In Chicago and elsewhere, Latinos converting to Islam

Why Latinos Are Converting to Islam

Latinas converting to Islam for identity and structure

Latinos are one of the fastest growing groups in the Muslim religion. According to the Pew Research Center, about 6 percent of American Muslims are Latino. And a little more than half of new converts are female.

VOA’s Carolyn Presutti travelled to Miami, Florida – where two out of every three residents is Hispanic – to learn more.

A Marine Discovers Islam in Iraq

Before Ibrahim Abdel-Wahed Mohamed left Sea Cliff for a tour of duty with the Marines in Iraq, he was Anthony Grant Vance, the son of American and Panamanian parents who had raised him as a Catholic.

Despite his Christian upbringing, though, he had been curious about Islam since his childhood in Kansas, where he had two Afghani friends. He thought about pursuing anthropology studies to further learn about religion and different cultures, but instead ended up joining the military.

Mohamed felt the pull toward the faith strengthen in Iraq -- "the heart of the Islamic world," as he says -- and he reached out to the Muslim contractors on his base and started learning about the precepts of the Quran.

Convinced that he was being called to Islam, he officially became a Muslim while still serving in Iraq. There he underwent Shahada, a profession of faith where a person testifies in front of others that "there is no god but God and Mohammad is the messenger of God," as the Sunni declaration reads.

His transformation may seem dramatic, but it's not entirely unique. The number of Latinos in the U.S. converting to Islam is growing, and Long Island is no exception.

In 1997, the American Muslim Council counted approximately 40,000 Hispanic Muslims nationwide, but that number could nowadays be closer to 75,000, according to Latino American Dawah Association (LADO), an organization committed to promoting Islam among the Latino community within the United States.

Juan Galvan, a member of LADO, affirms that Latino converts to Islam are increasing. "Many Muslim organizations have stated that the Latino Muslim community tripled or quadrupled after 9/11," he says.

He explains that after the attacks, people wanted to know more about the religion. "Many people came to learn about Islam for the first time. Some people came to hate Islam, and some people came to love Islam."

Mohamed firmly stands with the latter, as one of a small percentage of soldiers who fought in Iraq and returned with a new faith.

In some ways, his roots may have predisposed him to theological experimentation.

Born in Panama to an American Marine father and Panamanian mother, he was baptized and raised as a Catholic. His parents divorced when he was an adolescent, and his father became a Jehovah's Witness. The conversion led his father to retire from the military after 13 years of service, telling Mohamed that once you decide to follow God, "you don't pledge allegiance to a country, but you pledge allegiance to God."

Still, Mohamed followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Marine Corps after he finished high school. As a Marine, traveled around the country, living in California, Virginia, North Carolina and New York, where he finally settled down.

It was working at the military base in Garden City when Mohamed first saw the Islamic Center of Long Island in Westbury, a place that always intrigued him. "We passed by the mosque a couple times and I had the curiosity" he recalls. After several years on Long Island, he was sent to Iraq in 2008.

Two years have passed since Mohamed converted to Islam. Now he lives in Westbury, attends theIslamic Center of Long Island and is pursuing a major in education at CW Post.

He still maintains an open mind when it comes to other religions.

"I'm not here to put anyone else down for their beliefs," he says. "I still believe that there are many lessons to be learned from other faiths."

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Islam takes root in land of bikinis and Carnival

RIO DE JANEIRO: “As-salam aleikum!” Omar greeted worshippers as he entered Mesquita da Luz, Rio’s first mosque where he had just broken his Ramazan fast at dusk.

Those are some of the only words Omar knows in Arabic, and he quickly continued his conversation in Portuguese with fellow Muslims who mostly, like him, converted recently to Islam in the world’s biggest Catholic country.

In a land known more for its bikinis and extravagant Carnival featuring scantily clad women, a small but growing number of Brazilians of various backgrounds call themselves Muslim.

For decades, it was primarily families of Libyan, Palestinian and Syrian descent who practiced Islam in Brazil.

Omar, who until just four years ago officiated as Catholic priest at a local church, explained why he embraced Islam.

“I found in Islam everything I had always looked for. I met God as he is, with no adaptation,” the 34-year-old graphic designer told AFP.

Wearing a traditional long djellaba robe, he refused to give his official name, instead only revealing his Muslim one: Omar Israfil Dawud bin Ibrahim.

“At the seminary, you learn that Islam is one of the monotheistic religions. There is no prejudice against this religion,” said Omar as he stood by his wife Alessandra Faria, who goes by the name “Fatima” after converting and deciding to wear the veil.

“In the beginning, my mother was mortified at the thought of going outside with me. I wear the veil to show I am Muslim and aware that I am part of a minority,” she said.

Fatima’s hijab may raise eyebrows in Rio, where it is more common to see women walking the streets in bikinis in seaside neighborhoods, but she says her beliefs can find a place here.

