Do You Know of Any Mosques in the Area?

I recently moved to Costa Rica and have been trying to locate the Muslim community here, though it may be small (or so it seems). I would like to know if there are any mosques in the area. Being the experts on the country, would you be able to offer me any information? Thanks for your help; I enjoy reading The Tico Times.

Eli Asikin Garmager

San Pedro

Abdul Fatah, secretary of the Islamic Association of Costa Rica, told The Tico Times El Mezquita de Omar in Guadalupe is the only mosque he knows of in Costa Rica.

The Sunni mosque is located 700 meters north and 500 m west of the Guadalupe court buildings. Or, from the Santa Mónica School, it is 100 m west and 100 m south. The phone number is 240-4872, though often nobody is there to answer, according to Fatah. The Islamic Association meets there Fridays from 1-3 p.m., when services are held. He said anyone interested in the Muslim community in Costa Rica should attend. The services are in Spanish.

Fatah and Laura Pérez, of the Costa Rican Residents’ Association, said they aren’t aware of any English-speaking Muslim organizations here.

A listing of Islamic organizations in Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, is available online at latinodawah.org, though it appears the site hasn’t been updated in some time. The site lists three organizations with telephone numbers, but two of them – Centro Islámico de Costa Rica, and Centro Cultural Musulmán de Costa Rica – are the same organization, according to Fatah. No one answered the phone numbers provided. The other organization, Al Markaz in Desamparados, no longer exists, Fatah said.