Islam in Argentina

Argentina is a predominantly Christian country, with Islam being a minority religion. Due to secular nature of the Argentine constitution, Muslims are free to proselytize and build places of worship in the country. Although accurate statistics on religion are not available (because the national census does not solicit religious data), the actual size of Argentina's Muslim community is estimated to be around 1% of the total population (400,000 to 500,000 members), according to the International Religious Freedom Report in 2015. Early Muslim immigration There are some indications that the Muslim presence within present day Argentine territory dates back to the time of the Spanish exploration and conquest. The first mentioned Muslim settlers were the 15th century's Moorish-Morisco (Muslims of the Iberian peninsula of North African and Spanish descent) who explored the Americas with Spanish explorers, many of them settling in Argentina who were fleeing from persecution in Spain such as the Spanish Inquisition. However, in the 19th century Argentina saw the first real wave of Arabs to settle within its territory, mostly from Syria and Lebanon. It is estimated that today there are about 3.5 million Argentines of Arab descent, most of whom are Christian.