islam in america ... en español

Islam in America ... en Español by Wilfredo Amr Ruiz

more latinos choose a less travelled road to spirituality

More Latinos Choose a Less Travelled Road to Spirituality By Cristina Pinzon takes a peek at Latinos who are exploring Buddhism and Islam.

coalition of african american muslims

The following is from the recently-formed Coalition of African American Muslims. (h/t to Seeker's Guidance) It seemed like a generally positive gathering with a lot of good things being said. It will be interesting to see what this group produces in the long run. I'm especially curious about the Nation of Islam and what implications there will be for relations between African-American Sunni Muslims and the followers of Farrakhan.

Mission Statement

The controversy over the Park 51 Project (Islamic Center in Lower Manhattan) is indicative of a general rise in racist bigotry towards people of color in this country. While the issue has its particular and unique distinctions, it cannot be separated from the rising violence against African Americans and Latinos, or the increasingly inflammatory rhetoric and exclusionary politics driving the national debate on immigration.

As African-American Muslims, we feel our unique perspective has been missing from an emerging national discussion. We wish to join that discussion by first of all affirming that among our forbears are Muslims who have lived peacefully and productively in this country since its inception. They, and others among our people have sacrificed too much, both in enduring the horrors and brutalities of chattel slavery, and during the long march to freedom, civil and human rights for us to silently accept a return to Jim Crow exclusionary practices and policies that relegate either ourselves or our co-religionists from other ethnic backgrounds to second-class citizenry.

We commend all of those Jews, Christians and members of other faith and ethnic communities who have raised their voices in defense of the constitutional rights of all Americans. We also laud the work that other Muslim organizations have done in response to the current situation. We add our voice to theirs and will work for a country that reflects the diversity of its people and extends full and equal rights to all.

CAAM Will:

* Work to expose the underlying foreign and domestic agenda being served by the ongoing demonization of Muslims;

* Be a voice for those who have been intimidated into silence;

* Establish networks between organizations representing those elements of the population, regardless of race or religion who are suffering as a result of the politics of fear and exclusion.


Coalition Members

Abdul Jalil Muhammad
Imam Abdul Malik
Amir Muhammad
Asma Hanif
Hodari Ali Imam
Johari Abdul Malik
Attorney Kareema
Al-Amin Imam Khalid Griggs
Minister Louis Farrakhan
Imam Nadim Ali
Nisa Islam Muhammad
Imam Siraj Wahhaj
Imam Talib Deen
Imam Umar Ibn Khattab
Imam Yahya Cason
Imam Zaid Shakir


Imam Zaid Shakir


Mahdi Bray


Asma Hanif


Imam Abdul Malik


Imam Siraj Wahaj


Minister Louis Farrakhan


Farrakhan Part 2


Farrakhan Part 3

"machete" and xenophobia

Interesting. I was already intrigued by the fake trailer in Grindhouse and surprised when I saw the trailer for the real film in the movie theater. I may not wait for the DVD on this one:

Southern Poverty Law Center: The Xenophobic Right's Weird Reaction to Hollywood Blockbuster 'Machete'

immortal technique on haiti

I just got turned on to the Russia Times YouTube channel which has a surprising about of hip-hop content, including a series of interviews with political Afro-Peruvian rapper/activist, Immortal Technique. This interview begins and ends with a discussion of Haiti in the wake of the earthquake but also touches on the role of the US in Latin America generally.

eid in cuba 2009

Dripping River Water: Eid in Cuba 2009 (part 1) by Maceo Cabrera Estevez

the holiest night of the year for a nuyorican muslim

Killing the Buddha: Better than a Thousand Months by Ashley Makar

is there islam in latin america?

Muslim Voices: Is there Islam in Latin America? by Rosemary Pennington, Program Coordinator for Voices and Visions is a graduate student in the School of Journalism at Indiana University.


There has been a lot of research and reporting on Muslim populations living in the United States and Europe. That work often centers around issues of identity and integration. And these issues are often portrayed as being unique to the “West.”

What that scholarship and reporting, has often overlooked is that there are Muslim populations in other non-majority Muslim regions. That includes Latin America.

A Social Science Research Council funded project at Florida International University’s Latin American & Caribbean Center is working to educate English speaking scholars and reporters about the Muslim populations in the region.

Beyond The Middle East

“I think Latin America has been one of the forgotten regions because of the Spanish and the Portuguese,” says Project Director Maria Logrono. She says most scholars who study Islam learn Arabic or Persian or focus on a traditional region in which to study the religion. “Most scholars approach the Middle East in area studies, not thinking about the larger geographic borders of it.”

Logrono says English-speaking media often ignore the Muslim populations in Central and South America until something bad happens.

“I guess we can say journalists have approached Islam in Latin America,” Logrono says, “But I think they have approached it only when there’s conflict and tension.”

Logrono says there is certainly tension in some parts of Latin America, especially where Islam chafes against Catholicism, but that’s not true of every country in the region or every Muslim group, either.

“The Muslim populations that you have in Latin America are, and this is especially the case of South America, mainly migrants and converts,” Logrono says. “When it comes to integration … what we have noticed is that Muslim migrants have integrated very well.”

Creolization Of Islam

In fact, there’s some debate whether a kind of “Creole” Islam has begun to develop in places like Brazil and Cuba.

“Scholars working on Islam in Cuba will tell you, ‘Yes, there is actually an attempt at Creolization of Islam, or creating a Cuban Islam,’ in which something as unthinkable as eating pork may be something that Muslims in Cuba are considering.”

Logrono and her project staff have been working on a short documentary for the last year about Islam in the region. It’s limited in scope, focusing on Argentina and Brazil, but Logrono hopes it will give viewers a taste of what life is like for Latin American Muslims.

