Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

The American Muslim Convert

Abdul-Lateef Abdullah:

● Much of my frustration with Christianity stemmed from its lack of knowledge and guidance on the nature of God and the individual’s relationship to Him.

● Islam’s lifestyle is the straight path to true contentment, not just the sensual and superficial way of life.

● Islam offers the only true answer to any society’s social dilemmas.

My experience in Islam began as a graduate student in New York City in 1998. Up to that point in my life, for 25 years, I had been a Protestant Christian, but had not been practicing my religion for quite some time. I was more interested in« spirituality » and looking for anything that didn’t have to do with organized religion. To me, Christianity was out of touch and not relevant to the times. It was hard for me to find anything in it that I could apply to my everyday life. This dissolution with Christianity led me to shun everything that claimed to be organized religion, due to my assumption that they were all pretty much the same, even if at least in terms of their lack of relevance and clarity.

Much of my frustration with Christianity stemmed from its lack of knowledge and guidance on the nature of God and the individual’s relationship to Him. To me, the Christian philosophy depended on this rather bizarre intermediary relationship that we were supposed to have with Jesus, who on one hand was a man, but was also divine. For me, however, this difficult and very vague relationship with our Creator left me searching for something that could provide me with a better understanding of God and our relationship to Him. Why couldn’t I just pray directly to God? Why did I have to begin and end every prayer with« in the name of Jesus Christ? » How can an eternal, omnipotent Creator and Sustainer also take the form of a man? Why would He need to? These were just a few of the questions that I could not resolve and come to terms with. Thus, I was hungry for a more straightforward, direct, and clear approach to religion that could provide my life with true guidance, not just dogma that was void of real knowledge based on facts.

While in graduate school, I had a Jewish roommate who was a student of martial arts. While I was living with him, he was studying an art calledsilat , a traditional Malaysian martial art that is based on the teachings of Islam. When my roommate would come home from hissilat classes, he would tell me all about the uniqueness ofsilat and its rich spiritual dimension. As I was quite interested in learning martial arts at that time, I was intrigued by what I had heard and decided to accompany my roommate to a class one Saturday morning. Although I did not realize it at that time, my experience with Islam began that morning at my firstsilat class in New York City back on February 28th, 1998. There, I met my teacher, Cikgu (which means teacher in Malay) S., the man who would provide me with my basis and orientation to Islam. Although I thought I was beginning a career as a martial artist, that day back in 1998 really represented my first step toward becoming Muslim.

From the very beginning, I was intrigued bysilat and Islam and began spending as much time as possible with my teacher. As my roommate and I were equally passionate aboutsilat , we would go to my teacher’s house and soak up as much knowledge as we could from him. In fact, upon our graduation from graduate school in the spring of 1998, upon his invitation, we spent the entire summer living with him and his wife. As my learning insilat increased, so did my learning about Islam, a religion that I had hardly any knowledge of prior to my experience insilat .

What made my orientation to Islam so powerful was that as I was learning about it, I was also living it. Because I studied at the home of my teacher, being in the presence of devout Muslims allowed me to be constantly surrounded by the sounds, sights and practices of Islam. For as Islam is an entire lifestyle, when you are in an Islamic environment, you cannot separate it from everyday life. Unlike Christianity, which tends toward a separation between daily life and religion, Islam requires its followers to integrate worship of Allah into everything we do. Thus, in living with my teacher, I was immersed in the Islamic Religion and experiencing first-hand how it can shape one’s entire way of life.

In the beginning, Islam was so new, different, and powerful to me. It was also very foreign in many ways and the amount of discipline it requires was difficult to understand. At that time, I was so liberal in so many ways and was used to shunning anything dogmatic or imposed, regardless of who authored it! As time went on, however, and my understanding of Islam grew, I began to slowly see that what seemed to be religious dogma was really the lifestyle put forth to us by our Creator - or the Arabic term,« deen » of Allah. This lifestyle, I would later learn, is the straight path to true contentment, not just the sensual and superficial way of life that my society and culture promote. I realized that the question is quite simple actually. Who could possibly know better than the All-wise Creator, what is the best way of life for human beings?

