Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of the US Muslim population. According to some estimates, there are between 55,000 and 198,000 Latinos practicing Islam in the country. At a time when President Donald Trump has issued a ban on Muslim refugees from seven countries and fortified Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the group has become particularly vulnerable. However, research explaining why many Latinos have converted to Islam or shedding light on the group’s experiences in the United States remains scarce. Hoping to fill this gap, Gastón Espinosa, Professor of Religious Studies at Claremont Mckenna College, conducted the first-ever, large-scale survey research of Latino
Read MoreBy Imam Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad “We can swim in denial or continue kicking the can down the road. Nevertheless, there seems to be data that shows that the American Muslim convert community, a community already fractionalized, marginalized, and historically disadvantaged because of race, are at great risk of extinction, and here’s why.” – Imam Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad. In the view of many Muslims, Black American Muslims aren’t considered a real civilization of people in the first place, let alone a declining one. Black Muslims themselves do not regard themselves as a new and distinct civilizations of Muslims. That right
Read MoreBy Gaston Espinosa, Harold Morales, Juan Galvan Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion Volume 8, Issue 1 (June 2017) PDF Version Latino Muslims have emerged in a religious landscape that is “diverse and fluid” and in a public discourse that too often frames Latinos and Muslims as foreign and problematic in the U.S. (PEW 2014). This was nowhere more evident than in the wake of the 2016 Election when President Donald Trump issued a 90-day ban on Muslim immigration from seven countries, citing national safety concerns regarding the vetting process. While Latino Muslims were not part of this ban, because
Read MorePlease note that articles after 2012 are not from The Latino Muslim Voice archives.
Read MoreMorales Presents on Representations of Latino Muslim in the Media at American Academy of Religion Conference http://www.iup.edu/newsItem.aspx?id=136795&blogid=6025 November 27, 2012Indiana University of Pennsylvania Harold Morales, Department of Religious Studies, presented a paper on media portrayals of Latino Muslims at the American Academy of Religion conference in Chicago, November 17-20, 2012. In “Latino Muslim by Design: Reductive Binaries in American News Media,” Morales examined representations of Latino Muslims in news media and responses to these productions. Since the mid-1970s, Latino converts to Islam have been forming communities in metropolitan areas including New York and Los Angeles. Conservative estimates of the number
Read MoreBy Juan Alvarado In this article, I will try to explain some questions on identity and culture and possibly how to best approach Hispanics (for dawa). You might think that it is strange for someone to write about this. I know my neighbor-he’s the nice Mexican fellow that lives down the street. Or, maybe you are “in the market” to marry a Latino Muslim. Do you really know who they (or we) are? In addition to the above, I also want to clear up some of the confusion as to who is Latino and what constitutes the Hispanic identity. As
Read MoreYo y mi Gente! https://www.facebook.com/events/358916550836352/ [When]Saturday, May 26, 2012 [Time]7:00pm until 8:30pm in EDT [Description]Feat. Brother Mujahid Fletcher & Imam Abdullah Daniel HernandezUnderstanding our unique position as a Latino American embracing Islam. Defining who were are to our love ones. Redefining our new identity within the Muslim community and overall society. Entender nuestra posición única como Latinos Americanos quien abrazar el Islam. Definir quiénes somos a nuestros seres queridos. Redefinición de nuestra nueva identidad dentro de la comunidad Musulmana y la sociedad en general. www.icnaconvention.orgDate: Saturday, May 26th, 2012Time: 7:00pm – 8:30pm ~ This is a part of the 2012
Read MoreBy The LADO Group بِسْمِاللَّهِالرَّحْمَنِالرَّحِيمِ What is the reason for this statement? Why do we need a message for non-Muslims? Why do we need a specific message to Latin Americans? In the first place, the purpose of being for the LADO Group (in English figures, Latin American Dawah Organization or The Organization for the Propagation of Islam to Latin Americans) is the propagation (or dawah) of Islam to any interested person. However, LADO’s emphasis is on teaching Islam to Latinos or Hispanics. Our basic mission is “… to promote Islam among the Latino community in the US and in our countries. We do this by becoming
Read MoreBy The LADO Group بِسْمِاللَّهِالرَّحْمَنِالرَّحِيمِ What is the reason for this paper? Why do we need a message for non-Muslims? Why do we need a message to Latinos? The whole purpose or existence of LADO (Latino American Dawah Organization) is the propagation of Islam to anyone interested. However, LADO’s emphasis is to show Islam to Hispanics or Latin Americans. Our basic mission is “… to promote Islam among the Latino community within the United States by becoming better-educated Muslims and by working with like-minded Muslims …” From the beginning of recorded history, humanity has been seeking the meaning of life – Why are we here? Who
Read MoreBy Nahela Morales Before the Parade: September 30, 2011 Assalam Alaikum WRWB Brothers & Sisters, For the first time our Hispanic Muslim community will be participating in the parade of “Hispanidad” this Sunday, October 2 at 10:00 am. It is very important that we all participate as our mosque is in this community. This is the best opportunity for dawah and to show the surrounding communities how diverse we are. I can’t stress enough how importance it is to attend this parade. Please, join us for the sake of Allah. We will are waiting for all of you at the
