Episode 24

full
Published on:

26th Jun 2025

Wendy Diaz on Islam, Identity, and Inclusion

Wendy Diaz on Islam, Identity, and Inclusion

In this episode of the American Muslim Podcast, host Imam Tariq El-Amin speaks with Sister Wendy Diaz, a multifaceted writer, educator, and award-winning poet. Highlighting her journey from Puerto Rico to the United States, Sister Wendy shares impactful moments from her childhood that set her on a path of education and empowerment. They delve into the cultural intersections of language and religion, the growing influence of Latino Muslims in the U.S., and the challenges of xenophobia within the Muslim community. Sister Wendy also emphasizes the importance of children's literature and educational resources in Spanish, providing insights into her ongoing work to support and uplift Latino Muslim voices. This episode underscores the significance of inclusivity, representation, and continuous learning in fostering stronger communities.


00:00 Introduction to Bayan on Demand

01:01 Meet Our Guest: Sister Wendy Diaz

01:59 Wendy's Formative Years and Early Influences

06:34 The Impact of Language and Education

12:47 Cultural Identity and Racism Experiences

21:46 Challenges and Misconceptions in the Muslim Community

26:34 The Role of Writing and Poetry

31:11 Spanish Language Outreach and DAWA Work

34:01 Challenges in Nonprofit Work

36:30 Latino Muslims' Contributions and Growth

47:51 Parenting Insights and Reflections

54:05 The Importance of Islamic Literature

56:45 Leadership and Legacy

01:02:27 Final Thoughts and Ongoing Projects


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Cover Art & Intro Music - Tariq I. El-Amin @ImamTariqElamin

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Transcript
Imam Tariq:

Bayan on Demand offers a growing library of courses taught

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Go to baan online.org.

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to get more information.

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May the peace that only

God can give be upon you.

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I'm your host, Imam Tariq El-Amin, and

welcome to the American Muslim Podcast

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presented by Bayan on Demand Today.

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Our guest is Sister Wendy Diaz.

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She's a writer, educator, and

award-winning poet whose work empowers

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Latino Muslim families through

language, education and faith.

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She's the co-founder of Hablamos

Islam and a leading voice in

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Spanish language Islamic outreach.

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Welcome to the American

Muslim Podcast, my sister,

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Wendy Diaz: for having me.

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It's a pleasure to be here.

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Imam Tariq: I always put this out

before we get into conversation.

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We invite our guests to be

as open, as transparent, as

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vulnerable, as they are comfortable

being in sharing their stories.

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there's obviously great work or great

value in the work that you do, and we

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say that there's just as much, if not

even greater value in the journey that

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brought you to the work that you do.

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So that being said, can you take us

back to a formative moment, something

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that was, that you could look at that

was impactful, that kind of set you

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on the course that you're on today?

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Wendy Diaz: Absolutely.

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First and foremost

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was of age nine.

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I'm feeling blessed to be here.

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This is my 25th year as a Muslim.

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Mm.

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Something impactful.

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I was just at the icna Convention

this past weekend and I had a

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session, called Authors Corner where

we were talking about, becoming

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authors and what gotten, what has

gotten us into our writing journey.

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And one of my reflection was, was about

how I came to the US from Puerto Rico.

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Mm-hmm.

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A lot of people don't know that

my family is a military family.

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So my father was in the Army

and we ended up moving to the

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mainland, US from Puerto Rico.

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And I didn't know any English at the time.

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I was in, I was going into third grade, so

I was about maybe eight or nine years old.

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And, my first experience going

into a school, they, they threw

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me into a regular classroom.

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There wasn't any ESL and this was on a

military base, this elementary school.

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And it just so happens to be that,

at my teacher was Mexican American.

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And she was able to take me by

the hand and kind of show me step

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by step how to, speak in English.

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And one of the things I was telling the

audience is that my first experience

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trying to read English because the, the

teacher, she wanted me to sit in, in the

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regular reading circles with my classmates

and take on these, these reading lessons,

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even though I didn't know any English.

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So she would tell me to read, from a

textbook and I had no idea what I was

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doing because I didn't know the language.

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But she would just tell me read.

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And I, that first experience, I

told her I don't know how to read.

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And I was thinking, you know, this

whole scenario is very similar to.

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The, what we know of the first revelation

to the prophet Moham where he was

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told to read and he said, I can't.

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Right.

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I can't, I'm not a reader.

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I'm not a recit.

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And, and this is the same response

that I had for my teacher at the time.

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I don't know how to read,

but she told me, just do it.

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And and I'll correct you.

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So every single letter that I

would read in English, I was

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pronouncing it in Spanish.

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And then little by little, she

would correct every single one

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with so much patience until

I was able to read fluently.

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And this took only a matter of few weeks.

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And that's how with, with

children, they learn so quickly.

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And after I, I learned how to read,

she took me to the school library

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and she showed me a little shelf of,

of books and she said, I want you

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to read all the books on this shelf.

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And the impact of that, I mean,

it's still with me to this

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day because that was what I.

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What began for me this journey of reading

and what eventually became writing

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because I loved reading so much, because

of this gesture, that this teacher did.

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And so for me, I think Ed educators

have such an impact on children, and

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it, it set me on this course I think

that I am today because once I started

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reading and, and seeing, I started

off with, all kinds of, of books.

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Started off, with small chapter books,

you know, early chapter books, and then

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moved on and then I, I started getting

interested in all kinds of topics.

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Even as a young child, I started

reading Greek mythology and Roman

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mythology and just absorbing all of

this knowledge that I didn't have

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access to when I was in Puerto Rico.

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And then eventually, after a few years,

it's may have seemed like a long time for

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me at the time, but I mean, fast forward

to maybe six years later at the age of 15.

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I go into a book exchange

in Savannah, Georgia.

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By that time I was in another state,

and there was a book there that, that

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was calling my name on the table.

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It was the Autobiography of Malcolm X.

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Hmm.

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And and going from this military family,

my, my father was deployed to the Persian

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Gulf War, what they called Desert Storm.

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That was in the early nineties.

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Mm-hmm.

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And then, and then to be in that

environment and then to now be introduced

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to Islam through reading, after being

taught to read by, by this Mexican

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American teacher on a military army

base, it, it, it's just surreal how, how

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that changed the trajectory of my life.

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Imam Tariq: Mm.

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Mm-hmm.

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So you said it's been 25 years for you.

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Did language play, or what role

did language play in the way you.

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Perceived or engaged with,

with religion that has brought

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you to where you are today?

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Wendy Diaz: A great question.

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I, I start, I started off, as a Catholic.

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My family was a Catholic family,

so I was raised in this very

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traditional Catholic home.

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Went to Catholic school in Puerto

Rico, went to Sunday school, did

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the communion and confession

and all of the, those sacraments

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until up until I was a teenager.

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Mm-hmm.

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But then I eventually pulled away

from, from, the Catholic church

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after we moved around quite a bit in

the us and we didn't really find a

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community that we could resonate with.

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And language definitely played

a big role, and I think that I

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had at least a solid foundation.

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And of course, you know, we, we know

that the creator has, has, I created all

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these languages and, and cultures that

we can, get to know and, and learn about.

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And, and I think that coming from

the Spanish language and this very

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Catholic background opened up, I think

new doors for me to really explore.

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Okay, now that I'm here in the us now

that I'm speaking English, now, I, I have

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an, an another world that's opened up to

me, that perhaps I wouldn't have been,

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introduced to while I was in Puerto Rico.

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And so I think that definitely be becoming

bilingual, opened up that other door.

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And then of course now with the Arabic

language, you, you have, you know,

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even more doors opening as a Muslim.

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Because of course once you become a

Muslim, then you start to, to learn the

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Arabic language and then you start to see

some connections, especially with Spanish.

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Yes.

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A lot of people don't know how much

an influence the Arabic language

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has on the Spanish language.

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So many words.

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And it was amazing to me when I started to

practice Islam and, hang out with Muslim

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friends, especially those that came from

Arab country, miss Egyptians especially.

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The family that introduced me to

Islam was Egyptian, and I would hear

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them speak and there was a certain

familiarity that I couldn't really

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understand that the time I was like, why

does this language sound so familiar?

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Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

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And

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Wendy Diaz: it is like

it spoke to my heart.

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And then the more I learned about the

background, the linguistic background

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of Spanish and what the influences

were and the Muslim's presence

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in, in Spain, in southern Spain,

andous, and also in West Africa.

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And all of, and Puerto Rico being

one of the first places that

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was colonized by Spain, right?

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So this introduction of, of all

of these Islamic influences in the

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language has really had an impact on

me, and I'm still discovering gems.

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That are just amazing, in the

language, just in the language itself.

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Imam Tariq: Yeah.

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There is this definite

beautiful diversity.

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It's not always recognized in, in

my opinion, When you talk about the

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difference of language and how language

is attached to culture and and how

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we get this wonderful opportunity as

Muslims to bring those things together,

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what are some of the things that

you find yourself seeing as distinct

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points of your own cultural, offering

into into diverse Muslim spaces?

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Wendy Diaz: I think but coming back to

that language, it's not, and it's not just

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the vocabulary and the language structure,

the grammar and things that, that are

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impactful, but also some of the sayings.

