Posted on / in Articles, New Muslims

Why more Latinos in the U.S. are leaving the Catholic Church for Islam

Luis Lopez battled nerves as he walked to the front of the crowded prayer hall in Union City with his son. Together, they repeated word-for-word in Arabic the Shahada, the profession of faith required to convert to Islam.

“There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah,” they declared at the mosque, located in a columned brick building that once housed a Cuban community center.

For Lopez, the conversion and embrace by the congregation four months ago brought a feeling of peace and a recognition of how far he’d come in a life that nearly ended 22 years ago in gang violence.

“They told me, ‘Come to the mosque. You’re going to feel welcomed,’ ” said Lopez, 41, a truck driver and former professional boxer from North Bergen.

 

SOURCE: https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2019/12/02/growing-number-latinos-nj-converting-islam/2567295001/