Cuban Muslims are learning Islam via embassies of Middle Eastern countries and Muslim students studying in Cuba. Cuba is a country where the history of Islam is fresh. Printed and visual Islamic sources are almost non-existent in Cuba. Newly converted Cuban Muslims change their names to Muslim names like Yasin, Idris, Yahya and Abdurrahim to their names. Cuban Muslims are waiting for Islamic enlightenment. Evening prayers are performed communally in small houses. “inshaAllah, the mosque promised by the government will serve as a moral shelter for Cuban Muslims,” said Pedro, president of Cuban Islamic Union. 

Yahya Pedro is a black African who heard of Islam via Muslims coming from Africa in 1966. Certain expression in Bible encouraged him to search for Islam in the 1970s. He converted to Islam after the guidance of a Togolese diplomat in 1982. When he first learned to recite the Quran, his siblings and parents converted to Islam as well.  

The number of Muslims in Cuba is estimated to be around 2,000. In Havana, 960 Cubans have converted to Islam and registered with the Islamic Union. 

Cuba is watching for muslims