1.  Islam in Mauritius
[By WIKIPEDIA  ]
The 1968 constitution of Mauritius recognized four religious categories: Hindus, Muslims, Sino-Mauritians, and the general population. According to a 1989 estimate of a total population of 1,080,000, Muslims constituted about 16 percent (179,280). Recent statistics are not available because questions on religious affiliations have been removed from the population census.

The Muslim population is approximately 95 percent Sunni and many are Urdu-speaking. Other languages include Bhojpuri, Gujarati, and Tamil. Sunnis adhere mostly to the Hanafi school of thought, reflecting their roots in the Indian subcontinent.

A file photo of a mosque in the capital Port-Louis

2.  Ramadan Brings Mauritius Religious Crisis To Fore
[By Nasseem Ackbarally, IOL Correspondent]

The start of the Muslims holy fasting month of Ramadan on Sunday, October 27, brought to the fore the religious crisis of the 200,000-strong Muslim community of this Indian Ocean island.

Imam Hafiz Akbar Neeyamatkhan, of the Jamaah Naeemiah in Port-Louis, lamented that Mauritius Muslims lost enthusiasm in Ramadan.

"Fifteen years ago, Muslims were more religious, collaborated with each other, not only during Ramadan but during the whole year," he told IslamOnline.net.

"They were at the mosques for long hours. All this has disappeared. If the number of Muslims doing Ramadan has diminished, those who do it also are in a hurry to finish with it," he added.

This is due mainly, Neeyamatkhan asserted, to the lack of unity among the Muslim community which represents 18% of the 1.2 million population.