From the day of my firstsilat class in New York City to the day I took myshahadda , July 30, 1999, I underwent a thorough self-examination that was comprised of two major experiences. One was the process of questioning the culture I was brought up in, and the second was struggling to understand the true nature of God and the role of religion in my everyday life. As for my culture, this one was not as difficult as most people would think. For me, growing up in America and knowing no better, it took a powerful experience, a gifted teacher, and the right knowledge to experience truth. American culture is very powerful because it constantly bombards us with sensual gratification. Unless we are removed from it, it is difficult to see its limitations, which are based on worshipping and putting faith in everything but God, the only One Who can provide us with real, lasting support in our lives.

Being a social scientist by trade, much of my time is spent working on and pondering over the ills and dilemmas of our society. As I learned more about Islam, I came to the conclusion that societal ills are based primarily on unhealthy, dysfunctional social behaviors. Since Islam is a lifestyle focused totally on the most healthy, positive way of conducting our lives in every setting, then it is, and will always be, the only true answer to any society’s social dilemmas. With this realization, not only did I decide that Islam was relevant to my everyday life, but I began to understand why it is so different from other religions. Only Islam provides knowledge and guidance for every aspect of life. Only Islam provides a way to achieve health and happiness in every dimension of life - physical, spiritual, mental, financial, etc; only Islam provides us with a clear life goal and purpose; and only Islam shows us how to live in and contribute to a community, not just talk about it. Islam is what everyone needs, and what so many who have not found it yet, are searching for. It is the path to purpose, meaning, health and happiness. This is because it is the straight path to the source of all the power we could ever need - Allah.

It was only until I actually became Muslim that I realized just how encompassing our lifestyle truly is. Literally everything we are instructed to do has one underlying purpose - to remember Allah. It just shows the absolute and divine brilliance of the« deen » , in that there is a lifestyle that can show you how to remember your Creator in as simple an act as greeting someone, or getting dressed in the morning, or waking up from sleep. Islam shows us that by constantly remembering Allah, everything we do becomes focused on Him, and thus becomes an act of worship. From this, our energy, our thoughts, and our actions all become redirected away from unhealthy and useless causes and focused on the source of all goodness. Thus, we are continuously tapping into His divine strength, mercy and grace. So, by remembering Allah constantly, we become stronger, better, and healthier in every aspect of our lives.

There were, and still are, aspects of Islam that have proven at least somewhat difficult for me. Nevertheless, I thank Allah everyday for the ease to which he has allowed me to make the necessary changes in my life so that I can continue to live in America and still be,Inshallah , a good Muslim. As a white, middle-class American, many of the cultural aspects of Islam are quite different from what I, and those close to me throughout my life, have been used to. In fact, when I finally broke the news to my family that I had taken myshahadda and become Muslim, almost all of their questions and concerns were related to cultural differences - marriage, social life, family, etc. They were much less concerned about my general beliefs on God and religious practice. For my family, friends, and co-workers, becoming Muslim was not seen necessarily as a negative change, but it has required a great deal of education for them about Islam. In fact, as with my own education, this process of sharing the truth about Islam with them is never-ending because there is no limit to how much knowledge we can acquire, and it is the responsibility of every one of us to share whatever right knowledge we have.

Because acquiring right knowledge is such a critical component to a Muslim’s development, having a teacher who has taught me how to apply Islam in everyday life has made all the difference for me and helped me in managing whatever difficulties I have experienced from my reversion. Having someone knowledgeable you can turn to whenever you have questions is a wonderful support that every newshahadda should go out of their way to find. Islam is not a religion that can be rationalized, in the way that Christianity and Judaism have been over the ages. It is a clear path that must be followed exactly as Allah laid for us through the life of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), his companions, and the saints and scholars of Islam.

In this day and age, in this society, discerning the path can often be difficult, especially when we are constantly faced with questions and doubts from people who on the surface may not be hostile to Islam, but whose general lack of faith can have a harmful effect on someone who bases everything they do on their love for Allah. It is also not easy being in an environment where we are constantly bombarded with sensual temptations which are seen as ordinary, common aspects of everyday life. But when we have the support of a knowledgeable, experienced teacher, who is able to apply the universal teachings of Islam to his life, then the truth becomes clear from error, exactly how Allah (S.W.T.) describes in The Qur’an. From this, we are able to understand how to apply Islam correctly to our own lives, and thus receive Allah’s many blessings. The ultimate test, however, of anyone who claims to have true and right knowledge, is to look at how they apply it in their own lives. If their actions support their teachings, then and only then should we look to them for guidance.

My journey to Islam, although short, has been a life-altering experience. It is one that, with every passing day, makes me more and more appreciative and thankful to Almighty Allah. The extent of His mercy can only fully be understood from the perspective of someone who prostrates themselves regularly and submits their will to that of The Creator. This is what I strive for through Islam, and what the ultimate jihad is. It is the struggle that we must fight every moment of every day, but one that we love, because we know who to turn to for support and who is helping us along.

I look back at my life prior to Islam and reflect on the different ways I sought guidance. I think back to all the different ideas I once had of who God really is and how we can become close to Him. I look back now and smile and perhaps even shed a tear because now I know the truth. Through Islam, I know why so many people who do not believe have so much fear inside them. Life can be very scary without God. I know, because I once harbored that same level of fear. Now, however, I have the ultimate« self-help » program. It’s the self-help program without the self. It’s the path that puts everything in its proper place. Now, life makes sense. Now, life is order. Now, I know why I am here, where I want to go, what I want my life to be, how I want to live, and what is most important not just to me, but to everyone. I only hope and pray that others who have not found the path yet, can feel the same as I do.Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Aalameen ......

U.S. Writer Michael Wolfe

Who Converted to Islam Says:

● Europeans and Americans, including many who are free of racist notions, automatically class people racially; Muslims classified people by their faith and their actions.

● I was looking for a framework I could live with, a vocabulary of spiritual concepts applicable to the life I was living.

● The more I learned about Islam, the more it appeared to conform to what I was after.

After twenty-five years as a writer in America, I wanted something to soften my cynicism. I was searching for new terms by which to see. The way one is raised establishes certain needs in this department. From a pluralist background, I naturally placed great stress on the matters of racism and freedom. Then, in my early twenties, I had gone to live in Africa for three years. During this time, which was formative for me, I did rub shoulders with blacks of many different tribes, with Arabs, Berbers, and even Europeans, who were Muslims. By and large these people did not share the Western obsession with race as a social category. In our encounters being oddly colored rarely mattered. I was welcomed first and judged on merit later. By contrast, Europeans and Americans, including many who are free of racist notions, automatically class people racially. Muslims classified people by their faith and their actions. I found this transcendent and refreshing. Malcolm X saw his nation’s salvation in it.« America needs to understand Islam, » he wrote,« because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem » .

I was looking for an escape route, too, from the isolating terms of a materialistic culture. I wanted access to a spiritual dimension, but the conventional paths I had known as a boy were closed. My father had been a Jew; my mother Christian. Because of my mongrel background, I had a foot in two religious camps. Both faiths were undoubtedly profound. Yet the one that emphasizes a chosen people I found insupportable; while the other, based in a mystery, repelled me. A century before, my maternal great-great-grand-mother’s name had been set in stained glass at the high street Church of Christ in Hamilton, Ohio. By the time I was twenty, this meant nothing to me.

These were the terms my early life provided. The more I thought about it now, the more I returned to my experiences in Muslim Africa. After two return trips to Morocco, in 1981 and 1985, I came to feel that Africa, the continent, had little to do with the balanced life I found there. It was not, that is, a continent I was after, nor an institution, either. I was looking for a framework I could live with, a vocabulary of spiritual concepts applicable to the life I was living now. I did not want to« trade in » my culture. I wanted access to new meanings.

After a mid-Atlantic dinner I went to wash up in the bathroom. During my absence a quorum of Hasidim lined up to pray outside the door. By the time I had finished, they were too immersed to notice me. Emerging from the bathroom, I could barely work the handle. Stepping into the aisle was out of the question.

I could only stand with my head thrust into the hallway, staring at the congregation’s backs. Holding palm-size prayer books, they cut an impressive figure, tapping the texts on their breast-bones as they divined. Little by little the movements grew erratic, like a mild, bobbing form of rock and roll. I watched from the bathroom door until they were finished, then slipped back down the aisle to my seat.

We landed together later that night in Brussels. Reboarding, I found a discarded Yiddish newspaper on a food tray. When the plane took off for Morocco, they were gone.