“Brazil is a mix, made up of several different cultures. This mix makes Brazilians very adaptable and tolerant.” Like most practicing Muslims here, Omar and Fatima are only recent converts to Islam. They plan to travel to Saudi Arabia next year on a Saudi government grant to learn Arabic.

‘New form of resistance’

Renovations on the mosque they attend in the suburb of Tijuca north of Rio got under way four years ago with donations from worshippers. It will soon hold up to 400 people during prayers, a major upgrade.

“The number of Muslims continues to grow, and most are Brazilians who are converting. We recruit members mostly online,” said Sami Isbelle, a spokesman for the Beneficent Muslim Society (SBMRJ).

“In Rio, there are about 500 Muslim families, 85 per cent of them Brazilian converts who have no Arab links,” Isbelle said.

Things are different in Sao Paulo state and southern regions of Brazil, where most Muslims were born as such and are often of Arab descent.

Brazil’s census does not count the number of Muslims, and only provides data on Catholics, evangelicals, Jews, spiritualists and followers of Afro-Brazilian religions.

“Muslims are listed in the ‘other’ category, along with Buddhists, for example, said Islam expert Paulo Pinto of Fuminense Federal University, who estimated Brazil is home to about a million Muslims.

The best indicator of the growth of Islam in the country is the rapid increase in the number of places of worship, according to Pinto. There are now 127 mosques, four times as many as there were back in 2000.

After the September 11 attacks in the United States, “there was a growth of interest in Islam, and many people decided to convert,” Pinto added. “Islam was seen as a new form of resistance.” But it was a “telenovela” or soap opera launched just three weeks after the 2001 attacks, “The Clone,” that sparked some Brazilians’ infatuation with Islam.

Set in Morocco, the popular show showed a “positive image of that part of the world, with a benevolent Muslim hero,” said Pinto.

“There is a tendency to think that Brazilian culture, as liberal and sensual as it is, is against the rules of Islam. But in fact, there are many conservative rules that are part of moral and sexual control. Look at how many evangelicals are successful in Brazil!”

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For some Latinos Islam is simple

Milena recently began attending Qur’an classes on Wednesday nights at the North Hudson Islamic Center in Union City, New Jersey.

Milena is one of thousands of Latino Americans who has converted to Islam. She embraced the fast-growing religion four weeks ago. Milena has been married to her husband, who is originally a Pakistani-Muslim, for seven years. Despite their long marriage, she had always refused to convert just for her spouse’s sake.

Like many Puerto Ricans, she was a regular Catholic churchgoer with a strong faith. After her first son’s birth, she started to consider Islam.
“I became interested in learning about Islam without converting, because our son is going to be raised as a Muslim. That is how my interest in Islam started.” she said.

So far Milena has been satisfied with the learning process.
“I am seeking knowledge, I am hungry for knowledge. I am really excited about what I feel,” she said.
The new convert has adapted herself rapidly into her new life, so much so that the Imam and other students do not recognize her immediately.

For the first time, Milena wore a veil covering up her hair.
“Last Sunday, I went to a hijab party," she said. "I didn’t know how to wear one. It was a really nice experience. And this is the first time, I am wearing it today.”

But she confesses “I was a bit reluctant because I didn’t know how anyone would react to me. But that was fine. I feel good. I feel proud.”
That night, four other Latino Muslims attended the Islamic class. Among them was Nylka Vargas, who has been a Muslim for 15 years.

Coming from a Peruvian-Ecuadorian family, she was born and raised in New Jersey. Nylka chose Islam because she said she "had a yearning to know God and I didn’t believe in things that I learned as a Christian. I believed in a higher power. I was looking for the truth, the connection between the believer and the Creator."

“Islam taught me a lot of discipline. And Islam is perfectly aligned: the prayers and its time. Why things are done. It is flexibility but discipline.”

According to a study led by Samantha Sanchez, one of the founders of Latino American Dawah Organization (LADO), the most attractive part of Islam to spirituality seeking Latinos is its strict monotheistic orientation and structured belief system.

Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, currently the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, of American University in Washington DC, agrees.

“Because Latinos are coming from Catholic background, which is a fairly ordered world, to America where is completely free, sometimes they find an alternative in Islam, where they see an order," he said. "At the same time, because they are coming from a Catholic background, they also see some echoes in Islam of their own faith. For example, Catholics have a very high reverence for Mary, the mother of Jesus, so that is something they very much appreciate.”

Imam Shamsi Ali of the Islamic Cultural Center of New York says he has a similar point of view.

"The most important reason why many Latinos embrace Islam is because they are naturally religious people as Catholic or Christian, so they are more inclined to religion," he said. "That’s why they can turn to Islam.”

Without any census based on the religious beliefs in United States, it is difficult to give a precise figure of Latinos who have converted to Islam within the country.

Yet, it was estimated at about 200,000 in 2006, by the American Muslim Council. Young and educated women make up a large part of this group.

