Politics of Spirit. Latin Muslim in Los Angeles, CA

Abstract

The USA has been constituted as a country of immigrants and although it has benefited from diverse immigration flows. The state is looking to stablish some migration policies focused on excluding, segregating, and assimilating the migrants. They were asked to forget their ancestry, their land, and their identity, renouncing to what they once were and to become Americans. Without entering into a debate about assimilationist positions, it is in this context of immigration that newcomers or those who are identified as different and others realize their ethnicity. The processes of integration of immigrants are far from the assimilation model, they are not blank pages, but they do bring with them an Americanization. This Americanization is built on the ethnic or racial identity that is acquired in the USA: ethnic or racial belonging is maintained, keeping traditional or cultural elements and biological traits alive; you become American by accepting your difference and being loyal to the nation. One of the ways in which this is achieved is through religion. In the USA, religion has played an important role among different racial groups and ethnic minorities. It is in churches or centers of worship, in religious communities, where the immigrant can develop his path to social adaptation, just between maintaining his identity and accepting Americanization. Under this idea, the term of spirit policies is presented to show the role of religion in issues of social demand and is specific to Latin Muslims in Los Angeles, CA. This article is just part of an investigation that addressed Islam among Latinos, between 2013 and 2016. The work is addressed in specific, the identity processes around religion and ethnicity in Mexican Muslim.