Skip to main content

Conversion to Islam in Latin America

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
  • 13 Accesses

Part of the book series: Religions of the World ((REWO))

Definition

Conversion to Islam in Latin America refers to all religious conversions to Islam in the Americas since these countries are culturally connected to each other. Until recently, Islam could be seen as a religion of immigrants in most Latin American countries. This entry covers how increasing conversions are likely to transform Islam into a religion of Latin American.

Conversion to Islam in Latin America

Conversion to Islam has been a growing phenomenon across Latin American in the last two decades (Karam 2013). Converts are now more visible in Muslim communities in major cities of the region. In the United States, some estimates of Latina/Latino converts reach nearly 200,000 (Martínez-Vázquez 2010; Chitwood 2016). In Bogota, Colombia, approximately half of 1000 Muslims are Colombian converts (Sarrazin and Rincon 2015). Similarly, in Mexico, there are equal number of Mexican converts and Muslims of foreign origin (Garvin 2005), and some studies estimate that converts now...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   549.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   599.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Chitwood K (2016) American Islam: the study of American Islam from demographic & ethnographic perspectives, yearbook of international religious demography: 2016. Brill Publishing, Leiden

    Google Scholar 

  • Chitwood K (2017) The study of Islam and Muslim communities in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Americas: the state of the field. Int J Latin Am Relig 1:57–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Maria y Campos, CP (2015) Guests of Islam: conversion and the institutionalization of Islam in Mexico. In: Narbona MML, Karam JT, Pinto PGHR (eds) Crescent of another horizon: Islam in Latin America, the Caribbean and Latino USA. University of Texas Press, Austin, pp 144–189

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsvik, S (2014). Fight is an inside path: a minor field study of how members of Nur Ashki Jerrahi sufi order perceive religious freedom in Mexico. Bachelor Thesis, School of Historical and Contemporary Studies, Södertörn University

    Google Scholar 

  • Karam JT (2013) Muslim histories in Latin America and the Caribbean. In: AB MC, Hibbard SW, Saud L (eds) An introduction to Islam in the 21st century. Malden, MA: Willey-Blackwell

    Google Scholar 

  • Mariz C, Freston R (2016) Islam in Latin America. In: Garrard-Burnett V, Freston P, Dove S (eds) The Cambridge history of religions in Latin America. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 709–713

    Google Scholar 

  • Martínez-Vázquez HA (2010) Latina/o Y Musulman: the construction of Latina/o identity among Latina/o Muslims in the United States. Pickwick Publications, Eugene

    Google Scholar 

  • Mesa Delmonte L (2015) Cubans searching for a new faith in a new context. In: Narbona MML, Karam JT, Pinto PGHR (eds) Crescent of another horizon: Islam in Latin America, the Caribbean and Latino USA. University of Texas Press, Austin, pp 190–205

    Google Scholar 

  • Montenegro S (2015) Institutionalizing Islam in Argentina: comparing community and identity configurations. In: Narbona MML, Karam JT, Pinto PGHR (eds) Crescent of another horizon: Islam in Latin America, the Caribbean and Latino USA. University of Texas Press, Austin, pp 86–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Peres de Oliveira V, Mariz CL (2006) Conversion to Islam in contemporary Brazil. Exchange 35:102–115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peres de Oliveira V (2006) Religião e Sociedade. Rio de Janeiro 26(1):83–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Pew Research Center (2014) Religion in Latin America: widespread change in a historically Catholic region

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinto PG. (2015). Conversion, Revivalism, and Tradition: The Religious Dynamics of Muslim Communities in Brazil. In: Narbona, Karam and Pinto (eds) Crescent of Another Horizon: Islam in Latin America, the Caribbean and Latino USA. Austin: University of Texas Press, pp 107–144

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramadan-Santiago O (2015) Insha’Allah/Ojala, yes yes Y’all: Puerto Ricans (re) examining and (re)imagining their identities through Islam and hip hop. In: Khan A (ed) Islam and the Americas. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, pp 115–141

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarrazin JP, Rincon L (2015) La Conversion al islam como estrategia de cambio y differnciacion en la modernidad. Revista de Estudios Sociales, Num. 51, pp 132–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Şaban Taniyici .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Taniyici, Ş. (2019). Conversion to Islam in Latin America. In: Gooren, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. Religions of the World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27078-4_250

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics