Overview

The empirical case in this study is that of the Hispanic Catholic converts to Islam in the Washington, DC Metropolitan and New Jersey areas of the United States. The central research question is: To what extent do Hispanic Muslim converts play a role in making different choices regarding religious commitment and practice? The argument is that not only do both the more and less active converts play a central role in making choices during the pre-affiliation and post-affiliation stages, but that these choices can often be strategic in nature as they practice the new religion in the United States. These choices are shaped by multiple factors. This contributes to a new understanding of the prevailing debates among Muslims in Europe and the United States on the nature of Muslim minorities in the West--that Muslims here are not merely transplanted but are active participants of diverse expressions of local Islam. The evidence in my research shows that being less active does not mean converts do not play a role or make choices. Both more active and less active converts make choices based on multiple factors. This is especially significant as the main aim of this thesis is to show that the converts make choices and play a role in the post-affiliation stage and that these often have strategic elements.

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9781725253858

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Reviews

What do we know about the beliefs, preferences, motivations, and practices of people who have converted to Islam? In this book, Victor Cuartas offers an empirically-based study of Hispanic Catholic converts to Islam. His work represents a welcome departure from ideologically driven assessments and places us on a steady footing for thinking about the strategic implications of their choices. --Michael D. Palmer, Regent University Triggered by his own experience as a first-generation Hispanic American, Victor Cuartas offers an important, deeply aware, and sympathetic contribution to conversion studies. Studying the conversion of Hispanic Catholics to Islam, this is probably the first qualitative analysis of religious commitment among Muslim converts in the US. With a robust multidisciplinary approach focusing on personal, social, cultural, and religious aspects of changes in religious commitment, Cuartas significantly advances the theoretical base of conversion studies. We are grateful for this careful, sensitive, and thorough study. --Graham Twelftree, London School of Theology

"""What do we know about the beliefs, preferences, motivations, and practices of people who have converted to Islam? In this book, Victor Cuartas offers an empirically-based study of Hispanic Catholic converts to Islam. His work represents a welcome departure from ideologically driven assessments and places us on a steady footing for thinking about the strategic implications of their choices."" --Michael D. Palmer, Regent University ""Triggered by his own experience as a first-generation Hispanic American, Victor Cuartas offers an important, deeply aware, and sympathetic contribution to conversion studies. Studying the conversion of Hispanic Catholics to Islam, this is probably the first qualitative analysis of religious commitment among Muslim converts in the US. With a robust multidisciplinary approach focusing on personal, social, cultural, and religious aspects of changes in religious commitment, Cuartas significantly advances the theoretical base of conversion studies. We are grateful for this careful, sensitive, and thorough study."" --Graham Twelftree, London School of Theology"

Author Information

Victor Hugo Cuartas is Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies at Columbia International University at Columbia, South Carolina. He is the author of Empowering Hispanic Leaders (2015). The book is also available in Spanish, titled Capacitando Lideres Hispanos (2016).

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