http://www.answers.com/Hispanic%20Muslims
Islamic heritage in the Latino culture and history
Latin Americans, or Latinos as they are typically called, living in the United States have become the largest minority in this country. On January 21, 2003, the United States Census Bureau stated that there were 37 million Latinos residing in the country. Astonishingly, this outnumbered African Americans by 0.3 percent. The combination of the increase in Latinos and the nation’s fastest growing religion (Islam) has produced a very interesting specimen: the Latino Muslim. The Latino Muslim phenomenon has had a growing presence in cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami. Latino Muslims are people who feel that their past religion has not fulfilled them. This emptiness of the soul has ignited the thirst for knowledge about other religions, especially Islam. This paper argues that the influence of Spanish Moors, the traditional values of Latino culture, and the social, political, and economic disfranchisement of the Latino in the US are the three basic elements for the conversion (reversion) of Latinos to Islam. The methodology of the paper is mainly qualitative, using descriptive, explanatory, and exploratory case study techniques.
Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the United States of America. The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon proved to have a very negative effect on the image of the world’s largest religion, Islam. Islam was portrayed by the media, with the help of Western governments, as a radical, fundamentalist, and intolerant religion. However, the negative publicity that Islam has had in these past years has not affected (in fact some people believe it has fueled this growing tendency) the growing trend that has continuously made Islam the fastest-growing religion in this country. This paper takes a look at the new phenomenon of the Latino Muslim. A growing number of Latinos have seen in Islam the solution to the problems they face daily in this country. The social injustices and inequalities that Latino communities have experienced have led them to search for other religions that can be more understanding and self-fulfilling.
The purpose of this paper is to examine this new sociological, religious, and demographic phenomenon. Latino culture in the US has traditionally been simplistically portrayed as people who are good at dancing, cooking, committing crimes, and being promiscuous. Then, how can Islam be so attractive to Latinos throughout the country? How can this faraway religion settle itself between people who are traditional Catholics?
The paper addresses the issues that Latino Muslims mostly voice when asked why they converted to Islam. It delineates some of the differences between Latino Muslims and African American Muslims. However, it concentrates on the factors that have made this “strange” relationship possible.
The recent nature of the development requires that the time frame of the paper be from the 1990s to the present. It is true that the first Latino Muslims came from the revolutionary struggles for social justice that this country experienced in the 1960s and 1970s. However, it is widely believed that the majority of the conversions started from the 1990s to the present.
As a result of the recent nature of this phenomenon, scholars have not yet been too interested in the Latino Muslim. The great majority of the information that has been written on the topic has been done by reporters of national and local newspapers. A research report done by a student of the University of Colorado at Boulder and published by Harvard University is also used as reference. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to actually further the study and delineate the importance of this new religious and social trend. The bulk of the articles focus on why Latinos have been increasingly interested in Islam. They also emphasize how the process of conversion has been for those people who traditionally are from a Catholic background.
Hisham Aidi, research fellow at Columbia University, in his article, “Olé to Allah” (2003) describes what his experience was when he visited a mosque in El Barrio, the Puerto Rican bastion of East Harlem. He goes into detail explaining what the Alianza Islámica, originally a group of Puerto Rican converts, is and its involvement in social projects. The influence of African American Muslims on the Latino Muslim is stressed as being very important. Aidi writes about how Latino Muslims are nostalgic about their Moorish past. By creating this genealogical line, many Latino Muslims affirm that Islam, and not Christianity, is their natural religion. In a Washington Post article (2001), Chris L. Jenkins argues that the gradual increase in Latino Muslims reflects how deeply rooted Islam is in the United States. It provides insight into why Latinos are searching for other religions. Jenkins writes that Latino Muslims feel that Islam provides a more direct relationship with God, without intermediaries. The Catholic Church, the article says, estimates that up to 100,000 Latinos are abandoning the faith every year.
