CAIRO, October 31, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Common grounds are luring an increasing number of Latinos in the United States to Islam.

"On a daily basis, I hear Latinos coming into the fold of Islam," Khadijah Rivera, founder of Piedad, an Internet group with nearly 300 members whose mission is to teach non-Muslims and give leadership training to women, told The Journal News on Sunday, October 30.

"It is so close to our culture that, once they understand, it is like second nature to belong to Islam."

Fatima Britos, a John Jay College student of Argentine descent, agreed.

"I was very confident it was the correct way of living life," she told the paper.

"It is the straight path."

In recent years, thousands of Hispanics nationwide have been reverting to Islam, particularly since the 9/11 attacks, when interest in the Muslim faith seemed to gain momentum.

Though precise statistics do not exist, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) estimates there are more than 36,000 Hispanic Muslims in the US.

Other estimates raise the total to 75,000.

Britos recently attended a Columbia University student event titled "Latinos in Islam: Rediscovering our Roots" that saw a diverse group of people in attendance.

The event featured a Mexican feast and a discussion led by Hernan Guadalupe, a mechanical engineer from South Brunswick, N.J., on why Hispanics are reverting to Islam in numbers.

Guadalupe, an Ecuadorean-American, spoke of the cultural similarities and family values inherent to Hispanics and Muslims.

Typically, Hispanic households are tight knit and devout, and children are reared in a strict environment — traits that mirror Muslim households, he said.

Guadalupe also highlighted the Muslims' reign in Spain from 711 to 1492, asserting that between 10 percent and 30 percent of Spanish words come from Arabic.

"There are 780 years of Islamic influence that can't be ignored," he said emphatically.

"If you understand that, as a Latino, you have Spanish blood in you, then you would understand ... that you have Islam in you."

Guadalupe, 24, reverted to Islam after years of studying different religions and cultures.

He started the Latino Muslim Outreach Program this year, travelling to schools in the tri-state area to educate — not convert — people on Islam.

Melvin Reveron said he reverted to Islam last year, following a period of depression and internal doubts about Catholicism.

Reveron, 41, a Puerto Rican who lives in New York City, said he had read the Noble Qur’an after the 9/11 attacks because he wanted to gain more knowledge about a religion that was being blamed for the attacks.

Culture and religion often can be mistaken, said the supervisor for the Department of Social Services in New York City.

"People say that Islam is a religion that teaches people to kill, that it creates suicide bombers," noted Reveron.

"I reject that notion. Just because a criminal does something, the religion isn't wrong. There's something wrong with that person."

The Qur'an, he said, resonates with Catholics because it mentions Adam, Moses, Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

"I looked at is as an intellectual continuation of what I had been taught," Reveron said.

However, reverting to Islam means a lifestyle change that to some can be difficult, The Journal News said.

Fasting, praying five times a day and giving up alcohol and pork — a staple in the Hispanic diet — can present challenges.

Women must wear a hijab in the face of usual misconceptions.

"A head scarf does not symbolize oppression. It represents freedom," said Ecuadorean Sonia Lasso, while speaking at the third annual Hispanic Muslim Day at a mosque in Union City, N.J.

"Because it is not our physical but our intellectual selves that are seen."

Though there are no definitive statistics, reports indicate there are more women than men reverting to Islam.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle reverts face is with their families, who take great pride in their Catholic rearing and have little understanding of Islam.

Reveron said he has yet to tell his family, fearing irreversible repercussions.

"I haven't found the right way to tell them," he said. "You hear stories about families ridiculing and (reverts) being ostracized."

For Aisha Ahmed, her family was more accepting of her decision, so much so that her brother is now Muslim, and her mother has accepted Islam.

A recent study also showed that 6 percent of the 20,000 annual reverts to Islam are Hispanic.

Though the numbers are a small fraction of the estimated 6 million Muslims in the country, it is fast becoming evident that the reversion rate among this minority group is taking root and that its influence is being asserted through the formation of Hispanic Muslim organizations.

While the horror of 9/11 moved many Hispanics toward Islam, Ahmed admits that the attacks gave her pause about her adopted religion.