Mexico is a predominantly Christian country, with adherents of Islam representing a small minority. Due to the secular nature of the state established by Mexico’s constitution, Muslims are free to proselytize and build places of worship in the country. The country has a population of around 126 million as of 2020 census and according to the Pew Research Center, the Muslim population was 60,000 in 1980, 111,000 in 2010, and is predicted to be 126,000 in 2030; however, according to the 2010 National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) census, there were only 2,500 individuals who identified Islam as their religion. Most Muslims are foreign nationals and the majority are Sunni.
Notice that the official numbers were much lower than the claimed numbers. Most of the Muslims were foreign nationals.
Yet, Mexico may have over a million Lebanese (almost all of whom are Christian),
What we see here is the all too common phenomena of Muslims exaggerating their numbers. Those few Muslims in Mexico may be temporary converts who will become Evangelical or revert to Catholicism in the following year. Mexico, like much of Latin America is in the midst of an Evangelical Revival. Evangelicals may not be growing as rapidly in Mexico as in the other Latin American countries, but they are still growing.
The thing to remember is that, while the Muslim population in Mexico is miniscule, the Arab-Mexican (Christian) population is very large, in the millions. And the Arab-Mexican Christians are significant. Think of Carlos Slim and Salma Hayek. Getting figures for them is unreliable, however, because a lot of them have moved to the United States.
In the case of Islam, practically speaking, Mexico has almost no Muslims. There are exceptions.
The most important thing overlooked is that 31% of Brazil is now Evangelical, and they tend to strongly support Israel. Brazil’s Lulu can only go so far in his criticism of Israel.
Another issue is Latin culture, itself.
Latin/Spanish and Portuguese cultures center on the national liberation struggles against the Islamic/Moorish invaders of Spain and Portugal in the Middle Ages … the so-called Reconquista. Latin culture, at its core, is not friendly to Islam.
What is driving this pro-Palestinianism is the large influence of:
A) Palestinian ethnic groups in Latin America, especially Chile, Honduras, and El Salvador.
B) Iran’s propagandizing through HispanTV.
C) Leftist regimes.
And finally, one should take this news report with a grain of salt, as it is posted by AJPlus, a subset of Al Jazeera, which is a Qatari based anti-Israel media outlet.
Remember, not only Brazil, but also Guatemala has a very large pro-Israel Evangelical constituency. Guatemala is 40 percent Evangelical.
Brazilian supporters of Israel
Posted on YouTube: Early October, 2023
Guatemalan support of Israel
Bucking world opinion, Guatemala was one of the few nations which voted against pressuring Israel for a ceasefire in its war against Hamas.
Among the 14 countries that voted against the cease-fire were Israel, the US, Fiji, Guatemala, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Tonga.
So, remember, check out the news with discernment.
Listen to that tune! It is haunting to the core. The melody was published by Francisco Tárrega in 1896, about the Alhambra in Granada, Spain – the capital of the last Moorish outpost in Spain.
The Alhambra is a World Treasure to this day. Tourists are stunned by its intricacy and beauty – the Arabic calligraphy on its walls is breathtaking.
One is reminded how the last Moorish/Arabic ruler in Granada, Boabdil – that was what the Spanish called him; the Arabs knew him as Muhammad XII of Granada – cried after his defeat, when he looked back on Granada and realized he had to leave the Alhambra. Legend has it that his mother supposedly told him …
“You weep like a woman for what you could not defend like a man?”
Talk about a toxic mother!!!
I do not care if it is politically incorrect to say this, but that mother seriously deserved a slap for that. That was brutal.
The Arabs remember this defeat to this very day, and call it “The Tragedy of Andalusia.”
The conquering Catholic royals, Ferdinand and Isabella, were so enamored of the Moorish architecture that they chose to be buried in Granada, not the expected Christian capital.
There is a tension in Spanish culture – and to a lesser extent in Portuguese culture – between European and Arabian civilization. The Portuguese liberated all their territory by 1249. The Spanish allowed Granada to linger on under Islamic control for another 243 years, until 1492, but only as a vassal state.
Yes, Granada was reduced to vassalage – having to pay tribute to Spain – but it was still there, and so the effect of Arab rule is stronger in Spanish culture.
Sections of the Iberian Peninsula had been under Islamic rule for 781 years (711 to 1492). Such a long duration has cultural, genetic, political, and linguistic consequences.
While the Spanish were happy to be rid of Muslim tyranny – and it was tyranny, do not kid yourselves – they realized that something had been lost as well – and hence the Spanish fascination with Alhambra, and Arabic culture in general.
And so the story of Muslim rule, and the Reconquista to free Spain, lingers on in the Spanish imagination the same way the civil war lingers on in the American. Everyone knows the good guys (Spain/the North) won, but the losing side (the Moors/the Confederacy) have been glamorized out of all reality.
About 8% of the Spanish language is Arabic in origin. Look at these two words to see where the Spanish term differs from other European languages – and know that Spanish has thousands of such Arabic words.
Arabic
Spanish
English
French
Italian
German
‘azraq
azul
blue
bleu
blu
blau
zeit
aciete
oil
huile
olio
Öl
The linguistic effect on Spanish in enormous. On Portuguese, too.
Genetically, the effect is there, though not enormous. The Spanish have between 2% and 10% North African admixture. Though part of that admixture may be due to pre-Islamic, pre-Roman Carthaginian DNA. In 1609, Spain expelled all Muslims from its country, including some who had converted to Catholicism, so whatever Arabic genetic input had occurred during Moorish rule was probably reduced somewhat.
STILL, THE GENETIC EFFECT IS THERE, EVEN IF LIMITED
The Albu(r)querque region of Iberia likely derived its name from the Arabic (the area was occupied by the Moors for centuries) Abu al-Qurq (land of the cork oak; Spanish: pais del alcornoque), which in turn may have been derived from the Latin `albus quercus’ (white oak) as the trunk of the cork oak is white after the outer layer has been exposed. Note that the seal of the Spanish city of Alburquerque bears the design of an oak. (The other main theory is that the name derives from al-burquq, the plum.)
This Arabic influence was brought to the New World – and that does not even include the Moriscos who came with the Conquistadores.
There are echoes of this Arabic influence which carry over to Latin America. Argentina’s gauchos may be, in part, derived from Moriscos who fled the Inquisition to Latin America.
A full treatment would require a very large book, not a post on a website.
January 24, 2024 – Edited: replaced a dead video link.
