Latino women finding a place in Islam

For women, particular challenges
Converting to Islam can be shocking for families who are largely Catholic and harbor stereotypes of Muslims, specifically concerning women.

Perada says her mother, who is Colombian, accepted her decision to convert because she never really pushed her into Catholicism. However, her father, who is of Italian origin, has had a tough time dealing with it.

“Sometimes he says things about the way I dress,” said Perada. “He’ll say, ‘Why do you have to dress that way. I’m Christian. I don’t walk around with a cross in my hand.'

“He always complains to my mom about it, but with me he just keeps it to himself. But I know for him it is very hard,” Perada added.

Vargas, 30, from the Islamic Education Center, is of Ecuadorian and Peruvian descent. She says her family is already accustomed to the idea of her being Muslim, since it has already been ten years since she converted. But she recalls the days in which her family was dealing with the initial shock of her new faith.

“When I started being more visible, that’s when things started getting weird. My sisters couldn’t understand why I would cover myself. They thought I was being oppressed or brainwashed,” said Vargas.

She admits it was difficult at first to adjust to certain customs, such as wearing the hijab or a headscarf and having to pray five times a day.

“First it felt kind of weird to be covered, but after a while it [the headscarf] becomes your hair. I refer to my hijab as my hair.”

‘A return to traditional values’
Like other ethnic groups, Latinos convert for a variety of reasons.

Some, says Cristillo, grew up in inner-city areas ravaged by poverty, drugs and prostitution, and were attracted in part by the fact that some Islamic communities were very active in cleaning up the neighborhoods.

Vargas, meanwhile, says she questioned many things about the Catholic faith in which she was raised and felt an emptiness in Christianity.

Galvan, from LADO, pointed out that many people come to Islam through people that they know, "friends, co-workers, classmates, boyfriends or husbands.”

Professor Awn said that many Latinas find there is a greater sense of economic and social stability in Islam and that it also represents “a return to traditional values.”

In that regard, Awn does not think Islam is any more patriarchal than other traditional religions, but recognized that “the younger generation is looking for a more progressive form of Islam."

And Perada does not feel that her adherence to the Muslim faith restricts her freedoms as a woman.

“If I get married, I know I am going to work, but I am going to be there for my kids, too,” said Perada, dismissing any notions that Islam would prevent her from living the life of any other modern woman.

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