WELCOME TO ISLAM

WELCOME TO ISLAM11%

WELCOME TO ISLAM Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
Category: General Books

WELCOME TO ISLAM
  • Start
  • Previous
  • 70 /
  • Next
  • End
  •  
  • Download HTML
  • Download Word
  • Download PDF
  • visits: 20526 / Download: 4324
Size Size Size
WELCOME TO ISLAM

WELCOME TO ISLAM

Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought


1

2

3

4

5

Craig Robertson, Ex-Catholic, Canada:

Story of Journey from Darkness to Light

●After being raised in a Catholic household and spending much of his early childhood attending church, Craig rejects faith and takes to life in the fast lane.

My name is Abdullah Al-Kanadi. I was born in Vancouver, Canada. My family, who were Roman Catholic, raised me as a Roman Catholic until I was 12 years old. I have been Muslim for approximately six years, and I would like to share the story of my journey to Islam with you.

I suppose in any story it’s best to start from the beginning. During my childhood, I attended a Catholic religious school and was taught about the Catholic faith, along with other subjects. Religion was always my best class; I excelled academically in the teachings of the Church. I was pressed into service as an ‘altar boy’ by my parents from a very young age, which pleased my grandparents a great deal; but the more I learned about my religion, the more I questioned it! I have this memory from my childhood, I asked my mother on Mass: “Is our religion the right one?” My mother’s answer still rings in my ears to this day: “Craig, they are all the same, they’re all good!” Well to me this didn’t seem right. What was the point of me learning my religion if they were all equally good!?

At the age of twelve, my maternal grandmother was diagnosed with colon cancer and died a few months later, after a painful battle with the disease. I never realized how deeply her death affected me till later on in life. At the tender age of twelve, I decided I would be an atheist in order to punish God (if you can even fathom such a thing!) I was an angry little boy; I was angry at the world, at myself, and worst of all, at God. I stumbled through my early teenage years trying to do everything I could to impress my new “friends” in public high school. I quickly realized that I had a lot to learn, for being sheltered in a religious school you don’t learn what you would in a public school. I pressed all my friends in private to teach me about all the things I did not learn, soon enough I gained the habit of swearing and making fun of people weaker than me. Even though I tried my best to fit in, I never actually did. I would get bullied; girls would make fun of me and so on. For a kid my age, this was devastating. I retreated to myself, into what you would call an ‘emotional shell’. My teenage years were filled with misery and loneliness. My poor parents tried to talk to me, but I was belligerent towards them and very disrespectful. I graduated from high school in the summer of 1996 and felt that things would have to change for the better, since I believed they couldn’t get any worse! I was accepted in a local technical school and decided that I should further my education and maybe make good money, so that I would be happy. I took a job at a fast-food restaurant by my house to help pay for school.

A couple of weeks before I was to start school, I was invited to move out with some friends from work. To me, this seemed like the answer to my problems! I would forget my family and be with my friends all the time. One night, I told my parents I was going to move out. They told me, I couldn’t, and that I wasn’t ready for it and that they wouldn’t allow it! I was 17 years old and very headstrong; I swore at my parents and said to them all sorts of evil things, which I still regret to this day. I felt emboldened by my new freedom, I felt released, and I could follow my desires as I saw fit. I moved in with my friends and didn’t speak to my parents for a long time after that.

I was working and going to school when my roommates introduced me to marijuana. I was in love with it after the first ‘puff’! I would smoke a bit when I got home from work to relax and unwind. Soon though, I started to smoke more and more, until during one weekend I had smoked so much, that it was Monday morning and before I knew it, it was time for school. I thought, well, I’ll take one day of school off, and go the next day, since they won’t possibly miss me. I never returned to school after that. I finally realized how good I had it. All the fast food I could steal and all the drugs I could smoke; who needed school anyways?

I was living a great life, or so I thought; I became the ‘resident’ bad boy at work, and, consequently, the girls started to pay attention to me like they hadn’t in high school. I tried harder drugs, butAlhamdulillah , I was saved from the really terrible stuff. The strange thing was when I wasn’t high or drunk I was miserable. I felt worthless and completely valueless. I was stealing from work and from friends to help maintain the ‘chemical haze’. I became paranoid of the people around me and imagined police officers were chasing me around every corner. I was beginning to crack, and I needed a solution, and I figured that religion would help me.

I remember seeing a movie about witchcraft, and I thought that would be perfect for me. I bought a couple books on Wicca and Nature Worship and found that they encouraged the use of natural drugs so I continued. People would ask me if I believed in God, and we would have the strangest conversations while under the ‘influence’, but I distinctly remember saying that no, in fact I don’t believe in God at all, I believe in many gods as imperfect as me.

Through all this, there was one friend who stuck by me. He was a ‘Born Again’ Christian and was always preaching to me, even though I would mock his faith at every opportunity. He was the only friend I had at the time who didn’t judge me. So when he invited me along to go to a youth weekend camp, I decided to go along. I had no expectations. I thought I would have a huge laugh making fun of all the “Bible Thumpers”. During the second evening, they had a huge service in an auditorium. They played all sorts of music which praised God. I watched as the young and old, male and female cried out for forgiveness and shed tears over everything. I was really moved, and I said a silent prayer along the lines of “God! I know I have been a horrible person, please help me, and forgive me and let me start fresh.” I felt a surge of emotion come over me, and I felt tears roll down my cheek. I decided at that moment to embrace Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I raised my hands in the air and started dancing around (yes, dancing!) All the Christians around me were staring at me in stunned silence; the guy who mocked them and told them how stupid they were for believing in God was dancing and praising God!

I returned to my party home and eschewed all drugs, intoxicants, and girls. I promptly told my friends how they needed to be Christians so they could be saved. I was shocked that they rejected me, because they always used to pay attention to me before. I ended up moving back with my parents after a long absence and used to badger them with the reasons why they should become Christian. They being Catholic felt they were already Christian, but I felt they were not, for they worshipped Saints. I decided to move out again but this time on better terms and was given a job by my grandfather who wanted to help with my “recovery”.

I started to hang out at a Christian “youth house” which was basically a house where teens could go to get away from family pressures and discuss Christianity. I was older than most of the boys, so I became one of those who talked most and try to make the boys feel welcomed. In spite of this, I felt like a fraud for I started drinking and dating again. I would tell the kids about Jesus’ love for them and during the nights would drink. Through all this, my one Christian friend would try to council me and keep me on the right track.

I still remember to this day my first encounter with a Muslim. One of the boys brought his friend to the youth house. He was a Muslim kid whose name I forgot. What I do remember is the boy saying “I brought my friend ‘so and so’, he’s a Muslim, and I want to help him become a Christian”. I was absolutely amazed by this 14-year-old kid; he was calm and friendly! Believe it or not, he defended himself AND Islam against a dozen Christians who were hurling abuses at him and Islam! As we sat there fruitlessly thumbing through our Bibles and getting angrier and angrier, he just sat there, quietly smiling and telling us about worshipping others besides God and how, yes, there is love in Islam. He was like a gazelle encircled by a dozen hyenas, yet the entire time, he was calm and friendly and respectful. It blew my mind!

The Muslim kid left a copy of The Quran on the shelf, either he forgot it or left it on purpose, I don’t know, but I started reading it. I soon became infuriated with this book when I saw that it made more sense than the Bible. I threw it against the couch and walked away, seething with anger; yet, after I read it, I had a niggling doubt at my core. I did my best to forget about the Muslim kid and just enjoy my time with my friends at the youth house. The youth group used to go to various Churches on weekends to prayer events and Saturday nights were spent in a huge Church instead of at the bar. I remember being at one such event called ‘The Well’, and I felt so close to God and wanted to humble myself and show my Creator my love for Him. I did what felt natural, I prostrated. I prostrated like Muslims do in the daily prayers, yet I didn’t know what I was doing. All I knew was that it felt really good... It felt right more than anything else I had ever done. I felt very pious and spiritual and continued on my path, but, as usual, I started to feel things slipping away.