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And some of the traditions

that have been passed down.

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And I think that's where people

like me can come into the Muslim

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community and and, and, and be a

bridge between cultures, right?

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Because we don't see as many Latinos

in the, in the Muslim community,

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even though it's a growing it's

a growing demographic for sure.

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Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

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But

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Wendy Diaz: I think we kind of camouflage

ourselves and we, we kind of just

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integrate into the communities, but we

still need more education in Islamic

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spaces on, on what it means to be a

Latino and what, how much of an influence

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Islam really has on our culture.

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And like, I'll give you an example.

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One of the things I, I learned

just maybe a year ago I was

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watching a, a video about Aldo.

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And Aldo is the Spanish language used

to be written with Arabic characters

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by some of the, the Muslims in Spain.

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Especially after during the, the time

of the Inquisition and things like that,

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they were, trying to hide messages in

the Arabic script, so they would be

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actually, writing Spanish in Arabic.

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And so Ello is this, is this whole, it's

almost like another language really.

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I mean, it's Spanish, but

written with Arabic text.

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And so there was a professor

who's from Puerto Rico, who is not

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Muslim, but she specializes Indo.

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And she was explaining to it on explaining

about it in this Puerto Rican talk show.

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And she said a phrase that just

clicked with me automatically.

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She said that the way that we read Aldo is

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s literally means the opposite

way of the Christians.

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And that is a, it's a very common

phrase to use in Puerto Rico when you're

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talking about something that's backwards.

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Like if you just put on your shirt

backwards, someone's gonna tell you, oh,

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you put your shirt on in a backwards way.

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And and then it clicked.

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I said, the reason why we say that

is because what's anos would mean

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Arabic is, is red from right to

left rather than from left to right.

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And so that's where that came from.

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And I've been hearing that

phrase my whole life and I never

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understood, okay, why do we say that?

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And so it was just amazing to me.

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And automatically, I mean, I immediately,

I made a video about it and I posted it

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on my social media because it's like,

wow, I want everyone to know this.

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Because no one would, would ever

even think, stop to think about it.

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Right.

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We have idioms and things that we

say every day, but we don't stop

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and think, where did this come from?

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Right,

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right.

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So that's it.

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Imam Tariq: That's it's incredible.

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Yeah.

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That, that's fascinating.

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Alro.

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That's what it's called.

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El Alro.

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Yes.

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Okay.

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Ro.

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Alright.

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Alright.

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Ham.

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You know, I had the my family, we

visited, Puerto Rico, some years ago.

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And my, my daughters were still young.

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And one of the things that I noticed

was from a, how we are very much

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conditioned in the west to see ourselves

along phenotypical lines, right?

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If you are dark, you're black.

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If you're light, you're, you know,

you, you're considered white, right?

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And from the African American

experience, we are in all colors.

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And when I went to Puerto Rico.

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I saw families that looked like

very much like my own family.

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'cause I have, my mother is, very light,

maybe about, about your complexion.

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And my father's, a little bit

lighter than me, you know, so

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he is kind of a darker brown.

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And I saw families that you just

saw this kind of a, rainbow, right?

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You know, this wonderful representation.

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And I bring that up because when

you talk about being a bridge,

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how you all, how you feel, as a

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Latino,

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, Imam Tariq: Muslim, but do you see

this kind of a sensitivity or maybe an

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awareness that supersedes some of the,

the boundaries, these enforced kind

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of lines that we have on us in society

here that you feel kind of aware of?

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Or what do you, what are

your thoughts about that?

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Wendy Diaz: Alah?

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you know, I've said this before, but

I really have to stop and think about

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it, but I, I've told, before that I

didn't experience racism until I moved

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to the us, but I'll tell you, I did

notice that there was colorism, but not

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in the way that it's, that it is here.

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And, and I, and it's, and I'll tell

you how, over there in Puerto Rico,

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you do have some, internalized.

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Racism, internalized colonialism, right?

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Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

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Wendy Diaz: That, that mindset,

because over there, there was a caste

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system during colonial times, right?

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You, the European, the European

born Spanish people were on the

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top of the hierarchy, right?

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But then you had Europe, you had Spanish

people that were born in Puerto Rico,

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and so they were of a lower status.

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Mm-hmm.

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And then you had the Spanish people

that, that mixed with indigenous, and

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then they were a little bit lower.

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And so there, there was this system,

and of course, at the bottom you

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had the enslaved Africans, darker

complexions, or the ones that, that

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were mixed with indigenous and so on.

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Yes.

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That.

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So we have remnants of that.

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And so you, you'll have phrases

like, you know, we say some, some

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of my, my family would say something

like, even though those that are

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darker in complexion, they'll talk

about Malo and El Malo is bad hair.

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Imam Tariq: Bad hair,

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Wendy Diaz: and meaning

coarse or coily hair.

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Versus el,

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which is the, the straight hair.

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Mm-hmm.

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So you, you do have things like that

that you, you hear about growing

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up, but then here in the US it's

a different type of, of racism.

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it's a, it's, and it, it goes

against any type of of color

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whatsoever over there in Puerto Rico.

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Everybody's Puerto Rican,

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Imam Tariq: right?

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Wendy Diaz: And we have, we have

poets and singers and artists that

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have, brought to light the fact

that all of us are Puerto Rican,

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all of us are from the same culture.

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And there's this famous and I,

i'm gonna forget the name right

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there, right now at the moment.

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But there's a, a poet who, who

talked about this in this famous

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poem where he says it, it's called,

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and it's called, it Means,

and Where's Your Grandma at?

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And the whole, the, the whole point

of his poem, he talks about you

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hide away your grandmother in the

kitchen so that people don't see

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because you, you present as white.

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But you know, let me ask you

like, where's your grandma at?

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Imam Tariq: Wow.

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Wendy Diaz: Because we, because his

grandmother is a black woman, right?

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And so in Puerto Rico you have

that, you have that mixture.

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My father's side of the family, it, it,

they, they are darker complexion, right?

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Mm-hmm.

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And they have more co hair.

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My mother's side of the

family, my grandfather came

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from, culturally Italian, but.

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Under the, under French rule at the time.

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So he came from Corsica

there, he had green eyes.

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Right.

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He had light brown hair.

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So my mother's side of the

family is lighter complexion.

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My grandmother's ancestry is from Spain.

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So you have these mixtures and

I'm, I, I would say that I'm a,

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I'm an average Puerto Rican, right?

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Because we, we pull from all cultures

and the DNA test will tell you that

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we're a third African, a third European,

and a third indigenous, pretty much.

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And then we have a lot of

North African mixed into that.

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And West yeah, north and West African.

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But then you come here to the US

and I'm gonna tell you something

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that happened to me, with my father.

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As a matter of fact, my father

is a little bit darker than I am.

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We went, we were living

in Georgia at the time.

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And at that time before I converted to

Islam, I was looking for a church because

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we had just moved to this new area and

we were driving home and I saw that there

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were two churches on this, this main

road, getting to get to our, our house.

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There were two churches side by side.

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One of them was very old and

kind of broken down, and then

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the other one looked newer.

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And so in my mind I thought, maybe

this is the same church, because

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they're literally side by side,

a parking lot in between them.

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And I said, maybe this is the new church.

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And then this is the older

church that they probably, they

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probably built this newer one.

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So I told my dad, maybe we

can come here on a Sunday.

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And so my father took me to this church.

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So we went together, just he and

I, and we said, we're gonna go

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into the newer building because

obviously this is probably the one

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that, that everyone's going to.

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And we happened to walk in and

there was already a service going

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on, on, on this Sunday morning.

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We walk into this church.

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And there's a sea of white faces.

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They all turn around to look at us.

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And a man gets up and he quickly

comes to us and we're thinking, okay,

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he's gonna help us go and sit down.

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And instead he said, if you're looking

for the black church, it's over there.

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And he pointed to the church across

the parking lot and immediately, I

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mean, we just stumbled out of it.

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He walked us out and kicked us out

of church in the middle of a service.

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Wow.

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And that was one of the worst experiences

with racism that I ever had in my life.

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And I, I wrote about this experience

and, and in an article that it's

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titled how Racism, led me away from

Christianity because after that incident,

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I never went back to a church again.

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And I'm not saying that the reason why

I left Christianity was because of that.

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But I had, I was already on my way

out and that just kind of was the,

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it just was the nail, the what, the

last nail on the coffin they say.

358

:

Mm-hmm.

359

:

But it was, it was incredible.

360

:

I'd never experienced anything like that.

361

:

And in Puerto Rico, like I

said, everyone is Puerto Rican.

362

:

Even when I go to Puerto Rico with

my hijab on, I'm still just a Puerto

363

:

Rican with a scarf on my head, and

I'll go with my family and we feel

364

:

better walking the streets there.

365

:

And we don't feel that, that Islamophobia,

that we feel here immediately.

366

:

When we, when the last time we went to

Puerto Rico, we came back as soon as

367

:

we landed, we had a layover in Atlanta.

368

:

As soon as we got into that

airport and walked out, we could

369

:

feel the tension in the air.

370

:

The way that people perceive us

here, the way that people look at

371

:

you, it's just completely different.