I do not mean to imply here that my life during this period conformed to any grand design. In the beginning, around 1981, I was driven by curiosity and an appetite for travel. My favorite place to go, when I had the money, was Morocco. When I could not travel, there were books. This fascination brought me into contact with a handful of writers driven to the exotic, authors capable of sentences like this, by Freya Stark:

The perpetual charm of Arabia is that the traveler finds his level there simply as a human being; the people’s directness, deadly to the sentimental or the pedantic, like the less complicated virtues; and the pleasantness of being liked for oneself might, I think, be added to the five reasons for travel given me by Sayyed Abdulla, the watchmaker;« to leave one’s troubles behind one; to earn a living; to acquire learning; to practice good manners; and to meet honorable men » .

I could not have drawn up a list of demands, but I had a fair idea of what I was after. The religion I wanted should be to metaphysics as metaphysics is to science. It would not be confined by a narrow rationalism or traffic in mystery to please its priests. There would be no priests, no separation between nature and things sacred. There would be no war with the flesh, if I could help it. Sex would be natural, not the seat of a curse upon the species. Finally, I did want a ritual component, daily routine to sharpen the senses and discipline my mind. Above all, I wanted clarity and freedom. I did not want to trade away reason simply to be saddled with a dogma.

The more I learned about Islam, the more it appeared to conform to what I was after.

Most of the educated Westerners I knew around this time regarded any strong religious climate with suspicion. They classified religion as political manipulation, or they dismissed it as a medieval concept, projecting upon it notions from their European past.

It was not hard to find a source for their opinions. A thousand years of Western history had left us plenty of fine reasons to regret a path that led through so much ignorance and slaughter. From the Children’s Crusade and the Inquisition to the transmogrified faiths of Nazism and communism during our century, whole countries have been exhausted by belief. Nietzsche’s fear, that the modem nation-state would become a substitute religion, had proved tragically accurate. Our century, it seemed to me, was ending in an age beyond belief, which believers inhabited as much as agnostics.

Regardless of church affiliation, secular humanism is the air westerners breathe and the lens we gaze through. Like any world view, this outlook is pervasive and transparent. It forms the basis of our broad identification with democracy and with the pursuit of freedom in all its countless and beguiling forms.

Immersed in our shared preoccupations, one may easily forget that other ways of life exist on the same planet.

At the time of my trip, for instance, 650 million Muslims with a majority representation in forty-four countries adhered to the formal teachings of Islam. In addition, about 400 million more were living as minorities in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Assisted by postcolonial economics, Islam has become in a matter of thirty years a major faith in Western Europe. Of the world’s great religions, Islam alone was adding to its fold.

My politicized friends were dismayed by my new interest. They all had universally confused Islam with the machinations of half a dozen Middle Eastern tyrants. The books they read, the new broadcasts they viewed depicted the faith as a set of political functions. Almost nothing was said of its spiritual practice. I liked to quote Mae West to them:« Anytime you take religion for a joke, the laugh’s on you » .

Historically a Muslim sees Islam as the final, matured expression of an original religion reaching back to Adam. It is as resolutely monotheistic as Judaism, whose major Prophets Islam reveres as links in a progressive chain, culminating in Jesus and Muhammad. Essentially a message of renewal, Islam has done its part on the world stage to return the forgotten taste of life’s lost sweetness to millions of people. Its book, The Qur’an, caused Goethe to remark,« You see, this teaching never fails; with all our systems, we cannot go, and generally speaking no man can go, further » .

Traditional Islam is expressed through the practice of five pillars. Declaring one’s faith, prayer, charity, and fasting are activities pursued repeatedly throughout one’s life. Conditions permitting, each Muslim is additionally charged with undertaking a pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime. The Arabic term for this fifth rite is Hadj. Scholars relate the word to the concept of kasd,« aspiration, » and to the notion of men and women as travelers on earth. In Western religions, pilgrimage is a vestigial tradition, a quaint, folkloric concept commonly reduced to metaphor. Among Muslims, on the other hand, the Hadj embodies a vital experience for millions of new pilgrims every year. In spite of the modem content of their lives, it remains an act of obedience, a profession of belief, and the visible expression of a spiritual community. For a majority of Muslims the Hadj is an ultimate goal, the trip of a lifetime.

