Être musulman arabe entre émigration au Brésil et retour au pays : identité culturelle ou religieuse ?

Abstract

This article addresses the Arabic Islam that immigrants brought to Brazil. First, I present the numerical data available on the Muslims and religious institutions in the country. I then deal with the practices and ways of being for Muslims who came from Lebanon – mostly the region of the Bekaa valley – between the 1950s and 1960s and settled in the city of São Paulo, as well as examining those from this group who managed to return to their country of origin. My methodology engages with official statistical data and a mapping of the country's main religious institutions, based on information drawn from websites, media, and promotional materials, and analyzing the Islamic practices of this immigrant group through collected life narratives.

Keywords

• islamisme arabe
• immigration
• retour
• pratiques religieuses et culturelles
• histoire orale