Description: 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. By Craig Robertson Published on 11 Dec 2006 - Last modified on 25 Dec 2006 Viewed: 17634 (daily average: 21) - Rating: 4.4 out of 5 - Rated by: 28 Printed: 493 - Emailed: 34 - Commented on: 4 Category: Articles > Stories of New Muslims > Men

My name is Abdullah Al-Kanadi. I was born in Vancouver, Canada. My family, who were Roman Catholics, 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 its 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 mothers answer still rings in my ears to this day: Craig, they are all the same, theyre all good! Well to me this didnt 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 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 dont 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 couldnt 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 couldnt, and that I wasnt ready for it and that they wouldnt 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 didnt 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, Ill take one day of school off, and go the next day, since they wont 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 hadnt in high school. I tried harder drugs, but alhamdulillah, I was saved from the really terrible stuff. The strange thing was, when I wasnt 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 dont 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 didnt 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.
Description: After finding his way back to Christianity, Craig is betrayed by his friends and again becomes lost, until his encouter with a Muslim at work. By Craig Robertson Published on 11 Dec 2006 - Last modified on 15 Dec 2006 Viewed: 11729 (daily average: 14) - Rating: 4.7 out of 5 - Rated by: 77 Printed: 422 - Emailed: 39 - Commented on: 16 Category: Articles > Stories of New Muslims > Men 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, hes 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 dont know, but I starting 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 didnt 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, started to feel things slipping away. The Pastor always taught us that we must submit our will to Gods, and I wanted nothing more than to do that; but I didnt 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 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 Dawah. He wasted no time in telling us all about Islam and everyone told him they didnt 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 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 wasnt evil like I had been told. In fact, he was better than me. He didnt 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 others 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 didnt 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 the Hijab. 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 dont 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!

Bruce Paterson, Ex-Christian, UK

Description: Tired of the unanswered questions in his faith, a truth seeker seeks enlightment in Eastern religions, tribal religions, and finally finds it in Islam. By Bruce Paterson Published on 16 Jan 2006 - Last modified on 06 Aug 2006 Viewed: 6379 (daily average: 5) - Rating: 4.1 out of 5 - Rated by: 56 Printed: 293 - Emailed: 19 - Commented on: 3 Category: Articles > Stories of New Muslims > Men

I would like to take the opportunity to share with you my journey to Islam and I feel that by sharing this experience with you I can help you on your journey through life. We are all born into different cultures, countries and religions in what often seems a confusing and troubled world. Actually, when we examine the world around us, we can easily see what a troubled state it is in: war, poverty and crime. Need I go on? Yet when we look at our own upbringing and our education, how can we be sure that all the things that we have been told, are in reality the truth? Unfortunately, most people in the world decide to try to hide and escape from the worlds problems rather than stand up and deal with the truth. Dealing with the truth is often the harder avenue to follow. The question is: Are you willing to stand up for the truth? Are you strong enough? Or, are you going to escape and hide like

the rest? I started my search for the truth a number of years ago. I wanted to find out the truth about the reality of our existence. Surely, to understand life correctly is the key to solving all the worldly problems that we are faced with today. I was born into a Christian family and this is where my journey began. I started to read the bible and to ask questions. I quickly became unsatisfied. The priest told me, You just have to have faith. From reading the bible I found contradictions and things that were clearly wrong. Does God contradict himself? Does God lie? Of course not! I moved on from Christianity, thinking the scriptures of the Jews and the Christians are corrupted so there is no way that I can find the truth from the false. I started finding out about Eastern Religions and Philosophies, particularly Buddhism. I spent a long time meditating in Buddhist temples and talking to the Buddhist monks. Actually, the meditating gave me a good clean feeling. The trouble was that it didnt answer any of my questions about the reality of existence. Instead it carefully avoided them in a way that makes it seem stupid to even talk about it. I traveled to many parts of the world during my quest for the truth. I became very interested in tribal religions and the spiritualist way of thinking. I found that a lot of what these religions were saying had truth in them, but I could never accept the whole religion as the truth. This was the same as where I started with Christianity! I began to think that there was truth in everything and it didnt really matter what you believed in or what you followed. Surely though this is a form of escaping. I mean, does it make sense: one truth for one person and another truth for someone else? There can only be one truth! I felt confused, I fell to the floor and prayed, Oh, please God, I am so confused, please guide me to the truth. This is when I discovered Islam. Of course I always knew something about Islam, but only what we naively hear in the West. I was surprised though by what I found. The more that I read the Quran and asked questions about what Islam taught, the more truths I received. The striking difference between Islam and every other religion is that Islam is the only religion that makes a strict distinction between the creator and the creation. In Islam, we worship the creator. Simple. You will find however, that in every other religion there is some form of worship involving creation. For example, worshipping men as incarnations of God or stones, sounds familiar. Surely though, if you are going to worship anything, you should worship the one that created all. The one that gave you your life and the one who will take it away again. In fact, in Islam, the only sin that God will not forgive is the worship of creation.

