UC Riverside

A growing community of Latino Muslims in the United States expands already dynamic categories of what it means to be a Latino and what it means to be a Muslim at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Through various avenues, including the Internet, Latinos have come into contact with Islam and Muslims in the U.S. A small but notable number of Latinos have adopted Islam as their religion. Despite their modest numbers, lack resources and inability to unify nationally, various organizations have managed to garner a dominant voice in the public sphere. In its relation to other media forms, the Internet, I argue, has been integral to the formation and dissemination of a particular Latino brand of Islam that focuses on narratives of ethnic marginalization, reversion to Islam and roots in Muslim Spain. Latino Muslim by Design is a study of race, religion and Internet discourse as they intersect to form new minority groups within minority groups in the U.S. and further expand the already dynamic categories of Latinos and Muslims in America.