As the number of Muslims in Mexico grow, especially in the border city of Tijuana where many migrants are either sent to from the US or await visa decisions, the need to accommodate these Muslims in this unassuming Mexican border town has created a unique project.
As the number of Muslims in Mexico grow, especially in the border city of Tijuana where many migrants are either sent to from the US or await visa decisions, the need to accommodate these Muslims in this unassuming Mexican border town has created a unique project.
In the border city of Tijuana, Mexico, the population of Muslim migrants as well as Mexican converts to Islam are surprisingly on the rise. Predominantly a Catholic country, Mexico is almost completely under the radar when it comes to Muslim representation, although recent numbers show that Latino/as are one of the fastest growing groups within the Muslim community in the Americas.
Latin-American Muslims: One of the fastest growing groups within Islam in the United States
As the number of Muslims in Mexico grow, especially in the border city of Tijuana where many migrants are either sent to from the US or await visa decisions, the need to accommodate these Muslims in this unassuming Mexican border town has created a unique project. The Latina Muslim Foundation, founded by Sonia Garcia, has started to raise money to build a shelter for the growing Muslim migrant population of the city.
Sonia Garcia, a Mexican convert to Islam, has partnered with Mayte Gutierrez, another Latina convert to Islam, to help build and operate an entirely new center to help Muslims feel more at home while in Tijuana. Tijuana currently has one mosque, the Islamic Center of Baja located at Playas de Tijuana, however Garcia and Gutierrez see a greater need for the Muslim population in the city:
They don’t know the food, the culture, the language. It is very difficult for them…there still exists a big gap of misunderstanding, of ignorance. Being Latino, being Muslim, we can connect.”
The Latina Muslim Foundation hopes to have the center house a prayer facility, as well as a community hub that helps with social services, medical care, and translation services. With an incredibly diverse Muslim population now in Tijuana, from Somali to Ghanaian to Sudanese to Mexican converts, those at the Latina Muslim Foundation hope to create a hub for all Muslims in the area to connect and celebrate their religion while feeling more at home in Mexico.
The small village in Mexico where indigenous Tzotzil peoples have embraced Islam
While the growing number of Muslim migrants in border cities like Tijuana indicate the problems of US border control and the unethical policies in place by the current US administration, initiatives like this by the Latina Muslim Foundation shows a brighter side to the growth of modern globalization: despite differences and what appears to be a rise in Islamophobia and open bigotry; societies, religions, and cultures can still come together and remain a force of good in this world. The need to remember to celebrate our differences, not fear them, remains more important than ever.
To learn more about the Latina Muslim Foundation or to find out how to help raise funds, click here.