“We went and filmed communities and their gatherings and their practices and their histories to show the diversity of Muslim communities in Latin America,” she says. “Because we couldn’t accomplish all Latin America…what we tried to do is take two of the most representative places but obviously trying to open questions for debate and, hopefully, for future research.”

You can find more find more information about Logrono’s work as well as view photos and the documentary at the project’s website.

a political ideological perspective for afro-latinos

Black Thoughts: A Political Ideological Perspective for Afro Latinos by Kevin Alberto Sabioi is a brief overview of Pan-Africanism/ Afro-Centrism/ African Internationalism as it applies to Latinos along with some specific links and references.

juan crow in georgia

The Black Commentator: Juan Crow in Georgia by Roberto Lovato

Latinos’ subordinate status in Georgia and in the Deep South bears more than a passing resemblance to that of African-Americans who were living under Jim Crow. Call it Juan Crow: the matrix of laws, social customs, economic institutions and symbolic systems enabling the physical and psychic isolation needed to control and exploit undocumented immigrants. Listening to the effects of Juan Crow on immigrants and citizens like Mancha (”I can’t sleep sometimes because of nightmares,” she says. “My arms still twitch. I see ICE agents and men in uniform, and it still scares me”) reminds me of the trauma I heard among the men, women and children controlled and exploited by state violence in wartime El Salvador. Juan Crow has roots in the US South, but it stirs traumas bred in the hemispheric South.

addressing deficiencies in the islamic da'wah to latinos

Also from the Ahl al Hadith blog: From One Muslim To Another (To Khalil Pr): Addressing Deficiencies In The Islamic Da’wah To Latinos After giving a brief history of early dawah efforts among Latinos, Abul-Hassan gives a number of suggestions for future efforts:

Outreach in the Latino community must address a variety of areas.

1.] It must address the problem of education in the Latino community. So da’wah should address education for social mobility and for understanding Islam.

2.] Da’wah efforts should focus on empowerment (economic) more than cultural identity and this is inter-related to what was just said.

3.] Da’wah must be a call to what is agreed upon in Islam before what is disagreed upon

4.] There should be a strong focus in teaching how to read the Qur’an and Qur’anic memorization and the importance of ibadah

5.] Da’wah should address family life and how to build a family and deal with nom-Muslim relatives

6.] Da’wah should address the problems of identity so we need counselors to be there for new Muslims

7.] Da’wah should address the need to build leadership in the Latino community

8.] Muslim Latinos must be taught to be a part of the larger Muslim community and how to deal with what that entails.

9.] Da’wah should encourage people to be self motivated and to have a relationship with scholars

an "unusual" blend of cultures: mexican and black

Los Angeles Times: An unusual blend of cultures: Mexican and black is similar to other pieces I've linked to before. It seems like every couple of months I come across an article or webpage which touches on the communities of African-descent Mexicans who live along the coast. Personally, I think it will be a great day when the LA Times can do a story with the title: Duh! There are Black Mexicans

afro-latinidad

For some thoughtful analysis of the condition of Black Latino, check out Waiting 2 Speak: Critical Latinidad and More Critical Latinidad

real unity for afro-latinos and african americans

Real Unity for Afro-Latinos and African Americans by Miriam Jiménez Román

latinos and obama

To be honest, although I thought will.i.am's "Yes We Can" was incredibly inspiring, I initially thought that the "Si se puede" line seemed like a mere tacked-on token gesture towards the Latinos which Obama needs in order to win the Democratic nomination. In that light, it is gratifying to see the Obama camp seriously court Latino voters, but more importantly it is good to see pro-Obama efforts which are more organically connected to the Latino community.

In These Times: Why Have Latinos Started Voting For Obama?
Khalil Al-Puerto Rikani: Will Puerto Rico Have the Final Say in Obama Vs. Clinton?

reggaeton for obama
para votar pa' obama (la bamba)
latinos for obama: "si se puede cambiar" by andres useche
grenada-esque politics
obama and black latinos
obama: yes we can
will.i.am: we are the ones

latinos for obama: "si se puede cambiar" by andres useche

from cross to crescent

From Cross to Crescent: Why Latinos are increasingly converting to Islam by Anthony Chiorazzi is another typical human-interest story on Latinos and Islam. This article stands out because it offers a glimpse of Islam in Cuba:

Islamic prayers mingled with the bustling sounds of traffic as he prostrated himself in prayer in a little mosque in Havana, Cuba, recalls Diego Santos, a Cuban-American who traveled to the communist state not long ago to visit his family.

A recent convert to Islam and a writer who prefers not to use his real name, Santos says that Islam in Cuba—like in America—is becoming more visible and that during his stay he found no attempt to repress it. In fact, after jum’a, Friday prayers, Santos talked openly in Spanish about Islam with fellow Muslims while strolling down the crowded streets of old Havana, even passing the government offices of the Cuban Community for the Defense of the Revolution, which has a notorious reputation for being the snitch center for Cuban rule breakers. "Nobody was hiding their Islam in Havana," says Santos.

Back in Los Angeles, Santos attends meetings of the Los Angeles Latino Muslim Association (LALMA), an organization working to help inform the Latino community about Islam. Santos says as a Cuban-American that he has been well embraced by the Muslim community in America because his conversion confirms Islam as a universal religion. Santos hopes that more people will understand that Islam is for everyone whether they live in Europe, America or even Cuba.

robinson opened door for black hispanics

ESPN: Robinson opened door for black Hispanics by Enrique Rojas on how when Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947 he benefited Latinos/Afro-Latinos as well.

see also Grenada: latinos and baseball