However, the truth of Islam can be found in the Quran. The Quran is like a text book guide to life. In it you will find answers to all questions. For me, everything I had learnt about all the different religions, everything that I knew to be true, fitted together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. I had all the pieces all along but I just did not know how to fix them together. I would therefore like to ask you to consider Islam now. The true Islam as described in the Quran. Not the Islam that we get taught about in the West. You may at least be able to cut down your journey in search of the truth about life. I pray for your success, regardless.

Muhammed Umar Rao, Ex-Hindu, Brahmin

Description: After a severe hate for Muslims, Muhammad takes to reading the Quran to refute them, and finds that a world he once knew immaterializes. By Muhammed Umar Rao Published on 07 May 2007 - Last modified on 13 May 2007 Viewed: 5022 (daily average: 7) - Rating: 4.4 out of 5 - Rated by: 50 Printed: 323 - Emailed: 34 - Commented on: 4 Category: Articles > Stories of New Muslims > Men

Gods grace that Im blessed with religion of God, Im Mohammed Umar Rao from India, I embraced Islam 6 years back at the age of 18. I wanted to share my story with you all perhaps this would make a difference for non-Muslims to really think over to know what is the truth. I shared my story with two brothers, All praise and thanks be to God, they were convinced that my decision and choice is best, they started reading Quran and also embraced it few days back.

My Background
I come from a middle class orthodox Brahmin family; my parents worked in private firms (Mother: teacher, Father: textile engineer). My religious education was at my maternal uncles place, thats how I became orthodox and my whole family education was always against Muslims, which was nailed in me deeply. I was associated with RSS for few years; I always hated Muslims to the extent that in all public functions I wanted to give high volume for music sound boxes to ensure that the Adhaan [Call to Prayer] should not be heard at all. I used to go round the town visiting all temples to complete my worship everyday. I was liked, appreciated in family for being orthodox and encouraged to do more.

My Meeting with Islam

In the summer, my mother asked me to work for a Muslim business firm, which

I disagreed, because from childhood I always hated Muslims. My mother stopped forcing me on this; I worked few summers with a non-Muslim so I was able to satisfy my parents. Later, I quit that part time job because I did not like the job and started concentrating more on studies aiming for a better job. Meantime, my mother, sisters worked 2 months in part time for this Muslim brother. They were highly impressed with him. I always hated this person because I did not like the fact that my people were praising a Muslim whom I always hated. I was pushed and insulted for not being useful to the family, so I started working for the same Muslim brother though I hated him before going. After getting in his shop I started hating more because the non-Muslim employees of that shop embraced Islam, I took this challenge to teach him a lesson claiming my religion is true and from there, I started doing comparative study with whatever common sense which God had blessed me then. By now, in the verge to know more about Islam, I started reading English translation of the Holy Quran (by Abdullah Yusuf Ali). This changed my entire student life; I was stuck with fear, doubts, I realized the fact that whatever Im doing is wrong, my religion is all about imaginations/myths and false stories. I had many questions, doubts like where am I heading to, what should I do? What is my duty? Why has the message of truth not reached all of us? Many questions came to my mind and my entire student life went in this hunt of truth. I started questioning my parents, people around that who has seen God almighty to paint /make images of God, all answered me that none has seen God which is so true as it is mentioned in many places in The Quran. Finally, some mythological stories broke my faith down. The stories of Ganesha, Chamundeswari, Ram, Sita etc. did not make sense to me. I could no longer imagine them as gods. When I questioned my parents that Vedas are against Idol Worship and why do we still practice it, my mother scolded me saying we are supposed to do it as our forefathers did it, the next day I read a verse in the Quran, Al-Baqarah (Chapter 2) which reads: When it is said to them: Follow what God has sent down. They say: Nay! We shall follow what we found our fathers following. (Would they do that!) Even though their fathers did not understand anything nor were they guided? (Quran 2:170) and: That was a nation who has passed away. They shall receive the reward of what they earned and you of what you earn. And you will not be asked of what they used to do. (Quran 2:134)

