Tag: New Muslims

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Conversion Stories New Muslims

American Architect Accepts Islam

Do you really have peace in your heart? Are you truly happy in life? Do you really know the purpose of your life? Is that all that you do with your life play games, workout, talk on the phone about nothing, x-box, drugs, partying , listening to same song 100 times in your car, chasing girls, teasing boys, aren’t you sick of this? Do you really want to be the old man or old women in the Club?

Aren’t you ready to live your true purpose in life and work on your soul and truly have peace and purpose in life because you’ll finally know you are doing the right thing?

Watch this video with and open heart and an open mind and if your sincerely looking for peace and purpose in life this video will be your first step in attaining that true peace and purpose and at the end of it all the ultimate reward, Paradise.

 

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Source: Taken with kind permission from thedeenshow.com.

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Conversion Stories New Muslims

A British Christian Becomes Muslim

 

Watch this video to see how Kenneth Edwards, a British Christian, became Muslim.

 

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Conversion Stories New Muslims

From Sea of Violence to the Safety of Islam

Within myself I wanted to put an end to my sins. I didn’t want to continue being bad.

Within myself I wanted to put an end to my sins. I didn’t want to continue being bad.

My name is Nick Storms, that’s my name before I became Muslim. I was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and I’m twenty seven years old.

Muhammad Islam is my name after I became Muslim. I had a very difficult childhood; I came from a very violent background. My family you could say were very bad people.

So that was my upbringing; violence, crimes, drugs, etc.

I don’t know my father as he left when I was two my mother deported back to State. It was me, my two sisters and my mother. My uncles and my cousin who where living were we were. We were a tight-knit family, but with relation to bad things only.

I thought the world was a very negative place because of my family and because of this environment. I couldn’t see many positives. Also my family restricted my access to other things, all the time wanting to do things with them, what accordingly reinforced that nothing good going on.

When I was young I felt the fray, but when I grew up a little bit I became pretty normal. So my family then was not any more afraid of me being out of the team. That’s initially because when you are young and be bombarded with a lot of bad things it makes you feel uneasy, just like any hardship you get accustomed to.

When I was about eight years old I would go to a bakery and I would wash dishes for hours, but I was too young to be paid money. So what they (the bakery) would do is to pay me in food; some bread, jam, dates, etc.

I would go home and feed my two sisters as my mother would be off doing some other crime or would be in jail. When you see you haven’t eaten for a couple of days so you have to try to do something to feed yourself and your family as our family wouldn’t really take care of us.

I started my career when I was fourteen I was never close enough to many people to see or friends that I could call on. I never really trusted anybody. And school wasn’t for me; I never finished school, I didn’t have time for it. It didn’t appeal to me as many things did at the time. I would rob, steal a lot of things, and insult people.

I was never alone, but I felt lonely. I felt like there was a void thing missing. I don’t like recalling the past really, but as it is for the interview, it’s OK.

A lot of the crimes that I would do were just out of boredom. The payoff was like a bonus. For example, I would steal a car because I didn’t want to walk. So somewhere I was just taking somebody’s car.

At that time I lost all concern for people’s feelings and I felt no one concerns my feelings; if I would hurt somebody, I wouldn’t care about what they think or feel. I didn’t care at all at this time.

Embracing Islam

Within myself I wanted to put an end to my sins. I didn’t want to continue being bad. So, the way I started to ask questions when I was by myself was along the lines of ‘I don’t know if there’s a God or if You exist. I don’t know if you could hear me or am I talking to myself! I want to know why I’m alive’.

With such questions I would be talking to myself for long, wondering if I’m not talking to myself then there’s a real Creator as people would call Him.

‘Can you show me why I’m alive? If there’s a reason why I’m here, can you just show it to me?’ I was asking over and over.

I stressed the point that I needed to be shown the truth because I didn’t trust anybody, let alone somebody telling me about God.