The Pastor always taught us that we must submit our will to God’s, and I wanted nothing more than to do that; but I didn’t know how! I always prayed “Please God, make my will Yours, make me follow Your will” and so on, but nothing ever happened. I felt myself slowly slipping away from the Church as my faith ebbed away. It was at this time that my best friend, the Christian man who had helped me come to Christ, along with another close friend of mine, raped my girlfriend who I had been with for two years. I was in the other room too drunk to know what was happening and unable to stop anything. A couple of weeks later, it was revealed that the man who ran the youth house had molested one of the boys that I was friends with.

My world was shattered! I had been betrayed by so many of my friends, people who were supposed to be close to God and working towards Paradise. I had nothing left to give; I was empty again. I walked around as before, blindly and without direction, just working and sleeping and partying. My girlfriend and I broke up soon afterwards. My guilt, rage and sadness encompassed my entire being. How could my Creator allow such a thing to happen to me? How selfish was I!

A little while after, my manager at work told me that a “Moslem” would be working with us, he was really religious, and we should try to be decent around him. The minute this “Moslem” came in, he started Da’wah. He wasted no time in telling us all about Islam, and everyone told him they didn’t want to hear anything about Islam, other than me! My soul was crying out, and even my stubbornness could not squelch the cries. We started working together and discussing our respective beliefs. I had given up on Christianity completely, but when he started asking me questions, my faith surged, and I felt I was a ‘Crusader’ defending the Faith from this evil “Moslem”.

The fact of the matter was that this particular “Moslem” wasn’t evil like I had been told. In fact, he was better than me. He didn’t swear; he never got angry and was always calm, kind, and respectful. I was truly impressed and decided that he would make an excellent Christian. We went back and forth asking things about each other’s religions, but after a time I felt myself getting more and more defensive. At one point, I became very angry... Here I was trying to convince him of the truth of Christianity, and I felt it was he who was on the truth! I started to feel more and more confused and didn’t know what to do. All I knew was that I had to increase my faith, so I jumped in my car and roared off to ‘The Well’. I was convinced that if I could only pray there again, I could get the feeling back and the strong faith and then I could convert the Muslim. I eventually got there, after speeding the entire way, and found it was closed! No one was in sight; I frantically looked around for another similar event so I could ‘charge up’ but found nothing. Dejected, I returned home.

I started to realize that I was being pushed in a certain direction, so I prayed over and over to my Creator to surrender my will to His. I felt that my prayer was being answered; I went home and laid in bed, and at that moment I realized that I needed to pray like never before. I sat up in bed and cried, ‘Jesus, God, Buddha, whoever You are, please, please guide me, I need You! I have done so much evil in my life, and I need Your help. If Christianity is the correct way then make me strong, and if it is Islam, then bring me to it!’ I stopped praying, and the tears went away, and deep within my soul I felt calm, I knew what the answer was. I went to work the next day and said to the Muslim brother “how do I say ‘hi’ to you?” He asked me what I meant and I said, “I wanted to become a Muslim”. He looked at me and said “Allahu Akbar!” We hugged for a good minute or so, and I thanked him for everything, and I began my journey into Islam.

I look back at all the events that happened in my life over time, and I realize that I was being prepared to become a Muslim. I was shown so much mercy from God. Out of all that happened in my life, there was something to learn. I learned the beauty of the Islamic prohibition of intoxicants, the prohibition of illegal sex, and the need for theHijab . I am finally on an even keel, no more am I too much in one direction; I am living a moderate life and doing my best to be a decent Muslim.

There are always challenges, as I am sure many of you have felt, as have I. But through these challenges, through these emotional pains, we become stronger; we learn and, I hope, turn to God. For those of us who have accepted Islam at some point in our lives, we truly are blessed and fortunate. We have been given the chance, a chance for the greatest mercy! Mercy which we don’t deserve, but still will, God willing, be given on the Day of Resurrection. I have reconciled with my family and have started looking to start my own God willing. Islam truly is a way of life, and even if we suffer poor treatment by fellow Muslims or non Muslims, we must always remember to be patient and turn only to God.

If I have said anything incorrect it is from me, and if anything that I have said is correct it is from God. All Praises are due to God, and may God bestow His mercy and blessings upon his noble Prophet Muhammad, Amen.

May God increase our faith and make it in accords to that which pleases Him and grant us His Paradise, Amen!

Sister Tania Bowling - Germany

Early life:

Sister Tania Bowling was born in 1976 in Germany which is one of the developed and important countries in Europe and the world. Germany has a population of 65 million people; 3 million of them are Muslims who hail from Germany, Turkey, Iran, or Arab countries. Most of the Islamic community resides in the cities of Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Aachen and Hannover. Sister Tania has been brought up in a Christian family that had the traditions that characterize Western families.

She had the honor of embracing the Islamic Faith according toAhlul-Bait ’s (A.S.) teachings in 1999 as she left Christianity at the age of twenty-two after a period of« loss and self-ignorance » until Allah took her hand and rescued her from the bottom of darkness into the splendor of light.

Intellectual Loss Stage:

Tania was living in atmospheres she describes as:« We were at that time living together, side by side, but none of us cared about the other. Everyone lived for oneself and for the sake of oneself; we shared loneliness and isolation. I do not exaggerate if I say that each one of us did not even live with oneself that one had abandoned; we did not even think about our future. None of us dared to question himself or herself: Why do I live? Why was I born? Where have I come from? And where am I heading?

« Everyone was aimlessly wandering astray in dark alleys and turns. We were all loitering in the alleys of mob life, without thinking about a shelter or a cozy home. We spent our lives in a loss of goals, ethics, doctrine, and morale. »

Reasons for Abandoning Religion in the West:

This was an early reaction that occurred towards religion in the West as a result of the acts of the clergy and the distortion of the Christian religion which has failed to perform its functions and role in the life of the Christian individual and community; the clergy have set for their societies laws and regulations that have made the religion of Christ the most complicated of the major and positive religions, in contrast with Jesus (A.S.) who had presented the faith with simplicity.

Christian scholars thought that, by doing so, they have founded an intellectual structure that is good for regulating the lives of the individual and the community. However, once those theories were put into practice, it was clear that they were not right as they stumbled and shook. It was not possible for those teachings and principles to survive in the land of reality; the fruit they harvested was utter failure and falling into bitter disasters, which backfired against those teachings, or rather against religion in general. Consequently, the West generally lived in a state of loss.

Sister Tania says:« More than 50% of the people and more than 60% of the young men and women in our area had a state of loneliness despite the apparent friendship, companionship, and family ties. Actually, all the human relations, in their materialistic and apparent forms, were for the sake of amusement, playing, and time-killing. These people could only stand them for a few hours of their nights or days, while spending the rest of their lives isolated from others in a room or an apartment. »

The journey from Darkness to Light:

Sister Tania lived for twenty years in such an environment, until she found her soul, thanks to pure Islam represented byAhlul-Bait ’s (A.S.) School. Having recovered that soul which she had lost all that time, Tania knew about her Lord Who had been, before that, strange to her.

The beginning of the story of her journey from darkness into light was when she met by chance a Muslim young woman wearinghijab in a market in the city of Hamburg. Sister Tania describes the incident by saying:« I was then impetuous, like any German young woman; therefore, I made fun at the hijab of that woman and degraded her for it. I said to her: What kind of illness do you have to cover your body as such?

