Foundation Islamic Union
Suriname
Official Name: Republic of Suriname (SR)
Capital : Paramaribo
Area: 163.270 km2
Population : 575,000
Ethnic Structure: Despite its small size, the population is made up of a wide variety of ethnic and religious communities. The main ethnic groups are Indians 27%, Creoles 18%, Javanese 15%, Maroons 15%, Mulattoes 13%, native Indians 4%, Chinese 2% and whites 1%.
Language: Dutch
Religion: Hindu 27.4%, Protestant 25.2%, Catholic 22.8%, Muslim 19.6% and animists 5%. The majority of people of African descent are Christians. Islam is widespread among immigrants from Indonesia and India. Suriname is the country with the largest Muslim population in the Americas and has therefore been a member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference since 1997.
Geographical situation: It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south, Guyana to the west and French Guiana to the east.
Resistant crystalline rocks cover a large area in the surface forms. The country is divided into three geographical regions from north to south. There are plains with sand dunes, marshes and estuaries on the Atlantic coast, a gradually rising plateau to the south of it, and hilly areas in the middle and south, and mountainous areas with an elevation of over 1000 metres in places. The climate is hot and humid. The most precipitation falls in April-August and November-February periods. The average annual temperature is 27 °C. The coasts are covered with mangrove forests, the plateau with savannas and short trees, and the central and southern regions with tropical forests.
Indians and Javanese work in agriculture and other industries, the Chinese are engaged in trade, and whites constitute the wealthy class.
Most of the country's income comes from bauxite, which is processed into aluminium in the Paranam region in the north-east or exported as raw material. Its main exports are aluminium, crude oil, timber, shrimp, fish, rice and bananas. There is a maritime boundary dispute between Suriname and Guyana, and the presence of rich oil deposits in the region makes it difficult to resolve.[1]
Government: The Republic of Suriname is a representative democracy according to the 1987 Constitution. The legislature of the country is the unicameral National Assembly of Suriname, consisting of 51 members. Members of parliament are elected every 5 years on the basis of popular vote.
Political Parties: In 1949, the Muslim Party, Hindu Party and Indo-Javanese Party merged into the United Indian Party.
History: The first known inhabitants of Suriname were Indians. The coast of Suriname was discovered in 1499 by the Spanish navigator Alonso de Ojeda; however, the Spanish conquest of Suriname took place about a century later (1593) and did not last long. From 1616 onwards, the Netherlands and after 1651, England began to establish settlement centres in the region. At the end of the war between these two states to capture and colonise the region, England ceded its rights in Suriname to the Netherlands in exchange for New Amsterdam (New York) with the Treaty of Breda (1667). Slaves from Africa, numbering 250,000 until the 19th century, were brought from Africa to work on sugar cane and coffee plantations established in the 1680s, and when slavery was abolished in 1863, indigenous labourers were brought from India and Java for the same work; these workers settled in the lands where they worked over time. In 1922, Suriname's status was changed from a colony to an overseas province directly under the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1954, this province, called Dutch Guiana, was granted independence in internal affairs, and on 25 October 1975, full independence was granted and a parliamentary republic was established. In February 1980, a military coup overthrew the government and suspended the constitution. In 1982, when the military authorities had fifteen prominent opposition leaders arrested and killed, the Netherlands and the United States announced that they would stop their aid until a civilian government was established. Elections in November 1987 brought an end to military rule and a new constitution was adopted by referendum. In late 1990, the military seized power in a new coup d'état, but foreign pressure forced general elections to be held in May 1991. A coalition government was formed and the United People's Assembly elected Ronald Venetiaan as president. In the elections that followed, the country was governed by coalition governments. In the 1996 elections, opposition leader Jules Wijdenbosch was elected as president, but Ronald Venetiaan was re-elected as president in the 2000 elections and again in the 2005 elections. In elections held in August 2010, former military leader Dési Bouterse formed a ruling government with the opposition. In 2015, President Bouterse was re-elected, and in the 2020 elections Chan Santokhi came to power
Islamisation in the country: Muslim slaves revolted many times until 1863. The most successful of these uprisings were those led by Senegal-born slaves named Arabi and Zamzam. Zamzam forced the Dutch to sign a peace treaty with them in 1761. The territory he conquered with this success is still ruled by his descendants. The poor living conditions continued after 1922, when forced labour was abolished. Since 1927, these Muslims have been comfortable as Dutch subjects and since 1954 as citizens of a free country. Today, the descendants of these Muslims are represented in all branches of labour and can be found in the best positions as landowners and livestock breeders in the agricultural economy, as employers in commerce, industry and transport, as well as in positions of authority in the administrative and political administration of the country. This rapid rise of the Muslim community of former slaves and labourers was made possible by the existence of a good compulsory education system in the country. Until 1940, the Dutch civil law was in force in the area of marriage law, especially in the area of divorce, which was very difficult for a Muslim. Due to this legal system that did not recognise religious marriage, more than 90% of Muslim children were considered illegitimate in some years. In order to overcome these problems, new laws were drafted from 1940 onwards, and special marriage arrangements were made for Hindus and Muslims, taking more into account eastern traditions. Marriage contracts were written in local or an oriental language (Hindi, Urdu, Malay, Javanese, Arabic), while Muslims were allowed to be buried without coffins.