I had a brother named Ahmad. He talked to me about Islam initially, but whatever he told me I didn’t believe him. He would mention things like heaven and hell. And I didn’t believe what he was saying until I had a dream of both the places.  Even then I was resistant. I didn’t give it intention. The, I had a dream about Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

So things happened to me when I was awake and when I was asleep as well, and it happened to me a lot and in a very small amount of time. So as soon as Ahmad stared talking to me about Islam but I didn’t believe him, Allah only knew that I would believe him. Words like Islam, Muhammad, and Allah started resonating and things started happening…

Turning Point

It was very difficult doing what someone else wanted you to do, even if it is God. I sat down on my knees, sitting back like people do when they finish the prayer and I just started crying and drooling hysterically. I couldn’t control myself.

In fact I was crying some twenty years of betrayal, stress, violence, anger and all these things that were built up then.  It was like Allah allowed me to get rid of it, and I cried for very long time that I couldn’t move. And I remember saying at the end of it: ‘Alright alright, I’ll do what you want me to do’.

Now I’m most pleased that I pray. It is important; very important. A feeling of safety from Allah and from His punishment, that’s what I get out of it. It is calmness that I’m alright right now until the next prayer comes in, until tomorrow.

My future I see it positive in the dunya (this life) because it’s going to be controlled and simple. That’s my positive future; very simple lifestyle: ‘don’t hurt anybody, don’t get hurt’. In sha’ Allah (Allah willing) if I get forgiveness in the Hereafter, that’s what makes me feel really positive. If I am forgiven it would be great in sha’ Allah.

Watch brother Nick describes his amazing life-changing journey to Islam…

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Articles of Faith New Muslims

A Well-Balanced Life after Conversion

Well-balanced Life after Conversion

Islam teaches that the most important thing after conversion to Islam is to focus on the basics and to leave out the minor and controversial issues.

When the light of guidance approaches someone, he/she seizes the opportunity and converts to Islam.

We would like to congratulate all those who made their minds and took the best decision in their life and became Muslims. Welcome to the fold of Islam. We ask God the Almighty to strengthen your faith and reward you abundantly.

After conversion to Islam there are many choices ahead of new Muslims. Some new Muslims start to learn the basics of their new religion and way of life from authentic sources. Some others focus on how to cut their relations with their families because they remind them of their past. Another group has excessive indulgence in the practices of their families which contradict the teachings of Islam. Still a final group commits itself to the beliefs and practices of a certain Islamic group or a certain Islamic center without giving themselves a chance to evaluate such practices.

If you are in a non-Muslim country you will recognize new Muslims from their long beard and short clothes with a siwak (a teeth cleaning twig) in their hands. We are not against this way of dressing, but most importantly is how we deal and interact with people. What should new Muslims do to live a well-balanced life after conversion?

A Practical Religion

Before delving into this issue, I would like to emphasize that Islam is a practical religion and needs to be embraced fully in our life. Islam teaches that the most important thing after conversion to Islam is to focus on the basics and to leave out the minor and controversial issues. First and foremost, we should do our best to correct the new Muslims’ understanding of Islam.

The details come later. Once a new Muslim’s firm belief in God is established, we can introduce the rest of the beliefs and pillars of Islam and how to lead his life in accordance with what pleases God.

This is exactly what Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did when he advised his Companion Mu`adh ibn Jabal who was going to Yemen to call the Yemeni people to Islam.

“You are going to a nation from the people of the Scripture, so let the first thing to which you will invite them, be the Oneness of Allah. If they learn that, tell them that Allah has enjoined on them, five prayers to be offered in one day and one night. And if they pray, tell them that Allah has enjoined on them zakat (obligatory alms) of their properties and it is to be taken from the rich among them and given to the poor. And if they agree to that, then take from them zakat but avoid the best property of the people.” (Al Bukhari)

Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi relates this anecdote:

’I was shocked and dismayed during a tour of North America to find that devout young Muslims, who belong to some Muslim groups, have initiated a great controversy because Muslims sit on chairs during the Saturday and Sunday lectures in mosques instead of sitting on mats on the ground, and do not face the Ka`bah as Muslims do and also because those who attend wear shirts and trousers rather than loose outer coverings, and sit at dining tables to eat rather than on the ground.

I was angered by this kind of thinking and behavior in the heart of North America. I, therefore, addressed these people: It would be more worthwhile in this materialistic society to make your paramount concern the call to monotheism and the worship of Allah, to remind people of the hereafter, of the noble Islamic values, and to warn them of the heinous acts in which the materially-developed countries have been totally immersed.

