1 Imam Cesar

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[00:01:01] Tariq: Assalamualaikum. May the peace that only God can give be upon you. Welcome to the American Muslim Podcast presented by Bayan On Demand. I'm your host, Imam Tariq El- Amin. It is my pleasure to continue bringing you new conversations with leaders from across the nation who serve in a variety of ways.

[00:01:17] Tariq: Today's guest is Imam Cesar Dominguez. He is the Imam and teacher at the Los Angeles Latino Muslim Association. He received an MA in Islamic studies from Bayan Islamic Graduate School in 2015. And he's a current doctoral student there pursuing a doctor of ministry and Islamic community leadership. And he also serves as the student services coordinator.

[00:01:40]Tariq: As salamu alaykum, my brother. Wa alaykum as salamu alaykum wa

[00:01:42] Imam Cesár: rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. It is indeed an honor, a pleasure. And an excuse for a beautiful exchange of emotions.

[00:01:56] Tariq: That's right. That's right. Well, thank you very [00:02:00] much. Yeah. So I want to start just by saying I appreciate you making the time. I know your schedule is very busy, but I believe that, um, what transpires here is going to be a benefit.

[00:02:11] Tariq: Inshallah with God's permission

[00:02:12] Tariq: to the listener.

[00:02:13] Imam Cesár: Inshallah. That's what, what we are here for. Yes.

[00:02:16] Tariq: Yes. So one of the things I always like to begin with is just saying that We invite our guests to be as vulnerable, as open, as transparent as they are comfortable being, because we not only want to talk about the work that's being done by so many different people, but we also want to talk about the people doing the work,

[00:02:35] Imam Cesár: certainly

[00:02:36] Tariq: so.

[00:02:37] Tariq: With that, take us back, take us back, and tell us where did it all begin for Imam Cesar?

[00:02:46] Imam Cesár: , my path in Islam began in, uh, in 2004.

[00:02:50] Okay.

[00:02:51] Imam Cesár: My first encounter, uh, with Islam took place in Egypt, that I visited for the first time in, in 2004. [00:03:00] to visit the archaeological sites, the museums, and the ancient culture of the land.

[00:03:07] Imam Cesár: I was raised Catholic. As a Mexican, all my family is Catholic. I was raised in the faith, and I was going to church twice a day. But I have always been very interested in learning about other cultures, other ways of living. and different ways to worship God and serve humanity. So that interest of me made me explore Islam not with a clear interest or need to embrace a new or different way of worshiping God, but just to add to my own experience as a person of faith.

[00:03:50] Imam Cesár: It's an interesting story. I went to Egypt for three weeks. And I ended up staying three months because something may prevented me [00:04:00] from returning. Now,

[00:04:01] Tariq: let me ask, what brought you to Egypt?

[00:04:02] Imam Cesár: I went with a tour, with a tour family and friends, a tour just to, as I said, to visit the archaeological sites, not to study or any other thing, but to, to be an explorer.

[00:04:15] Imam Cesár: The idea was to be there for three weeks. And I ended up staying three months because I, I felt, I, I do remember the first day When I arrived, I took a taxi ride just to show me around. I was so excited. So we went to the Islamic old quarter of the city and I visited the Masjid of Imam Al Hussein. And that was the first mosque or masjid that I have ever visited.

[00:04:44] Imam Cesár: I cannot forget the impact when I set foot in the mosque. It was like waking up from a dream. I don't know exactly how to explain that. When I entered the mosque for the first time, I felt that I [00:05:00] was connecting with something vital, something truth, and something not new.

[00:05:09] Okay.

[00:05:10] Imam Cesár: I felt that immediate connection.

[00:05:12] Imam Cesár: I remember listening to someone reciting Quran. And I, I cherish the beauty of the sound. I stayed there for a few minutes, then I left. Then the following, for the next two weeks, well, the regular visits to the archaeological sites. But at the end of my tour, I, I could not leave. I said, there's something here for me to explore.

[00:05:38] Imam Cesár: I didn't know what it was. And, you know, whenever you visit a different land, you always say, well, I come back some other time. Right. And how many times that never happens. Right. It has happened to me. So, so it just said, so I said, no, I cannot leave. So I, first I check how much money I saved in my [00:06:00] wallet.

