MuslimSpeak Phrases for Muslim Travellers – Spanish June 17, 2009 Spanish Pronunciation Guide Most letters are similar or same as they are in English, the main exceptions are explained below.Z is pronounced as ‘th’ – like thin in English, and as ‘s’ in the southern areas of Spain.C is pronounced like a ‘k’ when it is followed by an a, o or u. So ‘carro’ is pronounced like ‘karro.C is pronounced like a ‘th’ when followed by an i or an e, and like an ‘s’ in the southern areas of Spain. So ‘cinco’ is pronounced as ‘thinko’ in the north and ‘sinko’
Read MoreFirst Quarter 2010! – IslamInSpanish.org June 16, 2010 Alhamdulilah, 2010 has become an exciting year with many new developments for IIS. By ALLAH’s Blessings thousands of people were educated on the truth about Islam by way of audiovisual means worldwide. We have heard and witnessed hundreds coming into the fold of Islam just through our efforts of sharing this information. Orange County WorkshopJanuary 15-17 IslamInSpanish kicked off 2010 with a workshop in Orange County, CA. The three day event started with a khutba by Isa Parada at the Islamic Center Orange County and Mujahid Fletcher at the Islamic Center of
Read More877-WHY-ISLAM Spanish Billboard in Union City, NJ The Islamic Circle of North America has launched a nation-wide campaign to place WhyIslam billboards in major cities across the country in its ongoing efforts to educate others about Islam. As part of this campaign, the New Jersey chapter of ICNA has put up a Spanish billboard in Union City, New Jersey. In addition to the toll free 877-WHYISLAM hotline, the billboard also provides the address of the North Hudson Islamic Educational Center (NHIEC) masjid. The goal of the campaign is to provide unbiased information about Islam and to dispel commonly perceived misconceptions.
Read MoreBy Juan Alvarado Although some Spanish words come from Greek, the Spanish language is considered a Romance language because most Spanish words are descended from Latin. Surprisingly, many of these Spanish words carry an Arabic meaning or concept. The following few examples will give an idea of how these words are used. An example is the Spanish word aceros, meaning both energy and strength. Aceros is a translation of the Arabic word hiddah (meaning sharpness and force). Another example is the Spanish word poridad, which means both purity and friendship, from the Arabic word khalasa (meaning to be pure). Lastly, the Spanish word and
Read MoreBy Al-Amin Andalusi http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1221720273234&pagename =Zone-English-News/NWELayout IslamOnline.netSeptember 25, 2008 MADRID Thousands of Spaniards, especially intellectuals, academics and anti-globalization activists, are finding comfort and solace in Islam. “Embracing Islam is on the rise despite ferocious Western media campaigns,” Abdul-Nour Brado, the head of the Islamic Society of Catalonia, told IslamOnline.net. Estimates suggest that between 3,000 to 4,000 Catalonians accepted Islam recently. “The numbers could be much higher than that,” Barado believes. Local media reports have noted that intellectuals, academics and anti-globalization activists make up the bulk of the new Muslim reverts in Spain. Catalonians first embraced Islam in the 1960s and their
Read MoreBy Teresa de Castro http://www.geocities.com/tdcastros/Historyserver/papers/IberianPeninsula.htm Cuisine in the Iberian Peninsula: Moorish Heritage in the Cuisines of Spain and Portugal INTRODUCTION The Iberian Peninsula, in south-western Europe, is occupied by Spain and Portugal. It is separated from the main continent by the Pyrennees and surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the northwest and west and the Mediterranean to the south and east. The characteristics of the Iberian cuisine cannot be understood without the culinary influence of Romans, Arabs, Jews and Christians, and the dietary exchange that followed the colonisation of America and the colonialism in Africa and the Far East. Still,
Read MoreBy Juan Alvarado Spanish surnames (and place names) that come from Arabic surnames and origins.Do you have Arab lineage? This list originally began just for fun. The list soon took a life of its own. It became a bit of an obsession. As I learned more Arabic, I saw and heard the same words I grew up with in Spanish. Some people of Hispanic descent, who first learn about the history of Moorish Spain, look upon the bearer of this history with incredulity. Apart from showing pictures, what more proof could you give? This is my language — a language
Read MoreBy Juan Alvarado This is an interesting list of surnames commonly seen among people of Hispanic descent and among the people of Spain. Juan Galvan sent me this list (most of), which is attributable to Francisco Rodriguez. I have been personally working on my own list of Spanish names, place names, and words, some of which I have interspersed within this list. Many of the names he listed I had also found, so there are many commonalities within our studies. There is also some divergence. Wherever there are names in disagreement, I have placed the name and/or word I think
Read MorePor Shafiq (Juan) Alvarado Breve historia del español La lengua española tiene una historia fascinadora. Se desarrolló en la península ibérica y ahora es hablado por 332 millones de personas en cerca de 20 países y dentro de muchos otros países. Porque tanta gente en muchos países lo habla, el español fue elegido como uno de los idiomas representativos de las Naciones Unidas. Otro resultado es que una variación natural se ha desarrollado en todos los países y regiones. Por ejemplo, las palabras, el argot, y los dialectos españoles pueden variar dentro de un país o de una región particular.
