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More US Hispanics drawn to Islam
Amy Green Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
Date: 09/28/2006
(ORLANDO, FLA.)With her hijab and dark complexion, Catherine Garcia doesn't
look like an Orlando native or a Disney tourist. When people ask where she's
from, often they are surprised that it's not the Middle East but Colombia.
That's because Ms. Garcia, a bookstore clerk who immigrated to the US seven
years ago, is Hispanic and Muslim. On this balmy afternoon at the start of
Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, she is at her mosque dressed in long sleeves
and a long skirt in keeping with the Islamic belief in modesty. "When I was in
my country I never fit in the society. Here in Islam I feel like I fit with
everything they believe," she says.
Garcia is one of a growing number of Hispanics across the US who have found
common ground in a faith and culture bearing surprising similarities to their
own heritage. From professionals to students to homemakers, they are drawn to
the Muslim faith through marriage, curiosity and a shared interest in issues
such as immigration.
The population of Hispanic Muslims has increased 30 percent to some 200,000
since 1999, estimates Ali Khan, national director of the American Muslim
Council in Chicago. Many attribute the trend to a growing interest in Islam
since the 2001 terrorist attacks and also to a collision between two burgeoning
minority groups. They note that Muslims ruled Spain centuries ago, leaving an
imprint on Spanish food,
music, and language.
"Many Hispanics ... who are becoming Muslim, would say they are embracing their
heritage, a heritage that was denied to them in a sense," says Ihsan Bagby,
professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Kentucky. The
trend has spawned Latino Islamic organizations such as the Latino American
Dawah Organization, established in 1997 by Hispanic converts in New York City.
Today the organization is nationwide.
The growth in the Hispanic Muslim population is especially prevalent in New
York, Florida, California, and Texas, where Hispanic communities are largest.
In Orlando, the area's largest mosque, which serves some 700 worshipers each
week, is located in a mostly Hispanic neighborhood. A few years ago it was
rare to hear Spanish spoken at the mosque, says Imam Muhammad Musri, president
of the Islamic Society of Central Florida.
Today there is a growing demand for books in Spanish, including the Koran, and
requests for appearances on Spanish-language radio stations, Mr. Musri says.
The mosque offers a Spanish-language education program in Islam for women on
Saturdays. "I could easily see in the next few years a mosque that will have
Spanish services and a Hispanic imam who will be leading the service," he says.
The two groups tend to be family-oriented, religious, and historically
conservative politically, Dr. Bagby says. Many who convert are second- and
third-generation Hispanic Americans. The two groups also share an interest in
social issues such as
immigration, poverty, and healthcare. Earlier this year Muslims joined
Hispanics in marches nationwide protesting immigration-reform proposals they
felt were unfair.
In South Central Los Angeles, a group of Muslim UCLA students a decade ago
established a medical clinic in this underserved area. Today the nonreligious
University Muslim Medical Association Community Clinic treats some 16,000
patients, mostly Hispanic, who see it as a safe place to seek care without fear
for their illegal status, says Mansur Khan, vice chairman of the board and one
of the founders.
Although the clinic doesn't seek Muslim converts, Dr. Khan sees Hispanics
taking an interest in his faith because it focuses on family, he says. One
volunteer nurse founded a Latino Islamic organization in the area. Another
Hispanic woman told Khan she felt drawn to the faith because of the head
covering Muslim women wear. It reminded her of the Virgin Mary.
The trend is a sign that Islam is becoming more Americanized and more
indigenous to the country, Bagby says. As Republican positions on issues such
as immigration push Muslim Hispanics and blacks in a less conservative
direction, Islam could move in the same direction. Muslim Hispanic and black
involvement in American politics could demonstrate to Muslims worldwide the
virtues of democracy, eventually softening fundamentalists. He believes the
Osama bin Ladens of the world are a
small minority, and that most fundamentalists are moving toward engagement with
the West.
"The more Hispanics and other Americans [who] become Muslim, the stronger and
wider the bridge between the Muslim community and the general larger American
community," Bagby says. "Their words and approach have some weight because they
are a source of pride for Muslims throughout the world."
Garcia left Colombia to study international business in the US. Always
religious, she considered becoming a nun when she was younger. But her Catholic
faith raised questions for her. She wondered about eating pork when the Bible
forbids it, and about praying to Mary and the saints and not directly to God.
In the US she befriended Muslims and eventually converted to Islam. Her family
in Colombia was supportive. Today she says her prayers in English, Spanish, and
Arabic, and she eats Halal food in keeping with Islamic beliefs. "It's the
best thing that happened to me," says Garcia in soft, broken English. "I never
expected to have so many blessings and be in peace like I am now."
(c) Copyright 2006 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.
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