[00:06:01] Imam Cesár: But I didn't really, I called my family. I called my wife, I called my, my job and I said, yeah, I think I can stay for maybe a few more weeks. And my family was very supportive, uh, because they saw his sincerity. So I ended up staying three months. I met a very dear, uh, friend. He showed me around, he took me to many, many mosques, introduced me to some people.

[00:06:31] Imam Cesár: Some teachers, I actually also ended up staying at a masjid for three weeks. I remember also the first time that I attended a masjid for Salat al Jumma on a Friday.

[00:06:46] Tariq: Right.

[00:06:46] Imam Cesár: I arrived very early, the masjid was empty, so I sat down and then before I noticed it was full, so there was no way to exit. And then the jutba started [00:07:00] and I didn't understand, but it was a great, great opportunity for me to experience just by looking at the people.

[00:07:08] Imam Cesár: And at the end, when the prayer started and everybody got up, there was no way for me to move or to go or to do something that was not like following. And I remember when I made it this to do the prostration, I said, Oh my God, nothing is ever going to be the same in market. And well, so I left. And then after that, then, as I said, I ended up staying at that masjid.

[00:07:31] Imam Cesár: For three weeks, my friend, this Muslim brother that introduced me, I went to him and I said, I want to speak with the imam. So we went to visit the imam, we engaged in a conversation, translation, and the imam invited me to stay with him for a few weeks. And I was very happy there just observing all the prayers, the rituals.

[00:07:52] Imam Cesár: I did participate in some of the prayers. In some of them, I did not. I was just an observant, but through [00:08:00] this observation, something aside from the excitement, aside from the beauty of the ritual, something made me think that, uh, but I was not ready to, to embrace Islam as my new way to worship God because I needed more substance.

[00:08:24] Tariq: Okay.

[00:08:25] Imam Cesár: The Imam was, he was the best host and he was very. I'm hopeful that I will take my shahada and join the prayer as a new Muslim brother. But I called this other friend and I told him, I don't want to stay here any longer because I'm very much aware that the imam does have a wish or an expectation.

[00:08:48] Imam Cesár: And I know that I'm not going to fulfill that expectation. If I embrace Islam, I have to do it in my country. In my culture, and I want to learn about Islam in my [00:09:00] language, in Spanish, or, or, I mean, with my limited English, but I want a direct, I don't want any, any, any filters. I want to learn Islam about Islam in my culture.

[00:09:14] Imam Cesár: And if I ever take Shahada, it has to be in my country.

[00:09:18] Tariq: So I've got a couple of questions. I'm not going to throw them all at you at the same time. I want to start with your own disposition. Have you always been spiritually curious, considering that you would be described as a, as a cradle Catholic, right?

[00:09:35] Tariq: Like you've grown up in Catholicism. Was that something that was always in you, that type of curiosity, or was that something that was awakened on that trip?

[00:09:48] Imam Cesár: No, it has always been with me. However, my experience with a religious practice had all been being very private. I mean, as I said, I went to church to mass [00:10:00] twice a day.

[00:10:01] I

[00:10:01] Imam Cesár: took communion. I went to Catholic schools up until high school, but I never really participated in any activities at the, uh, at the church. So my communication with God was always very, very private. So when I embrace Islam, that necessarily changed.

[00:10:23] Tariq: Mm hmm.

[00:10:24] Imam Cesár: And I say necessarily because by embracing Islam, then I became a minority.

[00:10:31] Imam Cesár: And to many people, to my family, first of all, and to friends, co workers, I was like the voice of Islam because they didn't know any Muslims. I was the only Muslim in their life. So certainly they began to see me differently. Very positively. I have never had any, by the grace of Allah, I have never had any rejection

[00:10:55] in my

[00:10:56] Imam Cesár: embracing the faith.

[00:10:57] Imam Cesár: But to them I became like the voice of Islam. [00:11:00] Everybody wanted to know about Islam through me. So I said, I cannot be private in my Too many questions. Yes, too many questions.

[00:11:11] Tariq: Now, you mentioned that there was a lack of material in your native tongue, in Spanish. How did you navigate that?

[00:11:21] Imam Cesár: With difficulty, certainly.

