Causes and Effects of Conversion to Islam by White and Latina American Women: A Study of Community, Ethnicity, and Geography

Abstract

This study deepens our understanding of the processes of religious conversion to Islam by identifying similarities and differences in the conversion processes of white and Latina women in the US, and comparing the results with previous research on converts in Europe and the Americas. The study employs a qualitative research design, drawing from semi-structured biographical interviews with nineteen converts, eight Latina and eleven white, from the Boston and Los Angeles areas. Findings are presented within a framework based on a modification of Lewis Rambo’s seven stages for understanding religious conversion and concentrates on understanding differences and similarities in terms of 1) context, crisis and quest; 2) first encounter and interaction; 3) commitment; and 4) consequences of conversion to Islam. The study finds similarities between these two groups in many respects, including an unexpected preference for gender separation at mosques, but finds differences in the ways Latinas respond to ethnocentrism from immigrant Muslims by forming their own Latina Muslim associations. The study concludes by presenting several key areas for further research.