As a convert I felt obliged to go to Mecca. As an addict to travel, I could not imagine a more compelling goal.

The annual, month-long fast ofRamadan precedes the Hadj by about one hundred days. These two rites form a period of intensified awareness in Muslim society. I wanted to put this period to use. I had read about Islam; I had joined a Mosque near my home in California; I had started a practice. Now I hoped to deepen what I was learning by submerging myself in a religion where Islam infuses every aspect of existence.

I planned to begin in Morocco, because I knew that country well and because it followed traditional Islam and was fairly stable. The last place I wanted to start was in a backwater full of uproarious sectarians. I wanted to paddle the mainstream, the broad, calm water.

Vietnamese Muslim

Shing Yu (Abdullah)

Tells the story of his conversion to Islam

● The day I became Muslim was the most important day of my life.

● I feel Allah is beside me all the time.

● My ultimate hope is to have numerous people the world over, particularly in Vietnam, understand the bright, beautiful qualities of the right path of Islam.

I testify that there is no God, but Allah, I testify that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah. That is theShahadeh I had pronounced from the bottom of my heart in front of a crowded audience at a mosque in the Kingdom of Belgium on the 19th of May, 2000, when I just reached the age of 26.

I was born and grew up in Hanoi, Vietnam. Thanks to the blessings of Allah, I was allowed to come to Belgium in 1998 to study for the Master of Science degree in Physical Land Resources.

When I was in Vietnam, I had a very vague concept of The Creator and often felt very embarrassed to ask myself,« Where do men and the universe come from? » At that time, The Lord or God, Adam and Eve for me were simply the characters in children’s tales. I have also been told about Allah, Muhammad, Qur’an and Muslims but I had never thought that these terms are so closely related to each other.

Among my classmates in Belgium, some adopted Christianity while some followed the religion of Islam. Many times, they have explained to me about The Lord but I did not pay attention to it. On the contrary, I even protested against it strongly. I thought to myself,« Since they are highly educated as such, why do they believe in the items of nonsense like that? »

I still remember, when for the first time I saw from behind a Muslim friend in the position of bowing down to pray, I thought he was looking for an object falling on the floor! Later on, when I understood the truth, I was very ashamed of my lack of knowledge.

When I was told that the Muslim population in the world are about one billion three hundred million, making one Muslim in five people, I changed from indifference to the attitude of curiosity and was moved to inquire about Islam.

My curiosity increased when I knew that The Holy Qur’an explained clearly a number of scientific phenomena and stated about the Hereafter.

I knew, moreover, that there are also a number of Muslim communities in Vietnam. This made me become even more eager to know thoroughly about Islam - a religion that has many followers who adopted and complied with a pure and respectable way of life. I thought there must be some miracles that make Muslims acquire such a firm faith.

I started inquiring about this religion in September 1999. The more I’ve learnt, the more I appreciated Islam and realized that Muslims live very sincerely and possess many qualities that make me respect them. The more I extended the relations with Muslims, the more it confirmed my unshakeable sentiment towards Islam.

Many times, I have asked myself whether The Lord would really exist. How can we believe in Allah while we cannot see Him by our own eyes? In spite of plenty of modern equipment, we are still not able to see The Lord. I was thinking over this every day and night in order to look for an appropriate answer for myself.

Later, I found out that although being unable to see The Lord, men can still perceive His Existence from their heart. This is like when we see a painting. We only feel the thoughts or theme of the painter in our mind but we do not pick them up directly from the painting. Yet, if men can see and recognize The Lord in person (like in bone and flesh), then is it true that The Lord is similar to the creatures that He creates? No, and that is the essence of Islam. The Lord is never represented for worship under the forms of statues that are molded by men themselves.

In the process of inquiring about Islam, I have received that encouragement, the whole-hearted assistance, and guidance of brothers and sisters-in-Islam the world over, particularly the Vietnamese-speaking Muslims.

I had the good blessing of obtaining a Vietnamese translation of The Holy Qur’an in March. After reading The Holy Qur’an, I believed entirely in Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’Alaall glory be with the Highest Lord) as the Creator and Lord of the universe.

The contents of The Qur’an are indeed the Words of Allah that were revealed to Nabi Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him).

I believe that Islam is the religion of Eternal Truth that is very close to life. I’ve decided to follow Islam and to become a Muslim without further delay, not even for another minute or second.