Read MoreBy ICNA-WhyIslam http://www.icna.org/first-muslim-info-booth-at-the-fiesta-broadway-festival/ LOS ANGELES, California (May 8, 2011) — Today the Annual Fiesta Broadway Festival, billed as the world’s largest Cinco de Mayo event, attracted half a million people who converged on 24 blocks in downtown Los Angeles. Over 50,000 people visited the first ever information booth on Islam organized by ICNA Southern California Chapter’s outreach project WhyIslam. The Latino population is growing fast in the United States, and even faster in California. “We do not want to lose the opportunity to reach out to them at this early stage,” said Amir Mertaban, Dawah Chair, ICNA Southern California Dawah
Read MoreBy Tabytha March 03, 2011 http://tabyyy.tumblr.com/post/3615439134/through-the-eyes-of-latino-muslims-turned-out-to-be The event was supposed to start at 5:30 but one of the guest speakers, a representative of the Latino American Dawah Association (LADO), got held up (he/she was actually unable to make it, unfortunately) so we didn’t get started until around 6:00. We began by praying maghrib, which was wonderful because I usually pray alone, so I jumped on the opportunity to pray with others. Once we finished, there was an “ice-breaker” exercise where each row of students got a post-it with a “fact” about Latinos/Muslims written on it, and it was our job
Read MoreBy Patrick D. Bowen http://raceandreligion.com/JRER/Volume_1_%282010%29.html The Latino American Da’wah Organization and the “Latina/o Muslim” Identity in the U.S.Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion:Volume 1, Issue 11 (September 2010) Introduction: LADO and the Growth of the U.S. Latina/o Muslim Community Latina/os have been slowly and quietly converting to Islamic communities in the U.S. since at least the 1920s. Many conversions came through contact with African-American-majority Muslim movements such as Moorish Science Temple, the Ahmadiyya Movement, the Nation of Islam, and the African-American Sunni groups that emerged in New York City and Washington, D.C. in the 1960s and 1970s.[1] Prior to 1965,
Read MoreBy Ismail Ocasio http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=72781187208 July 22, 2010 As Salaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu Peace be onto you my dear brothers and sisters. I am sure most of you have noticed the change in the settings of this group. This letter will better explain the changes that were made and the reason behind them. When I first created this group it was in response to an event I attended with our brothers and sisters in the North Hudson Community (May Allah accept their Islam and their efforts). As a Latino born and raised in this deen, especially coming from a
Read MoreBy Juan Galvan Islamic Horizons MagazineJuly/August 1429/2008, Pp 26-30. Any discussion of Latino Muslims is tri-dimensional: Latinos, Muslims and Latino Muslims. Who are Latinos? Who are Muslims? Who are Latino Muslims? Disagreements abound about the meaning of each dimension. However, attempts to answer these questions lead to others and, consequently, a better understanding of Latino Muslims. The first large-scale conversions of Hispanics occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, when many Spanish-language Muslim groups began to emerge and the Black Muslim movement was at its height. In 1997, the American Muslim Council counted approximately 40,000 Hispanic Muslims; in 2006, it counted
Read More“The Great 10th Annual Sisterhood Event”MAS & Latino Muslims of Chicago Islam is More Than a Religion Saturday, May 1st, 20103 PM to 7 PM9210 S. Oketo AveBridgeview, IL 60455 This is a women only event.Program will be in Spanish, dinner will be served Limited babysitting by RSVP only. Please contact: Rebecca, Diana, or Alma http://www.facebook.com/pages/Latino-Muslims-of-Chicago/118077384870808 The Latino Muslims of Chicago also attended a banquet hosted by the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (the Council). ciogc.org. “Latino Muslim Program in Spanish”2010 ICNA-MAS Convention 2010 Session 1: Saturday, May 29th, 6:00-8:00pm* “Salvando la Familia se Salva la Sociedad”Speaker: Br.
Read MoreBy Sara Hassan The Message InternationalNovember-December 2005, pp 8-13. The soft lilac headscarf compliments her matching outfit and her light complexion. Her face rests at peace as she concentrates on her prayer, her lips moving softly to the memorized Arabic words. She kneels and prostrates in the front line of several rows of a culturally diverse group of women at the Omar Ben Abdel-Aziz mosque in Queens, New York. When the prayer ends, she happily bounces around the room chatting with the others, addressing each one as sister. “I feel like I belong,” she says. Marlene Lillo-Smith, 44, says she
Read Morehttp://www.muslimmuseum.org International Museum of Muslim Cultures (IMMC)Eighth Year Anniversary CelebrationJackson Convention Center105 E. Pascagoula St.Jackson, Mississippi 39201 July 10 -12, 2009 The Muslim American community is one of the fastest growing religious-cultural communities in America. This community is very diverse. It represents indigenous Americans to include African Americans, European Americans, Native Americans, and Latino Americans–and immigrant Americans who migrated from every continent and country of the world. This ethnic melting pot shares a common belief and way of life, Islam. However, they represent very diverse Ethnic and cultural communities that are assimilating within the American culture. As the Muslim community
Read MoreBy Yusuf Mendez Date: Monday, September 15, 2008, 9:12 AM Muslim American Society: South Florida and NSUs School of Humanities and Social Sciencesinvite you to an event in line with Hispanic Heritage Month. Goal:The event serves as a brief introduction demonstrating the shared Islamic heritage of Spanish and Latin cultures. Attendees should leave the program with a sense of unity with cultures that are seemingly distant as well as a greater appreciation for the diverse nature of the Hispanic/Latin community. Organizers:Yusuf Mendez (MAS@Nova) and Adriana (SHSS) Event:Diversity Within Minority Communities: Islamic Influences on Spanish and Latin Culture Date:Monday, September 15,
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