Student Researcher Abbas Barzegar of the University of Colorado in his paper, “The Emerging Latino Muslim Community in America”, (2003) discusses some of the main Latino Muslim organizations in the country. He also briefly writes about what is that Latinos are finding interesting in the Islamic faith. Lisa Viscidi, in “Latino Muslim a Growing Presence in America” (Washington Post 2003), goes into some detail on why Latinos are increasingly rejecting Catholicism and its teachings. She cites Juan Galvan, from the Latino American Dawah Organization, as saying that many Latinos have problems in believing in the original sin and the Holy Trinity. She gives a very good recount of how Islam is the real religion of the Latinos’ ancestors because of the Muslim Moors’ conquest of Spain in the 8th Century. In a comprehensive approach she goes back to the revolutionary struggles of the 1960s and 1970s that were the foundation of the first Latino Muslim in the US: i.e. the Puerto Rican Muslim.
In The Record, a New Jersey local newspaper, Marisa Trevino writes an article about how and why Islam has been especially attractive for Latinas. “Latino women suffer from stereotyping” (2005) explains that more and more Latinas are finding that Islam makes them feel better about their bodies and themselves. Interestingly enough, this contrasts with the Western idiosyncrasy that Muslim women are sexually and physically repressed by the supposedly extreme conservatism of Islamic culture. She explains how Latinas have been commercialized by artists such as Jennifer Lopez as hot and sexy people with a different accent. In “Latino Americans Embracing Islam” (2003), Kenny Yusuf Rodriguez, in The American Muslim, provides a very good insight into the struggles and obstacles that Latinos face when converting to Islam. These obstacles come from family members as well as from their communities.
The methodology of the paper is mainly qualitative, using descriptive, explanatory, and exploratory case study techniques. The recent character of the Latino Muslim has not yet been scholarly addressed to include quantitative data. The number of Latino Muslims in the US is still an estimate done by different Muslim organizations. The few statistics available about the Latino Muslim community in the US comprise the only descriptive quantitative analysis in this study.
A case study is a “research process that provides an in-depth description of a particular situation, program, event, or activity…An individual or group of individuals may also be the object or objects of study” (Miller and Salkind 2002: 162-164). This study is a description, exploration, and explanation about the recent event of the Latino Muslim in the United States. It is explanatory because it addresses the why thousands of Latinos have found in Islam the fulfillment of their lives. It is exploratory because an extensive research was done about this phenomenon.
Data collection was based on the archival/document analysis technique. Observations, in the form of interviews, were also conducted for the enhancement of fresh and personal data. The archival/document analysis technique proved efficient because information on the phenomenon has been mostly written in the form of newspaper articles, Islamic organizations’ articles, and personal recounts.
The data for this paper has been analyzed synchronically or thematically. The paper is going to be organized by themes related to the Latino Muslim. This technique is the most suited because the Latino Muslim study is more efficient when divided into different subheadings. The topics are: 1) Why Latinos converting, or reverting, to Islam? 2) Islamic heritage in the Latino culture and history, 3) Difficulties and struggles faced by Latino Muslim converts, and 4) Latino Muslim organizations.
Hisham Aidi begins his article, “Olé to Allah” (2003), describing a Friday afternoon in the Puerto Rican heart of East Harlem, El Barrio. With amusement he narrates how the Alianza Islámica (Islamic Alliance), is delivering the khutba (Muslim sermon) in a geographical area were traditional Catholicism is the predominant religion. Ramon Omar Abduraheem Ocasio, the Alianza’s Puerto Rican Imam, delivers the sermon in Spanish, English, and Arabic on fatherhood and responsibility. The congregation is composed of Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Panamanians, Spaniards, and African Americans. This scene was almost non-existent a decade ago or so, however, nowadays it is becoming more and more present.
Then, why have Latinos been increasingly interested in Islam? Kenny Yusuf Rodriguez, in “Latino Americans Embracing Islam” (2003), interviews a 22-year-old Latina convert from Virginia. This young lady says that Latinos have always been interested in Islam. She points out the similarities of the value structure of Latino culture to Islamic traditions. Such similarities as respect for others, closeness to family ties, and worship made Islam very appealing to this young woman. According to her, the emphasis placed on respect for the mother, the fundamental role of religion and society, and the importance of education are both of paramount significance to both Latino culture and Islam.
Juan Alvarado, a 32-year-old Dominican convert, recounts that since he was a teenager he began to grown impatient with Catholicism and began exploring other spiritual paths. In the traditional Catholic faith Alvarado could not find a sense of belonging. Islam, he affirms, provided him with this sense of self-actualization/realization that he was in search of. Rasheed Cordero, an Argentinean convert who resides in Florida, believes that Latinos are attracted to Islam’s pure monotheism where there is no trinity mystery or other Catholic complex metaphors that are hard to understand and relate.