The veiled girl answered quietly and soberly: « A woman’s veil, shyness, and chastity testify to the soundness of her soul. Hijab gives women a moral freedom that enables her to maintain her social security, while nudity is contrary to common sense. »

Tania says:« I categorically rejected what she said and went on with my friends to do what I was doing. However, I kept thinking about that veiled woman’s argument, self-confidence, knowledge, and commitment to her principles until I had the opportunity, driven by curiosity, to go to Imam Ali’s (A.S.) Mosque in Hamburg. There, I talked and had dialogues with a number of Shia Muslims of different ethnicities who had gathered there. I noticed that they had strong arguments and evidence. I had good ties with a number of them to get to know the facts of which I had not been aware before. Gradually, my mind and soul began to be attracted by their ideas and beliefs, and I started to feel as though I had been a Muslim just like them, one who did not differ with them in anything. »

Sister Tania was lucky to learn about Islam directly, not through Christianity that has tried to penetrate Islamic thought via an approach of skepticism, deception, and fabrication of facts to distort the Islamic history, principles, and culture under the banner of Orientalism.

Orientalists have introduced their opinions and prejudices as they interpreted events, discussed texts, and analyzed issues. They have looked at Islam from their own window and threw on it their own shadows in a bid to change its original milestones. Thus, they have confused between Islam as an orthodox religion and the deteriorating situation of Muslims, judging, as Kiesling did, that Islam was a dead religion!

Brilliant Islamic Values:

Sister Tania says:« What caught my interest in Islam was the Muslims’ moral relationship with their Lord; their strong ties with their families; the existence of a purpose of life to them; their solidarity that knows no boundaries, be that at the racial, national or geographic origin levels, in addition to their attachment to their religion and the established belief in their ideological issues. »

She adds:« Muslims have taken these things from Islam itself. They lead their daily lives according to these principles, to some extent. Of course had I met Muslims estranged from their religion and Islam, I would not have had confidence in Islam. »

Ahlul-Bait’s (AS) Role in Preserving Islam:

Sister Tania has been extremely attracted to reading Islamic intellectual and doctrinal books. She first read The Holy Quran, then theHadiths of the Prophet and his Household (A.S.). This has added to the strength of her faith and the awakening of her mind and heart besides brightening her face with the light of faith due to theseHadiths ’ role in addressing the human being’s problems and deepening their religious awareness.

Sister Tania has found in these teachings the spiritual security and tranquility she had been lacking. She describes her situation after converting to the doctrine ofAhlul-Bait (A.S.) by saying:

« I have gained from The Quran and the sayings of the Prophet and Ahlul-Bait (A.S.) all that a human being could wish for as for one’s religion, though I have lost everything because of embracing Islam! However, on the other hand, I have found my self and gained my soul. At that time, I could find everything except Allah, but still I felt that I was in a state of loss and confusion.

Today, after I have found my self - which I had lost for twenty years - and knew my Lord Who was strange to me, I have obtained everything, and indeed all that I wanted, thanks to Islam.

I have obtained moral freedom besides brothers and sisters in Allah everywhere: in Hamburg, in Germany, rather throughout the world, and most importantly, I have found, among many other things, Allah’s message to humanity that He had sent centuries ago; I found it in the closet of history treasures, so I took it, and this is the greatest capital in my life.

I have turned the page of a night that had persisted for twenty years of my life through the dawn of a new day. The sun of Islam has granted me warmth and rekindled in me activity and vitality after a long winter hibernation that continued for many years. »

Sister Tania describes her relationship with others, especially her family after being honored by becoming a Muslim. She says:« Despite suffering from ostensible loneliness and many problems with my family because of being honored by Islam, I still live with my father and mother. Of course, we have had, throughout this long period, numerous diatribes and discussions; nevertheless, they have realized that I am serious about my affiliation to Islam, which greatly reduced the intensity of argument between us. In fact, my parents now admire my Islamic manners and personality as they have noticed that my actions are now better than in the past. »

With this firm will and deep-rooted determination, Tania has been able to overcome many of the obstacles that emerged in her way to Islam. Thanks to her high intellectual potentials, which she had acquired from the knowledge ofAhlul-Bait ’s (A.S.) School, she has managed to withstand the opposite currents and prove her professional competence. She is a model to every human being who clings to his or her principles heedless of anyone who might blame them for that.

She has a wish:« I hope that The Almighty guide my father and my mother to Islam. »

Christopher and Phillip embrace Islam

Following their pure innate nature, young Christopher and Phillip embrace Islam.

« Every newborn is given birth according to human nature; his parents turn him into a Jew, a Christian or a Marian. » And today’s tale is only a testimony to the truth in this sacredHadith . Christopher and his brother Phillip were born to Catholic parents, and their mother decided from the beginning to leave them to choose their religion distantly from any family or social influences.

« I want to become a photographer in order to convey the accurate picture about Muslims. » With these words, 16-year old Sayyed, formerly Christopher, started his talk in which he dealt with how Allah guided him to Islam and the reasons why he embraced the true faith.

Sayyed went on to say,« I approached Islam with a pleased soul and full conviction. I can only thank my mother for her role in lighting the path for me. And I repeat my thanks because she let me choose and did not force me any day to determine my religious identity. »

Sayyed added saying,« My mother embraced Islam almost two and a half years ago after she got married to an Egyptian Muslim, and Allah guided her through him after she had been introduced to Islam through her readings as guided by her husband. The interest in Islam shifted from my mother to me and to Phillip, my brother, so we together decided to follow in our mother’s footsteps and embrace Islam. This we achieved when we declared our acceptance of Islam a year and a half ago before our small family which is comprised of my mother and her husband. As for now, we are with you here at the Islamic Center to celebrate the Eid and to declare before you that we have accepted Islam before this crowd of our Muslim brethren on a Day when we celebrate the end of the glorious Month of Ramadan. »

Sayyed, who and whose family live in Krames town in the Lower Austria Province, says that he maintains his relationship with his family although it rejected the idea of his embracing Islam as he had personally expected. His acceptance of Islam and that of his brother, Phillip, has been denounced by the family members. The director of the Islamic Center of Vienna had announced after the Eid prayers yesterday that both youths, Christopher (Sayyed) and Phillip, wanted to declare their acceptance of Islam before the worshippers. Having pronounced the Shahada amidst clamoring Takbir shouts by the worshippers, the director accompanied the family for a tour in the center’s courtyard where he gave them presents.

In an interview with both Muslim youths, I asked Sayyed,« What attracted you to Islam? Why did you choose Islam rather than any other faith? » The young Muslim man kept silent for a moment then answered,« I do not know All I can say is that I have read about it, and the more I read the more I loved it... But what attracted me the most to Islam is that I felt that the Muslims worship God in the most perfect way. They continue to be in touch with Him all day long, day and night, which is proven by the prayers obligation which we perform five times during the day and the night... As regarding the way followers of other religions worship, it is confined to certain days of the week, if they perform it at all. »

« Did you fast during the Month of Ramadan? » Sayyed’s answer came very quickly as if he was waiting to be asked. He smiled and said,« Yes, Praise to Allah! I fasted the entire Month of Ramadan except for one day during which I was sick and I had a school examination that day. It is the first time that I fasted, and it was hard especially the first days. » Then he said,« My mother challenged me that I would not be able to fast, but I fasted, and nobody believed it. » As for Phillip, his 12-year-old brother, he wished to be able to fast the whole Month ofRamadan next year after having been through the experience of fasting for one day this year.