When I read this I was shocked to see something which I just questioned my mother last night. This ayah (verse) hit me right deep inside. I slowly stopped worshipping idols, and stopped doing Pooja [Editors note: A Hindu ritual for prayer], since shirk (Polytheism) is the only sin which will never be forgiven. I started practicing the teachings of Islam in secret in the beginning. There were few [themes] from chapter Al-Baqarah (Chapter 2) which [mean that] There are few who accept Islam wherever it profits them and not whole heartedly [and that they] are hypocrites. Also: This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. (Quran 5:3) I realized that for all the questions that I have in my mind, the answers are present in the Quran. By grace of God, I started conveying message of God at my home with little knowledge I had, I wanted to complete my B.E. meantime, conveying the truth would make it easy in the long run for me and my family, but after my final year of diploma I was pushed to wall, then the time came where I had no choice but to quit my family, my sister also embraced Islam and she joined me. We had to live out of our house for more than a year without a job or regular source of income. All praise be to God, God made our ways easy to be firm on truth. As God says in the Quran: Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: We believe, and will not be tested. (Quran 29:2) Over a period, Alhamdulillah, God opened doors of opportunities for us, I had quit my previous job as I was unable to perform my five times prayer, All the opportunities that came my way were from the mechanical industry which demanded that I work in shift and compromise my prayer. After quitting that job/mechanical profession for 1+ year, I did not get any job where I can perform 5 times prayer, Grace of God, I started working as faculty for 2000 rupees for a year and now Im blessed with a better Job. By the Grace of God, Almighty God has chosen us, theres nothing more required.

William, Ex-Jew, USA

Description: How a typical American discovered Islam through the exceptional character of a close friend. By William

Published on 22 Sep 2008 - Last modified on 24 Sep 2008 Viewed: 1293 (daily average: 7) - Rating: 4.6 out of 5 - Rated by: 14 Printed: 63 - Emailed: 3 - Commented on: 1 Category: Articles > Stories of New Muslims > Men

My name is William, and I live in a large Midwestern city in the United States. I am a typical American in many ways that are reflected in both my professional and personal lives. Professionally, I am a supervisor with a major police department, and I have been in the military, both active duty and in the reserves for the majority of my adult life. Personally, I live in the suburbs with my wife and child, drive a pickup truck and occasionally wear cowboy boots. I pay my bills, treat my neighbors well, and prior to my reversion/conversion to Islam, I followed my religion in the manner in which I had been instructed. As I said, my life was that of a typical American, with my main concerns being the little details of everyday life that everyone worries about. Little did I know that my religious beliefs would take me out of the typical life that I lead, and that they would instead become a major factor in my life, providing me with a sense of peace and completion that only a short time before I would not have thought possible. My journey to Islam began with my association, and later friendship, with a man named Nasir. I met Nasir through work in the late 1980s, and was impressed with his manners and the way that he treated me. I had met very few Muslims, and I was always a little uneasy around them as I was not sure how they would accept me. Besides having the appearance of a pickup-driving-shotgun-toting-redneck, I was also a Jew, and the combination often seemed to unsettle people. Nasir, however, took everything in stride, and as a result a friendship slowly bloomed. Through Nasir, I really formed my first impressions of Islam and its adherents. Over the years I watched how Nasir dealt with different situations, and was constantly impressed with the wisdom and patience that he displayed when he was dealing with difficult people or situations. He always took the high road, even at times when I, if I had been in the same situation, would have been tempted to treat the persons differently. If I asked him why he did certain things, he would tell me a bit of wisdom which guided his actions. Most of these, (I realized later), were direct or indirect quotes from the Quran, which he told me not in a proselytizing way, but in a gentle manner as if he were teaching a child the proper way to conduct itself in the world. In fact, prior to reading the Quran, I often marveled at how one person could be so wise and knowledgeable! Little did I know that those guiding principles were written down where I or anyone else could read them. I realize now how blessed I am that I was exposed to Islam and Muslims in such a positive way. Around the winter of 2000, I began to have a serious interest in Islam. I read the Quran, but could not seem to fully understand it. Despite this difficulty, I continued to have a nagging feeling that I should continue, and so I studied other books about

Islam. I learned a great deal, but in an academic and not in a spiritual way. Again I attempted to read and understand the Quran, and again I had difficulties. I finally resolved to ask Nasir for help, and then the 9-11 incident happened. Suddenly I had a host of new worries, and I put my questions on hold. During this time period, I had a great deal of exposure to Islam, however very little of it was put to me in a positive manner. As a police supervisor, I was constantly receiving warnings about perceived Islamic threats, and as an officer in the reserves I was around people who perceived Islam as a direct threat and Muslims as possible enemies. So, to my shame, I continued to wait and kept my studies on the Islamic world to those areas that directly influenced my professional life. Then, in the late summer of 2004, that nagging feeling that had persisted suddenly intensified, and I finally asked Nasir for guidance. He told me about the tenets of his faith, and about the nature of the Quran. More importantly, he told me how crucial Islam was to his life, and how strongly he believed in it, not only as the word of God, but as the way in which man was meant to live. He and his brother Riyadh then provided me with booklets about Islam that had answers to many of the questions that I had. With this knowledge in hand, I again approached the Quran, and suddenly found that it was not only readable, but that it made sense! I can only think that either I was not mentally ready before, or that I simply needed the extra input in order to properly understand and process the information. Either way, I read and re-read everything that I had been provided, and then double checked the facts that had been presented to me. The more I read, the more amazed I was. I found that the information that was in the Quran would have been impossible for Mohammed, may the mercy and blessings of God by upon him, to have known had he not been a prophet. Not only would it have been impossible for a man of his background and geographic location to have known many of these things, it would have been impossible for anyone of his time-period to have known them. I double checked the dates of many of the modern discoveries that had been addressed in the Quran, and was astounded at what I found. Not only did the Quran contain information that was centuries ahead of its time, but it did so with details, many of which could not have been known until this century. I became convinced that Mohammed was indeed a prophet that had been inspired by Allah through his angel. Despite this, I still faced a dilemma. Although I now believed that Mohammed was a prophet, I still was confused about what to do. Everything that I had ever believed was suddenly turned upside down, and I was at a loss for an explanation. That night I prayed for guidance and understanding. I only believed in one god, but I wanted to know the manner in which I should hold that belief. The prayer was simple, but heartfelt, and I went to sleep full of hope that I would receive an understanding of the situation. When I awoke, I did so with the feeling that I had experienced an epiphany. Everything was suddenly clear, and I understood how all

the things that I had practiced before were simply observances that had been contrived by man in an attempt to follow religious principles that had changed over the millennia. I did not receive any new information or beliefs, but was instead capable of understanding that which I had already learned. I felt exhilarated, happy and at peace, and that morning I said the shahada. I told Nasir, and he took me to a nearby mosque for the Friday prayers. At the mosque I was lead to the front by Nasir, and I told the assembled congregation about why I had come there. Then Nasir and the Iman helped me repeat the profession of faith in Arabic. Although I was a little nervous, the joy I felt upon doing this far outweighed any other feelings that I had. Afterwards, I was welcomed by the majority of the members in a manner that was so welcoming that I can hardly describe it. Most of the congregation shook my hand and welcomed me to Islam, and many of them offered to help me or to answer any questions that I might have. It was a wonderful experience which I will never forget. In closing, let me say that the feeling of peace that came over me is still with me, and although I am still very early in the learning stages, I am happy and confident that I made the right decision. I am still a redneck-looking, pickup truckdriving, typical American. Only now I am a Muslim American, and with the continued guidance and assistance of people like Nasir and Riyadh, I hope to one day set as good an example for others and they have been for me.

Steinmann, Ex-Secularist, UK
Description: One persons reasons for accepting Islam in relation to statements made by certain renowned individuals. By Steinmann Published on 16 Jan 2006 - Last modified on 31 May 2008 Viewed: 5947 (daily average: 5) - Rating: 4.4 out of 5 - Rated by: 14 Printed: 273 - Emailed: 14 - Commented on: 0 Category: Articles > Stories of New Muslims > Women

No other religion professed by a large community have I found so comprehensible and encouraging. There seems no better way towards tranquility of mind and contentment in life, no greater promise for the future after death. The human being is part of a whole; man cannot claim more than being just a particle of creation in its magnificent perfection. As such, he can only fulfill his purpose of living by carrying out his function in relating himself to the whole and to

other living parts. It is the harmonious relationship between the parts and the whole that makes life purposeful, that can bring it nearest to perfection, that helps a human being to achieve contentment and happiness. What place does religion occupy in this relationship between Creator and creation? Here are some peoples opinions on religion. A mans religion is the chief fact with regard to him; the thing a man does practically believe ... the thing a man does practically lay to heart, and know for certain, concerning his vital relations to this Universe, and his duty and destiny there ... that is religion. (Carlyle Heroes and Hero-worship) Religion is the sense of ultimate reality of whatever meaning a man finds in his own existence or the existence of anything else. (G. K. Chesterton, Come To Think of It) Religion a daughter of hope and fear explaining to ignorance the nature of the Unknowable. (Ambrose Bierce, The Devils Dictionary) The body of all true religion consists to be sure, in obedience to the will of the Sovereign of the world, in a confidence in His declarations, and in imitation of His perfection. (Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France) All religion relates to life, and the life of religion is to do good. (Swedenborg, Doctrine of Life) Every man, either to his terror or consolation, has some sense of religion. (James Harrington, Oceana) At one time or another every human being is confronted with the Unknown, Incomprehensible, with the purpose of his existence. Questioning himself he creates a belief, a conviction --- Religion in its widest sense.

Why do I consider Islam as the most perfect religion?

First and foremost, it acquaints us with the Whole, the Creator: In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful; Say: He, God, is one, God is He on Whom all depend; He begets not, nor is He begotten; and there is none similar to Him. (Quran 112:1-4) To God is your return and He is Possessor over all things. (Quran 11:4) Again and again throughout the Quran we are reminded of the Oneness of the Creator, Indivisible, Eternal, Infinite, Almighty, All-Knowing, the All Just, the Helper, the Merciful, the Compassionate. So the Whole becomes a reality; again and again we are asked to establish a satisfactory relationship between

