TAMPA - As a child, Amy Perez attended different Christian churches, praying at Catholic Masses and singing at Baptist revivals. But she never felt satisfied with the answers those faiths provided to her questions. At 12, Perez left Webb Middle School for the Universal Academy of Florida, a Muslim school in Tampa, because she did not like the cliques and social scene at Webb. And she wanted to learn more about Islam. Perez read about the Muslim faith and asked her classmates questions. ...

MEXICO CITY, 18 February 2005 - The colonial town of San Cristobal de las Casas in the highlands of the Mexican state of Chiapas is a much-loved tourist destination, known for its colorful Indian market. Eleven years ago it made news across the world when the indigenous Indian population in the form of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) occupied the town and declared war on the Mexican government. The bishop of San Cristobal at the time, Samuel Ruiz, became a figure on the...

Islam has joined a battle for the hearts and minds of Mexico's volatile Tzotzil Indians in Chiapas state, home of Zapatista rebels and a hotbed of sectarian strife between Christians. In an unlikely meeting of two worlds, an idealistic Muslim sect has converted some 300 Tzotzils, a Maya Indian group known for drink-fueled fiestas and religious fervor. "It was difficult to learn the prayers in Arabic at first but now I have them in my heart," said Muhammad Emin Lopez, 46, a Tzotzil...

UNION CITY, N.J. - Jasmine Pinet sits on the steps outside a mosque here, tucking in strands of her burgundy hair beneath a white head scarf, and explaining why she, a young Latina, feels that she has found greater respect as a woman by converting to Islam. "They're not gonna say, 'Hey mami, how are you?' " Ms. Pinet says of Muslim men. "Usually they say, 'Hello, sister.' And they don't look at you like a sex object." While some Latinas her age try to emulate the tight...

When Carlos Puerto was growing up in his native Colombia, he was taught to step out of bed in the morning on his right foot to ensure a good day. It's a custom, he said, that's common in many Spanish-speaking countries. So he was surprised, many years later, to find a similar practice among Muslims, who follow the example set by the prophet Muhammad. "When I embraced Islam, I was surprised by all the similar customs," said Mr. Puerto, one of a small but growing number of Hispanic...

Given by Yahya Juan Suquillo, the Imam of the Islamic Center in Ecuador at the Fourth Annual Conference of Latin American Muslim leaders in Curacao. Sponsored by I.S.E.S.C.O. (Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) & O.L.P.A.D.I. (Organización Latinoamericana para la Difusión del Islam). FOREWORD Before the end of the second millennium CE, most scientists and thinkers in the western world have began to question their assumptions about the theory of...

RABAT, September 16 (Islamonline.net) - The heads of the Islamic associations and cultural centers in Latin American countries are meeting in Curaçao Island in the Netherlands Antilles (the Caribbean Islands) on September 16-18 under the auspices of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The three-day meeting is part of relentless efforts to implementing a strategy for Islamic cultural action in the West, which had been endorsed by the Organization of the...

PORLAMAR, MARGARITA ISLAND, Venezuela -- Margariteños cannot figure out how their picturesque island off the coast of Venezuela became a battleground in the war on terrorism. No bomb ever exploded here, no shot fired. But the Bush administration has the island, and other parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, under scrutiny as a place where terrorists might live, raise money or move contraband. "The television commentators are distorting information," said Sulenma Reyes,...

The Islamic Educational Center of North Hudson took its message to a new demographic yesterday: Latinos. In a one-day celebration at the Union City center, Muslims and Latino converts sought to teach their neighbors, the vast majority of whom are Latino, about the Spanish Moors, who ruled Spain from the eighth century to the fifteenth century. The Moors, who were Muslim, brought irrigation techniques, farming, and superior schools and hospitals to Spain, said Mariam Santos, who presented...

MEXICO CITY, November 23 (IslamOnline) - Muslims in Mexico started observing the holy month of Ramadan on November 6. Some Muslims determined the date based on information received from Islamic countries, while others used information received from adjacent countries, mainly the USA. The moon sighting information from abroad concurred with information received from the Observatory of the UNAM (the Autonomous University of Mexico.) As normal, the Taraweeh prayer started immediately on the...