[00:11:23] Imam Cesár: I mean, I'm talking about almost 20 years ago. Sure. Yeah, there's a lot more today. Yes, yes, yes. Yeah. Alhamdulillah, there's a lot more. But at the time, especially in Mexico, no, it was, uh, let's say, uh, translations of the Qur'an in Spanish and any other Islamic literature, limited and defective.

[00:11:44] Tariq: Mm.

[00:11:45] Imam Cesár: Uh, I'm not getting the beauty of the message.

[00:11:49] Imam Cesár: That's one of the reasons I began to study Islam in English. So, of course, taking Arabic classes, but in the end, I said I have a responsibility then to provide [00:12:00] that, that bridge, cultural bridge, if we can call it so, between, uh, Spanish speaking people and the message of Islam.

[00:12:13] Tariq: People outside of the fold of Islam who have not interacted with Muslims.

[00:12:20] Tariq: from various ethnicities and cultures don't realize that there is a richness and a diversity of cultural expression within Islam. How have you been able to maintain a connection to your culture? And is that something that has been intentional for you?

[00:12:37] Imam Cesár: Absolutely intentional. Absolutely 100 percent intentional.

[00:12:42] Imam Cesár: And yes, one of the first difficulties or obstacles we converts to Islam face is Answering these questions. Do I have to change who I am in order to be Muslim? Do I have to communicate only in Arabic in order to be Muslim? [00:13:00] Do I have to change my name? Do I have to change the way I dress and the way I address other people?

[00:13:07] Imam Cesár: Do I have to, uh, sever ties with non Muslim friends? What about my family? And these are questions that I had to answer to some of the people in that masjid 20 years ago that made me say, no, if I'm going to become Muslim, it has to be my country. I cannot change completely. I cannot change my blood.

[00:13:28] I

[00:13:28] Imam Cesár: cannot change the color of my skin.

[00:13:33] Imam Cesár: I cannot change the way I smile. Uh, I want to be authentic. That made me search, and by the grace of Allah, I was given the necessary companions, guides, and teachers that would share with me the Islam of the Middle Way, the moderate Islam that is welcoming, [00:14:00] that is respectful of other cultures, of other faith traditions.

[00:14:06] Imam Cesár: teachers that pointed me to the verses of the Quran. That address this in the clearest ways and also the example of Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam So this is part of me if my interest to learn and my respect for other faith traditions is what brought me to Islam, to explore Islam. Well, now I cannot close it.

[00:14:33] Imam Cesár: I cannot, not anymore, right? That's right. That's right. So, so, and this also brought me to, to the need to engage in, in interfaith dialogue and interfaith relations, which is, it's a very important part of, of my mission. My mission is to, to present to, to my congregation, Hispanic, Latin American Muslims, this experience.[00:15:00]

[00:15:00] Imam Cesár: Embracing this moderate, this respectful Islam that is a true Islam, rooted, of course, in the tradition, but also very much in the present.

[00:15:15] Tariq: You mentioned culture and the importance of holding on to your culture. Islam as an addition, as a beautifier. And culture is art, it's music, it's expression. It's the way we hold on to our histories and we put those things into art and they become beautiful.

[00:15:33] Tariq: Daily reminders, things that we gather around. You have a unique experience also from a cultural perspective, from an artistic perspective. Yes,

[00:15:43] Imam Cesár: yes indeed.

[00:15:43] Tariq: Please do share a bit of that.

[00:15:46] Imam Cesár: Thank you. I am by profession a stage actor. I have always been a, a lover of the performing arts as a way of. Expression as a [00:16:00] way of honoring the beauty of God's creation as a way of, of using these bodies that God gave us this mind, this voice, this hands, this legs, this feet to communicate, to speak with my hands, with my eyes, with my eyebrows, with everything, theater and the performing arts, music are part of who I am and, uh, mostly a stage, mostly a I've been doing a stage acting in Mexico a little bit here in the United States, but almost all of it in, in Spanish.

[00:16:34] Imam Cesár: I have not been able to do much in the last few years because I've been busy. When I began the master's degree at Bayan, that was in 2013. I had to make a pass. Of course, there's so much you can do that. War, family, theater, studies too much. The title of my master's thesis was Prayer in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

[00:16:58] Imam Cesár: And I proposed [00:17:00] the creation of a stage monologue. In which I became an imam and also a priest and a rabbi engaged in reading and studied scripture, namely the Koran, namely the New Testament and the Hebrew Bible. And that's a dear project of me that I have not been able to bring into life

[00:17:24] Tariq: because

[00:17:25] Imam Cesár: of that.

[00:17:26] Tariq: Inshallah. But

[00:17:27] Imam Cesár: Inshallah, it's part of me and it's part of my work. Of communicating, sharing the beauty of Islam.

[00:17:35] Tariq: Is there a particular takeaway that you can point to from your theater experience that you carry with you in your role as Imam?

[00:17:44] Imam Cesár: Well, theater is community. Theater is history. And it is tradition.

[00:17:51] Imam Cesár: Certainly, when you are engaging in works of great playwrights from the past, theater is tradition. And theater is also [00:18:00] Service and discipline as you see the disciplining in a movie or a television set, uh, and that discipline certainly translates into other areas being a house of worship and how a religious leader engages needs a team to reach the goals of the particular project or the particular Uh, community, so certainly, certainly in my classes, I'm always thinking in connections between the theater experience and the experience of a religious leader.

[00:18:42] Imam Cesár: When engaging with the community in both worlds, uh, we deal first and foremost with human emotions, relationship with God and with the rest of, of humanity. Your [00:19:00]

[00:19:01] Tariq: work is based in LA. Yes, yes, yes. Tell us a bit about that

[00:19:05] Imam Cesár: community. I have also worked, uh, served with other communities in northern Mexico, in the state of Baja California, across from the border.

[00:19:13] Imam Cesár: The community that I serve in, in California, in Los Angeles, has been, uh, in existence since 2000, since 2000. So it's been with up and downs, specifically with the, the COVID pandemic. And, uh, one thing that I, that I truly cherish about my community in Los Angeles. It's intentional respect for, for our cultural traditions and our families and our non Muslim families.

[00:19:45] Imam Cesár: That's something that I cherish very much. Of course, we are. I am incredibly grateful to have been chosen as Muslims by God, because it is God who [00:20:00] decides what is best for us. I have always said that my embrace in Islam is not or was not a rejection of my previous faith, Catholicism. It's an enhancement.

[00:20:12] Imam Cesár: God decreed for me to become Muslim in order for me to walk with more certainty the path of this world that will lead to Islam. Inshallah, back to God, but it's not a rejection. I'm, I'm connected to, I have the same friends. I don't think I have lost intentionally or otherwise any Muslims from my previous life.

[00:20:40] Imam Cesár: I say not Muslim, no, I still have the same friends.

[00:20:43] Okay. And

[00:20:44] Imam Cesár: I love them and I respect them very much.

[00:20:48] Tariq: Yeah, and that does mirror, I think, very much, many, um, I can't speak for everybody. Uh, and while I was raised Muslim. Many of the Muslims that I know, uh, [00:21:00] African American Muslims in particular, whose families are primarily Christian, they've been able to keep good relationships.

[00:21:06] Tariq: But religion is also something that is very personal and people, unfortunately, will identify it as a rejection when. We evolve when we come into new knowledge and we respond to that, but that has not been your, that has not been your experience. No,

[00:21:27] Imam Cesár: no, no. Yes, I was. I was from the very beginning. I was very clear, uh, not to transform myself so much.

[00:21:40] Imam Cesár: The important people in my life would not be able to recognize me

[00:21:46] Imam Cesár: in many ways or to a great extent. Yes, we are here, and the Koran says we are here to serve God. We were created [00:22:00] to worship God, and much of our worshiping God is directly to him through our acts of worship. We serve God through other people. Through our service. Through our service. I mean, it's a God. We give of what God has given us.

[00:22:19] Imam Cesár: We acknowledge that other people have a right to what God has given us. So our zakat is, of course, an act of worship, but we fulfill that act of worship to a great extent through other people. So that connection with other people is vital. I could not close the door on, on, then why would I become Muslim?

[00:22:43] Imam Cesár: If my Islam does not bring me closer to people, if my prayer does not soften people. My heart, but my need for God is, is more clear. It is a stronger, my need to, to [00:23:00] turn to him at all times is more.

[00:23:07] Tariq: What do you think it says for America? This melting pot within a melting pot. When we think about American Muslims, right, right, right. And as Latino American Muslims are starting to become a. a greater and greater presence.

[00:23:24] Imam Cesár: Mm hmm.

[00:23:25] Tariq: What do you think it says for the American Muslim community?

[00:23:31] Imam Cesár: The first thing that came to my mind is that

[00:23:37] Imam Cesár: the future of Islam, of this universal Islam, is, is here, is in this melting pot.

[00:23:46] Tariq: Mm hmm.

[00:23:47] Imam Cesár: Yes, I believe so. I don't believe in the separation of East and West. And that was also one of the challenges that At the beginning.

[00:23:58] Mm-hmm .

[00:23:58] Imam Cesár: Uh, this [00:24:00] opposition separation between the Muslim world and the western world?

[00:24:05] Imam Cesár: Well, I'm a western person. Mm-hmm . I was born in the west. Right. My culture is western. So if there is a separation, then I cannot be Muslim to begin with. Right, right, right, right. So that melting pot, is it certainly, of course it has its challenges. Mm-hmm . Because, uh. Diversity of culture, diversity of opinion, diversity of views, of ways of interpretation can lead to conflict, and it has.

[00:24:41] Imam Cesár: But we cannot forget that, uh, this diversity, this respect for different viewpoints is central to Islam. I mean, how was Islam able to spread? [00:25:00] In less than 200 years from the Arabian Peninsula all the way to China and all the way to Spain, this accomplishment could not have taken place had it not been for the respect of Islam and the clarity of Islam to permeate the heart and when I say Islam, and I talk about this in my classes and when I'm blessed to give a khutbah, it's making the space for Islam in my heart.

[00:25:36] Imam Cesár: Islam is already in my heart, but I need to reaccommodate or reorder what is inside my heart so that I can give Islam its central place in my heart. But not empty the heart in order for Islam to be the central. It's not, not like leaving all my friends [00:26:00] now that I'm Muslim. Now I cannot talk to this, now I cannot talk to that.

[00:26:03] Imam Cesár: It's just to have to put things in, in, in, in its place. Right. Like in a theater production.

[00:26:11] Tariq: That's right. Everything has, has its place. Has its place. And I thought that was really interesting. I've not heard anybody refer to the discipline that's involved with theater. And how that also translates to religion, every facet of life where we intend or look to have success.

[00:26:29] Tariq: If there's no discipline, there's no success. Without discipline and detachment, there is no growth. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Allah tells us that we have been brought out for the benefit of humanity. How does your life's work represent this idea of us being not for ourselves, But for the benefit of humanity,

[00:26:56] Imam Cesár: I

[00:26:56] Tariq: thought about this

[00:26:57] Imam Cesár: a few days ago, actually, [00:27:00] I have come to point in my, uh, I'm in a period in, in my life when I don't matter anymore.

[00:27:15] Imam Cesár: Say more about that. Meaning the fulfillment of my mission in this light depends on other people. I have. I have given enough time to myself.

[00:27:36] Tariq: Wow.

[00:27:37] Imam Cesár: I'm not, I myself, I'm not the priority anymore. That is such a profoundly beautiful way to consider that. It is, it is, it is your children, it is your people, your loved ones, your community.

[00:27:52] Imam Cesár: Mm hmm. It is the mission of your community that matters the most. Mm hmm. Uh, as I [00:28:00] said, we're all We are all engaged or community members or community leaders in whatever capacity you serve or at present or have a presence in your community. We're all here with the intention of working for the cause of Allah, of course.

[00:28:20] Imam Cesár: But we tend to forget at times that we fulfill this cause. We serve the cause of Allah through other people. So I have to nourish those people because my fate depends rests on them.

[00:28:40] Tariq: Okay. So this is a great segue. We speak with community leaders, community servants on the program and leadership always comes to the surface.

[00:28:52] Tariq: What is your philosophy on leadership? And what do you hope to leave as a mark [00:29:00] in terms of your own leadership?

[00:29:03] Imam Cesár: In our, our studies in the doctor of ministry programming in Islamic leadership, we have a study of different leadership styles. The two that resonate the most to me is, and you have mentioned one of them, servant leadership.

[00:29:22] Imam Cesár: Mm-hmm . We have spoken about this. Right. And the other one is transformational leadership.

[00:29:27] Mm-hmm .

