The Muslims of Latin America and the Caribbean

The “Muslim World” is often narrowly conceived as tied to the Middle East and North Africa, or more broadly as encompassing Africa’s Sahel region, Southeast Asia, and perhaps parts of the Balkans. But what about Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC)? It is this question that inspired Ken Chitwood’s book. Chitwood traces the story of Muslims in LAC: their deep roots in the region, as well as the current connections among the multiple Islamic networks of people, ideas, technology, finance, politics, and religion that extend across the Americas and beyond. Moving from pre-Columbian encounters to the present day, his rich account leaves the reader with a deeper understanding of an integral, but little recognized, part of both LAC and the Muslim World. The "Muslim World" is often narrowly conceived as tied to the Middle East and North Africa, or more broadly as encompassing Africa’s Sahel region, South and Southeast Asia, and parts of the Balkans. But what about Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)? It is this question that inspired Ken Chitwood's book. Chitwood traces the story of Muslims in LAC: their deep roots in the region, as well as the current connections among the multiple networks of people, ideas, economies, politics, and religion that extend across the Americas and beyond. Moving from pre-Columbian encounters to the present day, his rich account leaves the reader with a deeper understanding of an integral, but little recognized, part of the Americas and global Islam. "Uniquely tells the historical and contemporary story of Muslims and Islam in Latin America and the Caribbean"-- Provided by publisher