US Latinas seek answers in Islam

Muhammad · December 27, 2004

A NEW PATH : Jasmine Pinet is one of a number

of US Latinas who have converted to Islam. Ms.

Pinet says she feels more comfortable in Muslim

garb as she walks the streets of her home in Jersey City, N.J.

US Latinas seek answers in Islam

It surprises many of their friends and family, but some young US Latinas say Islam offers women more respect.

By Christine Armario | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor

UNION CITY, N.J. â€“ Jasmine Pinet sits on the steps outside a mosque here, tucking in strands of her burgundy hair beneath a white head scarf, and explaining why she, a young Latina, feels that she has found greater respect as a woman by converting to Islam.

"They're not gonna say, 'Hey mami, how are you?' " Ms. Pinet says of Muslim men. "Usually they say, 'Hello, sister.' And they don't look at you like a sex object."

While some Latinas her age try to emulate the tight clothes and wiggling hips of stars like Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera, Ms. Pinet and others are adopting a more conservative lifestyle and converting to Islam. At this Union City, N.J., mosque, women account for more than half of the Latino Muslims who attend services here. Nationwide, there are about 40,000 Latino Muslims in the United States, according to the Islamic Society of North America.

Many of the Latina converts say that their belief that women are treated better in Islam was a significant factor in converting. Critics may protest that wearing the veil marks a woman as property, but some Latina converts say they welcome the fact that they are no longer whistled at walking down a street. "People have an innate response that I'm a religious person, and they give [me] more respect," says Jenny Yanez, another Latina Muslim. "You're not judged if you're in fashion or out of fashion."

Other Latina Muslims say they also like the religion's emphasis on fidelity to one's spouse and family.

But for many family members and friends, these conversions come as a surprise - often an unwelcome one. They may know little of Islam other than what they have heard of the Taliban and other extremist groups.

That creates an inaccurate image, insists Leila Ahmed, a professor of women's studies and religion at Harvard University. "It astounds me, the extent to which people think Afghanistan and the Taliban represent women and Islam." What's really going on, she says, is a reshaping of the relationship between women and Islam. "We're in the early stages of a major rethinking of Islam that will open Islam for women. [Muslim scholars] are rereading the core texts of Islam - from the Koran to legal texts - in every possible way."

New views of women and Islam may be more prevalent in countries like the US, where women read the Koran themselves and rely less on patriarchal interpretations.

"I think the women here are asserting more their rights and their privileges," says Zahid Bukhari, director of the American-Muslim Studies Program at George- town University. "

Some Latina Muslims say they harbored stereotypes about Muslim women before deciding to convert, but changed their minds once becoming close friends with a Muslim.

"I always thought, geez, I feel sorry for women who have to wear those veils," says Pinet. Then she met her Muslim boyfriend and began studying the Koran with a group of Muslim women. She says she was impressed with the respect they received.

"A women is respected because she is the mother, she takes care of the children, and she's the one that enforces the rules," Pinet says. "They're the ones who are sacred."

Critics of the decisions of Latinas to convert to Islam say they are adopting a religion just as patriarchical as the Roman Catholic faith that many are leaving behind.

"While it's true the Latino culture tends to be more male-dominated, and there's a tendency toward more machismo, I would venture to say it exists [in Islam] as well," says Edwin Hernandez, director of the Center for the Study of Latino Religion at the University of Notre Dame.

Latinos account for six percent of the 20,000 Muslim conversions in the United States each year, according to a report published by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Anecdotal evidence suggests this number may be rising. But that doesn't mean it's getting any easier for the women who make this choice.

"At first it was anger and then more like sadness," Nylka Vargas says of her parents' reaction when she told them she was converting to Islam and began dressing more conservatively. "They would sometimes feel strange being around me."

Pinet's family has been more accepting, but she too has encountered some resistance in her community. It's as if you've betrayed your own kind," she says.

For some, the cultural differences are the most trying.

"I can't eat pork, I can't wear [form- fitting] clothing, I can't dance in the clubs, I'm not gonna attend church," says Ms. Yanez, who is of Cuban and Spanish descent. "But I keep my language, and there's still things that we do as Latinos that they don't have to change."

Within the Islamic community, Latina Muslims report being warmly received, although language barriers sometimes exist for Latinas who only speak Spanish. There are few Spanish services at mosques and a limited number of Islamic texts in Spanish.

Grassroots organizations specifically for Latino Muslims have been created in recent years. They function in part as an informational resource for new converts and but also as a support group for those who encounter difficulties at home.

