Cook & Bowen
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Moriscos/Moriscas were former Muslims in Spain who were forced to convert to Christianity, after the Spanish Crown outlawed the practice of Islam. According to Cook's article, the Moriscos lost huge parts of their heritage and culture since they were being actively persecuted by the Inquisition; they stopped speaking Arabic and were no longer able to carry out Islamic teachings in Qur'anic schools. Maria Ruiz is a historical example of a Morisca who was severely affected by the laws against displaying outward signs of Islam. She consistently testified about her faith in Catholicism and Jesus Christ to the Inquisition, while praying in Arabic and continuing to practice Islam at home. I think this is simply a case of survival instinct: Ruiz was likely feigning her support of the Catholic faith out of fear that her and other Muslims may be denunciated for being caught between two identities.
The same tension between identities, and the racial fluidity of being Latinx, can be seen in Bowen's article through the example of Addison Gilmo Rodez. Even though his father was Puerto Rican and his mother was Spanish, he generally identified as black; before claiming an Islamic heritage and attempting to pass off as South Asian.
Bowen explains this by writing that many dark-skinned Latinx folk "who identified primarily with African Americans took on Islamic identities in these early years" (174). Rodez' appropriation of an Indian and Islamic heritage is similar to how African-Americans during Jim Crow would often try to pass as "Oriental" as a survival tactic. Rodez and his wife were able to use the same tactics to open a shop selling Oriental clothes, allowing them to make a living, while also making a name for themselves in the local Muslim community and gaining support from their peers.