Por Rebecca Abuqaoud (The English translation follows.) Assalam Waleikum, Warahmatulla Wabarakatuhu! La confraternidad de las hermanas latinas musulmanas en Chicago, el 4to anual del 2004 fue exitoso, alhamdulillah!. Este evento se llevo a cabo el pasado 26 de Junio a las 4pm en el Banquete Salon del Muslim Community Center. En este dia especial, un promedio de treinta mujeres latinas de diferentes partes de Illinois e inclusive fuera de este estado, se reunieron para dar la bienvenida a las nuevas hermanas en Islam. Se reunieron tambien para compartir un tema candente, para saborear la comida latina y luego al final
Read MoreBy Juan Galvan Assalaam alaykum, During the July 4th weekend, I attended the fifth annual ISNA Latino Muslims Conference. The event was held in Dallas, Texas. Our main speaker was Imam Yahya Suquillo of Ecuador. Imam Suquillo helped a Latino take shahada at the event. It was beautiful to see a Latino make his declaration of faith in Arabic and Spanish. All the sisters were crying, and the brothers who weren’t crying were trying hard not to cry. After a day long of sessions, I requested the audience to write down their comments about the program. InshAllah, all Muslims can
Read MoreBy C.K. Harpole The Latino Open House was held on Sunday, April 25, 2004 from 3:00PM to 5:00PM. It was one of the first events of its kind to take place in our area. The open house took place at Masjid Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. It was sponsored by Muslim American Society of New Orleans. The Latino Muslims are a group that follows Ahl-sunnah wal-jamaat. Sister Jenny Yanez hosted the event with the help of the Islamic community. Her mother is from Spain but lived in Cuba for many years. Her father and
Read MoreBy Juan Galvan In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, we praise Him, seek His aid, and ask His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils in ourselves and from the bad consequences of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, there is none who can lead them astray, and whomever Allah leads astray, there is none who can guide them. I testify that none is worthy of worship except Allah alone, without any partners, and I testify that Muhammad is His last Prophet and Messenger. A Call to Patience During his
Read MoreIn Central Park a savage dog attacks a young boy. A man happens to be passing by and comes to the boy’s rescue. He tackles the dog at risk to himself, strangling it to death. A newspaper reporter is watching everything and takes a few snaps for the front-page picture for the next day’s paper. Approaching the man, the reporter asks, “What is your name?”The man replies, “Yahya Gonzalez.” “Your heroic act will be published in tomorrow’s paper under the headline –‘Brave Nuyorican Rescues Boy from Savage Dog.’” Thinking that it would look better if ‘Nuyorican’ is replaced with ‘Latino
Read MoreLos Principios Islamicos en el Desarrollo de Latino America Por Yahya Juan Suquillo 19 – 21 Rajab 1.424 Hégira16-18 Sept. 2003 CE. Disertación entregada por Yahya Juan Suquillo, Imam del Centro Islámico del Ecuador, en la conferencia de representantes musulmanes de Latinoamérica, auspiciado por I.S.E.S.C.O. (Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) & O.L.P.A.D.I. (Organización Latinoamericana para la Difusión del Islam). PREFACIOAntes del ocaso del segundo milenio EC. la gran mayoría de científicos y pensadores en el mundo occidental ya se dieron cuenta de que el consumismo, la fe absoluta en el razonamiento humano, el secularismo político y social, el fallido
Read Morey Natasha QuraishiIllumination Magazine, June 2003. Pg 3.www.illuminationmag.org The Latino American Dawah Organization (LADO) is anon-profit organization founded in 1997 that iscommitted to providing information about Islam,particularly to the Latino American community. Withthe increasing number of Latino Americans discoveringor rediscovering Islam, it is a much neededorganization. LADO’s motto is ‘AT YOUR SIDE!’ whichmeans ‘At your side!’ The LADO website, atwww.latinodawah.org, contains a wealth of informationfor prospective reverts and non-Muslims. The sitecontains LADO’s monthly newsletter, useful links onIslamic information and websites, and a library withIslamic resources for beginners in English, Spanish,and Portuguese. From the ‘Contact Us’ page, youcan find Latino Muslims from around the country. Helpacknowledge the diversity
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The Latino Muslims Conference in Dalla By Juan Galvan “We’re here to stay,” I proclaimed. I said those words three times throughout my speech. Afterwards, I wondered how I could say something so ignorant, corny, and so often. Maybe I was simply nervous and searching for words to fill the silence. I wondered and wondered. If I could change things, I would have said, “We’re Latino Muslims, and we’re here to stay. We will create our future regardless, and we need your help to ensure it’s the best future.” However, our Prophet (pbuh) said to avoid using “if”, and Allah (swt) knows best. ISNA’s Latino Muslims conference
Read MoreBy Samantha Sanchez and Juan Galvan Islamic Horizons MagazineJuly / August 1423/2002, Pp 22-30. The face of Islam is changing in the US as more and more people revert. While there have always been record numbers of African American and Caucasian American reverts, the Muslim community is becoming even more diverse. In recent years, the number of Latino revert has increased significantly. Estimated reports claim that 40,000 Latino Muslims live in the US Latino Muslims have been gaining media attention. Headlines such as “A New Minority Makes Itself Known: Hispanic Muslims” and “Hispanos Musmanes de Nueva York” are just a few that signify that
