"Am I still a Chicano?" he asked. "We have this Islamic identity and, being Latino, we have this Catholic background. I'm not Christian anymore, but am I still Latino? We're redefining what Latino is."
I already gave a shout-out to the new blog on Latino Muslims in the Bay Area. Now, Inside Bay Area magazine has recently published a story: Latino Muslims seek answers on a group of Latino Muslims which has started to come together with the help of the Zaytuna Institute.
3 comments:
Latinos who practice Santeria, Indiginous faiths, and even protestant Latinos generally don't have togive up their Latin identities, it'd be a shame if Islam made people feel that way.
Personally, except for wearing a Kufi and a ring with an arabic du'a,I prfer my own culture to that of any traditionally Muslim societies. Of course, I mean that insofar as one can practice Islam properly; I reject the Jahiliya parts of my culture, and I don't feel that means any compromise.
The idea that one has to be a counterfeit arab (or desi, or whatever)to be a Muslim isolates a lot of people and drives them away from the din. It's unfortunate and in my view amounts (to some extent) to petty cultural imperialism.
Yes, I agree with everything you said.
In my personal opinion.. which counts for nothing..
ethnicity is completly separate from what religion you are..
muslim is not an ethnicity..
Jordanian, Palastinian, Iraqi, irish, African American, Brazilian, Austrailian..
all these are places where people are born..
Not what religion they practice..
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