Mexican Muslims in Mexico and Unites States: Identity and Des-Arabization of Islam

Islam in Mexico is a religious minority but has a presence throughout the country. The majority of Muslims in Mexico are converts, and very few are of migrant origin. Islam has been historically since the conquest and has passed through several stages that differentiate its presence and practice in the country, but all these stages can be observed from a transnational perspective.

In this transnational process, Muslims in Mexico have been in contact with proposals of Islam coming from various places, Arab countries, the United States, proselytizing movements, and communication technologies.

In this paper I want to present two stages that link Islam in Mexico with Islam in the United States. The first one deals with proselytism or networks of connection of some Islamic communities in the United States where Latinx people have been integrated, where the Mexicans are located. This is early in 1920 when the Moorish Science Temple and The Nation of Islam (NOI) include latinx through their own liberatory Islamic message. The NOI arrived in Mexico with the idea of establishing a community. Other movement was the Halvetu Yerráhi sufi tariqa of New York and this order has been successful in Mexico City in 1987.

The other stage corresponds to the construction of Latin Islamic communities in the United States and their process of de-arabization of Islam to convert a practice appropriate to the Latin culture, understanding that Latin is diverse, where Mexicans have created their own identity discourses. These communities, whether collectively or individually, maintain connections with communities in Latin America. Several Muslim Mexicans have arrived in Mexico and are in contact with the border region. One of the characteristics of these visits is the dissemination of his ethnic discourse, which in the Mexican context has not been successful.