Latino Muslims: the media’s latest obsession?
by guest contributor Tariq Nelson, originally published at Tariq Nelson
There have been soooo many articles about Hispanics/Latinos (particularly Latinas) and their interest in Islam. Nothing else to write about? Why not yet another article on Latin Muslims? One has to wonder why so much emphasis has been put on Latino Muslims in the media lately.
I suppose since the biggest media issues have been Muslims and Mexican illegal immigration, this would be the perfect hybrid story. It’s just that they’ve gone there so many times…
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.
Update: Since I wrote this noting the large number of articles talking about Latino (particularly females) Muslims, there have been two more. This one and this one. Perhaps I am overreacting here, but I listed at least ten articles talking about Latin Muslim over the past five years. Several other articles had dead links. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is wonderful for people to discuss this subject, but it seems that the media is going to the well a few too many times to the point it seems abnormal.
Other articles of a similar nature:
More U.S. Hispanics Drawn to Islam -Christian Science Monitor
More U.S. Hispanics Drawn to Islam - CBS News
Latino Muslims seek answers - 8/22/2006
Latino women finding a place in Islam - 9/30/2005
US Latinas seek answers in Islam - 12/27/2004
Latino Muslims a growing presence in America - 6/2003
Number of Hispanic Muslim converts growing - 2002 (Originally from Houston Chronicle)
Islam luring more Latinos - 01/07/2001 (Originally in Washington Post)
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
Kyla wrote:
I wonder if the ‘hybridization’ of the two topics is also because both groups are currently the targets of discrimination in the U.S.? People in power have been stirring up mob hysteria against Muslims since 9/11, and against Latinos (particularly Mexicans) since the illegal immigration bruhaha started. They tried to connect the two issues before, even (”Evil Muslim terrorists will sneak in over the Mexican border!”).
Whether the media is deliberately reinforcing this connection, and whether it breaks down or reinforces negative stereotypes against each group, I think this is going to cause many Americans who have been fed anti-Latino and anti-Muslim rhetoric to see Latino Muslims as wholly alien and the enemy of America…especially since an awful lot of people don’t read beyond the headline and photo captions in newspaper stories.
Posted 27 Oct 2006 at 3:10 pm ¶
Lyonside wrote:
How is this any different than Hispanics in many nations moving away from the traditional Catholicism (heavily influenced by pre-Christian cultures and expressed differently from region toregion), towards Assembly of God or other fundamentalist Christian faiths?
As some people grow more secular, or move away from authoritarian religion and towards individual forms of spirituality, it’s inevitable that others grow more orthodox or more conservative/fundamentalist.
Sheesh. It’s the same story, with a more sensational cover.
Posted 27 Oct 2006 at 7:55 pm ¶
Lubomira wrote:
I can attest to the validity of the content. I am in contact with the Muslim community in Orlando Florida, and the mosque leaders are currently addressing how to better serve their Hispanic members, including conducting classes and prayer services in Spanish.
Personally, from a “religious alarmist” point of view, I’m not concerned. There is a massive influx of Hispanic people to the Central Florida area, appearing to be from Puerto Rico. I think the rise in converts to Islam coincides and is equal with the different social impacts seen all over the central Florida area.
I do see this article as a “sign of the times”, however. That is, if Iraq or Terrorism weren’t as prevalent in the headlines, I think the rise in Islamic converts from the Hispanic community would be much less analyzed in terms of “impact to national stability”.
I would think that the economic and crime impact of the Hispanic influx would be much more of a public concern to Central Floridians, rather than their conversion to Islam.
Posted 02 Nov 2006 at 1:30 pm ¶