Ultimately, Latina Muslims say that time heals the divisions and angst their conversion sometimes causes among friends and family.

"What I had to learn was patience," says Vargas, whose family came to accept her religious beliefs after several years. "Sometimes things are not as we want them."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1227/p11s02-ussc.html

Muhammad · December 27, 2004

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Latino Muslims - Links

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raula · December 27, 2004

Manshaallah -thx for posting the article Muad.

juba · December 28, 2004

that was a great article maud and a big eye opener for me. It shows Islams power in the world and its rapid growth even among a ethnic group that is predomenatly if not all Roman catholics!

Modesty · January 10, 2005

Thanks for the great article, when I first found this out I was so happy to see that Islam is going into the hearts of all humans

Muhammad · October 6, 2005

: Hispanic Muslim Women Busy Teaching Islam

:. More Hispanic women coverting to Islam

"Islam is so beautiful, it's worth it. And with Ramadan,

I'm just doing it by myself, just me and God," said Matos.

(Courtesy: The Miami Herald)

CAIRO, October 5, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) â€“ Growing in number and taking difficulties into their strides, Hispanic Muslim women have made an indelible impression on their society, teaching Spanish-Arabic classes, forming support networks and distributing the Noble Qurâ€™an in Spanish, a US newspaper reported on Wednesday, October 5.

Melissa Matos, who comes from a family of Seventh-day Adventists from the Dominican Republic and reverted to Islam in April, plans to organize a lecture series this semester at her alma mater on the religion's little-known history in Latin America, including two lectures that will be in Spanish, said The Miami Herald said.

The 20-year-old political science student at Florida International University (FIU) said some Hispanic Muslim women have founded support networks to rally behind those who want to revert to Islam.

Piedad, a network of Muslim women that seeks to educate Spanish-speaking communities about Islam, has more than 344 members nationally, according to the paper.

Other groups, like the Latino American Dawah Organization , which was formed in 1997, promote the legacy of Islam in Spain and Latin America.

There are some 40,000 Hispanic Muslims in the United States, according to the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

The largest populations live in New York, Texas, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami.

Growing Number

Islam's growth among Hispanic women may result from the broader Muslim outreach following the Sept. 11 attacks, said Aisha Musa, an assistant professor of religion at Florida International University.

''It's a movement that is growing, particularly in urban areas,'' added Manuel Vasquez, a professor of religion at the University of Florida.

''It's part of the cross-fertilization that's occurring among immigrant groups.''

Sofian Abdelaziz, the director of the American Muslim Association of North America in Miami, said his group often gets requests for the Noble Qurâ€™an in Spanish.

In the last several years, they have given away more than 5,000 Spanish translations of the Qurâ€™an to South Florida mosques and prisons, he said.

Convincing Families

Convincing families of why they have chosen Islam is not an easy job for reverts, the paper said.

''Sometimes it does get a little difficult,'' said Matos, who now wears hijab and starts observing Ramadan for the first time in her life.

''I feel alienated from my family and my old friends, but Islam is so beautiful, it's worth it. And with Ramadan, I'm just doing it by myself, just me and God. ''

''They think I've rejected my way to salvation because I don't believe Jesus Christ is the son of God,'' Matos said of her parents.

The Catholic parents of 52-year-old Roraima Aisha Kanar, who reverted to Islam at 22, did not want their grandchildren to be raised Muslim.

''It was very hard to know that my own mother didn't respect my belief,'' said Kanar, who with her husband raised their three children as Muslims.

But others have found support from their families, the Herald said.

Fatima Narvaez, 30, who reverted in 2002 and now studies Arabic with two other Hispanic women on the weekends, was worried her family would not understand her new dietary practices as Islam forbids pork and meat that is not halal, or slaughtered according to Shari`ah.

''With Puerto Ricans, there's pork in everything,'' said Narvaez, referring to her native Puerto Rico.

''But they accommodate all my issues and cook halal food for me.''

Jameela Ali, 26, who became a Muslim seven years ago after she dreamed she was praying in a mosque filled with light, has renounced aspects of Hispanic culture that conflict with her beliefs, like cooking with wine or eating pork.

''You give up everything of your old lifestyle -- your old clothes, you're not going to clubs, you're not drinking, you're not smoking,'' said Ali, whose mother, sister and brother have all embraced Islam.

''You feel a much closer connection to God,'' said Ali, who teaches two other Hispanic Muslim women to read and write Arabic.

Sources:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12820867.htm

http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2005-10/05/article06.shtml