“She is a Muslim now.” “Don’t let her leave Islam.” “Would you??”
Missing something in their lives – a great one indeed – so many people revert to Islam? But, what happens after that? The truth is many of them leave it?
So, why do so many of them leave Islam? Why do these many formerly lost hearts let go of the solace they have found?
Based on a true story, the video below tells the bitter facts …
httpv://youtu.be/vlvHjbbKX-4
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“He’s got the colour back in his face. He wants to be a better person but he’ll still have his faults, like we all do.” (Mundine)
Professional and once unsettled rugby player, Blake Ferguson, has apparently found the road.
After a life full of thorns, setbacks and anxiety, troubled rugby league star has found his road to rehabilitation, true salvation, peace and tranquility via Islam.
At Zetland Mosque, Sydney, on Friday the National Rugby League (NRL) bad boy have taken the Shahadah (Declaration of Faith), hoping it will help him put his career and whole life back on track.
He converted to Islam by the help of his fellow Muslim boxer Anthony Mundine.
The State of Origin star was photographed praying beside Mundine, who also helped rugby league superstar Sonny Bill Williams convert to the Muslim religion five years ago when Williams was going through a difficult period in his life.
For all his showmanship and madness, Mundine is a deeply religious person who genuinely cares for Ferguson and wants to help him realize his enormous potential in the NRL.
Ferguson declined to comment on Friday saying: “It’s private. I can’t talk about it, I’m sorry.”
Ferguson has previously made many failed attempts to give up alcohol – which is prohibited for a Muslim to drink.
Mundine revealed that the sacked and now unemployed Canberra Raiders star had been asking him about converting for almost six weeks.
“He’s thought about it and it’s a commitment he wants to make,” Mundine said. “But it’s up to Blake to speak about it when he’s ready.
“He’s just looking forward to changing his direction in life. At the moment he’s in good space – no drinking, no drugs, no parties.
“He’s got the colour back in his face. He wants to be a better person but he’ll still have his faults, like we all do.”
After a life full of thorns, setbacks and anxiety, troubled rugby league star has found his road to rehabilitation, true salvation.
Ferguson’s rugby league career has been in limbo for several months after he was dumped by the Raiders over a number of off-field incidents.
Another prominent Islamic sportsperson, boxer Billy Dib, congratulated Ferguson on Twitter on Saturday, writing on: “Proud of you my brother, so happy to see you taking the right steps to resurrect your footy career.”
Ferguson replied: “Thanks brother.. very hapoy with where im heading.. hooe your well.”
Dib then tweeted “all is well my bro, getting ready for the big fight inshallah.” to which Ferguson responded with “yeah my brother goodluck inshallah”.
Ferguson has had a troubled year in the NRL and is currently facing charges over the alleged indecent assault of a woman at a Cronulla nightspot. That matter is still before the courts.
Many of Ferguson’s misdemeanors have been alcohol-related, which makes his religious conversion such a significant step.
The Roosters’ Kiwi superstar Sonny Bill Williams, another close friend of Mundine’s, has said his Muslim faith has made him a better footballer. Ferguson will be hoping for a similar result.
Ferguson worked as a laborer after leaving Canberra but still hopes to return to the NRL. He was supposed to have had his first professional fight on the undercard for Mundine’s aborted fight against Mosley on October 23. He will enter the ring as one of the curtain-raisers for the fight night at All Phones Arena on November 27.
The player, who was once earning $400,000-a-year, is living at Mundine’s Hurstville home with the boxer and his mum.
He is now a $1 million-a-year superstar in NRL and rugby union.
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Source: The Daily Telegraph and The Sydney Morning Herald
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“It’s made me become content as a man, and helped me to grow. I’ve just got faith in it and it has definitely helped me become the man I am today.”
It was in the cave of Hira’ that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) received the first revelation of the Qur’an. For rugby’s original wild child Sonny Bill Williams, meeting a Tunisian family who lived with their five children in a one-bedroom flat in the south of France proved pivotal to his conversion to Islam.
The New Zealander’s unshakeable belief in the Almighty has proved to be the making of one of the island nation’s most gifted, and controversial, sports stars.
“I was real close with them, and I saw how happy and content they were. And to see how they lived their lives, it was just simple,” Sonny Bill Williams, a prodigious rugby talent, professional boxer and tattooed poster boy, tells CNN’s Human to Hero series.
“One thing I’ve learned over my career is that simplicity is the key. On the field, off as well.”
“I’ve become a true Muslim,” added Williams. “It’s giving me happiness. It’s made me become content as a man, and helped me to grow. I’ve just got faith in it and it has definitely helped me become the man I am today.”
The Williams of today does not visibly bear the scars of the 15-year-old who was thrust into the unrelenting drinking culture of one of Australia’s top rugby league clubs and shamed by national media after being caught in a compromising position with a model.
A man who quit that scene, walking out on his contract to take up a lucrative offer to switch codes and join a French rugby union club, requiring a substantial compensation payout.
A man who rejected a reported record $5 million deal to stay with Toulon and returned to Aotearoa (the land of the long white cloud) to follow his dream of playing for the prestigious All Blacks, but found himself a fringe figure for 2011’s long-awaited World Cup triumph on home soil.
He’s been battered in a boxing ring, criticized for landing another big-money deal in Japan, and is now back in the sport where he’s most at home.
And still controversy follows him.
This weekend Williams will continue his bid to become the first player to win the World Cup in both union and league, as the Kiwis take on Australia in the final.
His mere presence in the squad caused a storm, as he only made himself available the day after it was named, reversing his earlier decision. It meant one unlucky player had to make way.
“I thought I was doing a good thing, you know, staying true to myself,” says the 28-year-old, who had just completed a triumphant return to Australia’s National Rugby League competition, winning his second title and subsequently deciding to extend what had initially been planned as a one-year stint with the Sydney Roosters club.
“Then obviously there was a bit of a falling out, because one of the players was taken out of the squad, one of the young boys, and I just got absolutely hammered.
“And it just made me think, you can’t please everyone, you know? If you go about trying to please everyone, there’s going to be endless struggles.
“As long as you are happy with the man you see in the mirror, it’s all that counts I guess.”
When Williams, who stands at 6 foot 4 inches and weighs in at 17 stone (108 kg), looks at himself in the mirror, it is surprising to hear him admit to vulnerability.
“My toughest opponent is probably myself, I guess, mentally,” Williams says in his quiet voice, a gentle contrast to his powerful physique.
Stripped to his trunks in the boxing ring, you can see the rippling muscles and elaborate tattoos that have made him a pinup.
“Overcoming the mental struggles that you have out on the field, it’s been probably the biggest one for me. The reason I feel so mentally strong now is because of boxing and going through those tough times,” he adds.
“I’ve always had battles inside my head where I had to think where I was going to go.”
Williams is close friends with fellow Muslim Anthony Mundine, a former Australian rugby league star who became a boxing champion and has helped the Kiwi fulfill his ring ambitions.
Williams’ last fight, back in February, earned him the little-known WBA International Heavyweight title, and some punishing blows from South African journeyman Francois Botha in a reduced 10-round bout.
“Every sport has helped me excel in another. Boxing has given me the mental strength to know that I can face anything on the field, without a doubt,” he reflects.
That sixth fight is likely to be his last for a while, as he focuses on his rugby goals. Rugby is a de facto religion in New Zealand, a country where the gods play with an oval ball and where institutionalized faith is losing ground with its general populace – just over 50% said they were Christian at the last completed census.
He is back playing the sport that is perhaps closest to his heart; his dad played it, and his mum’s father was a renowned coach in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, where he grew up.
Family means everything to him. His parents are separated, but he brought his father to Sydney with him and sees his mum when he can. He has bought both of them houses.
“My mother and my father were really big on manners,” Williams recalls.
“Almost to the point, you know, that when I got a bit older it made me a bit too shy, I never said anything out of turn. But they’ve molded me to the person that I’ve become.”
He’s always been competitive – even if it meant finding a short cut to finally beat his older brother “the biggest influence on my sporting career” in their regular childhood running races – and he had been pegged as a future athletics champion before choosing rugby league.