Sayyed expressed his hope to be able to learn Arabic and memorize The Holy Quran especially since« Allah has blessed me and my brother with memorizing Surat al-Fatiha and some short Suras, and this enabled us to perform the five obligatory prayers, » according to him.

As regarding his future plans, Sayyed said,« I want to become a photographer in order to convey the accurate picture about Muslims and Islam. I have seen many films which distort Muslims’ image, and I have seen many good films about Islam made by individuals whom I regard as my supreme models and who have embraced Islam. I will study Islam at Vienna University, for I have come to know that they have a good Islamic studies program. »

As soon as the noontime call for prayers (athan ) was pronounced, Sayyed and Phillip looked at us and said,« Do you permit us to go? » They stood up, greeted us, and then went at the time when tears filled our eyes!

The director of the Islamic Center of Vienna says that hundreds of Austrians have declared their acceptance of Islam inside the Islamic Center during the years of its existence in Vienna. Since the Center was established, 1,100 persons accepted Islam, and 700 Austrians accepted Islam during the past ten years; most of them are youths.

The director went on to say,« Certainly there are special programs to absorb the Muslim converts and to assess the extent of their true desire to embrace Islam. These programs include meetings which are held 4 times a week for three months. First, we are interested in the Muslim convert articulating both Shahadas so he would be a follower of the Islamic faith if Allah decrees for him to die [so he may die as a Muslim]. Then he joins orientation programs which give him an idea about the religion and its basic tenets without going into details which may confuse him... We acquaint the Muslim convert with the tolerance of the Islamic faith and with its logic, for there is wisdom behind each ruling in Islam. We are keen about explaining to him the wisdom behind the praying and fasting obligations and support it with brief booklets in German. »

The director explains saying,« There are some who come to us to declare their acceptance of Islam, but they retract during the orientation period. Some of them wish to apply for a job which preconditions the applicant to be a Muslim, and there may be one who wishes to marry a Muslim woman, so he accepts Islam in order to marry her. »

The Islamic Center receives more than 30,000 Austrian citizens per year who wish to become familiar with Islam without an intermediary, and most of these individuals are university and school students. The center sets the suitable appointments for receiving them. The Center will also organize this coming March an open mosque week during which guests will be welcomed by the Center amidst an Islamic atmosphere in which they get to know how Muslims pray. There will also be tours inside the Center, and prayers will take place under leadership of cadres who are qualified in their language and religion.

Search for the Truth

Fatima

«Fatima »28, is a young Mexican lady who was raised by a Jewish family in a Jewish society. How was the moment when she converted to Islam and chose it as her religion? What is the story behind her embracing Islam, actually behind her true birth?

She personally narrates her story saying:

« Four years ago, my life did not have any meaning, and I had many questions looking for answers. I did not find in the books of the Jews and Christians what quenches my thirst and fills my mind and heart, especially with regard with man’s direct relationship with God, Exalted and Great is He. »

The beginning was in London

She continues saying,« When I was in London for my university study, I came to know a Muslim Arab family. My relationship with it grew stronger. The calm and stability which the mother enjoyed drew my attention when I asked her about the reason. She said, ‘Islam has guaranteed woman’s rights and raised her status and position with her husband and family. It put forth for both spouses a program to follow in raising their children.’ This statement was the start of the spark that impressed my mind and heart. It increased my insistence on looking for the truth. »

Entering a Mosque

Fatima recounts her recollections and says,« I went out one day to one of London’s major recreational parks. On my way, I passed by a big mosque, so I entered it. I found an old man with a long white beard. He welcomed me very much and asked me very politely to wear the hijab (covering) out of respect for the mosque. I found no objection within me. Then I entered with the old man who sat with me and gave me a copy of The Holy Qur’an as a gift in addition to books in English which explain Islamic concepts. I came out of the mosque with joy and comfort filling my heart. I started reading the books during periods with intervals. I started attending weekly held seminars inside the mosque which helped me understand Islam’s lofty meanings, and that it puts forth a program for the Muslim individual to follow during his lifetime and even after his death. What attracted my attention in Islam is the Muslim individual’s belief in all prophets and messengers from the first prophet, who is Adam, peace with him, and even Jesus, peace with him. Also I was attracted by the direct relationship between a Muslim and his God without a middleman. I kept struggling inside me for two years torn between my love and strong desire to embrace Islam and fear of my family and its rejection if I publicly declare my acceptance of Islam.

« Suddenly, however, when I was attending a lecture inside the mosque, I stood before the imam and declared my desire to embrace Islam and wear the hijab. His happiness was great and mine greater because I now am a Muslim, and I wear the hijab. »

Family after my Conversion to Islam

Fatima moves on saying:« I did not stay long in London after my acceptance of Islam and the wearing of the hijab. Praise to God, I did not face any difficulty in assimilating with the society there especially since I was still studying at the university. After some time, I returned to Mexico to live with my family. My father noticed the change in my behavior and conduct as well as the scarf which I always put on my head till he suddenly entered my room and found me performing the prayers, and that was the big shock. He did not accept the notion that I converted to Islam at all, and he did not even give me a chance to explain to him why I embraced Islam. My mother was shocked, and my brother was taken by surprise. All my friends and relatives kept their distance from me. The Jewish society is cemented and closely knit; it does not accept any changes inside it. My father decided to expel me from the house, and my mother could not prevent him. Rather, she remained silent and did not comment. Both my parents refused to speak to me for a full year. As for my brother, he was not convinced about my conversion to Islam, and he was not convinced about how I looked wearing the hijab. I was not angry with my family. A Muslim is characterized by patience when it comes to his parents, and he has to be kind to them. I left home and lived by myself, remaining in touch with my family members in order to assure them about myself and try once more to get closer to them. »

Merging Into the Society

Fatima says,« I did not find any difficulty in the Mexican society accepting my embracing Islam, but many friends and acquaintances thought that I had cancer, so I was wearing the scarf in order to cover my falling hair, or perhaps I had just given birth, so I am now covering my head for fear of catching a cold! I used to take advantage of this opportunity to explain Islam’s lofty meanings. I found myself surrounded by the sisters who were willing to embrace Islam. Praise to Allah, I was able to influence many of my close friends who did, indeed, eventually embrace Islam, »

Satan Insinuates

« As is the case with any other human being, Satan tried to penetrate inside my heart and mind more than once to make me revert from Islam. Mexico is a hot country, and wearing the scarf in it is difficult due to the high temperature. Satan kept trying to enter by insinuating to me that if I took off the scarf because of the hot weather, nothing would happen, and there was nobody looking over my shoulders. But I kept seeking refuge with Allah from Satan, reciting the two Quranic Chapters that protect from Satan and seeking Allah’s forgiveness a great deal. »

Vision Changed my Brother’s Heart

« After a while, I was surprised when my brother asked me, ‘Do you have a picture of your Prophet, Muhammad?’ I answered him in the negative. He said to me, ‘I think that your Prophet, Muhammad, came to me in a vision and said to me: We do not force anyone to embrace Islam...’ After this vision, I sensed change in the way my brother was treating me. He became more receptive of the way I looked in thehijab , and he always kept talking to me and visiting me.’’

Thanks to Allah

Fatima concludes saying,« I praise Allah, The Most Exalted, The Most Great, for the blessing of Islam which opened my heart and mind, filling my senses with guidance and love. I praise Allah, Glory and Exaltation belongs to Him, because He chose me to get out of the dark into the light. Islam is the religion of peace, love, solidarity and tolerance. It respects all divinely revealed religions. I learned from it self-confidence, self-pride, and that the most Praised and Exalted One is near; He answers the plea. »

[My Son (« Waladi » ) magazine, Vol. 64, Muharam 1424 A.H.]