The norms of behavior and the ameliorations in religious practice are governed by time as well as place, and should be introduced only after the most necessary and fundamental tenets have been firmly established. In another Islamic center, people were creating a considerable fuss over the showing of a historical or educational film in a mosque, claiming that ’mosques have been turned into cinemas’, but forgetting that the purpose of the mosque is to serve the worldly as well as spiritual interests of Muslims.

During the time of Prophet Muhammad the mosque was the center of da`wah and of the state, as well as of social activities. We are all aware of the Prophet’s granting permission to a group of people from Abyssinia to sport with their spears in the middle of his mosque, and that he allowed `A’ishah to watch them.’ (38-9)

To the hard-line sects of Islam, remember Prophet Muhammad’s advice. The Prophet is reported to have said:

“Surely this religion is firm, so walk through it step by step.” (Al Bayhaqi)

Islamic Dress Code

Gradual legislation must be applied on new Muslims. Do not expect from new Muslims to know all the rules and apply them in a day. The Prophet continued to say in the same hadith: “This is because the traveler who is too harsh on his riding animal will not reach his destination, and the riding animal will die.”

Another important issue is that of the Islamic dress code. Some new Muslims insist on wearing short garments because, they argue, the Prophet wore it and that they should not imitate non-Muslims. We do not blame those people for applying the Sunnah; what is blameworthy is their insistence on such issues without having proper knowledge. Wearing short garments is desirable, but wearing long clothes is not forbidden if it is just a habit and it is not for showing off and arrogance.

If we read Prophet Muhammad’s biography carefully, we will know that the Prophet wore whatever was available to him. He wore shirts and robes. He also wore garments and garbs made in Yemen and Persia, which were embroidered on the sides with silk.

The Muslim scholar Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyah says:

’The best guidance is the Sunnah of the Prophet, the things he regularly practiced, ordered, and encouraged people to do. His Sunnah in dressing is that he used to wear whatever was available for him whether made of cotton, wool, or linen. He is known to have worn cloaks from the Yemen, green cloaks, jubbah, garments with full length sleeves, shirts, pants and robes, shoes and slippers… He used, sometimes, to grow a plait in the back.’ (Qtd.in Zad al-Ma`ad:134)

Family and Relatives

Some new Muslims treat their families and relatives badly. They treat them with ridicule and contempt because they are still non-Muslims. God says in the Qur’an:

Now (among the best of righteous deeds which) We have enjoined upon man (is) goodness towards his parents; yet (even so,) should they endeavor to make thee ascribe divinity, side by side with Me, to something which thy mind cannot accept (as divine), obey then, not… (Al-`Ankabut 29:8)

In another verse we read what means:

(Revere thy parents;) yet should they endeavor to make thee ascribe divinity, side by side with Me, to something which thy mind cannot accept [as divine], obey them not; but [even then] bear them company in this world’s life with kindness… (Luqman 31:15)

Even when some new Muslims tell their family about Islam, they act in an improper way. They make fun of their beliefs and invoke curse on them. God says what means:

Call thou (all mankind] unto thy Sustainer’s path with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in the most kindly manner- for, behold, thy Sustainer knows best as to who strays from His path, and best knows He as to who are the right-guided. (An-Nahl 16:125)

In another verse we read:

And do not argue with the followers of earlier revelation otherwise than in the most kindly manner… (Al-`Ankabut 29:46)

Muhammad Asad, the renowned Muslim scholar, comments that: ‘this stress on kindness and tact and, hence, on the use of reason alone in all religious discussions with adherents of other creeds is fully in tune with the basic, categorical injunction’:

There shall be no coercion in matters of faith. (Al-Baqarah 2:256)

God defines the way of treating the Prophet’s companions in the following verse:

It was by the mercy of God that you were lenient with them; had you been harsh and fierce of heart, they would have dispersed from about you. So pardon them, and ask forgiveness for them, and consult them in the matter. And when you are resolved, rely on God; for God loves those who rely. (Aal `Imran 3:159)

There is a special need for understanding the Qur’an and the Sunnah properly. Good Knowledge is the key to understanding them. New Muslims should always act with moderation and should not go to extremes.

 

 

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Works Cited

Al-Qaradawi, Yusuf. Al-Sahwah al-Islamiyyah bayna al-Jumud wa al-Tatarruf. Cairo: Dar al-Shuruq, 2001)

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Categories
ABC's of Islam New Muslims

A Beneficial Summary of Rulings to New Muslims (Online Radio)

Listen to a reading of the book “A Beneficial Summary of Rulings to New Muslims” produced by the Iftaa Department-Ministry of Awqaf, Kuwait.

The recording includes the interpretation of some Quranic verses and other issues related to new Muslims after taking the Shahadah.

 

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Categories
New Muslims Reflections

With Every Shahadah a New Life Is Born

 

Last week my husband alerted me to a halaqah (study circle) for sisters at our local masjid (i.e., the one across the street). I’ve since been recommended to this particular halaqah by a few other sisters in the area, so I’m getting the impression it’s supposed to be pretty good. I’ve been twice now-last Friday and this one-and don’t think I’ve really gotten the chance to see what others see.

The first week, the instructor wasn’t there as she’d recently been visiting with family overseas. This week’s halaqah involved a little bit of catching up, and then it was planned to be short due to some activity at the Redmond Masjid-I can’t seem to figure out what it was though. But it was further cut short by a new sister wanting to take Shahadah (Testimony of Faith).

That actually took 15-20 minutes, even though the sister had studied Islam plenty before choosing to make this decision, I guess it is the protocol here to run through a crash course in `aqeedah (Islamic creed) for anyone who wants to take Shahadah, so the remainder of the halaqah was spent reviewing the articles of faith and pillars of Islam.

In Raleigh, we would basically quickly articulate the primary tenets of faith and practice if the convert was new to the masjid, but not nearly so extensively as I heard tonight. So I begin to wonder how other masjid react when someone wishes to say Shahadah?

But more than the `aqeedah crash course, a new Shahadah is always a reminder of guidance in our lives, a reminder that Allah guides whom He chooses. Maybe if we busy ourselves with da`wah we start to think we have a hand in people finding Islam, but so often people just show up at the masjid, ready to take Shahadah (this happens a lot in Ramadan.)

The guidance truly is from Allah, and He leads people to Islam. While we should definitely try to be as active in da`wah as we can (as it’s from the Sunnah and has the promise of a beautiful reward), it’s plain that we only ignite, and we cannot guide.

Watching someone say their Shahadah also brings to mind the overwhelming feeling of truly embracing Islam. From a hadith qudsi (Divine Hadith) we know that Allah comes closer to us as we come closer to Him, and it’s been my experience that certain acts of worship, performed with sincerity, nourish the soul beyond the imagination.

For me, saying Shahadah was the first such experience I had being overcome with faith in this way, and I’ve seen that experience reflected on the face (and in the tears) of many others when they also embrace Islam. Do you wonder why so often converts cry at their Shahadah?

At the very least, their sins have been forgiven. Even if they don’t know it, all their bad deeds are now written as good, and the effect of that beautiful purification-as we are being purified of our sins by Allah-is not merely academic. It can be felt in the heart, and so it’s extremely emotional.

Tonight, getting to see that, just reminded me of what I should be striving for.

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Source: ibnatalhidayah.blogspot.com.

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Ethics & Values New Muslims

New Muslims & Loneliness

believer

When the person truly obeys Allah, he is overcome with the feeling that he and all the forces of this creation are acting as one in worshipping the One and only true God.

When many Muslims think of Ramadan they can remember beautiful moments spent together as a family: eating suhoor (pre-fast meal) and iftar (meal to break the fast), bustling into the car to make it to the masjid for Tarawih (late night congregational prayer), celebrating `Eid together.

Yet speaking to some reverts will reveal the deep sense of loneliness they can experience at iftar or on `Eid day. This article had initially been intended for any revert brothers or sisters experiencing loneliness during Ramadan. However as I came to realize, this feeling of loneliness is not restricted to reverts or the month of Ramadan, so I hope it will be of benefit to whomever and whenever they feel utterly alone. So here’s an ayah (verse) to reflect upon from the Book of Allah, a mercy, healing, and source of peace for the believers.

Whatever is in the heavens and earth exalts Allah, and He is the Exalted in might, the Wise. (Al-Hadid 57:1)

“Whatever is in the heavens and earth”

We should not feel we’re alone in worshipping our Creator and try to fulfill our sole purpose on this earth. You may be the only Muslim in your house, neighborhood, or even town, but remember that everything in the heavens and earth – the trees, birds, plants, animals, and so on – are also declaring the perfection of Allah, subhanahu wa ta`ala (Exalted is He).

The seven heavens and the earth and whatever is in them exalt Him. And there is not a thing except that it exalts (Allah) by His praise, but you do not understand their (way of) exalting. Indeed, He is ever Forbearing and Forgiving. (Al-Israa’ 17:44)

Do you not see that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, the moving creatures, and many of the people? But upon many the punishment has been justified. And he whom Allah humiliates – for him there is no bestower of honor. Indeed, Allah does what He wills. (Al-Hajj 22:18)

So let’s remember that the greatest blessing that Allah bestowed us with, out of His bounty, kindness, and mercy towards us, is that He guided us to be Muslims. Whether the people and environment around us do not know, realize, or fulfill their purpose, let’s remember that we are in the company of all that is in the heavens and earth exalting Allah and declaring His perfection—from the noble angels to tiny ants. (There is no deity worthy of worship but God).

The Angels

Beyond the creatures visible to us, the angels that belong to the realm of the unseen are in the constant worship of Allah.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) informed us: “The sky creaked and it had the right to creak: it had not a single space of four fingers on which an angel was not prostrating (in worship).” (Al-Bukhari)

Subhan Allah (Glory be to God)! We can also obtain a sense of blessed company by pushing ourselves to remain in our place after prayer:

“The angels supplicate in favor of one of you so long as he remains in the place where he has performed prayer and does not break his ablution or leave. They (the angels) say: ‘O Allah! Forgive him, O Allah! Have mercy on him.”’ (Malik, Ahmad, Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

We can use this time to say the sunnah adhkar (remembrances of Allah; specific du`a’, supplications, in this context) after salah (prayer) and do dhikr (remembrance of Allah). This quiet time and space to remember Allah has great spiritual benefit. It brings calmness and contentment of the heart as well as provides us with renewed spiritual strength and endurance.

The Outcome

So what’s the effects of the realization that “…every created being is in a state of submission to Allah and worships Him in a manner appropriate to its situation. The sun, moon, stars, trees and animals are all in a state of subjugation and (prostration) to Allah, and all of them worship Him in an appropriate manner”?

A believer may find ridicule and rejection, hindrance and objection, in his endeavor to obey Allah and adhere to the straight path. However “Allah’s soldiers are with him. The angels worship Allah and dedicate their lives to Him as the believer does. Thus, this true believer is not alone on the road to Allah.”  (Kitab Al-Iman: According to the Classical Works of Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, by Dr. Muhammad Naim Yasin)

As Sheikh Jamal Al-Din M. Zarabozo puts it: “An astounding result of this realization is that when the person truly obeys Allah, he is overcome with the feeling that he and all the forces of this creation are acting as one in worshipping the one and only true God and Creator.” (Purification of the Soul: Concept, Process, and Means)

Action Points

Remain sitting at your place of prayer a bit longer, as much as you can, whenever possible, remembering Allah (Exalted is He).

Allah is the One Who is praised extensively, and all that He does is praiseworthy, so we should remember His decree is praiseworthy and we are rewarded for showing patience and contentment. Be happy that we are among those whom Allah has guided to worship Him. We discussed how everything in the heavens and earth declares the perfection of Allah.

Learn a du`aa’ that our Prophet used to say in ruku` (bowing in prayer) and sujud (prostration): “Subooh, Qudoos, Rabb Al-Malaa’ikati wa Ar-RooH.” (the One Who is Exalted a lot, the One Who is very pure, the Lord of the angels and of Jibreel (Gabriel).

Also from this root of sa-ba-ha in subooh comes the dhikr ‘subhan Allah’  (Glory be to God). Choose a time every morning, daytime, or evening, to reap the following benefit: “Whoever says ‘Subhan-Allahi wa bihamdihi’ (Allah is free from imperfection and to Him belongs all the praise) 100 times a day, all his (minor) sins will be wiped out even if they are equal to the extent of the foam of the ocean.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Surely we’ll fell less lonely when praising and remembering Allah.

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Source: suhaibwebb.com.

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Categories
Conversion Stories New Muslims

Islam Fastest-Growing Religion in Ireland

By: Maggie Armstrong

Islam Fastest-Growing Religion in Ireland

It is estimated that up to 500 Irish people convert to Islam every year.

Islam is Ireland’s fastest-growing religion, with the number of Muslims recorded in the 2011 Census – 48,130 – expected to reach 100,000 by 2020. In a country where only 34pc of approximately 3.8 million Catholics attend Mass, many people are drifting away from religion. But a small number are finding that Islamic beliefs and practices, which allow for a peaceful and community-oriented life, fit their spiritual needs.

Growing Community

It is estimated that up to 500 Irish people convert to Islam every year. There is no official register and no baptism – to convert you simply have to recite the Testimony of Faith (Shahadah) in front of two Muslim witnesses.

While more women convert than men, and most conversions are for marriage, people can have very personal reasons for converting – or reverting as it is known in the Islamic faith, in which it is believed that everyone was born Muslim.

Ireland has a thriving Muslim community. Building begins next year on what is set to be the biggest Islamic cultural center in the country, in Clongriffin on Dublin’s northside. There are mosques and dedicated primary schools in each of our cities. And unlike the situation in France, there is no policy against Muslim girls wearing the hijab (veil) to school.

Support for converts is offered by the Muslim Sisters of Eire, an organization run by Irish Muslim women, and at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Clonskeagh, Dublin, where theologian Dr. Ali Salem teaches a course for new Muslims.

“When people revert, they can be very enthusiastic,” says Dr Salem. “We teach a moderate understanding of Islam, and we also teach them (converts) how to change their lives gradually.”

Aishah (formerly Liza) Caulfield (36, crèche worker)

I come from Irishtown in Dublin 4, born and bred Irish. I became interested in Islam around 12 years ago.

My lifestyle wasn’t typically Irish on the social level. I wasn’t going to nightclubs and I wasn’t into drinking. I always wondered if there was a group of people out there who had a quieter lifestyle, a faith that matched how I lived my life.

I was missing a piece of the puzzle, and I was always searching. I already fitted this religion – I just needed to find it.

Through research I kept coming across Islam. I wasn’t very outward about it at the beginning. When 9/11 happened I thought, “Right, maybe not now, but I’ll continue looking”. I took the Testimony of Faith (the Shahadah), three years ago and got married last year to a Muslim from Mauritius.

My dad said, “It’s about time”, when I took the Shahadah. My family bought me hijabs and my dad was like, “I’ll get you one of those Qur’ans.” He was very hands-on. He’s a staunch Catholic, goes to confession every month and Mass every Sunday. He’d be praying morning and night.

I’m definitely happier. Islam is a quieter, more peaceful way of life. There’s a great sense of unity – our prayer times change day-to-day as the sun rises and sets. Everybody who’s Muslim, a quarter of the inhabitants of the world, is facing Mecca and praying at the same time. That is a very powerful and sacred feeling, putting your face to the floor and submitting to God.

The one big change is wearing the hijab. I wear it because it’s a sign of my devotion to God. It shows humility with my husband and with the male members of my family. For me my beauty is my hair and my body, and that’s not for everyone.

I also wear it because one part of my faith is to discuss Islam with non-Muslims. If I’m in the supermarket and someone hears my Ringsend accent, they’ll ask, “Oh, how long are you here, love?” And I’ll reply, “Actually, I’m Irish”. It’s a way of sharing your faith with people, of saying: “Don’t be afraid of us – we’re all human, we all come and go the one way.”

I always dressed modestly. I was never comfortable with showing the figure off. We’re living in a society where people feel threatened because I choose to not show my body, whereas you have girls as young as 11 or 12 who take it to the extreme.

You should be valued for your soul and your personality, not because of how much of your body you show – that’s private, and that’s my beauty.

People often look at Muslim women and think we must feel oppressed. I, for example, when got married, I was given a dowry (mahr) which is a right of the woman in Islam.

