IslamInSpanish Centro Islamico

On January 30, 2016, the IslamInSpanish Centro Islamico opened its doors in Houston, TX -the United States’ ONLY Spanish-Speaking Islamic Center. 

IslamInSpanish had its humble beginnings shortly after 9/11 in an office that was no larger than a one-car garage. Over time, as our family grew, so did our need to provide more excellent production value. This enabled us to establish our own state of the art production studio -the Andalusia Media Arts Center. As a result, we produced over 500 Spanish audiobooks and over 300 TV shows that aired locally on Houston’s public access TV and globally to MILLIONS online.

But after a terrible storm here on one Memorial Day Weekend, much of the city was flooded -along with the cherished Andalusia Media Arts Center. We went to check on the Center, but unfortunately, all of the equipment was damaged. At this point, we were at a crossroads: Do we try to repair the Center, or do we just continue IslamInSpanish as an online-only resource?

At our monthly “Convivencia” community potluck shortly after the flood, we were embraced with tremendous excitement and inspiring support from our community when a local Houston news reporter suggested to us:

“Why don’t you all just open up your own mosque? There are churches and mosques opening up every day, I’m sure you could do so yourself.”

This was the spark that ignited the flame to search for a location to establish the new Centro Islamico. By God’s grace, we found a place in the neighborhood where we grew up -Alief, TX. It was a no-brainer; this location was important to us since it allowed us to stay where we had our roots and give back to the community that supported us during our growth.

On the day of our grand opening, over 550 Muslims gathered here for the momentous occasion. People traveled from New York, California, Florida, and everywhere in between just to witness this historical event: the opening of the ONLY Latino-Led Islamic Center in The U.S! Our goal with the Center was to design it in a way that would benefit not just the Muslim community -but society as a whole.

Our Centro Islamico provides a unique experience for anyone that walks through our doors. It includes a Museum that highlights the heritage of Muslim Spain (Andalusia), a Musallah (prayer area), where we stream the United States’ ONLY Spanish and English khutbah (sermon) weekly. We also have a social lounge area where many people have embraced Islam due to the open and welcoming environment and the ease of getting to know one another over a coffee or snack. 

Lastly but indeed not least, we have a state of the art production studio, Studio Andalusia, where we conduct high-level video production that is distributed worldwide to educate new Muslims, develop leaders, and film documentaries that can tell our story as Muslims in America. 

For 2020 in particular, this studio has enabled us to pivot amidst the worldwide pandemic and offer all 17 of our weekly programs and classes entirely online and reach an average of 1.2 million people each month. Even during this time of isolation where face to face communication has been reduced to solely online interactions, we’ve had more than 20 Latinos embrace Islam after simply connecting online with us to learn more. 

Now, we’re in our final phases of the IslamInSpanish Centro Islamico. We’ve engaged an architectural firm that is currently finalizing the last step of our Andalusian design and then moving forward on the documents needed to obtain the city permits to complete the buildout. We look forward to completing the final buildout in 2021 inshAllah (if God wills it), which is the year that will mark 20 years since IslamInSpanish was founded.

All of this would not be possible without the guidance and the mercy that comes with God’s grace, and with the sincere and generous support from the over 30,000 people worldwide who came together with us as partners to share in the infinite rewards of our efforts in this life and the hereafter.

JazakAllah Khair (may God reward you) for your continued support.

Want to help us continue to educate over 1.2 million people each month? Consider becoming a monthly sustainer of our services today: https://go.islaminspanish.org/virtualfundraiser 

Jazakum Allahu khairan for your support. Other forms of donating are listed below:

Launchgood.com/centro_islamico

PayPal click here: bit.ly/paycentro

Website: bit.ly/newcentro

Venmo mobile app: venmo.com/islaminspanish

Quickpay or Zelle payment to: admin@islaminspanish.org

Mail check payable to:

IslamInSpanish

12703 Brant Rock Dr. Houston,TX 77082

contact us at:

832-304-6554 - info@islaminspanish.org