Serving and Celebrating Diversity
Centro Islamico Not Just For Those Who “Habla Español”
A common misconception of the IslamInSpanish Centro Islamico is that it’s just for Spanish speaking Muslims or, even more inaccurate— “it’s the Latino mosque”. Nothing could be further from the truth.
While it may be true that the Centro Islamico is the only mosque in the United States that caters to Spanish speakers and focuses a great deal of investment in being an educational and social resource for Latinos worldwide, IslamInSpanish has long been involved with serving much more than one demographic.
Our staff has worked diligently for years connecting with and serving Muslims, non-Muslims, New Muslims, the youth and the elderly as well as other underserved communities from all different ethnicities, religions and backgrounds. And it only makes sense, given where we are located.
IslamInSpanish is headquartered right in the heart of Houston, Texas which has a 44% Latino population and was most recently crowned as the, “most diverse city in America” by a recent study conducted by personal finance website, Wallethub. IslamInSpanish has been well aware of these facts and has exerted great effort to not just celebrate our city's diversity, but to also serve the population the best we can.
Filling Multiple Voids
Aside from serving Latinos, IslamInSpanish Centro Islamico has filled voids for Muslim youth, women, converts and born Muslims who desire a fresh and welcoming environment that the traditional mosque has been unable to offer.
“During the Prophet’s (PBUH) time, the mosque wasn’t just a place to pray and go home.” said Isa Parada, IslamInSpanish’s resident Imam and educational director. “It was the town hall: people discussed community matters, learned crafts there, life skills—they even wrestled in the mosque for fun. It was a one stop shop. It was a place for spirituality and for everything else concerning the community. That’s what we hope to revive here at Centro Islamico.”
Visitors and guests immediately feel this the moment they walk into our doors and find smiling faces, greetings of salaam (peace) and a layout that makes them feel comfortable and at home. They notice the difference from traditional mosques when they see high-tech production equipment, a fascinating museum section, a lounge area and children’s space.
“I’ve attended mosques around Houston for years and years, and now I just go to Centro Islamico.” said one regular attendee who is a Pakistani American Muslim. “There’s just something about the atmosphere that makes me keep coming back.”
The programs and events that take place at Centro Islamico are all-inclusive, come-as-you-are gatherings where there is no judgment or awkwardness. The programs and happenings are as diverse as the people who attend. And this is exactly what drives these underserved segments of the community to visit the center and continue to return.
Room To Grow
With Centro Islamico moving to a newly bought, bigger, and permanent location, IslamInSpanish hopes to continue to develop into a hub where Houston’s diverse Muslim community and public at large can benefit and continue working together for the greater good of humanity.
“When IslamInSpanish was still in it’s growing phase at the Andalucia Center, we held film screenings, poetry slams, video game tournaments for the youth and so much more—all in effort to serve all of those segments that visit us.” said Jaime “Mujahid” Fletcher, IslamInSpanish Founder and CEO.
“In this new Centro Islamico building, we hope to do all that and much more, because that is what the people want—something more than a place of worship. The possibilities are endless.”
With your continued duas and support, Centro Islamico can make all those possibilities possible.
Make a Contribution
If you would like to support our efforts to re-open our center by helping us convert our newly purchased 2-Acre 10,000 square foot building into a world leading state of the art facility, please donate generously to our campaign at: