Rafael Narbaez
Rafael Narbaez was born in Lubbock, Texas. His father is American and his mother was
born in a small village named Jorquera in the old province of Albaceta in South Central Spain.
He attended Lubbock Christian College and Texas Tech University where he studied music
and drama. His interest in religion and a desire to please God, however, was the guiding force in his
life. Coming from a very strong Christian background, he pursued a life in the Christian ministry
and became the minister of a small West Texas community when he was only 20 years old.
He embraced Islam in November of 1991. He is the Founder and President of the American Ansar
Foundation—an organization dedicated to assisting Muslims in their struggle to become productive
members of American society. He is director of a national grassroots organization called Americans
for Worldwide Justice. He also serves as the Executive Manager of the Muslim Speakers' Bureau of
North America; an organization that procures Muslim speakers for lectures, seminars, conventions
and other speaking engagements. He is the Chairman for the Muslim Advisory Board for Hospice
of Michigan.
He is an American Muslim activist that has traveled extensively throughout the United States and
Canada speaking on Islam from an American Muslim perspective. He is featured in Steven
Barboza's new book, Jihad in America; Islam After Malcolm X; a historical view at some of
America's best known Muslims and their personal stories. He appears in many videos produced by
Sound Vision, the world's largest producer of children educational audio and video materials. Their
video, Choosing Islam, in which he is featured, is on their top three most requested list. He is
committed to the promotion of a better understanding of Islam and Muslims in this country. He
served as the Development Officer for the Michigan Education Council in Canton, Michigan before
taking the position of Business Administrator for the Islamic House of Wisdom, one of the largest
Mosques in Southeast Michigan. He currently serves as a Program Manager for ACCESS, the Arab
Community Center for Economic and Social Services; the largest and premier Arab Human
Services Organization in the country.