Oscar Salvador Rodriguez Pineda was born in 1971 into a Christian family in the Central American country.
He learned about Islam when reading about religions as a student of paleontology.
He embraced Shia Islam in 2000 after reading a lot of books about the religion and changed his name to Mustafa El Salvadori.
Years later, he started studying at the Islamic Seminary of Qom after travelling to the Islamic Republic of Iran for a one-day seminar.
Before coming to Iran, he established the Fatimat-ul-Zahra (SA) Islamic Center as the most active Shia institution in Central America.
He is also a poet and has written many poems in praise of Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS).
Recently, Mustafa El Salvadori and Hojat-ol-Islam Mohsen Khorasani, who is an Iranian-born Islamic preacher promoting Islam in Spanish-speaking countries around the world, have jointly authored a book titled "Historical Islamic Letters”.
The book is about major letters written by Muslim figures and scholars in different eras in the history of Islam.
The book is going to be published by Andishe Sharq Arts-Cultural Institute in Qom.
El Salvadori told IQNA that the 70-page book will be published in 3000 copies.
He said it will be distributed in Spain as well as in 22 Latin American countries where Spanish is the official language.
According to El Salvadori, the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) letter to the rulers of the time such as the kings of Iran and Egypt and the Roman emperor, and Imam Ali’s (AS) letter to his son Imam Hassan (AS), which is in the Nahj-al-Balaqa, are among the letters discussed in the book.
Also included is Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) letter to Christians, which will let Latin American and Spanish Christians know about Islam’s view of Christianity and the Holy prophet’s (PBUH) kind behavior toward Christians.
Other letters featured in the book are the later Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran Imam Khomeini’s (RA) letter to former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev, as well as Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei’s letter to the youth in Europe and North America, he noted.
El Salvadori further referred to Shias’ activities in his country, saying that there are a number of websites presenting Shia content, including works such as books by Imam Khomeini, Allameh Tabatabaei and Martyr Motahhari in Spanish.
Publishing an online magazine, the first online Islamic magazine in Latin America, and launching a radion station, Radio El Minarete, are among other activities aimed at promoting Islamic teachings among Muslims in the country and elsewhere in Latin America, he went on to say.
Radio El Minarete was launched in December 2015.
It broadcasts programs in Spanish for Spanish-speaking countries of the region.
El Salvador is a Central American country on the eastern coast of the Pacific Ocean. It is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America.