Danish Muslim:

Abdul Wahid

The heart of a Danish rock singer, who now calls himself« Abdul-Wahid » , inclined by instinct towards Islam; so he traveled to more than one Arab country looking for the faith till Allah guided him to declare his Islam.

{ They have been guided to the path of the One Who is worthy of (all) praise } (Qur’an, 22:24)

Peterson narrates the story of how he became a Muslim saying,« I was a young man with a good voice, and I worked as a singer moving between restaurants and night clubs to sing. My utmost dream was to achieve fame. But suddenly, without an arrangement, l felt that a call was coming from the skies inviting me to become familiar with Allah and to follow His religion. »

« At that time, » Peterson goes on,« I did not know anything about Islam, and it never entertained my mind. I was a Christian only by name, so I decided to study different religions in order to find out the true one. I actually became convinced that Islam is the only path to Allah: It is the religion that addresses the mind and the heart simultaneously. All of this happened around the year 1982. »

Answering a question about how he became familiar with Islam, especially since his country had only a small number of Muslims, he said,« I traveled to a number of Arab countries and mastered the Arabic language. When I returned to Denmark, I decided to dedicate my life to invite others to embrace Islam amidst a materialistic culture that recognizes nothing other than materialism. »

Peterson emphasizes that the main thing that makes him incline towards Allah, The Most Exalted One and The Most Great, was that he was not influenced by anything materialistic in order to embrace Islam; nobody invited him to embrace this creed.

After having embraced Islam, Peterson became active in charity work by overseeing a number of charitable projects in a group of poor countries such as founding a school to educate boys and girls in Afghanistan. He now presides over the Danish Muslim Aid Society which has participated in rebuilding 500 homes in Kashmir destroyed by an earthquake.

Mosque Dream

About his dreams, he says,« We only lack a big mosque that becomes a place where the Muslims meet. Since I became a Muslim, I always dreamed of building this mosque. We have actually obtained the necessary permits from the Danish government, and we now only have to start implementing this project after having collected the needed donations. So, it does not make sense that Denmark’s second religion should have no place of worship. »

According to Peterson, the early Muslims entered Denmark in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and they were laborers who were not basically religious. Ultimately, Islam did not spread then. But the true Islamic renaissance started at the end of the 1970s and early 1980s because of the presence of Muslim immigrants and due to a number of Danish people being interested in the Islamic Faith. Also, the September 11th incidents and the crisis of the caricatures that were derogatory to the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) increased the interest of the Danish people in this religion.

Regarding the reasons why many Westerners are now embracing Islam, Peterson explains saying,« People here in the West are drowned in materialistic societies. Lately, they realized that no matter how many joys and pleasures life may have, it will in the end disappear. From here, some of them started searching for the spiritual aspects. Just as we have started finding many atheists, we now find many of those who search for a religion that grants them psychological peace. For this reason, I think that Islam’s future in Europe in general is quite great because it is the only creed that instills self-calm into everything. »

The paradox here is that Denmark is regarded as the first country from which campaigns were launched against Islam and the Holy Prophet, Muhammad, through insulting caricatures drawn by some Danish cartoonists. But these intense events prompted many Europeans to develop an interest, research, and find out what Islam is and who this individual, whose image many of those who are hostile to Islam try to distort, is. The insulting caricatures made them desire to become familiar with this personality whom we see as great while they are ignorant about it. This became a cause either in their embracing Islam or evidence against them so they will not say that they did not hear about it.

THE CANADIAN MUSLIM MUSSA F.

The Canadian brother Mussa F. embraced Islam and wrote his story to Noor Al Islam Magazine.

My name is Moussa but it was not always Moussa, and, in fact, it still isn’t but I prefer to remain anonymous in telling you about myself for family reasons that will become obvious later on in my story.

I was born in a normal middle class European family, and I had a normal middle class upbringing with no particular problems other than the usual problems which any western family experiences. My parents did their best to make sure that I had a good education, the usual toys, Christmas presents, outings, and holidays away from home etc. that other children around me had.

Religion was a subject rarely discussed in my family and was generally confined to marriages, baptisms, and funerals. Islam, although a major influence on the history of humanity in the past to my well-read mother, is now regarded by my parents as a hindrance to modern day progress, an oppressor of the rights of women, and a general all-round source of terrorism, fanaticism, and political problems for the world as a whole. What is worse it is, to them, a strange and foreign religion.

A previous incident in my family, on the subject of religion, has left me in no doubt that my conversion would not be accepted and that it would only lead to division if I told them about it. Thus, although I have been Muslim now for several years, I have not yet dared to tell my family about it, and this has been made easier by the fact that I live far from them. I do phone them regularly and write letters as often as possible: however, visiting them would be a little difficult without them discovering, because of prayers, eating habits etc.

Since the death of my Grandfather, when I was an adolescent, I started to try to talk to God, and the first thing I asked God was to help my Grandfather to get to heaven. Since then I have always believed in God, but it was not until I found myself teaching in an international school in India, several years later, that I first began to question the fact that Christianity might not be the true religion from God.

The question I first asked myself was« Why did God only give prophets to the Jews and then later to the Christians? » Did He really leave all the Indians, Africans etc. without a prophet throughout most of their history?»

The answer to this question came to me through a German family I met who were Bahais. They told me that every nation has had its own prophet. They did not, however, tell me, and I don’t think they knew that the origin of this valuable piece of information was the Qur’an. (See sourate No. 10 (Younes) verse 47, Sourate No. 19 (Ibrahim) verse 4)

This revelation made a lot of sense to me, and I began to look into other religion’s beliefs and to have respect for the Bahais’ beliefs to the extent that when asked by a Muslim friend a few years later which religion I liked, I replied that I think the Bahais have the right idea about religion. The Muslim friend seemed very perturbed at this as he asked me what these Bahais believed in. I told him that they believed in lots of different prophets including Mohammad (P). He said that if they believed in Prophet Mohammad (P) and in The Quran they should be Muslims. When I asked why, he said that in The Quran there is a verse which states that Mohammad is the last Prophet (Sourate 33, verse 40).

I did not, at all, like the idea of being a Muslim as it carried with it many associations of violence, fanaticism, being undemocratic etc. but I decided that, as someone who considers himself to be open minded, I ought at least to read The Quran before making any definite decisions. Upon reading The Quran (in translation), I learnt that the Muslim does not have the right to attack anyone unless he is attacked first, that there is no compulsion in religion, that the best men are the ones who treat women well, that Muslim men and women were encouraged to get an education, that Muslims should give to the poor, and many other things which seemed to be the opposite of how I viewed the behavior of the Muslims of the world at the time.

After stalling as long as I could and getting my Muslim friend and others to verify the translation of the verse about Mohammad (P) being the last Prophet, fear of not following the Prophet whom God wanted me to follow and the realization that Mohammad (P) was that prophet who pushed me to admit to myself that I was a Muslim so I had better start getting used to it.

My first two years as a Muslim were a bit difficult as regards the attitude of the Europeans around me; but then they turned marvelous as I discovered more and more about this totally comprehensive religion which God has given us. And, to my great surprise, not only were the Muslims not at all violent or unfriendly, they were the warmest, friendliest, and certainly the most hospitable community I had ever met, and when they called me their brother you could see that the Islamic idea that all Muslims should consider themselves as members of one family was a powerful sentiment that even the egoism and selfishness of the modern world had not yet managed to eradicate.

