CAIRO, December 28 (IslamOnline.net) – Islam offers women greater respect and protect them form being viewed merely as sex objects, according to many young US Latinas.

“They're not gonna say, ‘Hey mami, how are you?’” Pinet says of Muslim men. “Usually they say, 'Hello, sister.' And they don't look at you like a sex object.”

According to the US daily, Pinet and others adopt a conservative lifestyle and revert to Islam, unlike some Latinas her age, who try to emulate the tight clothes and wiggling hips of stars like Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera.

At this Union City, N.J., mosque, women account for more than half of the Latino Muslims who attend services here.

Across the United States, there are some 40,000 Latino Muslims, the daily said, citing the Islamic Society of North America.

“Many of the Latina converts say that their belief that women are treated better in Islam was a significant factor in converting,” The Christian Science Monitor said.

It added that while critics may protest that wearing the veil marks a woman as property, some Latina reverts say they welcome the fact that they are no longer whistled at walking down a street.

“People have an innate response that I'm a religious person, and they give [me] more respect,” says Jenny Yanez, another Latina Muslim. “You're not judged if you're in fashion or out of fashion.”

Other Latina Muslims say they also like the religion's emphasis on fidelity to one's spouse and family.

But for many family members and friends, these conversions come as a surprise - often an unwelcome one. They may know little of Islam other than what they have heard of the Taliban and other extremist groups, the Monitor added.

That creates an inaccurate image, insists Leila Ahmed, a professor of women's studies and religion at Harvard University.

“It astounds me, the extent to which people think Afghanistan and the Taliban represent women and Islam.”

“I think the women here are asserting more their rights and their privileges,” Zahid Bukhari, director of the American-Muslim Studies Program at George- town University, told the paper.

Some Latina Muslims say they harbored stereotypes about Muslim women before deciding to revert, but changed their minds once becoming close friends with a Muslim.

“I always thought, geez, I feel sorry for women who have to wear those veils,” says Pinet. Then she met her Muslim boyfriend and began studying the Qur’an with a group of Muslim women. She says she was impressed with the respect they received, according to the Monitor.

“A women is respected because she is the mother, she takes care of the children, and she's the one that enforces the rules,” Pinet says. “They're the ones who are sacred.”

Latinos account for six percent of the 20,000 Muslim reverts in the United States each year, according to a report published by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Some evidence suggests this number may be rising. But that doesn't mean it's getting any easier for the women who make this choice, the Monitor said.

“At first it was anger and then more like sadness,” Nylka Vargas says of her parents' reaction when she told them she was reverting to Islam and began dressing more conservatively.

“They would sometimes feel strange being around me.”

Pinet's family has been more accepting, but she too has encountered some resistance in her community. “It's as if you've betrayed your own kind,” she says.

For some, the cultural differences are the most trying.

“I can't eat pork, I can't wear [form- fitting] clothing, I can't dance in the clubs, I'm not gonna attend church,” says Ms. Yanez, who is of Cuban and Spanish descent.

“But I keep my language, and there's still things that we do as Latinos that they don't have to change.”

Critics of the decisions of Latinas to convert to Islam say they are adopting a religion just as “patriarchical” as the Roman Catholic faith that many are leaving behind, the Monitor said.

“While it's true the Latino culture tends to be more male-dominated, and there's a tendency toward more machismo, I would venture to say it exists [in Islam] as well,” claims Edwin Hernandez, director of the Center for the Study of Latino Religion at the University of Notre Dame.

Within the Islamic community, Latina Muslims, according to the Monitor, report being warmly received, although language barriers sometimes exist for Latinas who only speak Spanish. There are few Spanish services at mosques and a limited number of Islamic texts in Spanish.

“Grassroots organizations specifically for Latino Muslims have been created in recent years. They function in part as an informational resource for new converts and but also as a support group for those who encounter difficulties at home.”

Ultimately, Latina Muslims say that time heals the divisions and angst their conversion sometimes causes among friends and family.

“What I had to learn was patience,” says Vargas, whose family came to accept her religious beliefs after several years. “Sometimes things are not as we want them.”