Baitul Awwal Ahmadiyya Mosque, Guatemala

December 19, 2012 12:47 AM

By Erika L. Sanchez
The Daily Star

Story Summary
Of Mexican heritage, Marta Khadija, president of LALMA, La Asociacion Latino Musulmana de America, or The Latino Muslim Association of America, converted to Islam in 1983 .

As a result, the steadily growing number of Latino Muslims in the United States is inevitable. According to Reuters, 2.6 million people practice Islam, one of the fastest growing religions in our country, and Hispanics, another rapidly growing group, currently comprise 17 percent of the total U.S. population.

Khadija says she generally doesn’t feel judged by other Latinos and that she is able to live with both identities without any challenges.

When asked about navigating the Latino Muslim identity he says that identity only becomes a problem when his heritage and spirituality don’t fit other people’s expectations.

Ruiz says that some Latinos initially reject Islam because of the unfavorable images formed by the media, but some come to find that they share many of the same moral values as Muslims.

Latino Muslims like Gonzales, Ruiz and Khadija are creating a unique American identity

Read more: http://dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2012/Dec-19/199056-latino-muslims-are-shaping-a-new-us-identity.ashx#ixzz2GEsLfsFH
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)