Read MoreBy Al-Amin Andalusi http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/2005-01/12/article05.shtml IslamOnline MADRID, January 12 (IslamOnline.net) – Teaching Islam in Spanish schools has finally found its way to implementation after almost a decade of delays and obstacles. Since coming to power in the European country, Spain’s new Socialist government under Jose Rodriguez Zapatero has made a host of good gestures toward the Muslim community in the country, the most remarkable of which was a decision to allow the teaching of Islamic subjects at public schools of major cities with significant Muslim presence. The long-awaited development saw the light early January, 2005. The government decision on teaching Islam
Read MoreBy Gerald ButtDecember 12, 1998 http://islamfortoday.com/spain01.htm “When the Christians recaptured Granada, they burnt all 80,000 books from the palace library – as if to expunge the memory of Islamic rule.” When the Arab and Berber armies crossed from North Africa into Spain in the eighth century, they thought they’d discovered heaven on earth. By the time they were finally driven out in 1492 they’d actually created an earthly celebration of paradise – the Alhambra palaces and gardens in Granada. For desert Arabs, water is luxury. And in the melting snow of the Sierra Nevada mountains they found what they wanted.
Read MorePor Yusuf Fernández http://www.webislam.com/multimedia/presentacion/yusuf.htm Entre los países de Europa, España fue el que mantuvo durante más tiempo una presencia musulmana en su suelo. El estado islámico de Al Andalus (711-1492), pese a haber sido destruido tras ocho siglos de una brutal guerra por parte de los cruzados españoles y extranjeros, dejó unas profundas raíces culturales en la región sureña de Andalucía y toda España. Entre los idiomas europeos, el español es el que posee un mayor número de palabras de origen árabe -unas 6.000-. En los años setenta, después de 500 años de silencio y tras el fin del régimen
Read MoreBy Khadija Mohiuddin In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Kind Recent developments of Islam in Spain merit attention. Specifically, the revival of Islamic education in Al-Andalus is a unique phenomenon with far-reaching potential for Spanish speaking peoples worldwide. Post-1975 Spain Many are surprised to learn that it was not until 1975 in the twentieth century-463 years since the Inquisition-that the legalization of Islam in Spain took place. The delayed passage of this law finally permitted the Spanish citizen to formally declare his or her Islam to the public without any threat to his or her safety
Read MoreBy Samantha Sanchez The Spanish Inquisition spanned four centuries. Spanish Muslims attempting to escape it fled in two directions – North Africa and the Americas. Those that remained became nominal Catholics. Some practiced their religion n secret. If they were found out they were killed or exiled. In 1610 the last of the so-called nominal Catholics or Moriscos were exiled. The Inquisition practically wiped out the Muslim community in Spain. In fact the revival of Islam in al-Andalus as it was known, has been a cherished ideal since the fall of Grenada in 1492. The first chance that the Andalusian
Read MoreBy Lidia Ingah There is a human tendency to follow others in order to fit in a social group or community. This eye-blinded tendency not only lowered humans to the level of animals but also makes humans unhappy. Men and women are naturally thinkers and can generally sense the difference between the good and the bad. As a result, if we do not do what our conscious mind rationally thinks is right, then we disrespect ourselves and a feeling of shame and discontent about ourselves develop. This “going against ourselves” to mimic others has happened and is happening in many
Read MoreBy Yusuf Fernández Since the seventies the number of Muslims in Spain has been increasing. Muslims signed an agreement with the state 10 years ago but last Spanish governements haven´t implemented it up to now. Nowadays, there are about 500.000 Muslims in Spain. Most of them are Moroccan immigrants. There is a growing number of Spaniards who enter Islam especially in the southern region of Andalusia, where there are still lots of buildings and monuments which come from the time of Al Andalus (711-1492). Among the countries of Europe, Spain was that which had the longest period of a Muslim
Read MoreLanguage of the Moors is Major Contributor to Vocabulary If you speak either Spanish or English, you probably speak more Arabic than you think you do. It’s not “real” Arabic you’re speaking, but rather words that come Arabic. After Latin and English, Arabic is probably the biggest contributor of words to the Spanish language, and a large portion of English-Spanish cognates (words that the two language share) that don’t come from Latin come from Arabic. The English words you’re most likely to think of as Arabic origin are those that start with “al-,” words such as “algebra,” “Allah,” “alkali” and
Read MoreBy Kenny Yusuf Rodriguez As a nineteen-year-old Dominican Muslim who recently accepted Islam a couple of years ago, I personally know how difficult it is to be a Muslim in this country (nonetheless a Latino Muslim at that). Everyday, not only do we face numerous conflicts living in Western society, but we oftentimes also find ourselves having to defend our beliefs in our own households! Tell me if any of this sounds familiar: “Islam? That’s a religion for Arabs!”“Muslim? What are you, a terrorist now?”“Allah? What’s that? Don’t you believe in Jesus anymore? These are just some of the things
Read More