Him and us; Know that God gives life to the earth after its death. We have made messages clear to you that you may understand. (Quran 57:17) Say I seek refuge with the Nourisher of mankind. (Quran 114:1) One might argue that in order to recognize and believe in God and to live happily in a community, it is necessary to believe in Divine messages. Does not a father guide his children? Does he not organize his familys life so that it may live together harmoniously? Islam claims to be the only true religion that rehabilitates the truth of its predecessors. It claims that the guidance provided by the Quran is clear, comprehensible and reasonable. By guiding our way towards achievement of a satisfactory relationship between the Creator and the created, it brings about a cooperation between physical and spiritual forces enabling us to equalize internal and external forces in order to be at peace within ourselves - the most important factor to establish a harmonious state between one living part and another and an important condition towards our striving for perfection. Christianity stresses the spiritual side of life; it teaches a love that puts a heavy burden of responsibility upon every Christian. The perfect love is doomed to failure if its achievement does not lie within the reach of human nature and contradicts reason and understanding. Only someone who has a deep knowledge of human conflicts and combines it with sympathy, understanding and a sense of responsibility may come near to the perfection of the Christian principle - and, even, then, he will have to bury his reason with his love. S.T. Coleridge says in his Aids To Reflection: He who begins by loving Christianity better than Truth will proceed by loving his own sect of Church better than Christianity, and end in loving himself better than all. Islam teaches us to respect God, to submit to His laws entitling and encouraging us to use our reason as well as our emotions of love and understanding. The commandments of the Quran, the message of God for His creatures, regardless of race, nation or social standard: Say: O people, the Truth has indeed come to you from your Lord; so whoever goes aright, goes aright only for the good of his own soul; and whoever errs, errs only against it. And I am not a custodian over you. (Quran 10:108) No other religion professed by a large community have I found so comprehensible and encouraging. There seems no better way towards tranquility

and contentment in life, no greater promise for the future after death.

Noor, Ex-Hindu, UK (part 1 of 2)

Description: Pondering the status of women in todays society leads Noor to accept Islam. By Noor Published on 16 Jan 2006 - Last modified on 15 Oct 2006 Viewed: 10013 (daily average: 9) - Rating: 4.3 out of 5 - Rated by: 13 Printed: 414 - Emailed: 7 - Commented on: 0 Category: Articles > Stories of New Muslims > Women

I came from a purely Hindu family where we were always taught to regard ourselves (i.e. women) as beings who were eventually to be married off and have children and serve the husband - whether he was kind or not. Other than this, I found that there were a lot of things which really oppressed women, such as: If a woman was widowed, she would always have to wear a white sari (costume), eat vegetarian meals, cut her hair short, and never re-marry. The bride always had to pay the dowry (bridal money) to the husbands family. And the husband could ask for anything, irrespective of whether the bride would have difficulty giving it. Not only that, if, after marriage, she was not able to pay the full dowry, she would be both emotionally and physically tortured, and could end up being a victim of kitchen death where the husband, or both the mother-in-law and the husband, try to set fire to the wife while she is cooking or is in the kitchen and try to make it look like an accidental death. More and more of these instances are taking place. The daughter of a friend of my own fathers had the same fate last year! In addition to all this, men in Hinduism are treated literally as among the gods. In one of the religious Hindu celebrations, unmarried girls pray for and worship an idol representing a particular god (Shira) so that they may have husbands like him. Even my own mother had asked me to do this. This made me see that the Hindu religion, which is based on superstitions and things that have no manifest proof but were merely traditions which oppressed women, could not be right. Subsequently, when I came to England to study, I thought that at least this is a country which gives equal rights to men and women and does not oppress them. We all have the freedom to do as we like, I thought. Well, as I started to meet people and make new friends, learn about this new society, and go to all the places my friends went to in order to socialize (bars, dance halls, etc.), I realized that this equality was not so true in practice as it was in theory. Outwardly, women were seen to be given equal rights in education, work, and

so forth, but in reality women were still oppressed in a different, more subtle way. When I went with my friends to those places they hung out at, I found everybody interested to talk to me, and I thought that was normal. But it was only later that I realized how nave I was and recognized what these people were really looking for. I soon began to feel uncomfortable, as if I was not myself: I had to dress in a certain way so that people would like me, and had to talk in a certain way to please them. I soon found that I was feeling more and more uncomfortable, less and less myself, yet I could not get out. Everybody was saying they were enjoying themselves, but I dont call this enjoying. I think women in this way of life are oppressed: they have to dress in a certain way in order to please and appear more appealing and also talk in a certain way so people like them. During this time, I had not thought about Islam, even though I had some Muslim acquaintances. But I felt I really had to do something to find something that I would be happy and secure with and would feel respected with. Something to believe in that is the right belief, because everybody has a belief that they live according to. If having fun by getting off with other people is someones belief, they do this. If making money is someones belief, they do everything to achieve this. If they believe drinking is one way to enjoy life then they do it. But I feel all this leads to nowhere; no one is truly satisfied, and the respect women are looking for is diminishing in this way.