372

:

And like I said, is there

anti-blackness in, in, in Latin America?

373

:

Absolutely.

374

:

In Puerto Rico, in the

Caribbean, not as much.

375

:

I would say not as much because

we have more of a mixture.

376

:

But at the same time, the racism

that exists there and here, it's just

377

:

a totally different beast SA law.

378

:

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

379

:

Yeah.

380

:

This is this is top notch racism in the us

381

:

Wendy Diaz: Yeah.

382

:

It's just another breed of it.

383

:

Imam Tariq: it is.

384

:

How has, well, before I go into

that question, let me ask this.

385

:

As you said, when you go back

to Puerto Rico, you're just a,

386

:

a Puerto Rican with a hijab one.

387

:

But here with a demographic that

is growing very quickly, right.

388

:

Spanish speaking Muslims,

how do you feel your.

389

:

How do you feel you are perceived?

390

:

Are you perceived as, oh,

this is a Puerto Rican Muslim?

391

:

Because of these phini phenotypical

lines, you know, we are looking at

392

:

folks and we're always looking to try

to put somebody in a particular box.

393

:

Are people putting you in the wrong box?

394

:

Wendy Diaz: Yes.

395

:

Unfortunately, a lot of people in the,

in the Muslim community themselves,

396

:

especially I would say maybe from

immigrant backgrounds, they're not

397

:

familiar with people from other

countries, especially in Latin America.

398

:

So automatically people associate anyone

who's Latin American with Mexican.

399

:

So if you're from Latin

America, then you are Mexican.

400

:

That's it.

401

:

We've gotten that a lot.

402

:

My family and I, my husband

is from Ecuador, south

403

:

America, and he gets it a lot.

404

:

There was an incident in Ajid

where there was a sheikh that came

405

:

and he was giving a talk and he

cracked a joke about Mexican people.

406

:

And then one of the brothers that

was sitting in the audience close

407

:

to my husband gets up and said,

we've got a Mexican right here.

408

:

And it was so ignorant.

409

:

Wow.

410

:

But it was one of those things that just

happens at the moment and you just kind of

411

:

look and you can't do anything about it.

412

:

And just the moment just passes

and you're just left there in,

413

:

complete disbelief and speechless.

414

:

So those are the type of

the, of things that happen.

415

:

I had one brother argue with me

because he asked me where I'm from

416

:

and I said, I'm from Puerto Rico.

417

:

And he said, Portugal?

418

:

And I said, no, Puerto Rico.

419

:

And he said, yes, Portugal.

420

:

And I mean, I left that conversation

as yes, I am from Portugal.

421

:

So, so you have that you know,

that, that ignorance about different

422

:

countries and cultures, even within

our own co countries, in, in, in

423

:

Latin America, there are different

cultures within the country itself.

424

:

And, and not everyone in Latin

America is Spanish speaking.

425

:

We have indigenous languages, we

have Portuguese, we have even English

426

:

in Belize and things like that.

427

:

So There's a lot of things

that people just don't know.

428

:

And I feel like, well, that's okay.

429

:

Us here to get to know one another.

430

:

Imam Tariq: That's right.

431

:

Wendy Diaz: And, but it's, but we have

to be willing to listen and we have to be

432

:

willing to let that information come in.

433

:

And we also have to be willing to

understand that, that, that all of us

434

:

are worthy of learning about Islam and

being Muslim no matter where we're from,

435

:

because we, unfortunately, we've gotten

that as well, that people think if, oh,

436

:

you're Puerto Rican, you can't be Muslim.

437

:

I've had people tell me that, and, you

know, or they'll tell my children when

438

:

they were in Islamic school, some of

them, their, their friends would make

439

:

fun of them and say, oh, you know, bring

tacos for, you know, multicultural day.

440

:

And my children are

like, we don't eat tacos.

441

:

We're from Puerto Rico and Ecuador.

442

:

We don't eat tacos, but people just

don't put two and two together.

443

:

Even the teachers would, would

make statements like that.

444

:

I think we all need to be willing to, to

really just, try and, and learn from each

445

:

other and open up spaces, safe spaces so

that we can all have these conversations.

446

:

Imam Tariq: Your experience you mentioned

this as a formative experience for you

447

:

as a child, learning to read the English,

the pronunciation of the English letters.

448

:

And do you feel that you've taken

some of that, that experience with

449

:

you or the, the patience, right?

450

:

The investment that's,

that is required, To teach.

451

:

Have you taken that with you even.

452

:

Like, I know you've written

for children, right?

453

:

But do you sort of also kind of take

that same view in dealing with adults

454

:

because, you know, we're all just

big children in, in, in some ways.

455

:

But has that shaped the way

that you engage or you teach?

456

:

Wendy Diaz: Absolutely.

457

:

So one of the things, we were

talking about language before

458

:

I did become a Spanish teacher.

459

:

I, from, you know, I went to, when I

went to undergrad, that's my major was

460

:

in, modern languages and linguistics

focused on Spanish language and education.

461

:

And so after I finished my

undergrad, I, I went into teaching

462

:

Spanish at a public school.

463

:

So language teaching languages to

me has, has been very important.

464

:

And my, my philosophy is for

second language acquisition,

465

:

reading rhyme and repetition.

466

:

Because I learned that from a young

age reading rhyme and repetition.

467

:

And to me, that's why I find the Koran

so fascinating because it contains those

468

:

elements of repetition, of rhyme, right?

469

:

and we're encouraged to read it over

and, and you still find gems, right?

470

:

And even in your recitation.

471

:

So definitely it has influenced the

way that I approach people and the

472

:

way that that I, that I teach others.

473

:

And speaking of repetition, I feel like

sometimes I feel like people get tired of

474

:

me because I'm always talking about these

same issues about Latino Muslims and you

475

:

know, I'm just like driving these points

home and people, yeah, they must be tired.

476

:

They're like, sister Wendy's always

talking about this, but somebody has to.

477

:

Somebody has to.

478

:

And yes, I'm going to continue to repeat

it, and I'm gonna continue even to rhyme

479

:

it because I've written poetry about it.

480

:

And I hope that, you know, s something

that I say can just get embedded in, into

481

:

some minds and open some minds out there.

482

:

Imam Tariq: How do you choose the medium?

483

:

How do you choose whether or not

you are going to, I guess, write

484

:

to a, write to a particular point?

485

:

If you're going to, approach

it through poetry what is

486

:

the, what is the process like?

487

:

Is that conscious or is that just

you, you just make yourself open to

488

:

let out whatever Allah has for you?

489

:

Wendy Diaz: Without sounding my,

my teenagers would say cringe.

490

:

it chooses you, right?

491

:

Okay.

492

:

It chooses you because when it comes to

writing it, it really is an art form.

493

:

And sometimes it's just

born of inspiration.

494

:

So whenever I have written

poetry, it can't be forced.

495

:

I was talking about this too in this

author session at, at the icna convention.

496

:

It can't be forced you, if you, there

were people in the audience that want to

497

:

become authors or they're aspiring authors

or they're already, you know, writing.

498

:

And I told 'em, if writing is

not your thing, don't force it.

499

:

You don't have to become a writer.

500

:

But El Ada gives us different

talents to use for his cause, right?

501

:

And so I think with writing,

I find it therapeutic.

502

:

The way that I approach writing is I

write for a parenting newsletter for sound

503

:

vision, and that's a weekly endeavor.

504

:

So every week I'm writing at

least one article or every two

505

:

weeks an article about parenting,

from an Islamic perspective.

506

:

And so that keeps me busy writing,

and I feel like I, I love to do

507

:

that because I, I'm writing from

my experiences, I'm taking what I

508

:

know and then also researching and

coming up with something that I find.

509

:

That I think might be useful

to other parents out there.

510

:

But then when it comes to poetry,

sometimes it's just an experience,

511

:

it's a question, it's something that

happens during the day that just makes

512

:

me want to write it down and, and, and

put some words and feelings into it.

513

:

But it doesn't always happen.

514

:

And I'll tell you an example I

had, there was a call for poets

515

:

to put something together about

the situation that's happening,

516

:

as we know in Palestine and caa.

517

:

And, so that someone contacted me and

said, can you write something about this?

518

:

And I sat with it for a long time and

I did write two pieces, but I felt

519

:

like I, I couldn't even put into words

because it's, the pain is just so raw.

520

:

the thing, the emotions are so raw

that everything that's happening,

521

:

it was, it's just how do I even.

522

:

Describe any of this into words,

how, how do I put this into words?

523

:

How do I describe it?

524

:

And it was really difficult.

525

:

So I think no one can really tell

you how to or when to write poetry.

526

:

I think it's something that just comes.

527

:

But other things like children's

books and things like that, those

528

:

come out of necessity for me.

529

:

I feel like if there's something

that's missing on a bookshelf, then

530

:

this is my job to put it there.

531

:

Especially when it comes to representation

of LA Latinos in Islamic literature,

532

:

or representation of Latino Muslims

in just mainstream literature.

533

:

I wanna try to, to fill that gap

because we know that there aren't.

534

:

Many right characters, and especially

coming from own voices, we say own voices,

535

:

literature, meaning that I, myself, as

a Latina, Muslim, I'm going to write

536

:

about the experiences of Latino Muslims,

but I don't want someone else that, that

537

:

has no clue about my background or about

the background of, of the other Latino

538

:

Muslims around me to be writing us and

into their story and just ticking off a

539

:

diversity box because that happens, right?

540

:

Or you'll have someone writing in,

you know, just they wanna just put

541

:

an African American person on the

illustration or on the cover, or as

542

:

a main character, just because they

feel that that's what people want.

543

:

No, this is should be

coming from here, right?

544

:

From your heart.

545

:

It should be something that you

feel, that you experience, that you

546

:

know, so that you can be authentic.

547

:

It's important to be authentic

in your writing and in your art.

548

:

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

549

:

Yeah.

550

:

And, and I think that really speaks

to the, the marketplace of content

551

:

creation, and people thinking that, okay,

I can, I'll put some of this in there.

552

:

I'll, I'll talk about these

particular, this particular group,

553

:

and I'll get some hits for this.

554

:

But it's not content with conscience.

555

:

or with sincerity to, to be, you

know, to be pretty blunt about it.

556

:

The work that you do, with as a

Spanish content, was a Spanish

557

:

content coordinator for icna.

558

:

How has that work informed your

how has it informed your, or

559

:

added to your understanding of

the Latino, Muslim, presence?

560

:

Here in the United States,

of America, well and beyond.

561

:

And you know, I know we're talking

about North America, right?

562

:

But how, how was, how was it,

how is it, contributed to that?

563

:

Wendy Diaz: Y some and icna, they

do, they've been doing so much work.

564

:

They, sometimes it goes unnoticed.

565

:

But for example, I started

volunteering for them in:

566

:

I had just gotten married and moved from

Maryland to New Jersey and their main

567

:

headquarters are, is, is in New Jersey.

568

:

And so they were doing these these

information booths, these setting

569

:

up these DA tables, outreach tables,

information tables in different locations,

570

:

especially in the malls, up in New Jersey.

571

:

And they needed people who spoke Spanish.

572

:

And by that time, I've been

Muslim, what, five years.

573

:

and I understood the need for that

because even here in Maryland, I was

574

:

doing that because once you, you become

Muslim, the first people that wanna know.

575

:

And want information is your family

members and my family members being

576

:

mostly back home and not speaking English.

577

:

So you, you start

scrambling for resources.

578

:

And so what did I find?

579

:

You find the Y Ssam has all of these

brochures and things in Spanish.

580

:

They have Spanish koans that they

give away for free for anyone

581

:

that's looking for information.

582

:

And so when we moved to New Jersey, they

were having these, these information booth

583

:

and they said, we need people who speak

Spanish because when we're here setting

584

:

up in this mall, we have these Spanish

speaking people that will come to the

585

:

table and they're looking for answers.

586

:

So they need somebody

that speaks the language.

587

:

And so I, I've been with them

since and that's 20 years.

588

:

And I've I've tried to walk away from,

but you can't walk away from da work.

589

:

You cannot walk away from it because

it's something that, that all of

590

:

us are passionate about because

we understand how important it is.

591

:

I have, I'm still from my side

of the family, not speaking on my

592

:

husband's side, but on my side of the

family, I'm still the only Muslim.

593

:

My, my parents are not Muslim.

594

:

My, my only brother that

I have is not Muslim.

595

:

My niece and nephew are not Muslim, you

know, and all my cousins and my aunts and

596

:

uncles re I've met, I have a couple of

cousins that, that converted to a Simon.

597

:

That's wonderful.

598

:

And they're, but they're distant cousins.

599

:

I'm talking about

immediate family members.

600

:

And so the importance of that work, the

importance of, of continuing on and,

601

:

and to have that content available.

602

:

And how far we've come.

603

:

If you think back about, 20 years ago

until now, how much more we have in

604

:

terms of, of educational materials, in

terms of Spanish language literature.

605

:

But there's still a lack of it.

606

:

There is still a lack, so

there's a lot of work to do.

607

:

So that's one of those things you have to

just continue doing it until, you know,

608

:

we, we breathe our last breath in Shaah

609

:

Imam Tariq: Shaah.

610

:

So would you say that that represents

one of the bigger challenges that

611

:

the amount of work that needs to be

done and the amount and the number of

612

:

people that are able to engage in it?

613

:

Wendy Diaz: Absolutely.

614

:

There aren't even in the us we have

a lot of Spanish speaking people.

615

:

And some also, some Latin Americans do

not speak Spanish, but they also need

616

:

information that resonates with them.

617

:

So you'll find that even though they

don't speak Spanish, they still want

618

:

to hear about Islam from another Latino

because we share that same background

619

:

and we can present the information in

a certain way, and then we can also

620

:

reach their family in different ways.

621

:

Right?

622

:

We know what it's like to grow

up, in a, in a Latino family.

623

:

We know what, what their parents are

thinking and their, you know, their family

624

:

members are thinking and the things that

they may be going through that someone

625

:

else may not be able to understand,

especially from the immigrant community.

626

:

so we're able to work with

them more in that sense.

627

:

And then as far as work to be done

and what are the obstacles always

628

:

the same with nonprofit work.

629

:

It's the funding, right?

630

:

And the lack of manpower

because you don't have funding.

631

:

And because people are, are working

and because there is a recession and

632

:

because, people have to, to kind of.

633

:

They have limited time to be able

to dedicate to this, but the people

634

:

who are doing the work, they are

completely dedicated and they are

635

:

putting in time, that sometimes

they don't even have, right?

636

:

Because they are working regular jobs

and then they're coming back after

637

:

work and putting in time for this.

638

:

So it's, it is incredible the

things that go on behind the scenes.

639

:

And that's why I say Wise Islam and,

and Igna, has been doing amazing work.

640

:

There are other organizations and

including Latino organizations all

641

:

around the US more than two dozen that

I can count, that are doing work in

642

:

their communities and that deserve that

recognition and the resources as well.

643

:

Imam Tariq: Yeah, that feels like a,

a constant refrain from folks that are

644

:

doing work in community, that is volunteer

based particularly that's volunteer based,

645

:

Concerns about sustainability, concerns

about, the spirit matching the need.

646

:

may I make it easy, for all of us?

647

:

Yes.

648

:

Yes.

649

:

Absolutely.

650

:

Yeah.

651

:

I'm in the same boat.

652

:

So when it comes to, I, I

wanna lift up from the bayan.

653

:

Recently they had you I didn't mention

this in the opening, but congratulations

654

:

again, completing the Master of Islamic

Studies at Bayan Islamic Graduate School.

655

:

And we got an opportunity to listen

to, to some of the graduates.

656

:

And you were one of the graduates that

came up and shared a few words with us.

657

:

And I wish I had that audio.

658

:

'cause I would just, that would be a great

little soundbite just to throw out there.

659

:

But, but.

660

:

But, but you said it and I felt this,

it resonated with me in that, and I

661

:

think maybe in a different way than

it may have resonated with others.

662

:

Well, I can't speak on how it

resonated with anybody else, but

663

:

you said we are coming for you.

664

:

Talk about the Latino, Latino

Muslims we're coming for you.

665

:

Talk about, tell us,

unpack that a bit for us.

666

:

Yeah,

667

:

Wendy Diaz: so I've been, I've been

doing, research, first of all, thank you.

668

:

Thank you so much.

669

:

I appreciate that.

670

:

I've been doing research on the Latino

community for many years, but especially

671

:

part of my research while I was at Bayn,

was on Latino Muslims from, gen X and

672

:

the early millennial Muslims because

I was tired of seeing news articles

673

:

and, and, and even academic literature

focusing on only the phenomenon of.

674

:

New conversions to Islam and what

drives Latinos to convert to Islam.

675

:

Like why would they ever wanna convert

to Islam, being that they're already

676

:

a minority, so why would they wanna

be a minority within a minority?

677

:

Within a minority?

678

:

So it gets old because you keep on

seeing these same news articles.

679

:

So I wanted to really, focus more on

what are the contributions that Latino

680

:

Muslims have made in the past 20 to

30 years that they've been practicing

681

:

Islam And just from Gen X and early

millennial, I'm not even talking about

682

:

baby boomer, Latino Muslims that exist and

their children and their grandchildren.

683

:

Right.

684

:

Because I had to kind of narrow

it, narrow my study down.

685

:

And so I found, that in, in my research

that first of all, I think it's one

686

:

out of five American Muslims is.

687

:

Was not raised Muslim.

688

:

So one out of five American Muslims had

to choose Islam at some point in their

689

:

life, they had to convert to Islam or

they had to begin practicing Islam.

690

:

and also the fact that in 20, yeah,

this figure in:

691

:

that nine, what was it, 12% of American

Muslims identified as Arab, while

692

:

9% identified as Hispanic or Latino.

693

:

And I just found that so fascinating.

694

:

And there was a pie, a pie graph to go

with that statistic and you could see

695

:

the two, the two pieces of this pie.

696

:

And there were so close.

697

:

And that's why I said, we're coming

for you because Latino muslims

698

:

are growing and and there is no,

that growth is not slowing down.

699

:

This has been happening

since the nineties.