In an interview conducted to Daniel Dentón, a Mexican convert for eleven years, he explains why he believes Latinos have been increasingly interested in Islam. Dentón says “I think that in the past decade or so, mainly after the First Gulf War Islam and Muslims have received more ‘air time’ in the media, and the propaganda is in a sense peeking interest in people to inform themselves about the reality of Islam.” Thus, he believes that the recent mass exposure of Islam in the West have made Latinos more interested in this religion.
In a Washington Post article, “Latino Muslim a Growing Presence in America,” Lisa Viscidi interviews Juan Galván, Vice President of the Latino American Dawah Organization. Galván agrees with Cordero in that many Latinos have problems believing in the Holy Trinity. He adds that the original sin belief is also seen with skepticism by Hispanics. Latinos are also attracted to Islam’s closer relationship with God. He explains how some Latinos feel uncomfortable with the strict hierarchy (priest-pope) in the Catholic Church. In Islam, he says, everyone is equal under God, Allah. The Catholic Church’s past involvement in the Spanish and Portuguese colonization of Latin America has also stained the religion. Dr. Fathi Osman, resident scholar at the Omar Foundation, says “in their own countries Hispanics did not see the Church supporting the rights of the poor. Rather it sided with the rich and the influential.” This, he argues, has contributed to the popularity of Islam within Latinos.
In the same article, Ibrahim González, Puerto Rican co-founder of Alianza Islámica, say that Islam’s philosophy of racial equality and unity appeals directly to minority groups in the US. The revolutionary struggles for social, political, and economic justice of the 1960s and 1970s are seen as the birth of Islam in the Latino community.
Some Latina women have found in Islam that sense of self-respect and dignity that they have always been in search of. In “Latino women suffer from stereotyping” (2005), Marisa Trevino reports on why increasingly Latina women have been attracted to Islam. In her article she says how the Christian Science Monitor reported that several Latina converts said that their interest in Islam comes from the fact that they do not want to be seen as sex objects anymore. Many Latinas are tired of the stereotype of the Latina women as portrayed by Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, and Christina Milian. To many, Islam has been the solution to that dilemma.
In “Latino Americans Embracing Islam” (2003) the correlation between Spanish culture and Islam is dated back to the early 8th Century CE. In 711 CE, Moorish general Tariq Ibn Ziyad sailed from present-day Morocco to the south of Spain. Within the next decades thousands of Moors migrated from northern Africa to southern Spain. For the next seven centuries the Moors ruled Spain and Islamic culture and religion spread throughout this European country.
“Olé to Allah” (2003) relates how Imam Ocasio, from Alianza Islámica, refuses to acknowledge the idea that Latin American culture came wholly from Europe. The Imam explains how most people that came to Latin American and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean were from southern Spain. According to Ocasio this forced migration of Moors to the American hemisphere prove to be very important for the development of a unique and rich Latin American culture. The many “Arabisms” in the Spanish language are proudly showed as evidence of the Islamic and Arab heritage in Latin American culture. Many Spanish words for foods and spices have Arabic roots: azucar (sugar), limones (lemons), albahaca (basil), and zanahorias, (carrots) are a few. By this, Latino Muslims want to demonstrate that their interest in Islam is not something purely seasonal because of the increasing exposure of the religion. They affirm that Islam has always been part of the Latin American culture since the colonization era. Thus, they prefer calling the process of adopting Islam as their religion reversion, and not conversion.
In “Islam Luring More Latinos” (2001), Chris L. Jenkins reports how Aminah Martinez, a 26-year-old convert from Virginia, had many problems with her family when she decided to convert to Islam. Her family were traditional Catholics that were not willing to accept her renunciation to Catholicism. After finding out that she had converted, Martinez’ grandmother was so upset that she asked her granddaughter to leave the house and stopped supporting her financially. Martinez explains that they saw the conversion to Islam as refusal to uphold family values and traditions.
Khadija, another Latina woman, converted to Islam more than twenty years ago. She recalls how her parents could not accept her adoption of Islam. She explains that her father felt so strong about it that he used to pull her veil off her head. Her mother, not respecting Islamic tradition, used to cook with pork fat. Khadija remembers this period as a total war between her religion and her family.