Noor, Ex-Hindu, UK (part 2 of 2)

Description: Noor explains how Islam has raised her status as a woman. By Noor Published on 16 Jan 2006 - Last modified on 01 Jul 2007 Viewed: 9559 (daily average: 8) - Rating: 4.1 out of 5 - Rated by: 48 Printed: 410 - Emailed: 23 - Commented on: 2 Category: Articles > Stories of New Muslims > Women

In these days of so called society of equal rights, you are expected to have a boyfriend (or youre weird!) and to not be a virgin. So this is a form of oppression even though some women do not realize it. When I came to Islam, it was obvious that I had finally found permanent security. A religion, a belief that was so complete and clear in every aspect of life. Many people have a misconception that Islam is an oppressive religion, where women are covered from head to toe and are not allowed any freedom or rights. In fact, women in Islam are given more rights, and have been for the past 1400 years compared to the only-recently rights given to non-Muslim women in some western and some other societies. But there are, even now, societies where women are still oppressed, as I mentioned earlier in relation to

Hindu women. Muslim women have the right to inheritance. They have the right to run their own trade and business. They have the full right to ownership, property, disposal over their wealth to which the husband has no right. They have the right to education, a right to refuse marriage as long as this refusal is according to reasonable and justifiable grounds. The Quran itself, which is the Word of God, contains many verses commanding men to be kind to their wives and stressing the rights of women. Islam gives the right set of rules, because they are NOT made by men, but made by God; hence it is a perfect religion. Quite often Muslim women are asked why they are covered from head to toe and are told that this is oppression - it is not. In Islam, marriage is an important part of life, the making of the society. Therefore, a woman should not go around showing herself to everybody, only for her husband. Even the man is not allowed to show certain parts of his body to none but his wife. In addition, God has commanded Muslim women to cover themselves for their modesty: O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) over their bodies (when outdoors). That is most convenient that they could be known as such (i.e. decent and chaste) and not molested. (Quran 33:59) If we look around at any other society, we find that in the majority of cases, women are attacked and molested because of how they are dressed. Another point Id like to comment on is that the rules and regulation laid down in Islam by God do not apply just to women but to men also. There is no intermingling and freerunning between men and women for the benefit of both. Whatever God commands is right, wholesome, pure and beneficial to mankind; there is no doubt about that. A verse in the Quran explains this concept clearly: Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and protect their private parts (i.e. from indecency, illegal sexual acts, etc.); that will make for greater purity for them. And God is well aware of what they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and protect their private parts (from indecency, illegal sexual intercourse, etc.); and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments (Quran 24:31) When I put on my hijab (veil), I was really happy to do it. In fact, I really want to do it. When I put on the hijab, I felt a great sense of satisfaction and happiness: satisfied that I had obeyed Gods command, and happy with the good and blessings that come with it. I have felt secure and protected. In fact people respect me more

for it. I could really see the difference in behavior towards me. Finally, Id like to say that I had accepted Islam not blindly, or under any compulsion. In the Quran itself there is a verse which says Let there be no compulsion in religion (Quran 2:256) I accepted Islam with conviction. I have seen, been there, done that, and seen both sides of the story. I know and have experienced what the other side is like, and I know that I have done the right thing. Islam does not oppress women, but rather Islam liberates them and gives them the respect they deserve. Islam is the religion God has chosen for the whole of mankind. Those who accept it are truly liberated from the chains and shackles of mankind, whose ruling and legislating necessitates nothing but the oppression of one group by another and the exploitation and oppression of one sex by the other. This is not the case of Islam which truly liberated women and gave them an individuality not given by any other authority.