”More than 60 percent of converts are women these last few years”, Ali said, who has also noted an increase of conversions to Islam after 9/11 attacks. “The majority of those who became Muslims after 9/11 are from the Latino community. Maybe more that 60 percent of those who converted to Islam in America are Latinos”.

The tragic event seems to have aroused people’s interest in Islam, who want to understand what the religion is all about.

Such is the case for Mustafa, born to Catholic parents from Puerto Rican. Mustafa started to search for answers in the Qur’an after the attacks.

“Once I started to read the Qur’an the first time, I said this is true," he said. "I have to testify to it.”

But he explains that it was a long process that stretched from 2001 through 2007, before his conversion.

“I was still young, into partying," he said. "So it took me a transition from that time when I first read the Qur’an until I took my Shahaada (testimony of faith in the Oneness of God and the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad).”

Many Muslim organizations have stated that the Latino Muslim community has tripled or quadrupled since 9/11.

Ahmed explains that there has been “so much literature on Islam. If you are an American, and day and night people are saying Islam is bad, Islam is terrorism, so you may pick up a book on Islam and what do you see? No, Islam is saying something else. In that sense, the interest in Islam has gone up since 9/11.”

Conversion to Islam by Latinos may also be seen as a look back to their Spanish roots, which is embedded in Islamic history for 800 years in Granada, Cordova, Seville and Andalusia.

“There is a kind of reawakening," Nylka Vargas. "We want to discover our roots, our ancestries. How our culture fitted into Islam. It’s amazing, I have seen how our community has transformed.
There is more availability of Islamic information in Spanish. Islam is not so much seen as something foreign. That misconception is going away. Now it is our religion too. Islam is not for others only, it is for all. ”

The largest communities of Latino Muslims exist in areas, unsurprisingly, that have the highest concentrations of Latinos, such as New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and other urban centers. According to an ongoing survey led by LADO, California is the state with the most Latino Muslims.

In his essay, Latino Conversion to Islam, Khalil Salgado, currently the secretary of the League of Latin American Muslim Organizations, puts forward five factors that have lead Latinos to accept Islam.

From the 1960s until the mid-1990’s, Latino conversions seem to be the results of the interactions between Puerto Ricans and African-Americans, who were the first Muslims. From the mid-1990’s, the explosion of Internet has facilitated connections between people thus many Latinos have gotten connected to other people around the world including with Muslim people.

Another factor is that Latinos have been living among Muslim immigrants.

“In the post-9/11 period, most Latinos have come to learn about Islam primarily from their interactions with immigrant Muslims,” Salgado said.

The two remaining factors, which “are not restricted to any particular time period” are “the conversion in prison” and the “conversion through marriage.”

From Puerto Rican family, Salgado, a 33 year-old, is himself a converted Muslim. Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, he became Muslim in 1995.

He then went to Mecca and Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia where he attended Arabic and Islamic studies. He is now a teacher at the Islamic school in Nashville Tenn.

Like Salgado, Anthony Umar Navarro, an American-Puerto Rican with a Catholic background, also chose to go abroad to learn Arabic and Islamic studies.

He currently resides in Egypt with his wife. He says, he is trying “to learn how to live like the Prophet without all of the distractions that the "modern" era has brought with it.”

Umar confesses that before he became Muslim he "got into tons of troubles on the streets -fighting every day, being arrested by police. I really didn't care much about anything until I witnessed my best friend get murdered. Now that my best friend was gone I needed to know where he was.”

A short time later, he came across a Muslim Dominican who was also dealing with the streets and was befriended by the troubled youth, which led Umar to discover Islam.

“I took my Shahaadah two months before my 21st birthday and left the streets life alone“.
In embracing Islam, Latino Muslims change part of their life spiritually and physically.

“Before there was nothing to scare me, now I am scared of only thing and it is about Allah," he said." It changed my life. It makes me a fearful man. It makes me also patient. I had never had any kind of patience.”

Born in a Catholic Puerto Rican family, he explains that “the hardest part is watching what you eat. You have to be more aware of everything you do, aware what time is it for your prayers. But it is just a transition.”

For over two months, Ziyad has taken Qur’an and Arabic classes at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York to develop a better understanding of the religious texts. Gina* has also started attending the same class, after having embraced Islam over two months ago. She was born and raised in New York, with an ancestry from Panama and Dominican Republic. She has not told her parents about her conversion, but recently opened up to her sister, who she says “made a couple of comments and repeated what the media says. But when I started to explain to her certain things she understands it more now.”

Gina finds it regrettable that “there are a lot of misunderstandings that people have about Islam and they feel that it’s the truth because what they hear on television.”

The rise of Latinos who have converted to Islam in the United States might also have an impact beyond the American borders.

Ali tells this story: “In Nicaragua there was no mosque in the past, but recently a business woman from New York, who became Muslim, went back to Managua and she bought a house that she turned into a house of worship, a mosque. So there is some influence.”

Today, Latino Muslims seem to face a double challenge in America: ethnic and religious.

*Gina, is a substitute name to perserve her anonymity.

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Latino Muslims