Latino Muslims struggle with identities

“On a sunny afternoon, a dozen people file into the prayer hall at Zaytuna Institute, a Muslim teaching center in downtown Hayward.

But they haven’t showed up to learn about the Prophet Muhammad, Islam or the Arabic language. They are gathered to enjoy fellowship with one another and discuss what it means to be a Latino Muslim in the Bay Area.

Murabit Benavidez, a lanky Mexican American wearing a long gray tunic, said he has been pondering the duality since college, but most recently up in Fremont immersed in Latino culture, but lately he has been trying to reconcile the two cultures since he converted to Islam seven years ago.”

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