page_title: Hispanic and Latino American Muslims
section_title: Organization in the United States
hierarchical_section_title: Hispanic and Latino American Muslims / Organization in the United States
caption_attribution_description: English: This is a photo of the grand opening at the IslamInSpanish Centro Islamico.
context_page_description: Hispanic and Latino American Muslims are Hispanic and Latino Americans who are of the Islamic faith. Hispanic and Latino Americans are an ethnolinguistic group of citizens of the United States with origins in Spain and Latin America.Islam is an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion teaching that there is only one God, and that Muhammad is a messenger of God. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, claimed to be the verbatim word of God, and the teachings and normative examples of Muhammad. Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, and the Quran in its Arabic to be the unaltered and final revelation of God. The Spaniards took the Roman Catholic faith to Latin America via imperialism and colonialism; Roman Catholicism continues to be the largest, but not the only, religious denomination among most Hispanics. In contrast, the Arabs took Islam to very few Latin American countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Colombia via post-independence immigration.
context_section_description: For many Latino Muslims, converting to Islam was an easy process because of the overall similarities between their new and old religions. Despite all of these similarities, most converts may experience rejection and criticism from their Latino families and friends. Like other Muslims, Latinos who practice Islam may face a barrage of harassment and death threats.
  Latino Muslim communities have created support systems, both physically and virtually, through the presence of small mosques and online sites that provide support systems for Latino Muslims, including www.HispanicMuslims.com, www.Latinodawah.org, and www.Piedad.info.
  In 1982 a group of Mexican Muslims established the Association of Latin American Muslims, based in D.C.
  In 1987 Alianza Islámica was established after a group of Latino Muslims in New York felt that their "particular culture, languages, social situations, and contributions to Islamic history" were not well addressed in the African-American or immigrant Muslim communities.
  In 1988 PIEDAD was founded in New York by Khadijah Rivera. Literally, PIEDAD means “Taqwa, piety or God-fearing.” In its acronym form it reads “Propagación Islámica para la Educación y la Devoción a Aláh el Divino” (Islamic dawah to educate and worship Allah the Most High). Their numerous seminars have included speakers like Imam Siraj Wahhaj, Mohammed Nasim, Dr. Thomas Irving, Dr. Omar Kasule, and others. PIEDAD began as dawah directed to the overlooked Hispanic women in NYC.
  In 1997 the Latino American Da'wah Organization (LADO) was founded by Samantha Sanchez, along with Juan Alvarado and Saraji Umm Zaid, with a mission to promote Islam within the Latino community and to make information available in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. It is now one of the most well-known Latino Muslim groups, working with other organizations inside and outside the United States, including Islamic Society of North America.
  In 1999 a group of Latino Muslims led Marta Felicitas Galedary by from Los Angeles began a study group to learn about Islam in the Spanish language. Because of much interest, they formed LALMA, which is the acronym for Los Angeles Latino Muslims Association. Their mission statement states that "LALMA is an organization of Latino Muslims that promotes a better understanding of Islam to the Spanish speaking community and establishes a forum of spiritual nurturing and social support to Latino Muslims, building bridges among the monotheistic community and advocating for social justice in accordance with Islamic values." LALMA now stands for La Asociacion Latino Musulmana de America and is still based in the Los Angeles area.
  In 2001 IslamInSpanish began providing multi media material in the Spanish language and conduct (sermons) in Spanish at two locations in the Houston area. The weekly sessions are broadcast online to the worldwide Spanish-speaking Muslim population. In 2016, IslamInSpanish opened up the first Spanish-speaking Islamic Center in the United States. They also hosted the first National Latino Muslim Convention in conjunction with the Texas Dawah Convention in 2016.
  There is also CAIR in Español and MAS in Español.
  Hispanic Muslim communities have grown across the United States, including in Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Florida, Arizona, and California.
  With the common rhetoric of Islamophobia in the U.S. media, Hispanic Muslims are also concerned about the representation of Islam in broader society, especially in Spanish language outlets. Wilfredo Amr Ruiz is an attorney and Muslim chaplain, originally from Puerto Rico, who is often asked to address and contextualize current events with connections to Islam by both English and Spanish-language media in the U.S. There is also a 2009 documentary film New Muslim Cool that follows the life of Hamza Perez, a Puerto Rican Muslim rap artist, that helps to counter Islamophobia rhetoric.
caption: IslamInSpanish Centro Islamico Grand Opening
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