Comments on: No Más, Por Favor: Stereotypes of Latina Muslims

By: gulnari

gulnari — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:24:00 +0000

Excellent analysis. Umm Zaid’s comment above was also right on. I’m a Mexican convert with a very diverse background (Jewish and Asian) and I never touched a halter top in my life. Those articles you speak of always left me thinking “QUE QUE???!” I personally have never met that archetypal ghost. The portrayal of Latino women is so stupidly oversimplified, so mediocre.

By: Umm Zaid

Umm Zaid — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:29:00 +0000

Salaam ‘Alaikum//But that issue rarely seems to be an issue brought in white convert stories.//Oh, I think that this is the part of the “white girl converts” stories that our “born Muslim” brothers (and some sisters) love the most. It’s there, believe me.I have mentioned these very things in the past, with the additional perspective of being one of the two founders of the Latino American Da’wah Organization. At the time LADO was founded, there was exactly one news article in English on Latino Muslims (at least, it was the only one anyone could find and the one everyone sent each other over and over again and reprinted in newsletters and so on). This is the reason I do not focus or link to mainstream media stories about Latina Muslims. The women in these stories are *real* — they’re my friends, neighbors, co-workers. But the way they are portrayed in these stories are as dolls. Two dimensional dolls with no deep spiritual insights to offer to the readership of that particular publication. In these articles, often (but not always) written by White people, it is okay for Latina women to convert, because Latinos are perceived as being part of an alien, sometimes tasty and spicy patriarchal subculture that is ultimately not part of “us.” (You know, not like the, you know, patriarchal culture of mainstream America…)In add’n, Latino men, like Arab men (who, let us remember, represent all Muslim men in the media) are perceived as being controlling, extremely sexual, misogynist, and poorly behaved… and there’s the taboo of White women being attracted to them. From this mindset, for a Latina woman to go from Latino men to “Arab” (Muslim) men is no biggie. Remember, it’s “what she knows,” and all “those” people are alike anyway. Thus, the reassurance to (White) readers that Latina Muslimas aren’t really doing anything but trading in their sexxxy halter top for a jilbab. Everything else remains the same. Still strange, still exotic.(See, when Euro-American women convert and the media bothers to write about it, it usually comes from a few different angles, notably the “She married an Ay-rab” one, with a whole bunch of undertones that can be explored some other time).It’s also worth nothing that not every Latino Muslim comes from an immigrant background, something that is often ignored both by the mainstream press covering this “story” as well as the Muslim community. A lot of the sisters I know are third, fourth generation American-born. As for it being a “trend,” I dislike this train of thought b/c people coming to the diyn of Allah is not a trend, it’s hidayah and I think that is the mindset we need to look at this from. It may be a “trend” to them b/c one reporter noticed it, and all the other reporters flocked to that story and picked it up and looked around and said, “By George. There are Latinos who aren’t Catholic with tattoos of La Virgen on their arms!” I mean, really, that’s what this boils down to — the idea that a discovery of an unknown people has been made, and must be displayed for all to ooh and ah over. And because we just discovered it today, then it must be a trend, because it did not exist before we paid attention to it. Latinos from Denver to Buenos Aires have been practicing and accepting Islam for decades without the spotlight of CSM on them.Statistics bandied about in the Latino Muslim community put the current numbers at 70,000 up from about 8,000 ten years ago. I have no idea what the root of this statistic is, or how accurate it is. Juan Galvan, who took over LADO from myself and Samantha Sanchez, may have more insight. Within the community, it is believed that this increase is due to the wider availability of material in Spanish, as well as the emergence of the internet as a major reference, learning tool, & network for people. However, one has to look at it in the context of the widely believed overall trend of increasing conversions due to the same factors (a much more visible Muslim community, the emergence of Muslim press, more focus on local Muslim communities by local media, the age of the internet).I will also point out, in defense of the “mainstream Muslim community,” that there has been an increased awareness of da’wah to Latino communities. It may not be broad, or as cared for as the da’wah to White people, but it’s there. Working in NYC and Boston, I have experienced first hand community leaders looking to LADO and others for insight on how to reach out to the local Latino communities (for da’wah and joint community efforts, such as neighborhood clean ups).//(By the way, there’s never any mention of Muslim men who sexualize women, because that’s apparently the domain of non-Muslim Latinos.)//Seriously… these stories may be the one place in “About the Mozlems” writing where this concept is *not* dominant and repeatedly mentioned.

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:54:00 +0000

Great post. When is the media going to realize that the world is more complex than a/b, y/z? There’s something seriously wrong with the media if they a. can’t either grasp the nuances of society or b. refuse to write an article that reflects those nuances because it’s harder.

By: Safiya Outlines

Safiya Outlines — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:17:00 +0000

Salaam Alaikum,I’ve just read the Brasillian article. It’s actually not about Brasillians not being able to be Muslim, but the failure of the current ‘Muslim establishment’ in Brasil to reach out to and support converts.

By: Melinda

Melinda — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:51:00 +0000

Kathy B,Here’s the article:http://www.islamfortoday.com/brazil.htm

By: Duniya

Duniya — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:31:00 +0000

Love the analysis Melinda. Great job. I also read this as a critique of the “trend” assertion of various media. Simplyfying things seems to make it easier for people to assess information but it is so determental to our intelligence and knowledge, not to mention social conscious. Such simple dicotomies need to be pointed out and critiqued. btw…in developmental psychology the stage of development around the teen years shows this type of black and white thinking. It is assumed though that healthy development will lead to an ability to think about the grey once one is past the teen years. But so many people get stuck in the teen way of thinking – black and white.It’s one thing if people really cannot see past the black and white due to medical/developmental issues. But most who don’t see past it choose not to.

By: KathyB

KathyB — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:58:00 +0000

Which article talks about why Brazillians aren’t Muslim? I’d be interested to hear what ridiculous “reasons” they have for that crippling stereotype…Blessed be.

By: Zeynab

Zeynab — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:45:00 +0000

The Deep Ravine, I think Melinda was trying to dispel the idea that conversions among Latinas to Islam is a “trend,” by calling out news outlets that do so; I don’t think it was her intent to imply the same thing.Amirah, barikallah for the struggle to keep your identities.

By: The Deep Ravine

The Deep Ravine — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:41:00 +0000

I respect that Islam has a long history in Spain, and throughout Latin America by extension. To call conversions to Islam a trend, however, sounds a bit premature without more information.Other than articles written 2 or more years ago, can you make reference to other statistics or aritcles within the past 4 months that can point to a current trend? If so, I would really appreciate the information.

By: amirah

amirah — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:52:00 +0000

gracias, for this post. im a young latina convert(almost a year now). i am in college and all the time people question me on how can i be puerto rican and muslim… its like sometime you cant be both. i still salsa dance and listen to music of my country but in my home, and ppl see me at the puerto rican parade in hijab waving my countries flag and yelling yo soy boricua pa’ que tu lo sepas…… for me it was about the peace i found. and while i hae to give up some things of my culture like knowing my daughter wont have a quince …. im getting a wonderful husband(getting married in may) and a realtionship with god like no other