Islam has been growing rapidly in the Latino community since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which prompted many to learn more about Islam beyond the negative media portrayals.

As American Muslims have faced almost a decade of post-9/11 negative stereotyping, Latinos, subject to an anti-immigration backlash, have come to see them as a fellow "minoritized" community,
"You share that common marginalization," said Martínez-Vázquez, who wrote a book about Latino Muslims that was published in January.

The Latino Muslim population is one of the fastest growing communities in the country. Definitive numbers aren't available, but estimates range from 25,000 to 200,000. Martínez-Vázquez puts the number closer to 75,000 to 100,000.

Learning about Islam outside the mass media's filter, some Latinos discovered they preferred it to the religion they grew up with, which was usually Roman Catholicism. Lorena Elkhalafawi, who grew up in Paraguay, was living in New York on 9/11.