US Latinos flee the church of their birth and embrace Islam.

(5 Jan 2002)

1. Wide shot exterior Islamic Cultural Center of New York
2. Wide view of worshipers inside mosque
3. Medium view of people praying
4. Close view of worshipers listening to sermon
5. Medium view of Iman Omar Abu-Namous, leader of Islamic Cultural Centre of New York
6. Medium view of women praying in separate area
7. Set up shot of Iman Omar Abu-Namous working at his desk
7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Iman Omar Abu-Namous, Islamic Cultural Centre of New York "I think there is some relationship maybe blood relationship between the Arabs and the Latinos, yes, you know that the Muslims stayed in spain for close to eight centuries, yes. And, most of those Latinos you see nowadays perhaps a great number of them were originally Muslims and they were turned to Christianity by force, by force. And I think many of them still remember this."
8. Close view of people buying books
9. Close view of person looking through a Spanish version of the Koran
10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Iman Omar Abu-Namous, Islamic Cultural Centre of New York "In these times people feel that they are disoriented and they are just drifting in all directions and they need some landmarks which will guide them, you know, that will guide them to the truth so they are discovering Islam and everyone is telling his family, his friend and his brother and so on, so that is why Islam has a world appeal nowadays.
11. Set up shot of Giovanna Gomez a Colombian Catholic who converted to Islam
12. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Giovanna Gomez, former Catholic converted to Islam
"When I was a Christian before I was full of doubts and I was happy but I was full of doubts and when I converted to Islam I found that these doubts were answered and everything became clear and simple."
12. Close view of women praying
13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Giovanna Gomez, former Catholic converted to Islam
"They think that this is a temporary thing, like a fever, that is what they think. But it is not, I am really happy, of course not."
14. Close view of Camilla Gonzalez(from Honduras), receptionist at the Islamic Cultural Center, typing on the computer, push in to close view of book
15. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Camilla Gonzalez, former Catholic converted to Islam
"When I first came here and came back a few times, I began to identify with them. And I like to be charitable, it is my way of being. And I identified a lot with them and I really like their honesty."
16. Medium view of people praying
16. Close view of person praying
17. Medium view of worshipers in Mosque, pan to Iman praying

STORYLINE:

Scores of Latinos throughout the United States - especially in New York, New Jersey, Chicago and Miami - have fled the church of their birth and embraced Islam as their newfound faith.

On Fridays at the main mosque on New York's upper east side, hundreds of Muslim men and women gather to worship.

But the language for a surprisingly large number of these Islamic followers is not Arabic but Spanish.

Iman Omar Abu-Namous leads the Islamic Cultural Center in New York.

He believes many Latinos who were once Catholics see their conversion as a return to their old Muslim/Morrish roots.

Islamic ties to Hispanic culture date back to 711, when the Muslim general Tariq ibn Zayid conquered Spain, and the Christian Visigothic domination of Roderick came to an end.

For the next 700 years, Al-Andalus, as the Muslims refer to Spain, enjoyed an era of political and cultural splendour, becoming one of the most intellectually advanced countries in medieval Europe.









It has seen hundreds of Latinos convert since 1992.



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