Sometimes, I would discover later that those who at first seemed overawed about the fact that I had become a Muslim were in fact not too strict in their practice of the religion, but there was, nevertheless, a definite bond between all Muslims which only someone who had not been Muslim before could fully appreciate. One brother in particular that I met struck up an excellent friendship with me in a very short time and basis for this friendship was our attachment to Islam. However, I noticed that he seemed reluctant to pray with me and always seemed to have an excuse not to do so. Finally, during a discussion about politics, he mentioned that he liked the political system in Iran.« Just a minute, » I said,« Are you a Shiite?’’ I could tell that my brother in Islam was not too comfortable with this question, and to be honest, I was kind of dreading the reply as I had grown to like this particular brother a lot but had serious doubts about the Shiites.

Weren’t they the ones who thought that Ali (A.S.) was a prophet instead of Mohammad (P)? My first Muslim friend had told me that he was not sure whether the Shiites were Muslims or not.

« I prefer Muslim, » was the reply given by my brother. When I insisted on this point, he said that he was Shiite, and I then asked him what the difference between Sunnis and Shiites was. Already I sensed another few weeks, possibly months, of heavy reading ahead of me, but I listened intently to everything that he said as I loved this brother a lot, and I did not like this new division which had come between us.

From the very beginning of this latest research, I knew that once again, as with other religions throughout history, politics had reared its ugly head in our religion and had led my brothers in Islam astray but I did not know whether God wanted me to try to put my brother on the right track or whether, in fact, 1 was the one who would once again have to admit that I had been on the wrong track.

At first, I thought that the division had been created after what I knew to be the four enlightened Caliphs: Abou Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali (A.S.). In addition, I realized that I could not trust what the ShiiteHadiths say to prove the case of the Shiites and that I could not trust what the SunniHadiths say to prove the case of the Sunnis. I decided to start by reading Sunni books about Ali and the other Caliphs.

My first book was a Sunni book about the life of Ali (A.S.). Although it did not mention any of the GhadeerHadiths it did mention that Ali was to Mohammad« as Haroun was to Moussa » . I also noted that before the battle of Siffin, Ali said to Mu’awiya’s messenger« I had a problem with Abou Bakr, Omar, and Othman as I believed the Caliphate to be my right’’ - a statement which he also made, according to another Sunni book about Abou Bakr, six months after the beginning of Abou Bakr’s rule and thirty years before the battle of Siffin.

No research into SunniHadiths would be complete without a look at the collection of Boukhari’sHadiths and the local Sunni imam helped me in this by pointing out the section which is about the qualities of the Prophet’s companions. After reading three pages about Abou Bakr, two pages about Omar, one page about Othman, and one page on how Aisha was the best, favorite wife of the Prophet and the mother of the believers, I finally came across threeHadiths about Ali. The first was about how he didn’t like a certain nickname that people gave him. The second was: «I (Prophet Mohammad (P)) am the city of knowledge, and Ali (A.S.) is its gate ».

And the last was the one about Ali (A.S.) being to the Prophet (P) as Haroun was to Moussa.

There was also a footnote which suggested that one should be suspicious of anyHadiths about Ali.

Later, I discovered SunniHadiths such as:

« Ali is the leader of all believers after me’·’ (Attirmidhi vol 5, Page 296).

« Whosoever accepts me as leader must also accept Ali, may God protect his followers and defeat his enemies » (Muslim vol 2, Page 362) etc.

I also read manyHadiths and parts of the Qur’an which refer to Ahlul Beit.

But I loved this person called Ali (A.S.) from the very first book I read about him. I loved the way he tried, to the end, to do what he believed to be right even though it seemed that everyone was against him. I know that, in politics, those who win are usually the most corrupt, and I certainly did not like this character called Mu’awiya who seemed to me to be in search of political power above all. Also if Ali (A.S.) was the gate to the city of knowledge, how could he not know that Abou Bakr, Omar, and Othman were the best men for the job of caliphate after the Prophet’s (P) death?

Once again I realized that I had to change tack, and once again I was worried in case the people around me would take it badly. But my fears were unfounded as the Sunnis in my community who were on the whole very good and serious Muslims accepted my change of opinion and direction in a brotherly way. They tried to convince me that I was wrong at the beginning (the imam even spent ten weeks talking about the qualities of the Prophets’ companions), but when they saw that I had done a lot of research they saidAlhamdulillah you are Muslim. I continued going to the same mosque until I eventually left again to work in Pakistan, and both my Shiite Muslim brother and my first Muslim brother still treat me as if I were their real brother, and they are both like brothers to each other.

I plan to tell my parents of my conversion to Islam when I get married in the hope that this would be easier for them to accept on such an occasion. Please say some prayers for my family as well as my new found brothers and sisters in Islam.

Spanish Sister:

Yolanda Martin (Zeinab)

● With Islam I got rid of the psychological and ideological unrest that had haunted me.

● I was guided and woreHijab in a hostile milieu, never cared about wealth or offensive remarks.

It is the journey from doubt to certainty, the journey of questions and constant search for the truth, the goal of the wise who seek it everywhere. How can the one who has a sound nature and an interrogative mind go astray? Here is Sister Yolanda Martin driven by her questions to the land of Islam. She has left her relatives and country to enjoy a life with her Muslim family in her husband’s homeland, Lebanon.

Q. Before talking about the reasons that made you embrace Islam, we would like you first to give us a glance about your childhood and the place where you grew up?

A. I was born in Granada (Spain). I was the second child in a Catholic humble family whose faith was innate; that is the Catholic Church and its teachings meant nothing to them, because they observed sublime values and morals. Perhaps this was an indirect element in my inclination to the Islamic faith that always concentrates on high ethics and sound behavior.

Q. What about the Spanish society today?

A. As for the Spanish society in which I lived, it is one ruled by immoral disintegration and absurdity that drive the youth to lead lives of debauchery; they spend their time in nightclubs, drink alcohol, use drugs, and have illicit sexual affairs, including homosexual ones. All this takes place under the banner of personal freedom which the Western materialistic civilization calls for. This also leads the youth not to care about the marriage institution which they view as a chain and restriction of freedom.

However, these atmospheres in my motherland have not influenced me due to the decent upbringing I had received in my family.

Q. Has the intellectual atmosphere in the school or in the university had an effect as far as you choosing the Islamic faith is concerned?

I studied in Catholic schools from the age of three until I was 17. Education in those schools was good, and the teachers and the administration took care of students. As for religious teachings, they were restricted to Lady Mary (a.s.) hymns and going to church on Sundays to listen to some sermons given by the priest during Mass. But those sermons were superficial and monotonous, so they could not draw anyone’s attention. We did not get any in-depth knowledge in the teachings of the Gospel. This has cast doubts within me concerning Christian beliefs.

When I became 14, I quitted going to church on Sundays because I saw that that was useless.

Two years before I went to college, the Religion teacher asked the following question: What is the difference between Christ (a.s.) and the rest of the prophets? I concluded that there was no difference, that he was a prophet just like the other prophets, and that he was not the son of God. These questions and conclusions were the beginnings of my actual interest in the issue of faith and the hereafter.

Q. When did you embrace Islam, and what was the reaction of your family and the people around you?

A. When I was 17, I met Muslims from different nationalities: Morocco, Lebanon, and Iran. This happened as I frequented cafes that do not sell liquor. Muslim students went to those cafes where serious discussions on faiths took place. At this stage, I read the Gospel thoroughly along with a number of Islamic books about Islam and its teachings. I used to raise all the questions on Islam that came to my mind and discuss them with the Muslim people I met. At that time, I also began to take interest in the history of my town that had wide fame during the era of the Islamic State in Andalusia. I knew that most of its people were Muslims before it was regained by Catholic kings in 1492, and that those kings annihilated Muslims and forced who remained alive to embrace Christianity.

