Madelina Nuñez Madelina Nuñez is a Ph.D. student in American Studies at Purdue University. She currently studies Latino, Muslim, and Latino Muslim communities through the lens of food and foodways. Nuñez holds an M.A. in Latin American and Latino Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago in [...]
With the approach of Black History month, rising Islamophobia, and the portrayal of Islam as a religion that is foreign to America, it is important for us to look back at the history of Muslims in this country. The identity of slaves who came to America is rarely mentioned [...]
American Muslims, like other minority groups, live in a political and social climate that causes immense stress. Many people may think that silence is the best way to get by in moments of political and social uncertainty. They wish that if they just do not say or do anything, things [...]
Muslims in Latin America When the Americas were discovered by the Spaniards in the fifteenth century, they brought slaves from the north and west of Africa who introduced Islam in Latin America, staying in countries like Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and some Caribbean islands. In many cases, these Muslim slaves [...]
Islam in Australia Muslims in Australia have a long and varied history Some of Australia’s earliest visitors were Muslim, from the east Indonesian archipelago. They made contact with mainland Australia as early as the 16th and 17th centuries. While most of their contributions were never truly acknowledged contemporaneously and [...]
Islam in Africa: Introduction Islam's presence in African history Islam’s presence in African history dates back to the first phase of the Prophet Muhammad’s mission, when in 615 A.D. he instructed a group of Muslims to seek refuge in Abyssinia (present-day Ethiopia). While this was a short-lived encounter, Muslims [...]
Islam in Asia: Introduction The diversity of Muslims in Asia From the Middle East to southeastern Asia, from central Asia to the Pacific Islands, the diversity in Asia is striking. Yet, despite cultural differences, the religion of Islam forms a common thread across Asia. The majority of people in [...]
Islam in Europe: A Forgotten Legacy Rethinking European history When we study European history, it generally traces the roots of Western civilization to the Greeks and Romans, followed by a dark period called the Middle Ages in which Europe languished in gloom. We are told that this bleak era [...]
North America has been home to Muslims for a long time Muslims first arrived in North America centuries before Columbus due to trading expeditions with Native Americans. After Columbus, the slave trade transported African Muslim slaves, who retained their spiritual practice and religious identity, to the Americas. Over the [...]
By Musaddique Thange China is sometimes referred to as a "riddle wrapped in an enigma". A nation with an ancient civilization that is one of the fastest growing economies of the modern world, a people steeped in history that also carry the promise of the future, and a country [...]
