Casa de los Arabes, in Old Havana, the house that serves as the only mosque to all of Cuba’s Muslims.  Fidel Castro banned the building of mosques in Cuba.

CNN Editor’s note: During the month of Ramadan, Muslim in 2010, CNN International’s four-week series on modern Islam looks at what it means to be Muslim in the 21st century. Muslim in 2010 travels the world capturing the debates and the issues — and profiling Muslims who are embracing their faith in 2010.

Every Friday, Pedro Lazo Torres, clears the furniture out of his second-storey apartment in a potholed Havana suburb and lines the floors and balcony with carpets. For Havana’s Muslims, he is Imam Yahya, and the home that he shares with his wife and two adult children, is their place of worship. “You can be a Chinese, Cuban or Russian Muslim and the laws are the same for everyone,” Yahya told CNN. “The cultures can be different, but someone who embraces Islam must accept what Allah orders, it’s that simple.”

There are about 1,500 Muslims in Cuba, but no mosques. That’s why, at the end of each week, Yahya, dressed in an immaculate white cap and tunic, welcomes people for Friday prayer. Women head inside, sitting on the living room floor, while men tend to kneel on the shady balcony. Most Muslims in Cuba are international college students from countries like Pakistan and Indonesia. Three medical students from Guyana were among those gathered at Yahya’s house for Friday prayer. Cuba is traditionally Catholic, but many don’t actively practice the religion and others adhere to Afro-Caribbean beliefs like Santeria.