Imam César Dominguez: Faith, Theater, and Authenticity
Imam Cesár Dominguez: Faith, Theater, and Authenticity
In this episode of the American Muslim Podcast, hosted by Imam Tariq El-Amin and presented by Bayan On Demand, Imam César Dominguez shares his journey to Islam. He discusses his initial encounter with Islam during a visit to Egypt in 2004, his upbringing as a Catholic in Mexico, and the spiritual curiosity that led him to embrace Islam. Imam Cesar emphasizes the importance of maintaining cultural identity within the Islamic faith and speaks about his efforts in interfaith dialogue and community service. He also highlights the significance of discipline, both in his training as a stage actor and in his role as a religious leader. The episode underscores the valuable work of Bayan Islamic Graduate School and the Muhammad Ali Scholarship, and encourages listeners to join Bayan's growing community of learners.
00:00 Introduction to Bayan on Demand
01:03 Welcome to the American Muslim Podcast
01:17 Meet Imam Cesar Dominguez
02:37 Imam Cesar's Journey to Islam
09:26 Cultural and Religious Integration
15:47 The Role of Theater in Faith
19:05 Community Leadership and Service
37:09 Future Projects and Closing Remarks
Subscribe to Bayan on demand at https://shorturl.at/wlQl7
Donate to the Muhammad Ali Scholarship at https://pages.donately.com/bayan/campaign/2028-endowment-campaign/donate
Cover Art & Intro Music - Tariq I. El-Amin
Transcript
1 Imam Cesar
[:[00:00:22] ImamTariq: Bayan on Demand provides accessible knowledge for just 10 a month. Join our growing community of learners today and support the work of Bayan Islamic Graduate School and the Muhammad Ali Scholarship. Go to bayanonline. org, that's B A Y A N, online, dot org, to get more information.[00:01:00]
[:[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.
[:[00:01:42] Imam Cesár: rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. It is indeed an honor, a pleasure. And an excuse for a beautiful exchange of emotions.
[:[00:02:11] Tariq: Inshallah with God's permission
[:[00:02:13] Imam Cesár: Inshallah. That's what, what we are here for. Yes.
[:[00:02:35] Imam Cesár: certainly
[:[00:02:37] Tariq: With that, take us back, take us back, and tell us where did it all begin for Imam Cesar?
[:[00:02:50] Okay.
[:[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.
[:[00:04:01] Tariq: let me ask, what brought you to Egypt?
[:[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.
[:[00:05:09] Okay.
[:[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.
[:[00:06:01] 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.
[:[00:06:46] Tariq: Right.
[:[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.
[:[00:07:52] 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.
[:[00:08:25] 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.
[:[00:09:14] Imam Cesár: And if I ever take Shahada, it has to be in my country.
[:[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?
[:[00:10:01] I
[:[00:10:23] Tariq: Mm hmm.
[:[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
[:[00:10:56] Imam Cesár: embracing the faith.
[:[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?
[:[00:11:23] 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.
[:[00:11:45] Imam Cesár: Uh, I'm not getting the beauty of the message.
[:[00:12:13] Tariq: People outside of the fold of Islam who have not interacted with Muslims.
[:[00:12:37] Imam Cesár: Absolutely intentional. Absolutely 100 percent intentional.
[:[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] Imam Cesár: cannot change the color of my skin.
[:[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.
[:[00:15:00] 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.
[:[00:15:33] 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] Tariq: Please do share a bit of that.
[:[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.
[:[00:17:24] Tariq: because
[:[00:17:26] Tariq: Inshallah. But
[:[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?
[:[00:17:51] 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.
[:[00:19:01] Tariq: work is based in LA. Yes, yes, yes. Tell us a bit about that
[:[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.
[:[00:20:12] 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.
[:[00:20:43] Okay. And
[:[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.
[:[00:21:27] Imam Cesár: no, no. Yes, I was. I was from the very beginning. I was very clear, uh, not to transform myself so much.
[:[00:21:46] 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.
[:[00:22:43] 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.
[:[00:23:24] Imam Cesár: Mm hmm.
[:[00:23:31] Imam Cesár: The first thing that came to my mind is that
[:[00:23:46] Tariq: Mm hmm.
[:[00:23:58] Mm-hmm .
[:[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.
[:[00:25:36] 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.
[:[00:26:11] 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.
[:[00:26:56] Imam Cesár: I
[:[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.
[:[00:27:36] Tariq: Wow.
[:[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.
[:[00:28:40] 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.
[:[00:29:03] 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.
[:[00:29:27] Mm-hmm .
[:[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.
[:[00:30:54] 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
[:[00:32:02] 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.
[:[00:32:41] Tariq: And
[:[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?
[:[00:33:27] 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.
[:[00:34:07] Imam Cesár: Yeah, it has, I mean, this, this, this country, it's so diverse. It's yeah, that is a melting pot.
[:[00:34:32] Tariq: Hmm.
[:[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
[:[00:35:41] Imam Cesár: growing. It is growing, uh, at a slow pace.
[:[00:35:56] Tariq: what did I say? Budget, 25 people. [00:36:00]
[:[00:36:01] Tariq: knows everybody
[:[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.
[:[00:36:49] 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,
[:[00:37:07] Imam Cesár: Central America.
[:[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.
[:[00:37:46] Tariq: Okay. So you're actively working on that? Yes, yes, yes,
[:[00:37:49] Tariq: Okay. So it'll
[:[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.
[:[00:38:23] Tariq: Yeah. No, no, no.
[:[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.
[:[00:39:05] 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.
[:[00:39:32] 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
[:[00:39:53] Tariq: And if you like what you are hearing, share it. And if you're sharing it, you should be commenting. And if you're [00:40:00] commenting, we hope that you've given us a really nice rating. We want to leave by reminding you that you can support the work of Bayan Islamic Graduate School by going to bayanonline. org.
[:[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.
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