You’re going to hear negative stuff in the media – “Oh, the poor Afghan women” and that – but I often say to people: “Please, don’t confuse culture with the faith itself.”

Bridget Darby (68, retired hotel manager)

I was born in Trim into a Catholic family. In the 1950s you were brought up in the fear of God and told, “You’ll be punished, you’ll go to hell”. It was the culture and you did what you were told.

When I was 18 I went to England to study nursing. I met an Englishman in the Royal Air Force. I was at a very vulnerable time and I fell in love with him and we got engaged. He wasn’t a Catholic, so he and I had to have some religious instruction.

One day I showed up by myself and the priest asked me, “Have you got your dress?” He went from the dress to say, “Have you got new underwear?” I tried to answer as best I could, cringing on the edge of the seat. I got out of that office immediately, shaking.

I made myself a promise: that after we married I wouldn’t walk into a Catholic church again, and I never did. We got married, had a child and were stationed in Cyprus and Australia. We got divorced after about 15 years, and in 1985 I went to America. I still had no religion, but I was a good person – I believed in God.

In 2006, I went to Cairo for a vacation. That’s where I was formally introduced to Islam. I had leased an apartment and the owner asked if I would like to visit her ranch outside the city. She picked me up – her husband was driving. She’d asked me to cover appropriately because her farm workers hadn’t seen a Western woman before.

I got in this car, scrunched into the back, and she asked me if I believed in God. “Yes, I do,” I said. Then she asked, “Do you believe in one God?” I said I did. She got really excited and started babbling in Arabic to her husband. She had me reciting, “Mohammad is the prophet and there is only one God”, by the time I got to her house. She was wonderful.

She explained to me about the five pillars (obligations) in Islam. She walked me around her farm and showed me the area where she prayed five times a day.

I walked over to the river and was bathing my feet in the Nile. I can’t describe the feeling, to see the peaceful, respectful way they went about their lives. I had this idea that it was a terrible religion, but by the end of the day I was so taken by it – and I don’t do things on the spur of the moment.

All the years that I’d not been recognizing any religion, trying to survive by myself, I used to feel that someone was guiding me. I realized when I accepted Islam that God was with me anyway.

I’ve been back in Ireland a short time and I haven’t gone around waving a banner that I’m a Muslim. I know that people are afraid of the religion. You don’t see peace, you see violence. The media tells you that al-Qaeda bombed America and brought down the towers, so you tend to stereotype.

A lot of the restrictions are cultural – some are not Islamic. I now have a purpose. I have a belief, I have faith, I have new friends. It’s a sense of security to believe in God. I pray five times a day, but sometimes I miss it. I have the Qur’an by my bed. Islam is very much in your heart. You don’t have to stand on the street and wave the Qur’an. What I have is beautiful for me.

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The article is taken from  Irish Independent with slight editorial modifications. 

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Conversion Stories New Muslims

My Path to Islam: It’s about Sincerity & Persistence

nature flowers

Religion is the only one stable you can have in life. So whenever you have any hardships and difficulty in life you should go to your God.

I converted to Islam in October 2007. I was raised a Catholic. I used to teach Catholicism, and I was not so much reactive in the church.

I started to have questions about life I went to the church for my answers and I was met with a lot of resistance. I decided to take my time in knowing about different religions. I started studying Judaism, Hinduism, Taoism , Jainism and, eventually, Islam.

My life has been very different after converting to Islam. It has been one of the most beautiful things that can ever happen to me but it has also brought its share of hardships. My family since I’ve accepted Islam doesn’t speak with me.

As a result, they have taken my daughter from me. I have suffered a lot, I’ve lost my job, I can’t attend school anymore because I’m not able to afford it financially though I was one of the top students in my school.

In life nothing is stable. You can have money, you can have family, you can have anything and all can go in the blink of an eye. But religion is the only one stable you can have. So whenever you have any hardships and difficulty in life you should go to your God.

And going to the church and being told ‘that’s the way it is’, ‘because God said so’, and ‘you shouldn’t question that’, was not acceptable for me.

If I need answers where am I going to find them then?