The day I became Muslim was the most important day of my life. In my life from now on, I may see the light of Truth of Islam thus ending the period of darkness and ignorance. I feel peaceful and joyful since my mind had a firm support. I am very honored and proud when I became a Muslim. My person has undertaken major changes. Previously, I often drank alcohol and beer during the time of joy and sadness. I lied without shame, and when I did something, it was just for my own interest. I never thought of anything good or bad, and I was very afraid of death! Now, I am completely different. I feel Allah is beside me all the time; He sees me, listens to me, and knows all my thoughts. This makes me become a good and pious person. Although I feel very regretful for what I had wrongfully done previously, I still have a peace of mind for, indeed, Allah is The Most Generous and The Most Merciful.

I have an ultimate hope, that is, to do in such a way as to have numerous people the world over, particularly in Vietnam, understand the bright, beautiful qualities of the right path of Islam and to become Muslim the same way as Allah has guided and directed me.

Hungarian Muslim Brother

Robert Manias says:

● My grandfather, a Protestant priest, encouraged me to look for the truth and blessed my conversion to Islam.

● In order to probe the secrets of this religion and discover its noble contents, I spent years in Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon where I studied Arabic and the faith.

● Islam goes beyond the «I» towards a wider and farther horizon that includes the other, who is to me either a brother in faith or a peer in humanity.

Robert was born and raised by a religious Christian family of a Catholic father and a Protestant mother. They lived in Budapest, Hungary. The great turn in this 30-year-old, truth-seeking, young man has been caused by his maternal grandfather, a Protestant priest who was well-informed about the other religions of Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam.

What can you tell us about the beginning of your march, and what about that relationship between you and your grandfather?

I was so attached to him; he was my pacemaker, I went with him wherever he went although I was a small boy, and he had the same feelings towards me. He always talked to me about the Christian doctrine and the other eastern faiths, choosing the wise sayings and the moral lessons from them and telling me to memorize them. He sometimes told me stories of heroism, patience, and sacrifice, and I memorized them and told them to my family and friends who gathered around me and listened in admiration. I felt overwhelming joy - although I did not realize the deep meaning of my grandfather’s stories that I was telling.

When I was sixteen, I felt the beginning of a strange turn when he spoke out frankly to me about his doubts concerning the doctrine.

« Son, » he told me,« I see contradictions to which I can find no answers. »

« I asked many people with whom I engaged in dialogues and read many books but could not find a convincing meaning for this doctrine of trinity, » he added.

Then I realized that my grandfather was troubled by the three hypostasis issue as he wondered,« How can part of the Lord get into Jesus, and then the latter dies? »

In the beginning, I tried to ignore the severity of these embarrassing questions, but my efforts were in vain, for they chased me at every occasion. Soon doubts crawled into me, and I became a partner to my grandfather in the agony of seeking the truth.

« You can’t settle for doubt alone, » he told me one day,« you have to look for answers to these paradoxes in our faith. » Then he gave me some books about Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. They were written in German. I read them passionately, and whenever I finished a chapter, I had a conversation with my grandfather about the explanations and problematic issues in them. This made me uncertain about all that I had believed was sacred.

However, these books did not satisfy me; on the contrary, they increased my uncertainty. Then my grandfather sensed my anxiety; he said he feared that he had burdened me with more than I could take, but I asserted my resolve and insistence to reach an answer that satisfied me. He looked at me with pride and advised me to consult with other clerics and hold dialogues with them perhaps I could get to a logical explanation of religion.

Indeed, my grandfather’s advice paved the way to a splendid experience in which I met clerics from other faiths, including some Muslims in Hungary. I spent a long time holding dialogues with them and asking them about their beliefs pertaining to The Lord, prophecy, prophets, and their holy books. I noted and recorded the things that I saw as unique in their answers. I later compared my notes with my creed about Divinity and sought assistancefrom my grandfather who spared no effort in gathering those scattered bits of information and comparing them with what is stated in our Holy Book.

Were there other factors that assisted you in the journey for the Truth?

Yes. When I went to college, my choice of History as a major was a major factor in accumulating my information and widening my horizons concerning religions and peoples in the old and modern worlds. I had a yearning to see what was overseas, for books no longer benefited me as I had to examine the Truth firsthand and see it amidst people who articulate it and act in line with it. Therefore, I had a great desire to cross the borders and travel.

