Uruguay
It is possible that the first contact of Uruguay's lands with Islam was established through Muslims brought from outside the continent to work as slaves during the colonial period, but there is no precise information about this fact today. Indeed, there is no Islamic culture and tradition in Uruguay today. However, in Uruguay, as in other parts of the Latin world, interest in Islam has been growing in recent years and the number of Muslims has increased proportionally.
It is estimated that between 1,000 and 2,000 Muslims live in Uruguay today. There are several small organizations representing the Muslim minority, the majority of which are composed of immigrants of Arab origin. These are the Islamic Center of Uruguay (Centro Islamico del Uruguay) in the capital Montevideo, the Muslims of Greenland, the Egyptian Islamic Center, and the Islamic Center of Uruguay in Canelones. Since there are currently no mosques open for worship in the country, Muslims perform their mass prayers in these centers. In Uruguay, as in other countries in the region, the most important need of Muslims and Uruguayan society interested in Islam is the difficulty in accessing basic Islamic sources in their native language.