As time passed and after a lot of inspection and contemplation, I became certain that Islam was the final heavenly message and that its magnanimous teachings get along with human nature besides being good for every time and place, for Islam came for life in this world and the hereafter. I realized that I have become a Muslim, and I was convinced that Allah has guided me to the Right Faith.

Afterwards, I began to frequent the Islamic Center in Granada where lectures on Islam were given; there I met my husband who gave lectures on Ethics and Fiqh (jurisprudence) in the center although he was a Medicine student.

Position of Family and Society

At first, I did not tell my family that I had become a Muslim, but they noticed that something within me has changed. In the beginning, I did not dare to wearhijab for fear of their reaction. I used to wear it when I went to the Islamic Center and when I visited my Muslim friends. After that, I used to keep it on everywhere except for the neighborhood where I lived. However, my parents knew about that from the neighbors. My father did not oppose my conversation to Islam saying that I had the right and freedom to choose the faith I wanted; and so did my mother, but at first she opposed my wearing thehijab , especially as she had been subjected to enormous pressures, for the audiovisual media fights Islam violently, and the Spanish society can take everything, even the worst immoral acts, so if you are a Muslim it means that you are a terrorist, reactionary, besides the other false charges leveled against Muslims in an expression of hatred.

As for my sister, she got very angry and was ashamed to walk with me because I wore the Islamic attire, but now she understands me and respects my decision.

As for the other people in the neighborhood, they chattered a lot and made offensive remarks, but I did not care.

In the university where I studied nursing, I faced no problem with the students or the administration, for they respected my will to do what I did. Then I worked as a nurse in a public hospital for ten years with no problem worth mentioning.

Q. What are the positive things that happened to you after you had embraced Islam at the personal level and as far as your relationships with others are concerned?

A. At the personal level, I feel considerable relief; my thoughts are now clear, and so is my goal in life. I got rid of the intellectual and psychological unrest that had haunted me before I converted to Islam. I have landed on a safe shore. I thank Allah that my family has accepted my conversion to Islam.

As for my relationships with people in motherland, they are limited. I get in touch with those who respect my Islam. I don’t care about those who are malicious towards Islam.

Q. What is your opinion about hijab and what some people say about it and how it is being fought?

A. Some people viewhijab as a minor issue that should not be given all this interest and believe that it should not be observed. But in truthhijab is protection for the Muslim woman. It is a defense line for her as it forces her to take care of her actions, movements, choice of places she frequents, and selection of friends; so it prevents her from being absorbed by atmospheres that are far from religion and morals.

Q. What is the best way to invite people to Islam in your opinion?

A. The best way to do this is by action not words. A Muslim must be a model of the good human being in his country and society. His Islam must be a reflection of his good deeds.

Q. What are you doing now? Do you encourage non-Muslims to embrace Islam?

A. Currently I live in Lebanon with my husband and children, for it is difficult to raise the children in a non-Islamic society because they spend long time outside the house which makes them subject to being absorbed by Spanish society that is hostile to Islam and because a human being always tries to be like the group among which he lives in order to guarantee that they accept him.

As for inviting people to Islam, this is the duty of every Muslim. I reiterate, the best way to do this is by action not words.

Q. Is there a chance for inviting people to Islam in you motherland?

A: Chances are not null, but there is considerable difficulties to do so in light of the power of the anti-Islam media. This requires doubled efforts from those working in this regard.

Nevertheless, what is more important than this is that Muslims in Spain preserve their Islam and that of their children preventing them from melting into the Spanish society. This can be achieved only through opening Islamic schools and centers so that these children can be taught the teachings and values of Islam besides academic courses.

Russian Converted Sister

Dagina Kirkoz

● My conversion to Islam is reflected as psychological tranquility which I have known after I began to communicate with Allah, a gift I had not been enjoying before that.

● The Muslim woman must be aware and cautious in order not to be turned into merchandise by the media.

● I hope that all Muslims show the pure image of Islam which is being fought ferociously by its enemies.

You can feel transparency, sincerity and tranquility as she talks about her conversion to Islam... Dognia Kirkoz, who was born in Latvia, is one of those who have joined the convoy of Divine Light: she is reassured and satisfied thanking Allah - praised be His name - Who has guided her to Islam.

She did not suffice herself with the Nursing Diploma from the University of Latvia; she felt it was necessary for her to learn Arabic; the language of the Quran and Islam, although she is a mother of two girls.

She has felt the overwhelming desire to acquire knowledge of the bases of her faith and its rulings, so she is attending Arabic classes in an institute in Beirut.

Q. How many members are there in your family? And how was your relationship with them before you embraced Islam?

A. My family includes my father, mother, and my elder sister. My parents worked all day long, and sometimes at night. This made my sister and me shoulder the household responsibilities. Our parents’ long absence from the house made our emotional ties to them cold, although my mother tried to be close to us urging us to learn, acquire culture, and engage in school activities.

Q. Were there specific values that ruled in your town?

A. We were brought up in the small town of Madonna Latvia. Although the town was small, individualism governed the residents’ lives; everyone lived in semi-isolation. There were a lot of quarrels among family members due to the parents’ using alcohol and the resulting terrible fights that usually end up in divorce and family disintegration.

Q. It is known that the communist regime has left its marks on the intellectual and cultural life in the former USSR. To what extent did this affect your educational milieu?

A. This is true. The communist regime’s ideology influenced the intellectual and cultural life, including the educational system. The political regime had activities in all schools and universities. You had to join the party’s scouts, or you would be looked at with suspicion and caution.

However, my mother believed in Christianity. She used to take us to church, and we felt threatened by the regime for going there. Communist thoughts found their way into my sister’s mind, so she started to contradict my mother’s faith and thoughts, and my mother started to listen secretly to anti- USSR radio stations.

Q. What are the circumstances that led you to embrace Islam?

A. My attention was drawn by the Muslim students, and how they dealt with others politely and ethically. Besides, they were serious in studying, and they undertook the responsibilities of their alienation and schooling with seriousness contrary to the other young men and women in the university who indulged in the life’s pleasures.

It also drew my attention that they did not use alcohol or go to notorious night clubs. My husband was one of them. I admired Islam more as I - along with my family - saw how he treated me and all those around him in line with Islamic ethics.

My husband was the wide door through which I entered Islam, for he answered all my questions about this new faith. He has convinced my mind and not only my emotion.

Q. What were the reactions in your community to your conversion to Islam?

A. When my relatives knew that I had been married to a Muslim, they felt pity for me thinking that I would face a doomed fate. However, there were others who respected my decision. My parents were pleased with my marriage, for they rejected atheism and my faith in Allah - praised be His name - meant a lot to them since they rejected the communist ideology. They admired Islam more as they saw how my husband treated me - in line with Allah’s orders - politely, patiently and kindly.

As for my friends, they thought I was forced to embrace Islam and wearhijab , because they believed thathijab lowers the woman and makes her a maid and prisoner of her husband. They did not believe that my husband had not forced me to do anything, and that my acts were the result of my full conviction.

Q. What were the positive results of your conversion to Islam?

A. The major thing that was reflected on my life after my conversion to Islam was the psychological tranquility that I have known since I began to communicate with Allah - be He exalted - through my religious duties. I feel great relief when I perform the prayer or fast. I have found myself in a social life that is remote from individualism for Islam invites us to visit our relatives and neighbors and to check if they have any problems be it in good times or bad times.

Q. Do you suggest specific means to invite non-Muslims to Islam in light of your experience?

A. The enemies of Islam are using all their resources to distort the image of Islam. That is why you find that ordinary non-Muslims are afraid of Islam. Therefore, those who seek to serve this monotheist faith need to show its reality and clear its image through satellite channels and internet in foreign languages as much as possible.

