Islamic Horizons July/August 2016 by Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)
Type “Latino Muslims” into any search engine, and the results will display a plethora of recent media reports about this fastest-growing minority within Islam. Familiar media names like PBS, NBC, BBC, Al-Jazeera, the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, Univision, and Telemundo have all produced their share of reports and documentaries on this phenomenon. This formerly under-the-radar development has even warranted attention from academia, for professors are researching this demographic and graduate students are basing their theses on varying factors of the Hispanic/Latino Muslim presence both at home and abroad.
The trend has been fueled by recent events surrounding the 2016 presidential race and the xenophobic and Islamophobic campaign rhetoric from some of the candidates, such as the rants of Donald Trump, the sole remaining Republican presidential candidate, and many of those who dropped out along the way. Given that his campaign began with slurs against Mexican immigrants and other Hispanic groups that were later followed by verbal attacks on Muslims, both communities have garnered extensive media attention. Media outlets now hasten to find Muslim converts or born Muslims of Hispanic origin to provide their commentary or reactions, perhaps because this approach is more convenient and provides an unexpected turn on the negative propaganda trail.
This atmosphere has not only brought to light the increasing number of Latinos embracing or practicing Islam, but has also opened the door for others to explore it. Juan Galvan, director of the Latino American Dawah Organization (LADO) and a Muslim convert of Mexican descent, says, “There’s more curiosity about the Latino Muslim community. Everyone wants to know what we think about what’s going on.” LADO’s website showcases news articles written by or about Latino Muslims. Galvan, who has worked for over a decade to gather these pieces under one umbrella, remarks, “Disseminating information is critical. I enjoy distributing information on current events, especially when Latino Muslims are in the news.”
The Florida branch of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) now has its own Spanish-speaking representative,attorney and political analyst Wilfredo Amr Ruiz. Its Spanish-language Facebook page, CAIR en Español: Musulmanes Hispanos, which caters to Hispanic Muslims in both English and Spanish, boasts that it is managed by a “group of Muslims that are proud of their Hispanic and Muslim heritage.” Ruiz is frequently invited as a commentator on local radio and television news channels, as well as national news stations, to offer his expertise on Islam, the Middle East and Latino Muslim issues.
Recently, Ruiz and other Latino Muslim community leaders, among them Imam Abdullah Daniel Hernandez from the Islamic Center of Pearland, Tex., participated in the National Muslim Advocacy Day on April 21 organized by the U.S. Council of Islamic Organizations. Their presence is also indicative of an emerging Latino Muslim leadership within the country’s Muslim populace and its hopes of influencing the political landscape.
PA’ COGER IMPULSO: TO GAIN MOMENTUM
There is a famous Spanish/Caribbean proverb: Pa’lante, pa’lante, pa’tras ni pa’ coger impulso (Never take a step back, not even to gain momentum). On the other hand, looking back and reflecting upon Islam’s history and influence on Latinos and their culture can be a motivator for those seeking to reconnect with their roots. Latin Americans began embracing Islam as far back as the 1960s and 1970s. Communities of Muslim Hispanics were born out of the Civil Rights movement, and some branched out from the Nation of Islam.
Ramon Ocasio, a pioneering founder of Alianza Islamica (Islamic Alliance), the most prominent historically Latino Muslim organization, states, “In 1973, when I took shahadah (the Islamic testimony of faith), there were very few Latino Muslims, and fewer still who felt a need to affirm it. In the decades since, it has moved significantly away from that retrograde stance and the moniker now has no one shying [away] from it.”
Alianza Islamica, founded in 1987 as a community-based Puerto Rican organization, opened the country’s first Hispanic mosque in the heart of Spanish Harlem, N.Y. During its prime, this shining example of outreach and community development offered congregational prayers, sermons in both English and Spanish, marriage and funeral services, classes, counseling and mentorship for new Muslims. However, it lost its momentum after relocating to the Bronx and finally closed its doors in 2005. Many other Latino Islamic dawah organizations have emerged during and after Alianza’s time, but none of them were able to open their own center or mosque exclusively for Spanish-speakers.