700

:

Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

701

:

Wendy Diaz: Right.

702

:

And especially after September 11th.

703

:

Yeah.

704

:

That, that number has,

has grown exponentially.

705

:

And so the reason why I said that

is because what are we doing in our

706

:

communities to make space for Latinos,

to have them sit at our tables, to have

707

:

them be part of the decision making

process so that we offer resources to

708

:

their neighbors and their families, right?

709

:

Mm-hmm.

710

:

When someone converts to Islam,

it's not just one individual.

711

:

You have that whole individual's family

that is now going to have some type of

712

:

contact with the Muslim community, right?

713

:

Right.

714

:

Imam Tariq: That

715

:

Wendy Diaz: that individual

may have children, right?

716

:

And those children, what are

we doing to help transition

717

:

them into Muslim spaces, right?

718

:

Mm-hmm.

719

:

How are we making these spaces welcoming?

720

:

And, and I think that's something that

we really, the Muslim in, in, in the

721

:

US really need to be thinking about.

722

:

Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

723

:

Wendy Diaz: Right?

724

:

Imam Tariq: Do you see a replication

of the, the, there's a formula for the

725

:

acquisition of power or influence in

society, and whether that be through,

726

:

organizations, corporations there's a

particular hierarchy that often exists.

727

:

And some might say that we also

see that modeled within the Muslim

728

:

communities because, you know,

we're, we're not monolithic.

729

:

And that making space is a for others,

Jeopardizes the idea or, you know,

730

:

the, the power that, or influence

that some might feel that they have.

731

:

Do you feel that there's

any validity to that?

732

:

Wendy Diaz: I mean definitely

I understand what you're saying

733

:

and it, it is completely true and

realistic to think that there is

734

:

a, a power dynamics at play there.

735

:

But one another, going back to that

statement of we're coming for you.

736

:

I've had, I've known of families that

their children and my children were in

737

:

the same Islamic school and, you know, way

back when, and now my, my oldest is 18 and

738

:

their oldest is, they're also at that age.

739

:

And some of them, although they were

coming from immigrant families or second

740

:

gen, second generation or something

from the subcontinent for instance,

741

:

or they were Arab families that,

that perhaps in that, a few years ago

742

:

would've said, oh yeah, our children are

going to marry, you know, their cousin

743

:

back home, or they're going to stay,

you know, within this, this circle.

744

:

They've married, Latino Muslims, right?

745

:

So I've known of several several, you

know, Pakistani Indian, Arab Muslims who

746

:

are now married, to Latinos or Latinas,

and that's gonna continue to happen.

747

:

So even if there are those power dynamics

where, where, okay, we have this Bengali

748

:

Maji and we don't, you know, and our

board is consists of Bengalis only, and

749

:

if we bring a Latino into this, it's gonna

just throw off our power dynamic here.

750

:

But eventually we're going to have

to do this because you're, you're

751

:

now, your families are marrying,

intermarrying with, with this group.

752

:

And more and more we're,

we're going into your spaces.

753

:

So eventually you just

have to give in, right?

754

:

You, what is it?

755

:

You either, how does that go?

756

:

If you can't, you can't fight 'em.

757

:

You join, what is it?

758

:

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

759

:

You can't, can't beat 'em.

760

:

Join them,

761

:

Wendy Diaz: can't beat 'em.

762

:

Join them, right?

763

:

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

764

:

Wendy Diaz: So, yeah, you have to, you

have to make space eventually, or else

765

:

you're gonna get kicked out of your space.

766

:

So it's either you make space

or you're gonna lose your place.

767

:

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

768

:

Yeah.

769

:

There's that

770

:

Wendy Diaz: rhyme again.

771

:

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

772

:

It's helpful.

773

:

It's helpful.

774

:

You know, I just, I often, and I have

to, I have to bounce these things off

775

:

of the pe other people to make sure

that I'm not just, I don't know, being

776

:

myopic or, you know, I have not, I'm

not in a moment where I, I'm jaded and

777

:

I need to pause for a second, but I

often see the same kind of dynamics and

778

:

struggles that are going on in larger

society American society, playing out

779

:

within our Muslim communities, right?

780

:

So we see this pushback

against, non-white.

781

:

Folk.

782

:

And our, the policies, you know, the,

the deportations, the, attack, DEI,

783

:

and just this idea of we wanna make

sure that we keep ourselves, in power,

784

:

in, in a, in a position of authority.

785

:

We don't want to be challenged.

786

:

We, we are absolutely against the

browning of America, which has been

787

:

forecasted and likewise as, as black

and brown, demographics continue to,

788

:

to grow, particularly those indigenous

to, you know, within the states.

789

:

And like how, how do we respond to that?

790

:

Do we lose sight of the, the larger

mission that should be driving us, right?

791

:

Which is not about what's, you know,

what profits me as an individual,

792

:

but what profits, humanity, and yeah.

793

:

So I, I see.

794

:

I see us as a kind of a microcosm often

of what's going on in the larger society.

795

:

Wendy Diaz: Absolutely.

796

:

And I've seen it's unfortunate that I've

seen some of the rhetoric that you hear

797

:

in the news and you hear from certain

politicians, being echoed in our spaces.

798

:

for example, there was an incident, and

a very unfortunate incident with that

799

:

had to do with an immigrant I believe

it was a Salvadorian man, in Virginia

800

:

who attacked and killed a Muslim.

801

:

Yeah.

802

:

Yes.

803

:

You remember that, right?

804

:

Mm-hmm.

805

:

And, and it was, it was a

despicable crime that happened.

806

:

But then what I saw as well is that

people began to attack, and I'm

807

:

talking about Muslims in forums online

and things began to attack all La

808

:

Latinos and Hispanics and saying,

and echoing that same rhetoric like.

809

:

These immigrants are criminals.

810

:

They're coming from the border and

they're, and this is what they do.

811

:

Some of the same, even the same words

that, that the current president has used.

812

:

Like, they're, they're rapists, they're

criminals, they're gang members,

813

:

and so on, and just generalizing.

814

:

And, and it was unfortunate to see that,

because of this incident that occurred.

815

:

And it just happened to be that

this person was a hi, a Latino

816

:

person that committed this crime.

817

:

But we can't, we can't be guilty

of the same things that we are.

818

:

We are accusing others

of being towards us.

819

:

We don't want people

to ha be Islamophobic.

820

:

So we in turn cannot be xenophobic.

821

:

Mm.

822

:

Right.

823

:

We can't be Hispanic hispanica

phobic, there is such a

824

:

thing as his Hispanic phobia.

825

:

So if we really want that respect

for ourselves and we want to be

826

:

welcomed here, and we want, then

we have to be welcoming to others.

827

:

You know, because then we're, we,

how are we any better than anyone

828

:

else if we're, we're just doing

the same thing to another people?

829

:

I've also seen that in, in some

of the massa, they'll have, Latino

830

:

people come and, and clean do

landscaping, or they come and they're

831

:

the cleaning service for the ji.

832

:

And then, they won't give them any

brochures about Islam or they won't

833

:

talk to them about Islam at all.

834

:

So the people are coming into the JI and

they're even cleaning the prayer area

835

:

and they have no idea what the space is.

836

:

And I feel like that's unfair because

then what, what are we really doing?

837

:

I mean, what do we think?

838

:

Do we think that others are

not worthy of the message?

839

:

Imam Tariq: Right?

840

:

Wendy Diaz: And we can't think like that.

841

:

Yeah.

842

:

And that's why Ola says that he will

not change the condition of a people

843

:

until they change what's in themselves.

844

:

Yeah.

845

:

Right.

846

:

So if we're not cleansing our hearts

and changing all of that ugliness

847

:

inside of us, then how can we expect

to reap all the rewards outside?

848

:

No.

849

:

We have to do the work internally, and

we have to do the work around in our

850

:

communities so that we can get the,

the reward and the blessing of Allah.

851

:

Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

852

:

I mean, I want go back to

the, is it the three Rs?

853

:

Reading, repe, rhyming, repetition,

and overlay that over your, the writing

854

:

that you do for parents, parenting.

855

:

You mentioned, you said your oldest is 18.

856

:

So my, our oldest are 23 and.

857

:

21.

858

:

Yeah.

859

:

So we got a twin 23-year-old son.

860

:

There are things that we kind of, we,

we do as a matter of I don't know, as

861

:

a matter of habit, as a part of our

parenting, but when we're conscious

862

:

about the repetition, when we're,

when we're conscious about, how we are

863

:

internalizing things, that's also an

opportunity for us to engage it, engage

864

:

what we're doing in different ways.

865

:

Have there been moments in your

writing that you're able to look

866

:

at your own, parenting and say

that, well, I've repeated this.

867

:

I've, I've committed this

kind of thing to memory.

868

:

It's become kind of a part, of me.

869

:

But I see it in a different way now and

I'm able to share that in my writing

870

:

with, for the benefit of other parents.

871

:

Wendy Diaz: I think I, I, I joke and say

that I think I, I have a, a PhD in, in

872

:

parenting you have like your first child,

that's your associates, and then you have

873

:

your second one, you get your bachelor's

third, get your master's fourth, you

874

:

know, you are working on your doctorate.

875

:

I've got six of them.

