Victor Hugo Cuartas 
Hispanic Muslims in the United States 
Agency, Identity, and Religious Commitment

The empirical case in this study is that of the Hispanic Catholic converts to Islam in the Washington, DC Metropolitan and New Jersey areas of the United States. The central research question is: To what extent do Hispanic Muslim converts play a role in making different choices regarding religious commitment and practice? The argument is that not only do both the more and less active converts play a central role in making choices during the pre-affiliation and post-affiliation stages, but that these choices can often be strategic in nature as they practice the new religion in the United States. These choices are shaped by multiple factors. This contributes to a new understanding of the prevailing debates among Muslims in Europe and the United States on the nature of Muslim minorities in the West–that Muslims here are not merely transplanted but are active participants of diverse expressions of local Islam. The evidence in my research shows that being less active does not mean converts do not play a role or make choices. Both more active and less active converts make choices based on multiple factors. This is especially significant as the main aim of this thesis is to show that the converts make choices and play a role in the post-affiliation stage and that these often have strategic elements.

Tentang Penulis

Victor H. Cuartas (DMin, Regent University) ha estado involucrado en el ministerio pastoral y en la plantacion de iglesias por casi 20 anos. El ha establecido redes de cooperacion con diferentes denominaciones para avanzar el reino de Dios a nivel internacional compartiendo la urgencia de capacitar y movilizar lideres emergentes. El Dr. Cuartas es profesor de Ministerio Practico y Misiones Mundiales en la Universidad Regent en Virginia Beach, Virginia. Tambien es el pastor fundador de la Iglesia de Dios El Mundo Para Cristo. Actualmente sirve como director de investigacion para Comhina, un movimiento misionero que moviliza a los hispanos en los Estados Unidos y Canada con el fin de evangelizar a los grupos no alcanzados. Felizmente casado con Isabel, y tienen una preciosa hija llamada Eliannah. Es el autor del libro Empowering Hispanic Leaders: An Online Model (2009), disponible tambien en espanol.