Muslims of Indian origin in Suriname, the majority of whom were immigrants from Pakistan in the 1930s, are 30 per cent Hanafi, while Indonesian Muslims are 65 per cent Shafi'i.
A deep conflict arose within the Muslim community due to the activities of the Ahmadiyya (Kādiyānī) movement originating in Southeast Asia. In 1937, a caller from Kādiyān named Amīr Ali succeeded in establishing the Islamic Union of Suriname (Surinaamse Islamitische Vereniging), which soon became the most important Islamic organisation in the country and attracted a third of the religious Surinamese to its side. Against him, the Ahl al-Sunnah section organised in 1978 under the name of the Islamic Society of Suriname. Today, the majority of Muslims are polarised around these two organisations. There are 150 mosques and 50 Islamic schools in the country. During Ramadan, the two groups sometimes pray together. In this case, sermons are usually delivered in Dutch, which is understood by both groups. The largest mosque is the Jama Masjid, built in the mid-1980s in the centre of the capital Paramaribo. Equipped with four minarets of 30 metres each, it is located adjacent to an 18th century Ashkenazi synagogue, and Muslim and Jewish leaders visit each other's shrines.
Since 1970 Ramadan has been celebrated as a national holiday and Muslims, like other groups, enjoy full religious freedom. In addition to the Surinaamse Islamitische Vereniging, the largest official Muslim organisation in the country, seven other organisations oversee the affairs of Muslims in Suriname. Religious associations and Qur'anic schools currently receive small grants from the state. Despite all efforts, Islamic life is gradually being replaced by western-style life due to the collapse of religious education. Although some teachers from Pakistan and Indonesia have recently travelled to the country to teach Arabic and the basics of Islam, less than 3% of the Muslim population can speak or read Arabic. Surinamese Muslims face problems such as the lack of an Islamic literature in Dutch and English, the absence of well-trained religious scholars, a relatively low socio-economic level, and brain drain to other countries, especially the Netherlands.[2]
Economy: The richness of flora and fauna has been destroyed in recent years and about 12% of the country's surface area has been declared a national park and taken under protection. The rivers Courantyne and Maroni have a high hydroelectric potential due to their high flow rates and numerous waterfalls. The lake of the Blommestein Dam, built on the Suriname River in 1964 to provide energy for the bauxite industry, is an important freshwater reservoir.
Currency: Surinamese dollar (SRD)
National Income per Capita: 4,199 USD
Transport: Transport is developed in the coastal area. The capital Paramaribo is the most important port city
Agriculture: 1% of its surface area is suitable for agriculture. Almost all of the cultivated areas are in coastal plains and riversides. The main agricultural products are rice, bananas, sugar cane and tropical fruits. Cattle breeding, poultry farming, fishing and especially shrimp fishing are economically valuable. Forest products and hydroelectric power are among the main natural resources. The most important underground riches are bauxite with large reserves and oil discovered in recent years in the shallow and wide shelf area of the sea (continental shelf); gold, copper, platinum, iron, kaolin and nickel are other riches.
International Organisations of which it is a Member: OICT[3] and the Caribbean Common Market (CARICOM).
[1] Encyclopaedia of Islam, TDV.
[2] Encyclopaedia of Islam, TDV.