876

:

Imam Tariq: Oh, I do not,

877

:

Wendy Diaz: no, no.

878

:

I, and the reason I say that is because

with parenting, every child is different.

879

:

Every experience is different.

880

:

And, and I've ha and I have them even

now at different stages and ages.

881

:

And, and it's just, it's a

learning experience every day.

882

:

And so, yes, okay.

883

:

I've been parenting for, close

to 19 years now, but I still

884

:

don't know what I'm doing.

885

:

and, and that's one of the things

we have to be easy on ourselves as

886

:

parents, to know that we're going,

we're bound to make mistakes.

887

:

and that's okay.

888

:

And I, and I think that through

my writing, I try to, I try to

889

:

give that message to parents that,

there are mistakes that we're gonna

890

:

be making, but we have to pick

ourselves up and we have to look

891

:

towards the example of the prophet.

892

:

We have to look into the Koran and

the wisdom that, that it contains

893

:

and use that as a framework.

894

:

Even though, and, you know, I think

the mercy, it's a, it's a mercy

895

:

that there is no blueprint that

is exact, that we have to follow.

896

:

But there are things that we

can do to have good character.

897

:

We have to look at how the prophet AZA

the had, lik he said that he served

898

:

the prophet during his childhood.

899

:

And he said, the prophet

never said, oof to me.

900

:

Right?

901

:

He never said, why did you do that?

902

:

Or Why did you not do this?

903

:

And I know as parents we, we probably

do this all the time, like they drop

904

:

a cup and it, it spills on the floor

and you're like, why'd you do that?

905

:

Right.

906

:

And so you kind of, and if that

phrase comes out of your mouth,

907

:

you remember that the prophets, he

never said that to an been Malik.

908

:

Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

909

:

Wendy Diaz: Even though he was a kid

and he would go off, sometimes the

910

:

prophet would send him off on an errand

and he said that he got distracted and

911

:

he was playing with the other kids.

912

:

And this was the prophet.

913

:

Yeah.

914

:

And so how, who are we to be

harsh with our children and

915

:

ask them, why'd you do this?

916

:

And why, why didn't you do this

when the prophet didn't do it?

917

:

So I think that it gives us pause

when we, when we learn our dean and

918

:

we, when we learn these stories and

it gives us something to reflect

919

:

on and say, okay, you know what?

920

:

Let me just let this go because

I want to, to make sure that,

921

:

that, that I'm displaying the

best of character as a parent.

922

:

and that my child also

gets the same message.

923

:

But it is a mercy that there isn't,

that there, there isn't like a,

924

:

there isn't a complete way that

you have to follow because all the

925

:

different cultures are different.

926

:

Right.

927

:

The way that we raise children, the

way that, that our parents raise us

928

:

and the way even back home, they would

raise children everywhere is different.

929

:

So at least we, we just have kind of like,

some ground rules that we follow, but we

930

:

can, you know, our cultures kind of can

also dictate things as long as they're

931

:

within the boundaries of our faith.

932

:

Imam Tariq: Hmm, Do you find,

what kind of feedback do you get?

933

:

is there a common response that you

get or do you find yourself getting

934

:

or receiving feedback that, that

has surprised you in a good way?

935

:

Wendy Diaz: With the

parenting newsletter or

936

:

Imam Tariq: with anything?

937

:

Well, anything, you know,

however you choose to, but I

938

:

was thinking about parenting,

939

:

Wendy Diaz: we I haven't gotten too much.

940

:

Feedback on the parenting

other than, you know, just a

941

:

thank you and things like that.

942

:

I find it really useful.

943

:

There's a whole arsenal of articles

on, on sound vision, on parenting.

944

:

And what I find, and I find it really

useful because for instance, I'll

945

:

be in a forum, on Facebook where

you have like Muslim mothers, right?

946

:

You have groups on Facebook or Muslim

mothers or Muslim women in, in this

947

:

area, in the DMV area, and they'll have

questions about something related to

948

:

something that has been written, or

that I've written about on Sound vision.

949

:

And so that I can go in, to the

website and just drop that link and

950

:

say, look, I wrote an article about

this very question that you have.

951

:

And so they'll be really

grateful about that.

952

:

Maybe they didn't, they've never been to

sound vision to, to seek parenting advice,

953

:

but it's always good to have a resource.

954

:

There's like babycenter.com

955

:

or something like that.

956

:

I remember when I was pregnant that, that,

that website was, was kind of like the

957

:

holy grail of, of everything parenting.

958

:

Especially as a new mom mm-hmm.

959

:

Where you can go in and, and learn

about what's happening in your

960

:

pregnancy, even during the pregnancy

and then after your baby's born.

961

:

So we need those type of resources

in the Muslim community too, right?

962

:

We need to, to know what do

we do when a baby's born?

963

:

What do we do when our children are going

through this phase or, or that phase?

964

:

What milestones are we

looking for as Muslim parents?

965

:

And so, yeah, you do get good

feedback on in that sense,

966

:

where people say, oh, thank you.

967

:

I, I, I didn't even know that

this resource existed, but

968

:

at least it's there, right?

969

:

For whoever needs it.

970

:

Imam Tariq: Which area requires

the most attention from you?

971

:

Whether it's the Spanish language

translation or parenting, or, or,

972

:

or any other endeavor, you know,

whether it be the creative, aspects.

973

:

Is there a particular area that requires

more intentionality and focus from you

974

:

or that you would want to give more to?

975

:

Wendy Diaz: Absolutely.

976

:

I think the writing,

children's literature mm-hmm.

977

:

And producing, Islamic literature for,

even for adults as well in Spanish.

978

:

It's like, like I said

before, it's lacking.

979

:

Mm-hmm.

980

:

It was lacking, 10 years ago,

and now it's still lacking even

981

:

though there is a little bit more.

982

:

And that I do get a lot of feedback from

an, and I think that's my motivation

983

:

comes from those people that contact

me from Mexico or from Venezuela

984

:

or from Colombia or from Ecuador.

985

:

They send me an email and they say, I just

bought your book, or I just got your book

986

:

and I'm able to teach my child about Islam

987

:

Imam Tariq: through

988

:

Wendy Diaz: this book.

989

:

That, to me, is the most rewarding

thing that I could ever do, and it, it

990

:

keeps me motivated because sometimes I

have, I have a lot of self-doubt, right.

991

:

I have the imposter syndrome and

sometimes I've, I've told myself, you

992

:

know, maybe I should stop doing this.

993

:

Maybe, you know, I, I should

move on to something else.

994

:

Maybe I should focus on something else.

995

:

Or maybe I'm not good

enough to do X, Y, and Z.

996

:

and in those moments is when I get

a message like that and I feel like

997

:

Ham la, like that's, that's Allah's

way of, of helping me push forward,

998

:

continue to do the work because there

are people in other countries that have

999

:

absolutely nothing to teach their child.

:

00:55:47,460 --> 00:55:47,520

Yeah.

:

00:55:47,940 --> 00:55:52,170

Imagine a person who converts to

Islam and they have this small child,

:

00:55:52,740 --> 00:55:54,030

and there is absolutely nothing.

:

00:55:54,030 --> 00:55:55,170

There's no Islamic school.

:

00:55:55,200 --> 00:55:58,890

Sometimes there's not even a message

close by and there's no books, there's

:

00:55:58,890 --> 00:56:00,170

nothing to teach their children.

:

00:56:00,440 --> 00:56:02,540

What are they, how are

they going to do that?

:

00:56:03,320 --> 00:56:07,850

The only way is for you, for them to

have access to some type of reading

:

00:56:07,850 --> 00:56:11,240

material, something that they can present

to their child or even a, a program.

:

00:56:11,240 --> 00:56:14,030

I was doing a puppet show on, on online.

:

00:56:14,030 --> 00:56:18,170

I recorded puppet show episodes and

I uploaded them to YouTube with.

:

00:56:18,515 --> 00:56:20,315

My husband's help my family's help.

:

00:56:20,945 --> 00:56:25,095

and even those were used in,

in Islamic schools in Colombia.

:

00:56:25,275 --> 00:56:25,365

Mm-hmm.

:

00:56:25,605 --> 00:56:28,155

They would put them on a

TV for the kids to watch.

:

00:56:28,455 --> 00:56:32,885

So that, that to me, I think it,

it deserves the most attention.

:

00:56:32,885 --> 00:56:33,725

Absolutely.

:

00:56:33,845 --> 00:56:35,795

I wish that I could

dedicate more time to it.

:

00:56:35,795 --> 00:56:38,585

I'm always, you know, in my mind

I'm always like, I need to do more.

:

00:56:38,585 --> 00:56:39,305

I need to do more.

:

00:56:39,305 --> 00:56:40,115

I need to do more.

:

00:56:40,785 --> 00:56:43,125

Because there is just so

much that needs to be done.

:

00:56:44,595 --> 00:56:44,805

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

:

00:56:45,555 --> 00:56:49,245

First of all, may I continue to

inspire you and keep you motivated

:

00:56:49,395 --> 00:56:53,335

because your service, the work

that you do is extremely important.

