12 years of ‘El Calamo’, Latin America’s pioneering Islamic TV show

Nadia Baalbaki vividly remembers the first day she went in front of a television camera 12 years ago.

It was a rainy day at the grounds of Argentina’s Central Islamic Cultural Centre (CIRA) in Buenos Aires when the then 22-year-old made her television debut.

As Baalbaki’s nerves kicked in, she felt the “responsibility” of launching a new flagship programme about Islamic culture. It was titled ‘El Calamo’, a reference to a chapter from the Quran for conveying knowledge.

“I was starting a university career that had nothing to do with the media. I never imagined that (on) that day my professional life would take that turn,” says Argentine Baalbaki, who has familial ties to Lebanon.

In her youth, Baalbaki received Islamic education, she says preparing her for conveying Islamic culture to different audiences. Baalbaki’s mother, a member of the board of directors at CIRA, had first encouraged her to attend the TV casting. Nervously introducing herself to the camera, Baalbaki had doubts about whether she would be chosen and the role that El Calamo would go on to play in her life.

“But finally, I was chosen to be the host along with Khaled, and (from) there, the door was opened to that great challenge,” she adds, referring to Khaled Hallar, her co-presenter for a decade.

Since its early inception, El Calamo remains the only Islamic TV programme for the Spanish-speaking region of Latin America.

Lasting around an hour and produced by CIRA, the show explores Islamic history, culture, beliefs, philosophy and the community - with many episodes recorded overseas.

El Calamo celebrated its 12th anniversary this year to the acclaim of Argentina's estimated 500,000 Muslim minority community in a country home to 46 million people.

In an emotional celebratory message, Hallar expressed gratitude to those who have propelled the show forward over the years, insisting that the dedicated teamwork typically does not take holidays with episodes going out all year round.

“On April 30, 2011, the first time El Calamo was recorded, it just fell on my birthday, so I started it when I was 28 years old,” he tells TRT World. “And now, since I’ve turned 40…it is a part of my life”.

CIRA secretary-general Hasan El Bacha says the institution funds the programme, owning 100 percent of the production.

Each Sunday at 8 am, Argentina’s Public TV nationally televises El Calamo to more than 100,000 viewers.

It has a similar number of online subscribers across the globe.

Hallar says viewers regularly contact him from across the region where typically there is no significant Muslim presence, describing the show as helping to foster a community.

He says he also has received feedback from families that gather together to watch the show. Hallar says he has been told of cases where family members pass away and their surviving relatives continue to watch the show, feeling the “companionship” it has provided in their lives.

El Bacha says the show’s idea emerged from the board of directors in 2011 “to spread” Islam on mainstream Argentina media, bringing many to the faith.

“The popularity grew daily due to the spread (of the show) and help from the channel and the brothers and sisters,” 50-year-old El Bacha tells TRT World.

Hallar underscores the show’s best achievement was documenting Islam’s holiest journey to Mecca.

“Personally, I was the first Latam (Latin American) correspondent to show the hajj pilgrimage on TV, and El Calamo was the first programme to televise it,” Hallar tells TRT World.

While attending the hajj, he went live on Facebook and Instagram to show Mecca and Medina, garnering a wide audience in Argentina.

When the show visited Türkiye a few years back, Hallar visited the famous Blue Mosque, also known as Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul. The structure was built between 1609-1616, dating back to the Ottoman era.

It gained prominence due to its blue tiles that adorn the walls inside, turning it blue at night. Its uniqueness can be found in its six minarets which no other Ottoman mosque holds. It lies on the Grand Palace of the Byzantine rulers opposite Ayasofya Grand Mosque and the Ottoman Empire's Topkapi Palace.

During the show, he also explored Türkiye’s varied landscapes and cultures, visiting the semi-arid region of Cappadocia, observing the varying rock forms from a ride on a hot air balloon and exploring the local town of Avanos’ gastronomy and Istanbul’s numerous bazaars.

"I love Türkiye, whenever you go, you want to come back", admits Hallar, citing its people, locations and mosques as providing him with an enriching homely feeling after more than five trips to the country.

He still feels he is becoming acquainted with the country, adding, “God willing, I can return soon".

Amid Ramadan, El Calamo also had special episodes about Suhur - the meal consumed before dawn.

In April, as the community observed the holy month of fasting, prayer and reflection, regional footballing powerhouses Club Atletico Boca Juniors opened the ‘Bombonera’ football stadium doors to those wishing to break their fasts.

Fabian Ankah, the CIRA president, said the club had led the way in the region, allowing “brothers and sisters” to observe the last day of Ramadan.

The move followed prominent European football teams like Chelsea and Aston Villa, who opened their doors for iftar.

Over the years, El Calamo has had an “enormous” societal impact on the broader region, says Baalbaki, helping to dispel “misinformation about Islam and its culture,” the broader pervasiveness of “Islamophobia” while pushing back against the denigration it faces globally.

As such, she and Hallar “were and always are, extremely careful both with the content and in the way of conveying it, understanding that the viewers do not always possess the basic facts.”

Over the years, Baalbaki describes her journey on the show as having “nurtured” her personally and professionally.

Baalbaki stepped back from presenting the show a couple of years ago as Hallar went on to host the show on his own.

Hallar hopes to be El Calamo’s “visible face for many more years,” noting its legacy of fostering a community space for Muslims in Argentina in a non-Muslim country.

He says it has allowed them to share and profess their faith and culture among compatriots while attracting and fostering a community in the broader region.