Being Catholic you believe that there’s the trinity in it (the religion), that Jesus is son of God and he is God, etc. It’s when you can take your mind out of it and look at it, it doesn’t make sense. But it is hard – when for so many years you have this as your faith; this is what you defend and what you’re dedicated to, to take this step back and kind of be open-minded about it.

For me, it took time. I started it for a long time, I had a lot of misconceptions about what Islam was. I even hated Muslims.

I thought all Muslims should die, and in my mind that anyone who is Muslim was they shouldn’t exist; why are they here? They should go back to their countries. You know I had the common American idea of what Islam and Muslims are. But that was my own ignorance following the media.

At this point I read often…

What happened to the sister? Why the change of Heart?

Learn more about what questions the sister had and what answers she have found and how? What did Islam gave here, and how have it contributed to all aspects of her life?

Watch the sister telling her touching and inspiring story her…

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Categories
Conversion Stories New Muslims

Happiness Like I Never Felt before: Former French Rapper Diam’s

French rapper Diam’s talks about her conversion to Islam

“I discovered a religion of wisdom, of nonviolence, of peace, of sharing, of kindness; the religion of Jesus, Moses, Abraham, Salomon and of all the prophets.”

Four years after she converted to Islam, French Rapper Diam’s explains why she decided to take this amazing step that changed her life. In an interview with the French channel TF1, she explains that Islam has brought a lot of meaning to her life.

“I became a normal woman. When I wake up every morning, I know that I have to improve myself,” she said.

“When you carry God’s love in your heart, you are fulfilled.”

She went on to say that she was not built for stardom, clarifying that the life of stars made her miserable. “I tried very hard to have fun in the parties, but, I was not built for that. I believed in the dream of becoming a star, but it was just an illusion,” she said.

Connection with God

The turning point of her life was when she was with her Muslim friend Sousou. When Soussou went to do her prayer, Diam’s asked her if she could pray with her.

“When I prayed with her and I prostrated, I felt being connected with God,” she explains.

When she went on a trip to Mauritius, she took the Qur’an with her in order to read it: “It was a revelation, I was intimately convinced that God exists,” she explained.

“The more I was reading, the more convinced I became.”

Concerning her decision to wear the veil, she explained how it all came step by step. She was not ready to wear I at the beginning, but when she learnt more about Islam, she grew convinced that she needed to wear the hijab.

Hostile Reaction

When the press and her entourage discovered that she converted to Islam, she explained, as she was filmed coming out from a mosque, the press lashed out at her.

Some went as far as accusing her of becoming a danger for all her young fans. She deplored the confusion that the media created about the story of her conversion to Islam.

“I lost my team, because nobody trusted me. When a young girl converts, people say that either she is indoctrinated or her husband forced her to do it, as if I did not have my intellectual independence as if people knew that I was a woman with a weak personality or no character,” she added.

Her veil stirred controversy, especially that she had never explained what led her to change her path. She highlighted the intolerance of the French society and how it is far from being benevolent towards her when she decided to convert to Islam and how she went through tough moments after her decision.

Answering the question if it was complicated to live in France while being a veiled woman, she explained that although France remains a country that promotes freedom, people are not that kind towards her: “France remains the country of freedom since I can still wear my veil, but people’s prejudice and nastiness, make one tired,” she said.

She deplored the fact the French press and the public opinion accused her of becoming a ‘danger for the youth’.

“Is this danger, to advocate peace and be a nice person, and have a family life?”, she wondered.

“I wonder if I people would have said the same to me had I ended up like Amy Winehouse,” she added.

Religion of Peace

She criticized the people who defame Islam without having any knowledge about it and the amalgam between Islam and extremism:

“There are some people who are ignorant and they should refrain from talking. When we talk about something, we have to know what we are talking about,” she said.

Regarding the accusation of extremism leveled at Islam in Western countries, she emphasized that Islam is a religion of peace.

“That is not what I discovered. I discovered a religion of wisdom, of nonviolence, of peace, of sharing, of kindness. It is the religion of Jesus, Moses, Abraham, Salomon and of all the prophets. Why do people make it look like that? Under no circumstances can we find it normal that innocent people are killed in terrorist attacks.”

“I am very happy to the point that I have happiness in my heart that nobody can take away, neither through taking pictures nor attacking me, I have faith,” she concluded.

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Source: Morocco World News

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