Now, more than ten years later in Houston, Texas, on Jan. 30 2016, another Latino Muslim Islamic center has opened its doors. IslamInSpanish Centro Islámico seeks to both cater to the country’s largest Muslim Hispanic community and to project itself worldwide via videoconferencing and live-streaming its bilingual Friday sermons, weekly Islamic studies classes and other special programs uploaded to YouTube and Facebook.
The Internet and social media have proven to be effective tools for spreading Islam and informing Latinos about their cultural ties to the Moors of Spain and the African Muslims brought to the Americas in chains. Galvan comments, “Spanish dawah has been transformed from primarily email or newsgroups like Yahoogroups into a social media phenomenon. Social media is also making it cheaper and faster, as well as giving it a larger reach.”
This latter development has engendered calls for more Latino scholarship on Islam, as the demand for more information and instruction continues to grow. “A lot of good work gets accomplished through social media, especially Facebook,” he points out. Galvan is an administrator for the Latino Muslims and Hispanic Muslims group pages on Facebook.
CURRENT TRENDS
Abu Sumayyah Abdul Razzaq Wesley Lebrón, an IslamInSpanish representative and Islamic studies teacher at Miftahul Uloom in Union City, N.J., relates, “The dawah to Latinos has evolved significantly. Many new Islamic organizations in North and South America are run by native Latino Muslims who want to serve their people. We have also seen an increase in Latino converts going overseas to study Islam, studying online, etc., in order to increase their knowledge of Islam so that they disseminate its message in our mother tongue.”
The number of Spanish-speaking Latino imams and Islamic activists both inside and outside the U.S. with an international influence continues to rise. However, Isa Lima, a Dominican convert and member of LADO, points out that there is still a dire need for more Latin American Muslims in religious leadership roles.
Historically, Islam has spread faster among Hispanics living in areas with large and dense Latino populations, such as Houston, Dallas, Miami, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. However, due to the availability of audiovisual and print materials, more and more people in remote areas are being exposed to Islamic teachings. Registered nurse Marta Khadija Galedary, co-founder and president of La Asociación Latino Musulmana de América (LALMA) holds a seldom heard opinion: “There is no more need to print dawah material, the group founded by Mujahid Fletcher (IslamInSpanish), ICNA via Whyislam, Al-Furqan Foundation, and of course the multiple publications from Saudi Arabia… have been printing pamphlets, Qur’ans etc. With the multimedia resources, video or audio of Qur’an recitation in Arabic and translated to Spanish, anyone can find it on Youtube.”
Non-profit Islamic organizations that produce Spanish-language material seldom receive adequate funding, which hinders their distribution efforts. However, smart technology provides a more cost-effective way to disseminate information. Nevertheless, according to Galvan, Web and smartphone applications still need to be developed and specifically marketed to Spanish-speaking Muslims, for “Our community lacks smartphone apps for Quran, (with) prayer times, etc., as well as online, free searchable hadith collections (similar to) what is available in the English language.” It will take some time to fill this and other demands from new converts, especially since these organizations may ignore the fact that not all Latinos living in the U.S. are fluent in English.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2013 approximately 73.3% of Hispanics living in the U.S. aged 5 years and above spoke Spanish at home, and 58% of them also had near-native English fluency. Clearly, Muslims who are interested in reaching out to this community need to remember that the remaining 42% might have some difficulties when it comes to dealing with others in English. The Latino/Hispanic demographic is complex, for it contains people from distinctive cultures and nationalities that share variants of the same language. Ocasio opines that this may be one of the reasons why the Latino Muslim community remains under-served.
“The greater diversity of the contemporary Latino community presents the challenge of a pan-Latino approach to dawah and community development,” he states. “The full impact of this is masked somewhat by the large proportion of (English-speakers) among current Latino Muslims; however, it will emerge in bold relief when dealing with each respective community and the peculiarities of their situations.” He also points out that there has been very little community development in his native New York. “There are no community-based Latino jamaats (congregations) in the New York metropolitan area, for example, even though the Latino population here is immense. The closest thing to it is the North Hudson community in Union City, N.J. But they are just a significant minority subject to an, albeit supportive, Arab administration.”