Read MoreBy Siri Carrion A reporter’s name and email address was forwarded to me recently. The reporter wanted to do a story about Latino Muslims in Georgia and their views on the war. My first thought was no. However; my curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to know who else lived in Atlanta, Georgia that was Latino and Muslim besides me, my husband, my bestfriend, and my brother. I refuse to believe there are only four people in the state of Georgia who is Latino and Muslim! Consequently, I called the reporter and introduced myself to her. I also asked her about others she had
Read MoreBy Juan Galvan While researching for articles last year, I sent out ten questions to ten American Latino Muslims. Upon rereading the answers I received, I realized that many Muslims could benefit from this valuable information. Consequently, I decided to write an article composed of the responses. Latino Muslims may relate to the responses. For sake of privacy, either I only use first names or Muslim names of the Latinos. I have edited responses for clarity, concision, and grammar as needed. I hope you may benefit from the following responses. 1. Why do Latinos convert to Islam in America? Getsa:
Read MoreBy Edmund A. Arroyo A Perspective from Chicago of the Latino Muslim Experience. When talking with members of the Latino Community that have, by the mercy of Allah (SWT), embraced Islam, one finds some common factors. Regardless of their cultural background, most new Muslims can identify with an initial feeling of religious enthusiasm. The new Muslim wants to read every Islamic book, memorize the Qur’an, learn every dua, go to Hajj, and convert their family all in one year. All too often the ‘pre-Shahada’ person finds him/herself cornered in the mosque with a brother or sister that wants to teach
Read MoreBy Juan Galvan Assalaam alaiykum,This article will provide responses to a number of frequently asked questions about Latino Muslims. Most questions are about Latino Muslims, in general. Some questions are about Muslims and Islam. Some questions are about myself. Some questions ask for my opinion. I should warn you that my personal opinions, thoughts, and ideas should not be misunderstood as facts. I do not have a pipeline into the brain of every Latino Muslim. Muslims may disagree on various issues, and I do not want to isolate any segment of the Muslim population. Some things are set in stone,
Read MoreBy Juan Galvan American Latinos offer a unique gift to the Islamic dawah movement in America. Most Americans do not know much about Islam. Americans say that Allah is not mentioned in the Bible. We respond by proclaiming, “Allah, God, and Dios mean ‘God’ in different languages.” Many Americans say that Islam is a religion for only Arabs. We respond by proclaiming, “I am a Latino Muslim.” Unfortunately, Americans confuse Islam with race and nationality. Islam is God’s true, universal religion. Let all Americans wonder, “Why are so many Latinos converting to Islam? What is it about that religion?” Latino
Read MoreBy Juan Galvan I was honored to present alongside some of the best-known Latino Muslims from around America at the Third Annual Conference on Islam Among Latino Americans, which was one of the conferences at the an ISNA Islam in Americas Conference. Along with Samantha Sanchez, Khadijah Rivera, and Zeina Mena, I spoke about the need for Islamic literature in America. After summarizing the other presenters, I discussed aspects of acquisition and distribution of Islamic literature and methods of successfully meeting the literature needs of Latinos around the country. Afterward, the presenters opened the floor for dialogue with the audience.
Read MoreBy Juan Galvan An Overview Let all Americans wonder, “Why are so many Latinos converting to Islam? What is it about that religion?” Estimated reports claim 40,000 Latino Muslims live in the U.S. Unfortunately, the rate of conversion of Latinos to Islam is lower than that of African-Americans and the non-Hispanic White population. Most Latino Muslims are converts who were formerly Catholic. Most Latino Muslims embrace Islam as a result of dawah. Like many other Americans, they have realized that Islam is the true, universal religion of our Creator. Many Muslims are beginning to realize what many Latinos have been
Read MoreBy Juan Galvan In September 1999, a group of five Los Angeles Latino Muslims decided to form a study group to learn more about Islam in Spanish. They began meeting on Sundays at the Islamic Center of Southern California. The small group realized that many local Latinos were visiting the Islamic Center by either curiosity or to find information about Islam in Spanish. These visits by non-Muslim Latinos were occurring so frequently that they decided to structure an introduction to Islam program in the Spanish language. Local reporters began to take notice of this growing Latino Muslim group. Because reporters
Read MoreBy Saraji Umm Zaid New York City is home to the first masjid specifically for Spanish speaking people, the Alianza Islamica, originally located in el Barrio (E Harlem) of Manhattan, but now in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. However, September 11 has proven to us that Muslims, especially those of Latino descent, can not rest on this accomplishment and expect the Alianza to take up the business of telling the Latino community about Islam. Hundreds of the victims of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center were Latinos, many of them working in the service industry
Read MoreAssalaam alaiykum, Muslims from various backgrounds must work together to spread Islam among Latinos. There’s always dawah work to be done. LADO recognizes the need to specifically target Latinos and thus seeks to assist in dawah efforts among Latinos. Some of our most active supporters are not Latino at all. Latinos cannot and should not isolate themselves from the general Muslim population. LADO’s motto is: “¡Puro Latino! ¡Puro Islam! ¡A su LADO!” Here is a list of things you can do… Greater interaction among Muslims and Latinos is needed. Participate in Latino forums, seminars, and volunteer work. Invite Latinos to
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