A controversial public forum hosted by a local Christian movement in the Dominican Republic has drawn over 1,000 attendees to Santo Domingo, centering discussion on the expansion of Islam in the country and neighboring Haiti, alongside calls for new state oversight of Islamic religious practice. The event, titled “Islam: A Threat to the Church and to the Dominican Republic?”, was held at Mahanaim Miraflores Church and organized by the Trinitarios movement, a group that frames its public advocacy around Christian and nationalist perspectives.
The gathering brought together a cross-section of prominent Christian leaders and a sitting national legislator to unpack the topic. Heading the event were organizers Isaac B. Colón, Víctor Medina, and Robert Martínez, with a featured panel that included senior and junior pastors Ezequiel Molina Rosario, Ezequiel Molina Jr., and Junior Ponciano. Sitting Congressman Elías Wessin Chávez also joined the panel, alongside guest speaker Daniel Blanco, a former Muslim who converted to Christianity and shared his personal conversion story with attendees.
Over the course of the forum, speakers outlined their concerns about the rising footprint of Islam in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti, warning that this growth could create unaddressed cultural and religious challenges for the Dominican national identity and the country’s majority Christian establishment. Attendees unanimously expressed public support for a draft legislative proposal put forward by Wessin Chávez that would introduce new government regulations on the practice of Islam across the nation.
This event is not an isolated initiative, but rather part of a broader campaign by the Trinitarios movement to foster public debate on key national issues through the lens of Christian faith and Dominican patriotism, organizers confirmed. The forum’s provocative framing, which explicitly questions whether Islam poses a threat to national and religious institutions, has brought heightened attention to growing religious tension in the Caribbean nation.