[00:29:28] Imam Cesár: That we contribute to the transformation, to the elevation of other people, to help them be aware of their assets and what assets they can contribute to the common goal of the community. And to learn, to acquire new assets and all directed the betterment of themselves and of their role as community members, as community leaders.

[00:29:59] Imam Cesár: So [00:30:00] a leader contributes to the transformation of people, to the elevation of people, and for that elevation to take space, here we go again, discipline, discipline, and clarity of purpose. As Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, the best among you is the one who is the most beneficial to other people, to other people.

[00:30:31] Tariq: We're on a roll. I've heard that narration twice now, two weeks in a row. So that kind of awareness becomes a part of our, our toolkit. It's something that we go back to as we look to serve, as we try to fulfill the, the mission that you spoke about that Allah has sent us here to do is to remember that it's not just about us.

[00:30:54] Tariq: It is about how useful, how beneficial we are. So thank you for lifting it [00:31:00] back up. I want to ask you about your experience, although you've kind of alluded to it already, your experience at Bayonne and what that has meant for you. A world

[00:31:13] Imam Cesár: of experience. What I appreciate the most is, is how our studies at this institution have helped us understand Islam and its traditional classical context and the context of the Western American culture in which we live and being able to connect tradition with modernity to be provided with the tools to engage classical [00:32:00] Islamic knowledge.

[00:32:02] Imam Cesár: And be able to have the teachers that will help us, that will guide us to understand that beauty in our Western reality that is of immense value. Because what our Muslim communities in this country need is Leaders who speak their language and I don't mean only language in terms of word, understand what it means to, to move our hands in a certain way.

[00:32:39] Imam Cesár: Right.

[00:32:41] Tariq: And

[00:32:41] Imam Cesár: I mean, it's just a metaphor.

[00:32:43] Tariq: It's a, it's an appropriate metaphor. Yeah, it is an appropriate one. You mentioned something that is adjacent to, I guess, heading to one of the final points that I wanted to bring up. The importance of having A [00:33:00] knowledge of the social, cultural, historical context, right?

[00:33:04] Tariq: Being able to speak and address that, present Islam in a way that people do not see it as something that is foreign, but something that is, that is essential and, and natural. And people, they gravitate towards that when they see it in that light. As it relates to America, the United States of America, what do you see?

[00:33:27] Tariq: The American Muslim population in all of its diversity, what do you see its contribution in terms of public life as a matter of leadership? Um, and whether that be through providing services through a food pantry or through advocacy or however we are, because generally we're not just serving ourselves.

[00:33:49] Tariq: I know we have a pantry at the Masjid. The majority of our folks, we're, we're serving non Muslim, you know, but we call them family as well. [00:34:00] So what do you see with the social and political landscape as it is? What's the contribution?

[00:34:07] Imam Cesár: Yeah, it has, I mean, this, this, this country, it's so diverse. It's yeah, that is a melting pot.

[00:34:15] Imam Cesár: It is, it is, it has become impossible just to. To really have or nourish a social conscious, a social project, and serve only just your, I mean, limit, limit your generosity.

[00:34:32] Tariq: Hmm.

[00:34:32] Imam Cesár: Uh, I don't think it's possible in such a melting pot. I believe that, that the growth and the importance of Muslim organizations that fight for social justice, for inclusivity, for, Immigration rights, housing, all these urgent social issues [00:35:00] is gaining prominence and the engagement and the coalition with other faith communities, other social service agencies is becoming more.

[00:35:15] Imam Cesár: Much more normative. Yes, much more normative. So I do see a tremendous growth in. In this regard, in this direction, and that's what we need. I know

[00:35:31] Tariq: you got Los Angeles area, and you also don't work in Mexico. Yeah. I didn't ask this, but the Muslim population in Mexico, it's growing. It is

[00:35:41] Imam Cesár: growing. It is growing, uh, at a slow pace.

[00:35:46] Imam Cesár: So I mean, we're a country of 125 people. It's difficult to French 25, a hundred million people, a hundred million people, a hundred, 125 million a hundred and

[00:35:56] Tariq: what did I say? Budget, 25 people. [00:36:00]

[00:36:00] Imam Cesár: 120. Everybody

[00:36:01] Tariq: knows everybody

[00:36:02] Imam Cesár: 2025. And. Uh, maybe, maybe not more than 100, 000 Muslims. So we're certainly a very, very small segment of the population, but, but they are Muslim communities in almost now in every one of the 31 states of Mexico.

