Brazil is the largest country in Latin America. Although there are no official statistics, the Muslim population in Brazil is estimated to be approximately 1 million people, with a total population of more than 170 million. This number includes reverts to Islam, Arab immigrants and their descendants. Brazilian reverts make up for no more than 1% of this number, about 10,000 people. Therefore, within a population of over 170 million, the small number that make up Brazilian reverts to Islam have...

Ibrahim Gonzalez, raised as a Catholic, says he didn't convert to Islam -- rather, he says, he reverted. Like a small but growing number of Hispanics, the New York-born Puerto Rican has found a spiritual home in a faith with a long history in Spain, stretching to the rule of Muslim Moors from the 700s to the 1400s. Today, Hispanics with roots in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Spain and Central and south America are turning to Islam. A mix of immigrants and longtime residents, they are expanding the...

Praised be Allah, Creator of the universe, peace and blessings be with the Prophet Muhammad, with his Family and with all his Companions. Praised be He who made us noble through the Coran and illumined our hearts with faith. Dear brothers and sisters: Assalamu ?Alaikum wa Rahmatullah Introduction: I am pleased to present this compact study on the muslims in Latin America, begging God Allmighty will assist me to provide an image that is clear and correct. In this study I will try, with...

With her hijab and dark complexion, Catherine Garcia doesn't look like an Orlando native or a Disney tourist. When people ask where she's from, often they are surprised that it's not the Middle East but Colombia. That's because Ms. Garcia, a bookstore clerk who immigrated to the US seven years ago, is Hispanic and Muslim. On this balmy afternoon at the start of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, she is at her mosque dressed in long sleeves and a long skirt in keeping with the Islamic belief in...

As a girl in Catholic school, Khadijah Rivera dreamed of becoming a nun despite the fact she feared Jesus. She was frightened by her church’s bloodied statue of Christ nailed to the cross and was plagued with fear when receiving communion. "When I used to put the host in my mouth," she says, "I never bit it. I let it melt because I was afraid to bite the body and blood of Christ." Years later, as an adult, she says she has now gotten over these fears and learned to...

Hispanic Muslims in Atlanta are set on changing the negative image that some in the Latino community might have of them. That is the mission of the Atlanta Latino Muslim Association (ALMA), a group founded by Siri Carrion, a Puerto Rican woman who is also Muslim. Wearing her hijab and kneeling, Carrion starts preparing to pray alongside her four children. One of them, Ismail, raises his hands and starts by saying the ‘adhan, inviting the angels into this family’s living room. ...

When Zulayka Martinez left the Roman Catholic Church and converted to Islam six years ago, she was happy and at peace with her decision. But she felt like an outsider in her new faith. Looking back, she realizes her problem was more of a cultural and language barrier. Most members of Houston mosques were of Arab or Pakistani backgrounds. She didn't know any Spanish-speaking Muslims. And as a single woman, she found it especially hard during holidays. "My first two Ramadans, I felt very...

Catherine Garcia enters the mosque barefoot and finds a spot on the floor. She kneels and leans forward. Palms, nose and forehead touch the ground. Her lips move, almost imperceptibly, whispering words in Arabic. Three years ago, she would have been in a Roman Catholic church, murmuring prayers with her rosary beads. Today, she invokes Allah while reciting portions of the Quran. Garcia, 33, is among an estimated 70,000 Hispanics nationwide embracing Islam, blending with apparent ease two...

Hugo Hernández put aside the saints, the host and the confessions. Nineteen years of Catholic religious traditions were left behind when he decided to convert to Islam. A teacher and political science graduate, Hernández, 26, came to a turning point in his life during his freshman year of college in Denver. Born and raised in a traditional Catholic Latino family from Evans, Hernández says he hasn't talked to his mother in the seven years since he converted. "That's...

Every morning, Jackie Avelar wakes up to a predicament. On one side of her bed is a clock that sounds the Islamic call to prayer five times a day. On the other side is a statue of Mary. As a Muslim, she wants to remove it. As a Latina, she can't. Her father, who is a Catholic from El Salvador, wants the statue to stay. "I have to respect him," Avelar said. So she has found a comfortable balance: She covers the statue with a photo of her family. Avelar, 31, constantly...