:

00:56:53,815 --> 00:57:00,715

But I want to lift up something that

you've said for me as a, as someone

:

00:57:00,715 --> 00:57:05,325

who also has the who has accepted the

responsibility of leadership and I.

:

00:57:05,595 --> 00:57:07,185

In, in my limited capacity.

:

00:57:07,215 --> 00:57:12,325

and, and I believe that we all have, we

all have to recognize what are the areas

:

00:57:12,325 --> 00:57:14,845

that we, that we provide leadership in.

:

00:57:15,895 --> 00:57:19,855

You said something I think is critically

important, that really touched me.

:

00:57:20,755 --> 00:57:23,095

First of all, as a parent, you

said, I don't know what I'm doing.

:

00:57:23,875 --> 00:57:28,315

I'm a parent That resonated

with me so, so, so deeply.

:

00:57:28,645 --> 00:57:34,890

And I think that's one of the things that,

it, it really hampers us, many of us is

:

00:57:35,220 --> 00:57:37,950

not being willing to say, I don't know.

:

00:57:38,580 --> 00:57:39,450

I need help.

:

00:57:39,450 --> 00:57:41,940

Let me, you know, let me see

what else is going out there.

:

00:57:41,940 --> 00:57:45,570

You know, I come from a tradition,

where we say the wisdom is in the room.

:

00:57:46,270 --> 00:57:49,780

You don't have to carry it

all yourself, ask questions.

:

00:57:50,260 --> 00:57:54,100

Also, one of my mentors, he said, the

quality of your life is dependent upon

:

00:57:54,100 --> 00:57:55,870

the quality of the questions that you ask.

:

00:57:56,365 --> 00:57:56,695

Right.

:

00:57:57,025 --> 00:58:02,005

So what you said is an invitation for

us to ask questions, and that's how

:

00:58:02,005 --> 00:58:05,665

we build community in those moments

of vulnerability and sincerity.

:

00:58:06,145 --> 00:58:09,145

And the last thing that I

wanted to point to that you

:

00:58:09,145 --> 00:58:11,725

said is about imposter syndrome.

:

00:58:12,295 --> 00:58:18,595

And I don't know a leader

who does not deal with that.

:

00:58:18,715 --> 00:58:20,845

We all deal with that

in at different moments.

:

00:58:21,115 --> 00:58:24,985

You're going into the unknown

often, especially when you're, when

:

00:58:24,985 --> 00:58:29,015

you're doing work where there's not

a roadmap where folks, you're not

:

00:58:29,015 --> 00:58:31,205

actually, you're blazing the trail.

:

00:58:32,165 --> 00:58:32,825

It's like.

:

00:58:33,120 --> 00:58:35,850

A if I'm not, if I don't

do it, who's gonna do it?

:

00:58:36,010 --> 00:58:38,860

And if Aah gave me the inspiration

to do it, then I gotta do it.

:

00:58:39,520 --> 00:58:44,250

I just want to, just to tell

you how, appreciative I am for

:

00:58:44,250 --> 00:58:45,510

you to share those two things.

:

00:58:45,510 --> 00:58:48,070

And, who knows, they may wind

up in this week's click by.

:

00:58:48,580 --> 00:58:49,990

I don't know if you

have a response to that.

:

00:58:49,990 --> 00:58:51,730

Before I jumped on to

the, to the next question.

:

00:58:52,300 --> 00:58:56,920

Wendy Diaz: I was gonna say, gi how

impactful would it be if a Hatti got

:

00:58:56,920 --> 00:58:59,710

up on the bimba and said, I don't

know what I'm doing today, y'all.

:

00:59:03,430 --> 00:59:06,520

I think it would definitely resonate

with all of the congregation.

:

00:59:06,910 --> 00:59:09,070

We would all say yes the same.

:

00:59:09,220 --> 00:59:09,700

Imam Tariq: that's right.

:

00:59:09,730 --> 00:59:11,950

We're all trying to figure this thing out.

:

00:59:12,550 --> 00:59:14,620

You know, Meah, meah preserve us.

:

00:59:16,250 --> 00:59:16,400

not me.

:

00:59:17,270 --> 00:59:21,960

As we start to, to wind down, I would

like to ask you to, present you with an.

:

00:59:22,545 --> 00:59:23,745

Open-ended question.

:

00:59:23,745 --> 00:59:26,505

I think you may have alluded to

this a bit earlier, but I'd like

:

00:59:26,505 --> 00:59:29,085

to hear it, maybe even restate it.

:

00:59:29,535 --> 00:59:31,665

The one lesson I keep learning is,

:

00:59:32,535 --> 00:59:38,985

Wendy Diaz: the one lesson I keep learning

is that the more you learn, the more you

:

00:59:38,985 --> 00:59:40,935

realize that you don't know anything.

:

00:59:43,125 --> 00:59:43,455

Yeah.

:

00:59:44,685 --> 00:59:48,765

And definitely I think through my,

throughout my journey at, at Bayan

:

00:59:48,795 --> 00:59:52,065

Islamic graduate school too, it, it

was one of those things where, yeah,

:

00:59:52,125 --> 00:59:55,185

the more you learn, the more classes

you take, the more you realize, wow,

:

00:59:55,365 --> 01:00:01,575

there, this is a never ending sea of

knowledge and I don't even have a spritz

:

01:00:02,085 --> 01:00:02,385

Imam Tariq: of it.

:

01:00:04,135 --> 01:00:05,915

Wendy Diaz: and and

that really humbles you.

:

01:00:06,515 --> 01:00:06,635

Yeah.

:

01:00:06,635 --> 01:00:07,505

It really humbles you.

:

01:00:07,935 --> 01:00:08,715

and, and learning.

:

01:00:08,715 --> 01:00:12,585

Speaking of languages, again, learning

Arabic language is, it's humbles you.

:

01:00:12,840 --> 01:00:14,220

Because it's not easy.

:

01:00:15,685 --> 01:00:20,695

It's not easy and it takes a lot of work

and dedication and, students, it, it

:

01:00:21,025 --> 01:00:23,035

being a student is a lifelong endeavor.

:

01:00:23,575 --> 01:00:25,465

You're never going to learn

everything there is to know.

:

01:00:26,035 --> 01:00:26,395

Imam Tariq: that's right.

:

01:00:26,915 --> 01:00:32,285

Speaking of Bayan, I would be remiss

if I did not ask you, was there a

:

01:00:32,285 --> 01:00:38,605

particular lesson or imprint that your

experience at Bayan has made on you?

:

01:00:38,605 --> 01:00:40,285

Something that you carry with you?

:

01:00:41,515 --> 01:00:42,805

Wendy Diaz: There were a lot of things.

:

01:00:42,925 --> 01:00:43,885

A lot of things.

:

01:00:43,995 --> 01:00:50,915

But I noticed the character of some of my

professors, and the character of some of

:

01:00:50,915 --> 01:00:57,685

my fellow classmates in just small things,

that they themselves probably didn't

:

01:00:57,685 --> 01:01:00,805

think about, but it was impactful for me.

:

01:01:01,375 --> 01:01:04,585

And and that's a reminder for all

of us that we never know what we

:

01:01:04,585 --> 01:01:07,425

do that can, inspire a person.

:

01:01:08,145 --> 01:01:13,265

And, I remember being in, in the

classroom and just noticing that one

:

01:01:13,265 --> 01:01:17,405

of the class, one of my classmates

that was sitting next to me during the

:

01:01:17,405 --> 01:01:22,895

class, as she's taking notes, as she's

listening, she was constantly making

:

01:01:22,895 --> 01:01:27,605

Vic, and it was almost like breathing.

:

01:01:28,475 --> 01:01:32,850

It was, it, she was just

doing it without thinking.

:

01:01:33,240 --> 01:01:36,450

and I, I thought to myself, and I

saw that and I said, that's what I

:

01:01:36,450 --> 01:01:38,680

want to, that's what I'm aiming for.

:

01:01:38,860 --> 01:01:43,150

And I think that it really just

says a lot to, to, to others.

:

01:01:43,150 --> 01:01:45,490

Your, your character and

the way you carry yourself.

:

01:01:45,490 --> 01:01:48,590

You're, you're not just talking

about what's right and what's

:

01:01:48,590 --> 01:01:49,910

wrong, you're actually doing.

:

01:01:50,570 --> 01:01:55,790

And when you do the work, people

notice that person that was sitting

:

01:01:55,790 --> 01:01:58,940

next to me, she had no idea that

I noticed what, what I noticed.

:

01:01:59,355 --> 01:02:02,965

I think she, and she was doing it

secretively, her, her, her hands

:

01:02:02,965 --> 01:02:04,855

were down here under the, the desk.

:

01:02:05,805 --> 01:02:08,145

And so I, I don't think she, she realized.

:

01:02:08,205 --> 01:02:13,475

And so when you really are sincere and

you, and when you're, doing work for the

:

01:02:13,475 --> 01:02:15,225

sake of Allah, people are gonna notice.

:

01:02:16,325 --> 01:02:21,495

and so we have to just try to work on

our, on ourselves and our character and,

:

01:02:21,495 --> 01:02:24,395

and I think it'll show by our actions.

:

01:02:25,460 --> 01:02:25,800

Imam Tariq: insha'Allah.

