Belizean Minds

“Islam In Espanol” is a documentary on Islam's call to faith in Central America produced by Bilal Morris, a Muslim journalist and documentary filmmaker from Belize, who has written on Central America and the Caribbean region. The documentary is a good introduction into the expansion of Islam in the region and to stimulate one’s thinking. Here is part one of the documentary followed by a few comments.


My first knowledge about Muslims in Belize came from some of the comments I begun reading from Evan X Hyde. Hyde often talks about the role of Muslim members in the activities of the United Black Association for Development (UBAD).  Given that there are no mosques in San Ignacio, I had never had that sort of exposure.I do remember that there was a mosque (or it was at least a gathering place) in Belmopan near the University, which I always saw as peculiar. I would later gain more knowledge about Islam through readings. 
A few months ago, I attended an Eid celebration hosted by a studen…

Persons interested in issues of the Belize diaspora should visit and join the “Belizean Diaspora Voting Rights: Reconnecting and unifying the Belizean people”. It is a discussion group on the Facebook social-network. A new outlet for its discussions is also “All things Belizean” a radio-blog hosted by Hubert Pipersburgh.

Today’s discussion was hosted by Hubert Pipersburgh and Bilal Morris, both from the Los Angeles based organization called Belize Rural Economic Development of Agriculture through Alliance (BREDAA). The discussion is an interesting one for those interesting in familiarizing themselves with the concerns and arguments at the moment.

I want to highlight two strong points from the discussants. Hubert mentions the necessity of ‘mature politics’. ‘Mature politics’ in this sense refers to the ability to become critical participants in our society. It is a move beyond the lens of the PUDP rethorics (People’s United Party/United Democratic Party). This is a critical point as this…

Joseph-Ernest Aondofe Iyo is a practicing oral historian, consultant, professor, and researcher on Belizean history, African history and African Diaspora History. He is currently posted as an Associate Professor at the History and Anthropology Program at the University of Belize. He coordinates Historical Methods, Philosophy of History, and West African History, among other courses. He continues to an make invaluable contribution to the development and expansion of Belize’s history and academia in general. 
Joseph-Ernest Aondofe Iyo was born in the Benue State of Nigeria. Educated at Government Secondary School Gboko, and Murtala College of Art, Science and Technology, Makurdi; both in Benue State, Nigeria. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria, in 1982 and Ph.D. in History from the University of Calabar, Nigeria in 1990.
He began his teaching career in 1984 at the School of Basic Studies in Makuduri before transferring his service …