Islam in the Indian Ocean was established by Muslim sea merchants well before the European discovery of Seychelles. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion This article is about the body of water For other uses see SEA and Seas. Merchants function as professionals who deal with Trade, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves in order to produce Profit. Seychelles (seɪˈʃɛl or /seɪˈʃɛlz/ in English and seʃɛl in French) officially the Republic of Seychelles (République des Seychelles Creole However, unlike in other island states including the Comoros and Maldives, there were no permanent inhabitants in Seychelles until the French settlement in 1770. The Comoros (ˈkɒməroʊz; جزر القمر Juzur al-Qumur) officially the Union of the Comoros (Union des Comores الإتّحاد القمريّ The Maldives ( or, or Maldive Islands) officially the Republic of Maldives, is an Island nation consisting of a group of atolls stretching Today, the Muslim population of the islands is reported to be only 1. 1%, roughly 900 people. Many of its island neighbors in the southern Indian Ocean, including Comoros, the Maldives and Zanzibar, have a much larger Muslim influence because of their settlements by Muslims before European colonization. The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface The Comoros (ˈkɒməroʊz; جزر القمر Juzur al-Qumur) officially the Union of the Comoros (Union des Comores الإتّحاد القمريّ The Maldives ( or, or Maldive Islands) officially the Republic of Maldives, is an Island nation consisting of a group of atolls stretching Zanzibar ( is part of the East African republic of Tanzania. It consists of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Mauritius also has a much higher Muslim population due to the importation of labour from British India on a scale not seen in Seychelles. Mauritius (pronounced məˈrɪʃəs L’île Maurice /il mɔ'ʁis/ Mauritian Creole: Maurice) officially the Republic of Mauritius, République For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British The government of Seychelles allows 15 minutes of religious broadcasting every Friday for the Muslim community.