The works of men such as Ivan van Vertima, Barry Fell and Alexandervon Wuthenue represent 20th century scholarship which has stated directly or indirectly that there has been a significant Muslim presence in the early Americas. While it is true that there have been a number of Muslim writers such as Clyde-Ahmad Winters who have sought to enlighten folks to that fact, it is perhaps more significant that "non-Muslims" have conceded such evidence of pre- and post-Columbian Muslims on...

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the possibility of al-Qaeda infiltrating Latin America became a priority for U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials. However, the most publicized incidents of radical Islamist activity in Latin America have not been linked to al-Qaeda but instead to the Lebanese Shi’ite Hezbollah, which is ideologically and politically close to Iran. These include the March 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the July 1994...

Ask Melissa Matos why she converted to Islam, and you'll likely get an answer that spans 13 centuries. She may refer to seventh century Arabia, where Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed received the Koran from the angel Gabriel. Or she might describe Islam's golden age in medieval Spain. Or she'll recall Sept. 11, 2001, when fear and curiosity drove her to read about Islam on the Internet. Matos, who comes from a family of Seventh-day Adventists from the Dominican Republic, has answered the...

This year's Ramadan celebration will be extra special for members of a Margate mosque who will observe the holiday in a brand new building instead of inside the cramped storefront they used to call home. Masjid Jamaat Al-Mumineen's spacious new building is just behind the old storefront off Sample Road, where Margate touches Coral Springs, but this mosque will allow more families to gather for the traditional fast-breaking meal, called an iftar, said Bibi Khan of Margate. "Because...

WORCESTER - On the door outside Juan Perez's home, a hand-written sign asks visitors to respect the Islamic custom of removing shoes before entering. The sign is one of the only indicators that this young Latino father, his wife and four small children tend an Islamic household. Inside, a person is likely to see the Hispanic cartoon character "Dora the Explorer" on the television, hear the sound of a rhythmic salsa band on the radio, or smell the aroma of adobo cooking in the...

Anastasio Gomez, a Tzotzil Mayan from Mexico, fondly remembers his pilgrimage to Mecca. He circled around the Kaaba, the highest sanctuary of Muslims, seven times. At Mount Arafat he prayed to Allah and then he, together with 15 other Indians, sacrificed a sheep before boarding the flight back to their Mexican home. "In Islam, race plays no role," the young man says joyously. His enthusiasm is understandable. After all, in his home state of Chiapas, Mexico's poorest, the indigenous...

The Murabitun have been active in Mexico, spreading in the Chiapas region where the Zapatistas are. I've been able to find some interesting sites about their efforts there. A short academic article on them is called Coversions & Conflict: Muslims in Mexico Here is the group's Mexican website The Murabitun are also very active in Spain and have even established a mosque there. So you could also check the group's Spain website (Their mosque happens to be located in Granada and has a...

It's November and too warm to feel like winter. Christmas lights blink and flash along the middle-class Tempe neighborhood. Plastic reindeer prance on brownish-gray rock lawns. At the end of the almost deserted street, intense green lights outline a one-story home. This house seems out of place - like the family that lives inside. There are no plastic Santas in the lawn. No Christmas lights. Instead, a makeshift Happy Ramadan! banner hangs from the front of the house. Below it an old man and...

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico - Outside this city of colonial churches and cobblestone streets built by Maya and Spaniards, Juan Gomez finds shade from a blinding afternoon sun inside his small wooden hut. A beatific smile radiates from the young Tzotzil Maya as he haltingly reads the Koran in Arabic. Gomez, 26, a former Protestant who became a Muslim in 1996, is learning the language as a convert to Islam. He embodies a religious phenomenon in Chiapas, where one-quarter of the 3.9...

When the doorbell rings, Daniel Denton rises from the couch. "Ah, Martin!" he says, opening the door a crack. "Babe, Martin is here," he shouts to his wife, who rushes to get her veil and fits it around her face tightly, so none of her wiry black hair shows. The couple hasn't seen Martin in months. He is Daniel's cousin and has just arrived in Stockton after a day's drive from Rosarito, Mexico. Roxanne approaches the door, smiling reassuringly. "How are you Martin?...