Mohamed Mendez, the Alianza Islámica’s Education Officer, shares how Latino Muslims also face discrimination from other fellow Muslims. Mendez says that many Arab and Pakistani Muslims are dubious with Latinos converting to Islam. He tells how immigrant Muslims sometimes attend the Alianza’s Friday prayers but often criticize the the organization’s knowledge and understanding of Islam and their domination of Arabic. He recalls some Pakistani Muslim saying that Puerto Ricans are “too promiscuous” to be good Muslims.
Although the Latino Muslim is a fairly recent phenomenon the movement has organized itself in several cities around the US. The Latino American Dawah Organization (LADO) was founded in 1997 by Latino converts to Islam. LADO is a grassroots, non-profit organization that promotes Islam among Latino communities and provides support to the Latino Muslim. LADO seeks to educate Latinos about Islam, the legacy of Islam in Spain and Latin America, and provides free information about Islam to anyone interested. LADO has now local organizations in Illinois, New York, Texas, California, Louisiana, and Washington, DC.
The Alianza Islámica is the oldest Latino Muslim organization in the US. It was founded in 1975 by a group of Puerto Rican Islamic converts. The foundation of the Alianza came from men and women involved in the civil rights protests, anti-war struggles, and the Puerto Rican independence movements of the 1960s. The Alianza has since then been very active at the grassroots level. In El Barrio, Spanish Harlem, the Alianza has mediated between rival gangs, mentored jailed Latinos, provided education about HIV/AIDS, offered GED courses, helped the sick get treatment, and given free meals during Ramadan. Islamic organizations are gaining more and more influence as the government is eliminating funds for urban and social development.
Hisham Aidi in “Olé to Allah” reports that Latino mosques now exist in Los Angeles, New York, Newark, and Chicago. Student Researcher Abbas Barzegar of the University of Colorado in his paper, “The Emerging Latino Muslim Community in America” (2003), cites estimates conducted by the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) that place the Latino Muslim population anywhere from 75,000 to 20,000. However, the general estimate is that the Latino Muslim population is about 40,000-strong. Hajj Yahya Figueroa, the Alianza Islámica’s director, say that in Harlem (NYC) about three people take the shahada (conversion to Islam) each month. He adds that this conversion rate could be even greater in The Bronx.
The hypothesis of the study is that thousands of Latinos in need of self-actualization have found in Islam the peace, the guidance, and the spiritual health that Catholicism, or other religions, did not provide them. This hypothesis was tested with the research done in the subject matter. Maslow’s theory of self-actualization provided the theoretical backbone with which the research in founded. Through the explanation of the motives for Latino conversion the study found that spiritual emptiness and the need for self-realization was the fundamental element triggering the reversion process. Latino Muslims have repeatedly pointed out how traditional Catholicism is too hierarchical and complex, or simplistic, in beliefs such as the original sin and the Holy Trinity. This alleged disconnection between the believer and God results in spiritual bareness. Islam has been somewhat effective in capitalizing on this feeling in Latino communities in the US. As a result, we have seen the steady increase in Latino Muslim converts and their organizing capabilities.
Aidi, Hisham. “Olé to Allah”. http://www.islamfortoday.com/ole.htm. Accessed April 2, 2005.
A’lia Asma. “The True Guidance”. http://www.islam-online.net/english/journey/jour34.shtml. Accessed April 2, 2005.
Armario, Christine. “US Latinas seek answers in Islam”. Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1227/p11s02-ussc.htm. Accessed April 2, 2005
Barzegar, Abbas. “The Emerging Latino Muslim Community in America”. The Pluralism Project, Harvard University. 2003.
Cabrera, Cloe. “Latinas Embrace Islam.” The Tampa Tribune 30 March 2005, final ed.: pg. 1.
Dentón, Daniel. A Latino Muslim. Personal Interview. April 8, 2005.
Hadnot, Ira. “Hispanics Embracing Islam.” The Seattle Times 1 November 2003, pg. B5.
Jenkins, Chris. “Islam Luring More Latinos.” Washington Post 7 January 2001.
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Yusuf Rodriguez, Kenny. “Latino Americans Embracing Islam.” The American Muslim. January 2003. Vol. 4, No. 1.
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