Islam Islam is an Arabic word that can be defined as "to make peace." Islam is the religion founded by Mohammed, which considers the Koran as its holy book. In addition, Islam accepts the New Testament of the Christians and the Old Testament of the Jews as Divinely inspired works. Followers of Islam are known as Muslims (also: Moors, Turks, and Moslems) and, just as Jews and Christians, believe in only one God. Yet, over the centuries, Muslims have engaged in tremendous wars with...

Islam in Argentina is represented by one of Latin America's largest Muslim minorities. Although accurate statistics on religion are not available (because the national census does not solicit religious data) the actual size of Argentina 's Muslim community is estimated around 1.5% of the total population (500,000 to 600,000) Early Muslim immigration Though early Spanish and Portuguese explorers and immigrants to the New World were very familiar with Muslims and Islamic culture (due to 800...

As part of al-Qaeda's constantly expanding propaganda campaign, the organization’s messages are translated into various languages, including Spanish. On September 8, 2008, Ibn Al-Athir Al-Ansari, a member of the Al-Hesbah online forum since March 2007, posted a Spanish translation of a speech made by Salah Abu Muhammad to the Muslim public in the Maghreb on September 2, 2008. Salah Abu Muhammad is responsible for propaganda for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Before the...

Islamic leaders are allying with South American indigenous groups, because they see this impoverished, illiterate population, as the ideal environment for starting an extremist revolution and converting them to Islam. The process may take hundreds of years, but time means nothing to the fundamentalist. After all Allah is immortal and if Muslims waited 1300 years before invading Europe again, they can wait to convert Christians, animists and pagans. In 711 C.E. Muslims crossed the Straight of...

Iran's growing commercial ties with Venezuela are bringing with it Iranian intelligence operatives and Hezbollah members seeking to expand Islamic radical operations in South America. Hezbollah has long had a foothold in several local Arab immigrant communities in South America. But Venezuela gives them a secure local base of operations. It is feared that Hezbollah and Iran will seek to carry out terror attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets in South America, using these new Venezuelan...

Muslims came to Peru with the coming of the Spaniards. Many Muslims, then called "Moros", or Moors by the Spaniards, arrived fleeing persecution in Spain. They settled in many places in Latin America, especially Peru, where they had a strong influence on the local way of life including, dress, food, architecture, and the social and political systems. Many of them had very important positions in society, and the women until recently used to wear hijab and were known as "Las...

Numerous evidence suggests that Muslims from Spain and West Africa arrived in the Americas at least five centuries before Co1umbus. It is recorded, for example that in the mid-tenth century during the rule of the Umayed Caliph Abdul-Rahman III (929-961), Muslims of African origin sailed westward from the Spanish port of Delba (Palos) into the “Ocean of darkness an fog.” They returned after a long absence with much booty from a “strange and curious land.” It is evident...

San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, MEXICO --Forget the Inquisition, the bloody conquest of the New World, and the expulsion of Moors from Spain 510 years ago. In a volatile corner of southern Mexico, history is being turned on its head. Muslims settlers from Spain are running a madrassa -- or traditional Koranic school-- on the outskirts of a pretty colonial town in Chiapas state, where they are determined to bring renegade Maya indians to Allah. The Spaniards hope eventually to circulate...

There are 31 countries in the Caribbean, which are classified linguistically into four regions, such as English speaking, French speaking, Spanish speaking and Dutch speaking Islands. There are 19 English speaking countries; five French speaking countries; three Spanish speaking countries and four Dutch speaking Islands. Muslims from different parts of the globe have settled in these regions. Immigrants vary from medical students to traders, from Indo-Pakistan to Indonesian and African...

A small number of Cubans have embraced Islam, gathering for prayers and attending religious events mostly sponsored by Iranian diplomats in Havana, one of the converts says. Some Havana residents place the total number of converts at 300; others, at 3,000. What's certain is that about 70 usually attend the gatherings hosted by the Iranian diplomats. "We are a small community that struggles on.... Many people associate Muslims with a not-very moderate Islam, but we are very...