[00:36:25] Imam Cesár: Really? Yes. So that is, uh, I was, I was actually compiling some information recently about new communities. In, in different parts of the country and, uh, in regards to Mexico, there are actually two new organizations that I'm very excited to be working with. I'll be working there in the future and also as part of my doctoral project.

[00:36:48] Okay.

[00:36:49] Imam Cesár: And so we do hope for a bright future for Islam in other parts of Latin America, especially in South America, like three, three million Muslims in, in Brazil, in, [00:37:00] in Argentina. There are also large communities, Muslim communities. In, in Colombia, in Venezuela,

[00:37:06] Tariq: in

[00:37:07] Imam Cesár: Central America.

[00:37:09] Tariq: Abdullah, are there any projects that you're working on right now that you'd like to share with us?

[00:37:15] Imam Cesár: Yes. Right now I'm preparing a multimedia project, but as part of it is a series of educational videos on Islam, on the beauty of Islam. Um, and interfaith relations. So I speak, there are one video about each one of the pillars of Islam and, and a series of videos on culture, on culture, community and interfaith engagement.

[00:37:42] Imam Cesár: So I, that's my project right now for, for the community.

[00:37:46] Tariq: Okay. So you're actively working on that? Yes, yes, yes,

[00:37:48] Imam Cesár: yes.

[00:37:49] Tariq: Okay. So it'll

[00:37:49] Imam Cesár: be, it'll be a series of. Uh, 15 videos divided into three segments. So when do you expect, uh, to be completed? Uh, Inshallah in, uh, [00:38:00] in, uh, like three months. Three months, because Ramadan is upon us.

[00:38:05] Imam Cesár: Right, right, right. And the number one priority is He's been with our community. That's right. In presence. That's right. Right. For Ramadan. So like two, three months. It'll be ready. I'll give you, I'll give you the news. Please do. We love, and it'll appreciate we'll all be in Spanish.

[00:38:21] Tariq: Oh, in the Spanish? Yes. All right.

[00:38:23] Tariq: Yeah. No, no, no.

[00:38:29] Tariq: Alright, well thank you so much. Uh, beloved man. Is there anywhere where folks are interested in supporting your work or joining? That they can do so

[00:38:39] Imam Cesár: we have a number of projects that, uh, that we speak about in, in, in our website, the, uh, the website of my group, lanma. net, we are very active in, in advocacy and social justice.

[00:38:55] Imam Cesár: So there are several projects, certainly that anybody can, who wishes [00:39:00] to contribute to wishes to, to be part of is, is there

[00:39:05] Tariq: wonderful. Well, you may have say, sir. I thank you for taking the time to, uh, share a bit of your story and I know we just barely scratched the surface. So, uh, perhaps I'll be able to get you in the future for a part two, uh, but, uh, until then we want to just, uh, we make dua that Allah make the path easy for you.

[00:39:26] Tariq: And if it can be easier, make you stronger and continue to bless all of your work.

[00:39:32] Imam Cesár: We pray for that. Thank you. Thank you very much. May Allah bless you, your family, our communities. Our brothers and sisters. Thank

[00:39:43] Tariq: you very much. All right, family, we have come to the end of our program today. We remind you that we are with you every week, so find us wherever you are streaming.

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[00:40:10] Tariq: That's bayanonline. org and you can contribute directly to the Muhammad Ali Scholarship. If you didn't know, over 70 percent of our students are scholarship recipients. So you can directly support the work of those who are supporting community life. And the last thing I'm going to remind you of. is that you can get your subscription to Bayan On Demand, which will also support the work of Bayan Islamic Graduate School, and allows you entry into our community of learners.

[00:40:39] Tariq: We've got 30 classes, we're adding more as we go along, and these classes are taught by some of the best, the brightest, the most highly regarded scholars and practitioners in the United States of America. So with that, we're going to stop our pitch. Uh, thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Imam Tariq El-Amin.

[00:40:56] Tariq: I leave you as I greeted you. As salamu alaykum, may the [00:41:00] peace that only God can give you upon.