:

01:02:26,210 --> 01:02:26,660

Insha'Allah.

:

01:02:27,365 --> 01:02:33,185

One of the final questions before I ask

you to share any ongoing projects or

:

01:02:33,185 --> 01:02:38,285

resources that you'd like to leave with

our listening audience, and that is,

:

01:02:38,555 --> 01:02:41,705

what is your contribution to leadership?

:

01:02:41,705 --> 01:02:43,085

Or what do you intend for that?

:

01:02:43,145 --> 01:02:49,235

Or do you think about yourself as a

leader and what you want to leave for the

:

01:02:49,235 --> 01:02:51,105

next generation that would follow you?

:

01:02:52,245 --> 01:02:52,545

Wendy Diaz: It's.

:

01:02:53,130 --> 01:02:54,450

That's a hard question.

:

01:02:54,560 --> 01:02:58,280

I never thought of myself as a leader.

:

01:02:58,790 --> 01:03:01,880

I feel like the most important thing,

and, and I think there's something

:

01:03:01,880 --> 01:03:06,440

that's been ingrained in, in us as

women, as Muslim women, is that our

:

01:03:06,440 --> 01:03:08,330

leadership is in the home, right?

:

01:03:08,450 --> 01:03:10,610

Our leadership is with

our flock, our children.

:

01:03:11,060 --> 01:03:11,210

Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

:

01:03:11,780 --> 01:03:13,640

Wendy Diaz: We have to lead

by example and, and our

:

01:03:13,640 --> 01:03:15,320

children are, are our priority.

:

01:03:15,680 --> 01:03:21,830

And I would hope that I can

lead my children by example

:

01:03:21,830 --> 01:03:23,690

and be a leader for them.

:

01:03:23,930 --> 01:03:27,230

I think that that is the most important

thing, the most important legacy.

:

01:03:28,010 --> 01:03:34,220

At the same time, I understand that the

work that I do has a certain impact and so

:

01:03:34,220 --> 01:03:36,110

I wanna make sure I do it with excellence.

:

01:03:36,990 --> 01:03:40,770

And that has to do with, with the

books that I'm producing, the work

:

01:03:40,770 --> 01:03:44,340

that I'm, the writing that I'm

producing and those things because.

:

01:03:44,790 --> 01:03:47,130

At the end of the day,

I wanna leave a, a Sia.

:

01:03:47,130 --> 01:03:47,400

Right?

:

01:03:47,405 --> 01:03:47,505

Yes.

:

01:03:47,505 --> 01:03:51,390

That's the, the legacy that's right for

us as Muslims, we wanna leave that Sia

:

01:03:51,390 --> 01:03:53,190

and it, and it's, it has to do with Right.

:

01:03:53,190 --> 01:03:57,400

It, the, your child that's left behind

to make, to offer you, any charity

:

01:03:57,400 --> 01:04:01,420

that, that is ongoing and then any

knowledge that you leave behind.

:

01:04:01,570 --> 01:04:01,930

Imam Tariq: That's right.

:

01:04:03,190 --> 01:04:07,360

Wendy Diaz: And so I hope that whatever

it is that I produce is something that's

:

01:04:07,360 --> 01:04:13,360

beneficial and it's gonna leave some

form of knowledge behind that, that, that

:

01:04:13,360 --> 01:04:15,340

will, will benefit me in the hereafter.

:

01:04:15,650 --> 01:04:17,660

At the end of the day, we're

working for the hereafter.

:

01:04:17,660 --> 01:04:17,750

Right.

:

01:04:18,410 --> 01:04:20,660

You know, and that, that

should be the ultimate goal.

:

01:04:22,160 --> 01:04:22,820

Imam Tariq: Thank you for that.

:

01:04:23,480 --> 01:04:27,310

Do you have any ongoing projects

that you would like to share?

:

01:04:28,840 --> 01:04:31,870

Wendy Diaz: Still working

on, on more books in Shaah.

:

01:04:31,970 --> 01:04:35,980

And I hope to produce some,

some more, more serious work.

:

01:04:36,465 --> 01:04:40,495

Getting more into academic

writing and, and teaching as well.

:

01:04:41,154 --> 01:04:41,575

In Shaah.

:

01:04:42,175 --> 01:04:43,495

I'm hoping to get into that.

:

01:04:43,555 --> 01:04:49,435

And and I also want to empower other

Latino, Muslim writers, working on, on

:

01:04:49,435 --> 01:04:53,995

this with, with my family, with, with

my husband, to establish, publications,

:

01:04:53,995 --> 01:04:59,305

high publications where we are going

to help other, Latino, Muslim authors.

:

01:04:59,395 --> 01:05:01,075

We wanna start with Latino Muslims, right?

:

01:05:01,345 --> 01:05:05,625

Because of the lack of literature,

from Latino, Muslim writers and

:

01:05:05,625 --> 01:05:07,215

with Latino Muslim representation.

:

01:05:07,735 --> 01:05:10,525

So we wanna work with Latino

Muslims who are interested in

:

01:05:10,525 --> 01:05:12,685

producing this type of work.

:

01:05:13,295 --> 01:05:16,595

So we can pass the that baton

to others as well, right?

:

01:05:16,595 --> 01:05:19,685

Because that's part of the,

the work as well is to empower

:

01:05:19,685 --> 01:05:21,065

other people to do the same.

:

01:05:22,665 --> 01:05:28,045

so look out for that in Shaah, and

whatever other doors, Allah opens

:

01:05:28,045 --> 01:05:30,295

and, and I'm able to walk through.

:

01:05:30,295 --> 01:05:34,404

Then I'm waiting to see what,

what's in store in Shaah

:

01:05:34,990 --> 01:05:38,435

Imam Tariq: insha'Allah sister Wendy,

I really appreciate you taking the

:

01:05:38,435 --> 01:05:43,365

time to share a bit of your journey and

your work, your perspectives with us.

:

01:05:43,525 --> 01:05:46,285

We are certainly better for

it, so may I'll continue to

:

01:05:46,355 --> 01:05:47,675

to put Barika in your work.

:

01:05:48,105 --> 01:05:52,245

We have been talking with Sister Wendy

Diaz, writer educator, award-winning

:

01:05:52,245 --> 01:05:54,435

poet, co-founder of Alamos Islam.

:

01:05:55,005 --> 01:05:57,085

And, we want to encourage you.

:

01:05:57,460 --> 01:06:01,730

If you find value in these

conversations, to support the work

:

01:06:01,730 --> 01:06:04,850

of Bay Islamic Graduate School,

and you could do that two ways.

:

01:06:04,850 --> 01:06:09,680

Over 70% of Bayan Islamic graduate school

students are scholarship recipients.

:

01:06:09,920 --> 01:06:12,920

So you can go to bayan online.org

:

01:06:13,010 --> 01:06:17,810

and make a donation, a contribution,

an investment in the Muhammad

:

01:06:17,810 --> 01:06:22,460

Ali Scholarship, and you can also

join our community of learners.

:

01:06:22,460 --> 01:06:24,980

We have 32 classes that are available.

:

01:06:25,430 --> 01:06:30,570

Get your all access pass, $10

a month, bayan online.org.

:

01:06:30,960 --> 01:06:35,904

Join the community of learners at your

own pace, and you will not look back.

:

01:06:35,904 --> 01:06:38,255

You will be, you'll,

you will thank yourself.

:

01:06:38,915 --> 01:06:41,375

With that, we are going to close out.

:

01:06:41,735 --> 01:06:46,895

I'm your host, Imam Tariq El-Amin, and I

leave you as I greeted you, ASUM, may the

:

01:06:46,895 --> 01:06:48,935

peace that only God can give be upon you.

:

01:06:48,935 --> 01:06:48,995

I.

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About the Podcast

The American Muslim Podcast
The voices, stories, and perspectives shaping the American Muslim Experience
The American Muslim Podcast is your gateway to exploring the diverse and dynamic stories shaping the American Muslim experience. Hosted by Imam Tariq I. El-Amin, this podcast shines a spotlight on the voices of leaders who are making a profound impact in their communities, and in the public square.

From imams and chaplains to Islamic school leaders, teachers, scholars, and non-profit pioneers, we celebrate those who dedicate themselves to serving others. These inspiring individuals include masjid leaders, community activists, and youth mentors who exemplify the values of faith, compassion, and resilience in their work.

Through insightful conversations and authentic narratives, we explore how these leaders navigate faith, identity, and service, offering a unique perspective on the evolving role of American Muslims in shaping society.

About your host

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Tariq El-Amin

Imam Tariq I. El-Amin serves as the Resident Imam of Masjid Al-Taqwa in Chicago, IL. He is the founder of the Chicago Black Muslim History Tour and the former host of Sound Vision's Radio Islam, a nightly talk radio program that aired in the Chicago market. Tariq is a recipient of the Muhammad Ali Scholarship and earned a Master of Divinity in Islamic Chaplaincy from Bayan Islamic Graduate School in 2022. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Ministry in Islamic Community Leadership at Bayan, with expected completion in 2026. Tariq is also a producer of the award-winning UIC Black Excellence podcast, hosted by Dr. Aisha El-Amin, and lends his voice to narrating audiobooks.