Latina/o y Musulmán: The Construction of Latina/o Identity among Latina/o Muslims in the United States By Hjamil A. Martínez-Vázquez Latinas/os are the fastest growing “minoritized” ethnic group in the United States and Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the U.S. It is therefore no surprise that the Latina/o Muslim population is one of the fastest growing communities in the U.S. As a minority within a minority, the ways in which Latina/o Muslims construct their identity is not only interesting in itself but also of interest for how they challenge traditional understandings of U.S. Latina/o identity. This book
Read MoreBy Saraji Umm Zaid The Message InternationalDecember-January 2005, pp 29. Samantha is a poet, writer, teacher, da’iyee, mother, and wife. She is one of the original co-founders of LADO: The Latino American Dawah Organization, and wrote her master’s thesis about Latinos and Islam. She was one of MuslimPoet.com’s “Poets in Residence” from 2003 to 2004. Juan is a writer, husband, soon-to-be daddy and da’iyee who lives in San Antonio, Texas. He has written extensively about the emerging Latino Muslim community. He enjoys encouraging cooperation among ethnically diverse Muslim communities. Saraji: What is the goal and purpose behind LADO?Juan: The purpose
Read MoreBy Aboobaker Ebrahim http://www.mycrescent.com/community-news/casa-de-paz-helping-refugees.html March 24, 2009 Sister Amira and Dr. Riyad Taha are the founders and current owners of Casa De Paz, Inc. Located in the heart of Dallas on Phoenix Drive close to the sprawling Presbyterian Hospital Complex, Casa De Paz is surrounded by apartment complexes occupied by refugees and immigrants from all over the world. “Well, I have been working in the refugee neighborhood of northeast Dallas for about ten years. At first we used to visit the refugee apartments using our cars only. Then when a very large population of Somali Bantu’s were arriving in Dallas,
Read MoreBy Khadijah Rivera What Islam means to me: To be qualified is to know GOD? I was raised as a Roman Catholic from a very strict and practicing Hispanic family. To even think of leaving the aristocratic Catholics was considered a sin. Actually having been raised by nuns in private schools taught me that one did not have the luxury of questioning the Bible or even the Catechism that was engraved in our memory banks as children. I once had the audacity to ask my teacher why we did not study the Bible; her answer was a blunt, “You might
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 MorePor Rebecca Abuqaoud ¡Assalam Aleikum! El pasado domingo, 4 de octubre del 2009, se llevo a cabo una vez más la tradicional fiesta de Eid familiar en el MCC, Muslim Community Center, de la avenida Elston en Chicago. El evento empezó aproximadamente a las 4:35PM. Esta vez con la participación especial del hermano Abdullah Clark, quién abrió el programa con un dua (suplica personal) y luego compartió con un tema islámico y entre los puntos que trato fue del porque los musulmanes celebran el Eid-ul-Fitr, la fiesta del fin del ayuno del Ramadán. El hermano Abdur Rahmán hizo la traducción
Read MoreBy Rebecca Abuqaoud Assalam Aleikum, All praise be to Allah SWT. Alhamdulillah! This year of 2009 has been a very blessed one. This year was very active and dynamic because of the participation of a group of revert Latina Muslim sisters in Chicago. A committee of sisters put together a conference to get more sisters involved and to get their ideas on how to continue Islamic classes for sisters. It was an honor to have the support of LADO, the Latino American Dawah Organization, for the conference. The committee of sisters needed a host name in order to extend invitations
Read MoreBy Mariam Abbassi The 7th Annual Hispanic Muslim Day – an event of recognition of Hispanic reverts of our community. The mission of organizing this event was to outreach and convey the message of Islam to everyone in the community of Muslims and the community of non-Muslims. On November 8, 2009 more than 150 Hispanic Muslims gathered to celebrate and to remember the day of their reversion. We started the celebration with verses recited from the Glorious Quran by Sheikh Mahmoud. We acknowledged and appreciated the humbleness shown by the non-Arabic speakers. Brother Omar Garcia, a Muslim that was born
Read MoreBy Francisco Deleon http://www.islamicpoetry.org/viewpoem341.htm I looked at the Men who bowed in the day to the strangemusic that playedThe voice hypnotizingThey say Islamic Faith ..Is corruptBut if they lookThey are corruptThey see what they wish to seeBut from outsiders eyes I see beautyI see sands sweeping soft melodiesI hear children playI cry for understanding of two faithsI fear the impendingBut open my arms to Allah Copyright 11/11/2006.
Read More“Treat not the orphan with harshness, nor repulse him who asks.” – Qur’an 93:9-10. “Of them there are some who believe therein, and some who do not: and your Lord knows best those who are out for mischief. If they charge you with falsehood, say: ‘My work to me, and yours to you! You are free from responsibility for what I do, and I for what you do!’” – Qur’an 10:40-41. Allah’s Apostle said, “A prostitute was forgiven by Allah, because, passing by a panting dog near a well and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst,
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