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Adding Another Layer to the Anti-Latino Rhetoric : Fears of “Radical Latino Muslims”

11:46 am By Maegan La Mala · Religion · 2 Comments

15 Dec 2010

As if Latinos in the United States weren’t being profiled enough by various enforcement agencies in the United States (i.e. local police, la migra), in the last week and a half I have seen 2-3 articles/reports in the media adding another layer onto the mix. The “fear” of Latinos turning to “radical” Islam has been fueled by the media after the arrest of Antonio Martinez, a 21 year old Baltimore young man charged with trying to kill members of the military at a recruitment center (with a “bomb” provided by people working for the FBI – oh by the way).

The flag waving about “Latino Islamic Radicals” unites the growing anti-Islamic bias in the U.S. with the growing anti-immigrant (racialized/ethnically coded as Latino). Reading the coverage what you see is not any real analysis of Islam, Latinos or Muslim Latinos ,which is nothing new by the way – people need to check their history especially if they trace their heritage to Spain and more locally in NYC, I can tell you of strong Latino Islamic communities, but rather a perpetuation of the worst stereotypes.
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Defining Tragedies, Respect, and Sanctity

9:13 am By Maegan La Mala · New York City · 10 Comments

23 Aug 2010

I have held my tongue about the Cordova House, Ground Zero Mosque (which isn’t really at Ground Zero or precisely just a mosque), or whatever the hatemongers are calling it nowadays. Who the hell cares or needs to hear/read my thoughts on the matter. As I planned to go to downtown Manhattan yesterday, and every media outlet I turned on or flipped open was screaming about “THE MOSQUE!” as if it would come and eat your babies, as I listened to, watched and read people who had tons of opinions, I couldn’t bring myself to go downtown, even if it was a Burlington Coat Factory. I get a knot in my stomach. Nervios. Trauma. Remembering.

I am a 9-11-01 survivor. I wasn’t in the WTC but on my way to work and trapped in the subway for what felt like forever as the towers fell above. When I emerged from the tunnels, it was into a new world, a world that I am resentful of because of the way people have twisted history and the meaning of words like tragedy, sanctity, and respect.

Islam in Mexico

6:31 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · mexico|Religion · 1 Comment

30 Jun 2009

From amiga Kameelah comes this video and article about converts to Islam in Chiapas.

Obama’s much anticipated speech gets standing ovation

10:21 am By la Macha · Egypt|Obama|Palestine · 1 Comment

4 Jun 2009

As most of you probably know, Obama spoke in Cario today in an effort to reach out to Muslims and Arabs in a post 9-11 world. Haven’t watched the entire speech yet, but so far it’s a good one. Entire text of speech is at this link.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The fuss about Dubai: JLo

5:11 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Celebrities|Culture|society|World · 1 Comment

22 Mar 2006

Now that the Dubai port controversy is finally over, there’s a one more reason to talk about the UAE: JLo is going to give a “rare” concert there:

Jennifer Lopez, a well-known American actress, Latin Pop singer, fashion designer, and dancer, will exclusively perform live in concert at the Dubai Autodrome on April 27.

This will be her first ever concert in the Middle East region.

While Dubai is considered by many one of the more progressive parts of the Middle East, one has to wonder what people in the region make of JLo and her visit. Curious about that, I found one web site, Waleg.com, which has a comment string open about the JLo concert. The first comment reads:

all american singers are turning arabs like them, i hate them, athum kofaar. Dubai should kick jen out. she trying to seduce arab guys with her look. inah ilah wa inah ragoon.

Another commenter says:

Don’t you think that we have worst than JLO in the arab world now, Arab guys have enough to be distracted and seduced in their own countries.

While a few people chatting online cannot accurately reflect the mentality of an entire nation, I do wonder if John Q Public in Dubai — the non-expat community — believes that JLo and artists like her are contaminating the moral fabric of their culture with her wicked Western ways.

Dubai recently banned a concert by metal band Saxon (scary name!), citing their song, Crusader, as anti-Muslim.

Via / Trade Arabia and Waleg.com

Latinas Convert to Islam

9:33 pm By Maegan La Mala · Religion · Comments Off

6 Oct 2005

Studies estimate that there are about 40,000 Latino Muslims in the US, and an estimated 60% are women. Many, if not the majority of these Latino Muslims are converts. There are 6 million Muslims in South America, according to HispanicMuslims.com

Converting to Islam can be difficult, sometimes even more so for family members. Muslim practices are very different to Catholicism, and if the women wear a hijab or headscarf and participate in prayer 5 times daily, the change is even more obvious.

So why have some Latina women decided to become Muslim? According to the MSNBC article, reasons vary. Some women don’t find what they are looking for in Catholicism, some have been impacted by positive community involvement, while others feel that it represents a “return to traditional values”.

HispanicMuslims.com
Latino American Dawah Organization

Via / MSNBC

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