Tico Muslims promote diversity, charity and tolerance during Ramadan

By : Nate Perkins

“Assalamu alaykum,” says Yusef Sánchez in greeting as he walks through the doors of the Muslim Cultural Center in Guadalupe, a suburb just northeast of San José. Sánchez is one of few Costa Rican converts to the Islamic faith. Active in their religion, he, his wife and baby son journey from their home in the central Pacific town of Jacó every Friday, the Islamic holy day, to attend meetings at the only mosque in Costa Rica.

Sánchez estimates that he is one of maybe 20 Ticos who make up a small portion of the country’s total Muslim population, a tiny minority in a country that is 90 percent Christian.

Attending a typical Friday worship service are immigrants from Germany, Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan, France and Palestine, among others. Sánchez’s wife is from the U.S. city of Chicago.

Source : http://www.costaricaviews.com/tico-muslims-promote-diversity-charity-and-tolerance-during-ramadan/