|url=http://macaudailytimes.com.mo/local-muslims-gather-to-mark-end-of-ramadan.html|title=Local Muslims gather to mark end of Ramadan|work=Macau Daily Times|access-date=1 September 2021}}

File:Macau Muslim Cemetery.JPG

Macau has one Muslim cemetery. Built in 1854, it is located within the same area as Macau Mosque. Some of the tombstones' styles are of Persian origin with writing in Farsi, Arabic, Chinese, English and Portuguese. Some of the tombs date back to hundreds of years ago.{{cite web|date=18 August 2021|url=https://www.macaotourism.gov.mo/en/sightseeing/other-attractions/islamic-mosque-and-cemetery|title=Islamic Mosque and Cemetery|website=Macao Government Tourism Office|access-date=1 September 2021}} The cemetery consists of around 120 graves.

File:Macau Halal Restaurant.JPG

As of January 2015, there are five Halal restaurants and shops selling Halal food in Macau, both on the Macau Peninsula and Taipa.{{cite web |url= https://macaudailytimes.com.mo/muslim-family-macau-jihad-radical-islam.html |date= 27 January 2015 |title= Muslim Family in Macau on a 'Jihad' against Radical Islam|publisher=Macau Daily Times|access-date=18 May 2018}}{{cite web |url=http://www.muslim2china.com/halal-food-china/list-Macau.html |title=Macau Halal Restaurants - Macau Muslim Restaurants - Muslin2China.com |publisher=Muslim2china.com |access-date=30 May 2014 |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331024158/https://www.muslim2china.com/halal-food-china/list-Macau.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://www.islaminmacau.com/Halal_Restaurants_results.htm |title=Halal Restaurants in Macau |publisher=Islaminmacau.com |access-date=30 May 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.islaminmacau.com/Halal_shops_results.htm |title=Shops Selling Halal Food Items i |publisher=Islaminmacau.com |access-date=30 May 2014}} Macau's first Halal restaurant was launched in 2012, called the Taste of India at Macau Fisherman's Wharf, serving Halal Indian and Portuguese cuisines. It took them three years to obtain the Halal certification.{{cite web |url=http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/40604-macau-has-first-restaurant-with-muslim-food-certificate.html |title=Macau has first restaurant with Muslim food certificate |publisher=Macau Daily Times |access-date=2014-05-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110191007/http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/40604-macau-has-first-restaurant-with-muslim-food-certificate.html |archive-date=10 November 2013}}

File:Islamic Association of Macau.JPG

The Islamic Association of Macau (IAM; {{lang-zh|t=澳門伊斯蘭會}}; Portuguese: Associação Islâmica de Macau) is an Islamic organization in Macau founded in 1935.{{cite web|url=http://yearbook.gcs.gov.mo/files/yearbook/2003/myb2003pPA02CH14.pdf|title=澳門年鑑|access-date=2013-12-25|archive-date=2013-12-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226222657/http://yearbook.gcs.gov.mo/files/yearbook/2003/myb2003pPA02CH14.pdf|url-status=dead}} The headquarters of the organization is at the Macau Mosque.{{cite web|url=http://www.islamicfinder.org/phone/getitWorld_phone.php?id=36447|title=ISLAMIC ASSOCIATION OF MACAU, Macau, Macau - Islamic Centers, Masjids Mosques, Muslim Owned Businesses, Islamic Schools and Colleges}} The Islamic Union of Hong Kong in Hong Kong provides annual budget and subsidy to the IAM so that the association support Muslims in Macau and to propagate Islam in the region. The current President of IAM is Ahmed Din Khan and the Vice President is Fazal Dad.

The Peduli Indonesian Migrant Workers Concern Group was established in 2009 in Macau. The group assists the Indonesian workers in Macau, such as explaining about Macau immigration law, employment documents translation etc. The group currently has around 350 members. It offers English classes, computer courses and holds many activities, such as visits to elderly homes, AIDS campaigns, hip-hop competitions, etc.

To attract more Muslim tourists from Southeast Asia, the Macau Government Tourism Office has been engaging in several efforts to give a new perception that Macau is not only a gaming region. Over the past two years, the government has been engaging in seminars on Muslim practices during travel, encouraging more restaurants to get halal certification from Hong Kong and requesting hotels to reconstructing their lobby so that visitors do not have to go through casinos when going to restaurants or their rooms.{{cite web|last=Kusuma|first=Sagara|date=13 September 2016|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/09/13/macau-committed-becoming-world-class-destination.html|title=Macau committed to becoming world class destination|work=The Jakarta Post|access-date=1 September 2021}}

Muslims in Macau are often faced with time availability to pray, because most of them time they have only one break during their working period, which is not enough to hold two daily prayers. Some Muslim women workers also sometimes face difficulties to keep wearing their veil during working time, although this has never been a major issues in Macau.

{{Portal|Islam}}

• Islam in Hong Kong
• Islam in Sichuan
• Islam in Taiwan
• Religion in Macau

{{reflist}}

{{commons category}}

{{Islam by city}}

{{Asia in topic|Islam in}}