In a testament to the diversity—and openness—of the American Muslim community, Latino Muslims in Santa Ana, California have found a home at a mosque run by Cambodian refugees. As a small group with unique cultural and linguistic background, many members of the Latino Muslim community had concerns about whether they could fit into the larger Muslim community in the area. But, after years of struggling to find religious texts, classes, and services in Spanish, Latino Muslims collaborated with a small mosque in Orange County run by Cambodian refugees to provide these services and resources. As one mosque leader said, working with the area’s Latino Muslims was important for the mosque community, saying that it was “an opportunity to serve the community that you’re located in… About 78 percent of those who live in Santa Ana are Latino, and if word spread out to that 78 percent of the population that there’s an Islamic Center here, maybe more of them will gravitate here.”
“Muslims of America”
Photographer Carlos Khalil Guzman has undertaken an ambitions project: To document the diversity of the American Muslim community. For his new photo series, “Muslims of America,” Guzman traveled across the country—to all 50 states—to interview and photograph an array of Muslims from all walks of life and a wide variety of ethnic and national backgrounds. According to Guzman, he started this project because he was frustrated by the lack of diversity of representation of Muslims in mainstream media, saying “I wanted to be proactive about it… We need to find our own ways to educate people.”
Master of the Islamic Art of Illumination
Read this beautiful profile of artist and Cordoba House community member, Behnaz Karjoo, a master of the Islamic art of illumination!
Good Samaritan Returns Wallet, Citing Muslim Values
In this new, viral video, a good samaritan named Peshraw Ahmed returns a wallet to its rightful owner. Ahmed explains that he was prompted to seek out the wallet’s owner because Ahmed is a Muslim and, in accordance with his Muslim values, it was the right thing to do.
Celebrating Eid around the World
This past weekend, Muslims marked the end of Ramadan by celebrating Eid al-Fitr. Check out this collection of beautiful photos of Muslims celebrating Eid around the world!
