http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/americas/view/277203/1/.html
Growing number of Hispanic Americans converting to Islam in the US By Channel NewsAsia's US Correspondent Steve Mort | Posted: 19 May 2007 2352 hrs Orlando : Muslim leaders in the United States say interest in their religion has increased in the past few years. More Hispanic Americans are converting to Islam, particularly in New York, California, Texas and Florida, which have the greatest concentration of Hispanic residents. The al-Rahaman mosque in Orlando opened in 1975 and is the oldest Muslim place of worship in the city. But over the years, its membership has changed, and now increasing numbers of Hispanics like Jesus Marti are joining the congregation. Jesus Marti, Hispanic Muslim, said: "Islam is definitely a way of life, for discipline where you follow and you try to enhance yourself to get the most positive things out of yourself." Muslim leaders say Jesus Marti and other Hispanics choose Islam for a variety of reasons. They say Muslims and Hispanics face common issues and concerns, like finding their way in a new, unfamiliar country. The media focus on Islam since September 11th has also been a factor. Imam Muhammad Musri is president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida. The society has about 40,000 members. Imam Muhammad Musri said: "There are so many common denominators between immigrant Muslims and immigrant Hispanics who see the issues common to both of them - immigration issues, trying to find a job, keep a job, buy a home - all the same struggles two groups of people happen to be going through creates this bond between them." Hundreds of worshippers attend Imam Musri's mosque, and there is an increasing demand for religious literature in Spanish. For Jesus Marti and his fellow Hispanic worshippers, the decision to convert to Islam is personal, but also part of a broader trend. He hopes greater diversity among America's Muslims will help strengthen understanding of Islam within the wider US population. Experts say it's not surprising that the number of Hispanics in the United States converting to Islam is growing, with many issues now united both communities. - CNA/ch [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