The first country I visited was Egypt where I talked to everyone and benefited from some simple answers regarding the creed issue which concerned me. In 1992, I traveled to Syria where I found the people to be large-hearted and theUlama humble and patient when it came to my sometimes embarrassing questions. During my meetings and dialogues that took place in mosques, I started to get some of the convincing answers that my grandfather had been looking for concerning monotheism, prophecy and prophets.

I returned to Hungary wanting to bring out before my grandfather what I understood about monotheism, prophecy and inspiration. During my studies, I spent some time at the Islamic Association in Hungary, a body that had been established by Islamic communities. I spent all my time reading and researching until 1995, the year in which I declared my embracing of Islam.

What impact did your conversion to Islam have on your family and on those who knew you?

Then my grandfather was still alive. When I told him that I had become a Muslim, he was pleased. He said,« Thank God, you have found what pacifies your heart. » The paradox, however, was that my grandfather did not convert to Islam. This remains an enigma to me, for I asked him about that, but he did not answer me. As for my family, they did not oppose my decision; they even came closer to my ideas as we engaged in prolonged discussions.

What were the steps you took to gain more Islamic education and sciences?

When I embraced Islam, I felt that I did not reach the goal, but rather the starting point. The beginning for me was over, and I had to embark on the tougher mission, that is to probe the secrets of this religion and discover its noble and sublime contents. I realized very well that this can only be achieved through gaining the introduction to this faith and the keys to understanding its texts in their original language. That is why I spent all my time in studying the Arabic language in some public schools that had been established by some orientalists in Hungary. Later, I traveled to Damascus again and joined an institute that teaches Arabic to foreigners and which is under the supervision of the Higher Education Ministry in Syria. I spent a whole year learning Arabic and its principles. My teacher who was brilliant and distinguished with his scientific and systematic style increased my love to Arabic.

I returned to Hungary and looked for the sites of the Muslim communities. I approached them to maintain some worshipping duties and ethical practices that Islam ordered. Besides, my relationship with them enabled me to speak Arabic and increase my knowledge about that language. At that time, I was considering studying religious studies in one of our neighboring countries, such as Austria where there are institutes for studying IslamicSharia ; however, I preferred to study amidst an Islamic and Arab milieu to benefit more from being close to the Islamic daily life. Therefore, I had to wait for another three years which I concluded with getting my higher studies degree in History.

In 1998, a Divine Providence enabled me to meet a Lebanese man residing in Hungary. I told him about my wish to study Islam, so he suggested that I travel with him to Lebanon. There, I met honorableUlama and embarked upon the journey of learning and science. It was a tough journey in which I encountered many challenges because I had chosen a milieu that was completely different from my own. Nevertheless, I benefited a lot from my religious studies that implanted in me new senses about life and man. During that journey, I was accompanied by a Philosophy professor who has opened before me horizons concerning this great religion that answered my anxious questions.

How do you view your experience with Islam up till now, and how do you determine the responsibilities you shoulder towards your faith?

I feel that my experience has been successful as it widened my ideas about Islam and Muslims, but I must not settle for this personal experience and consider it an individualistic salvation, for Islam has taken me beyond this« I » towards a wider and farther horizon that includes the other, who is to me either a brother in faith or a peer in humanity. These are the principles of Islam and its sublime human ethics, and they make me more aware of my duty and responsibility towards my family, relatives, and society: to deliver to them the message of Islam that Allah has bestowed upon me.

The Hungarian Muslims’ Association

For the sake of these sublime principles, we are now seeking to establish institutes and libraries in Budapest to help us spread awareness about Islam and the Seal (the last) of the Prophets (p.b.u.h.) among the people. Currently we are teaching Arabic in the association, and everybody (Muslims and non-Muslims) can benefit from this service in many domains.

Do you have any special interests other than those blessed activities which you have just mentioned?

As for my occupation, I write in HVG, Hungary’s largest magazine, about religious culture and Islamic thought. I take interest in the important events in contemporary history, such as the Islamic Revolution in Iran. I also mind special attention to the Islamic rituals (the two Eids, the Holy Month ofRamadan ) and try to tell my society in Hungary what they mean.