Why Cuba’s Muslim Population Is Growing
Fidel Castro banned religion when he first took over but in recent years the regime has been more tolerant.
by Lucy Westcott
Jan 06, 2017
2 minutes
The first time a pope ever set foot in Cuba was in 1998, when John Paul II traveled to the Communist state. The visit was the result of a thaw between the Vatican and Cuba’s president, Fidel Castro, who banned religion in 1959 when he seized power. Cuba’s majority-Catholic population welcomed the pontiff with great excitement; several hundred thousand people, including Castro, attended the Mass
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