![](\"images\/stories\/news1\/muslims_in_brazil.jpg\")
Giving Brazil\u2019s carnival city a new taste, a growing number of Muslim converts in Rio De Janeiro is changing the face of the world\u2019s biggest Catholic country. \u201cI found in Islam everything I had always looked for,\u201d Omar Israfil Dawud bin Ibrahim, who until just four years ago officiated as Catholic priest at a local church, told Agence France Presse (AFP) on Sunday, August 21.
\u201cI met God as he is, with no adaptation,\u201d the 34-year-old graphic designer said.
Wearing a traditional robe, Omar accompanies his wife, Alessandra Faria, who goes by the name \u201cFatima\u201d after converting to Islam and donning hijab, on Ramadan nights to Mesquita da Luz, Rio’s first mosque.
\u201cAt the seminary, you learn that Islam is one of the monotheistic religions. There is no prejudice against this religion,\u201d said Omar as he stood by his wife.
As for the wife, the decision to don hijab in a city where mini-bikinis in seaside neighborhoods is a normal scene was surprising to many. \u00a0
\u201cIn the beginning, my mother was mortified at the thought of going outside with me,\u201d she said.
Feeling proud of her new religion, Fatima says her beliefs can find a place in the multi-cultural country.
\u201cI wear the veil to show I am Muslim and aware that I am part of a minority,\u201d she added.
\u201cBrazil is a mix, made up of several different cultures. This mix makes Brazilians very adaptable and tolerant.\u201d
According to the 2001 census, there are 27,239 Muslims in Brazil.
However, the Islamic Brazilian Federation puts the number at around one and a half million.
Islam expert Paulo Pinto of Fuminense Federal University estimated Brazil is home to about a million Muslims.
With no confirmed number of Muslims, the best indicator of the growth of Islam in the country is the rapid increase in the number of mosques.
There are now 127 mosques, four times as many as there were back in 2000.<\/p>\n