Alex Robayo, a North Hudson Islamic Educational Center (NHIEC) Dawah Committee member, is more optimistic. “In the New York Metro area we have seen a plethora of Latino/Hispanic events sprout from northern New Jersey, namely, Hudson, Essex and Passaic counties, as well as the New York City area. This has led to grassroots organizations holding picnics, potlucks, lectures, classes, etc. in Spanish. The area has thus become more bilingual, with Spanish as the second language next to Arabic. I would say this is a welcomed change and evidence of the change that has taken place over the last 10 to 15 years.”
The NHIEC Muslim community hosts an annual Hispanic Muslim Day, which is dedicated to celebrating Muslim Latinos. The mosque also provides simultaneous translations of the Arabic Friday sermons into Spanish via headsets, as well as a monthly Spanish Friday sermon and Islamic studies classes taught in Spanish. Robayo, who is half Puerto Rican and half Ecuadorian, feels that cultural awareness plays a crucial role in fortifying the bonds of unity between the Latino and non-Latino congregants. He suggests, “A strong social network should be addressed in order to secure Islam’s future within our community.”
PA’LANTE, PA’LANTE: MOVING FORWARD While Islam has experienced a revival in the hearts of Latinos, more work is needed to accommodate this rising demographic. Ocasio is convinced that the most effective way forward is to adopt an activist approach, one in which Islam is taught through practical examples. Relating to his past experiences in the barrio, he opines that “Latinos must be addressed where they live and, when they come into the fold, be integrated into an ever-expanding community that serves as a beacon for those yet to come.” He explains that the way to achieve this is by “not only preaching the message, but also by trying to address the needs of psychologically and spiritually broken people, demonstrating that Islam can make a practical difference in their lives.”
Galvan agrees that there has to be greater involvement on the local level. “We need to do a better job reaching our neighbors,” he states. LALMA, which follows the example of Alianza, regularly collaborates with such Los Angeles-based organizations as the LA Voice, the Inland Congregations United for Change and the Orange County Community Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO). LALMA was honored (2016) by the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC) for its working for social justice. “We are putting into action our Islamic beliefs and ethical principles,” says President Galedary. “It is time for the Muslim community to act and to be proactive within our society. Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was chosen to restore social justice and the maintenance of human dignity that God gave to every single soul, and of course, to [return his people] to the worship of One God.”
Galedary favors an activist approach to Islamic outreach by encouraging Muslims to get involved in serving the underprivileged,empowering youth leaders and joining advocacy groups to promote social change. Through leading by example, these efforts, all of which are geared to help society as a whole, may also help promote Islam among Latinos. As Galvan remarks, “The fruit of our labor is rarely immediate. It takes a lot of patience.”
Identifying what still needs to be done in terms of reaching more Latinos perhaps begins with defining Spanish dawah. Ocasio states that one reality in this regard bears closer scrutiny. “So far, virtually all questions regarding materials and approaches center on Spanish-language books, brochures, CDs and DVDs, as if the only ones worth addressing in a Latin-specific way are immigrants. The approach to Latino dawah must be more nuanced and cannot be so narrowly focused,” he states. He believes that “Spanish Dawah” and its associated materials should be considered part of an overall “Latino Dawah” program that integrates material geared to first-generation Latino Americans. Galvan sums it up by stating that the dawah to Latinos must be bilingual.
Keeping this in mind, Latino and non-Latino Islamic organizations must develop both educational and support initiatives in order to establish the correct belief and implementation of Islam. In addition, they need to help steer newcomers away from deviant beliefs or downright negligence. By acknowledging that the Latino community is the fastest-growing group of new Muslims, according to the latest statistics, it becomes incumbent upon the entire Muslim community to do whatever it can to meet its needs.
Wendy Díaz is the co-founder and director of Hablamos Islam (We Speak Islam) and a writer and translator for the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). Juan Galvan, director of the Latino American Dawah Organization, is currently editing an anthology of Muslim Latino conversion stories.
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