Q. After you came to Lebanon, have you ever returned to Latvia, and has the position of your relatives and friends remained the same?

A. I have visited my motherland. My relatives and friends were greatly surprised as they felt that I was happy after I converted to Islam and in my new homeland. I clarified to them a lot of the faith teachings stressing on the social aspects because this side is missing in my town. And as for those who do not enjoy a great deal of thought and education, I chose to speak to them in a simple language that they could understand.

Q. Is it possible to invite people to Islam in Latvia?

A. The Latvian state has allowed the Muslim minority to build its first mosque which needs preachers and imams to guide the people, for Muslims in Latvia know only a little about their faith. It is difficult for those people to invite non-Muslims to Islam as those who lack something cannot give it. Thus, it is the duty of theUlama throughout the Muslim world to prepare preachers in Latvia and elsewhere in the world. The Eastern and Western Europeans view Islam with contempt and disdain; the politicians there sense its threat because of its universal message. Therefore, all Muslims have to be concerned with invitation to Islam in word and deed.

Q. How do you view the Muslim woman in your new homeland, Lebanon?

A. I see that most of the women here are absorbed by the details of the house chores and do not take interest in what is taking place in the society, although Islam has permitted them to go out of the house, work, and study in a manner that does not contradict their marital or motherhood duties.

The Muslim woman has to be aware and cautious; she must not be attracted by the media that tries to make her a merchandise; she has to acquire knowledge about Islam and finish schooling, because the educated mother is better than the ignorant. Her face is the face of the country, and she is the one supposed to prepare the children, so that they do what pleases Allah - be He exalted.

Q. Is there a comment that you would like to address to Muslims through the magazine of Noor Al- Islam?

A: I hope that all Muslims show the pure image of Islam for the faith is being fought ferociously by its enemies. I pray to Allah to remedy the Muslims’ inner and outer selves so that the deeds and words become identical, and praise is Allah’s, the Lord of the worlds.

The American Muslim Sister:

Zaynab Shareef

Zaynab Shareef « Ann Marie » ,is pursuing a master’s degree in psychology and community counseling, BS in Science, and minor in Biology (with a concentration in education and psychology). She has a Medical Assistant Associate Degree. She works as a Program Director and a Child Care Administrator in the USA.

Q. Why did you embrace Islam?

A. I was working with refugee children and had not practiced any organized religion since I was 18 years old. I had turned away from my faith because of a deep feeling that it was not right. I believed in God, but I did not believe that Jesus was God. I had been raised as a strict Catholic and had problems with the role of the priest as« Christ » on earth. When I met these children and their families I was impressed with the total obligation of faith; it was not something that existed for just one hour per week. It rather was in everything and in every part of the life. Then I bought an English interpretation of the Holy Quran and read Surah al-Rad. This changed me forever and opened my eyes.

Q. What about your social environment and upbringing before embracing Islam?

I was divorced from my husband and am raising two daughters alone. I did not participate in the comings and goings of society. I was dedicated to my daughters and the work that I was doing with children in early childhood education. I was also attending college.

I was raised as a Catholic - a strict Catholic. I grew up next door to a church and lived with my grandmother (who was handicapped from a stroke). I helped her and went to Catholic schools, including an all-girl high school. We were taught to respect ourselves and give our lives to God.

Q. How did you embrace Islam? And what was the impact of your embracing of Islam on your milieu?

A. My family of origin - my mother and my father - has had a hard time still with accepting the change in me. They would be quite happy if I do not cover my head, because then I would blend in with the rest of our society. We are very distant, but they see the strength that this has brought me. I am blessedAlhamdulillah to have a good job. I am an administrator at a large child care center for the YMCA. I am free to cover my head and worship as I please. They respect my faith and my observances. It has not always been that way, but someone told me once if I have peace about what I do, so will others. I have had more problems with Muslims who did not revert, judged me harshly, and told me things that were wrong when I first reverted. There is a lot of ugliness in people, and I had to learn to be more assertive in questioning their statements and also to check on the validity of what they were telling me. I sometimes think that those who were handed this faith and this way of life - those who were set on this path at birth - don’t understand why we choose it, because they don’t understand the beauty in it or can’t see the beauty in it and the way of life that the Holy Prophets, the Imams (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them) and The Holy Quran call us to live.

Q. What are the tangible positive changes in your life since you adopted Islam?

A. I have found peace inside myself. I have attained greater things. I returned to school to continue my education and have built a stable life (Inshallah ) for my daughters. I have found peace inside my heart and out.Alhamdulillah ! I have also learned just how strong I can be when I walk the path of lslam!

Q. On the personal level, do you feel more peaceful, secure, and relieved?

A. Yes,Alhamdulillah . I am more relieved and I find peace in my prayers, in fasting, and in my practice, and yet, I have so much to learn- so very much! For all that I have learned there is a massive amount I have yet to learn; it is just a molecule in a universe of knowledge. Life is so short, and there is so much to learn!

Q. On the social relationship level, do you feel the difference between your relations with Muslims and those with non-Muslims in past?

A. I have met some absolutely faithful people who have walked the path and do it with the grace goodness that should be there. I wish I could say that all the Muslims I have met have been good people, but this a very bad world, and it is easy to be tempted to do wrong and practice« gheebah » and other sins. I wish that Muslims were as good as The Quran tells us to be. Non-Muslims respect me more, and so many have been so supportive.Inshallah , Allah leads me to more good Muslims and less bad!

Q. Based on your own experience, do you suggest any specific methods to call non-Muslims to Islam?

A. Yes, that is possible through practicing what I preach, remembering Allah in all that I do, and remembering what the Prophet Mohammad and the Holy Imams (Allah’s blessings on them all) told us to do and how to act and behave! Speak softly, be at peace, and carry a strong faith!

Q. What is the role you are personally assuming or the role you intend to assume in serving the Islamic Call?

A.Inshallah , I will be the best Muslim I can be. That is all that I wish to be. I am at Allah’s beck and call.Inshallah , I won’t let Him down.

Q. What are the potentials and prospects of the Islamic Call in your country?

A. Islam can save my country from the downward slope it is on. It can save us from the base instincts that man has enslaved him to. Islam can pull one back from the brim of hell and lead him to Jannah. But it entails fully surrendering one’s self to the will of Allah and to follow the guidance of our Prophet Mohammad and his Ahlul Bayt (peace and blessing on them). It can be done, and it is up to every Muslim everywhere to live his life as an example on how we can enrich the world through our actions and our submission to the will of Allah and the requirements of our faith.Alhamdulillah , Allah has given us a key to heaven; all we have to do is to use it and to work for it in all that we do.

Q. How do you view Muslims’ current state of affairs?

A. I pray every day in every way that Muslims will live up to the legacy that we have been chosen to carry.Inshallah , we will find the courage, the wisdom, and the discipline to follow Prophet Mohammad and his Ahlul Bayt (PBT). But it is hard work, and many are lazy and want to enjoy this life. They sacrifice eternal life for the pleasure in this one, and this will be the doom of our people. Each of us must set the highest standard for ourselves first and for others second. We must sacrifice all that we are for what we can become; but we are so attached to the pleasure of this world that we become easily blinded.

Q. What is your view to the state of Muslim women?

A. I teach my daughters that they are precious and that they should not give themselves away a penny at a time. Women should hold what they are: the key to the future and the mothers of tomorrow. They are sacred and should insist on the respect and consideration that is their due. It is up to all Muslim men to protect the women and for women to transcend and become powerful over everything including the ignorance of all the cultures that tend to corrupt the truth and beauty that Allah has told us regarding our roles as providers, as harbors of life, love, comfort, and joy.


8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17