Puerto Rican Converts to Islam
From The Revealer by The Center for Religion and Media at NYU
March 30, 2026 · 37 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the factors contributing to Puerto Ricans converting to Islam and their experiences as a religious and ethnic minority.
What is contributing to the number of Puerto Ricans converting to Islam, and what is the longer history of Latino Muslims in the Americas? Ken Chitwood, author of Borícua Muslims: Everyday Cosmopolitanism among Puerto Rican Converts to Islam, joins us to discuss Puerto Rican Muslims. How do Puerto Rican Muslims navigate life as a religious minority in Puerto Rico and throughout the United States? How do they approach being a racial and ethnic minority in predominantly Muslim spaces? How do they blend their Puerto Rican ethnic identity with their Muslim religious identity? And, what do Puerto Rican converts to Islam reveal about religion in the Americas today?
People in this episode
Guest: Ken Chitwood
Topics covered
- Puerto Rican Muslims
- Islam
- Latino Muslims
- religious identity
- ethnic identity
- minority experiences
Keywords
- Puerto Rican converts
- Islam
- Latino Muslims
- religious minority
- ethnic identity
- Ken Chitwood
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Borícua Muslims: Everyday Cosmopolitanism among Puerto Rican Converts to Islam
Places: Puerto Rico, United States
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