“I’ve always loved sport. It’s funny, it’s all I ever thought I was good at. Whatever sport was there, whatever ball I could pick up, whatever bat I could try, I’d give it a crack.”
Williams became the youngest player to be signed by an NRL team, winning his first Grand Final as an 18-year-old with the Canterbury Bulldogs in 2004, and was the youngest to represent New Zealand’s Kiwis league side.
“I grew up as a Christian, like many Polynesians do, and moving to Australia suddenly when I was 15, I learned a lot about Muslim faith,” he says.
It was in Toulon where, having fled Australia under threats of lawsuits from his jilted employer, his conversion to Islam was realized.
Having to adhere to the rule of Ramadan fasting has given him a new perspective on some of the things we take for granted.
“When you do Ramadan and you go for the whole month, you’re that much more appreciative of being able to eat food and drink water – that’s what it’s designed to do,” he says.
But faith in the divine can only do so much, he says, the rest is up to you.
“To be the best you definitely have to have some God-given talents, but you also have to have the drive and the will and the dedication,” Williams explains.
“Simplicity is the key and I just try to keep things as simple as I can. But I never lose that one thing that’s got me there; that’s drive, working hard, doing all the little things, ticking all the boxes.”
“Blessed and forever grateful to the Most High”, Sonny Bill Williams said on his Twitter account (@SonnyBWilliams).
Having switched allegiances so often, Williams finds himself having to work hard to earn acceptance, which means trying to break some of his own habits.
“I’d like to be a bit more trusting, letting my guard down a little bit more. I’m too serious sometimes, bro, as you can tell,” he acknowledges, before breaking into a big grin.
“And in a team environment sometimes I’m too intense, you know, sometimes I’ve got to sit back and just relax. Just chill out. But it’s just how I’m made. I’ve always been competitive.”
Williams admits he would be tempted to try another of rugby’s formats, Sevens, which will make its Olympic debut at Rio 2016.
“That would be a dream come true. If I had the opportunity to give it a crack, I definitely would,” he says.
“But there’s so much talent in New Zealand that it’s probably almost a distant dream at this stage.”
Whatever he decides to do after his new Roosters deal ends next year – he has hinted he will return to union ahead of the 2015 World Cup – it’s a fair bet that Williams will succeed.
He has won titles almost everywhere he has been, and that has been driven by something deep inside him.
“I just don’t want to fail, to be honest. I don’t want to let my family down, I don’t want to let myself down,” Williams admits, falling back into his earnest, serious tone.
“That’s probably the biggest thing I fear. I’m confident as a man, these days, and I know what I can achieve if I put my mind to it.”
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Source: Cnn.com
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I had so much money and successful business, but still wasn’t happy. It’s not a matter of how much money you make in life, but what purpose you have behind your living.
To have a higher purpose, this is what Islam is. Before Islam I never felt what happiness truly is. Now, I could really feel the happiness of having such purpose, of being at peace with yourself and others, of being with God.
This is not life; this is a test, Islam taught me.
Watch brother Yusuf, a new Muslim, sharing his experience and feelings after being a Muslim….
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Source: iera.org
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The entire team was impressed by the peace and serenity they felt in Islam.
Heading to the rich gulf emirate for a two-month training camp, none of the twenty-three young Cameroonian footballers imagined that their journey to Dubai would end surprisingly into making all of them revert to Islam.
“It is amazing that at an age when most people just want to play and have fun, these young men were searching for faith and enlightenment,” Javeed Khateeb, senior religious adviser at IACAD, the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai, told The National newspaper.
“This is the first time we’ve had such a large number of people from the same group wanting to convert.
“We do get large groups of converts but usually they come from different backgrounds,” he added.
The team from the West African country represents a football academy for the homeless, orphans and impoverished youth.
Coming to Dubai for training camp, the entire team was impressed by the peace and serenity they felt in Islam.
Moreover, they have also praised the kindness they received from Muslim players they trained with.
“They were very impressed with the way Muslims behaved, but mostly they were impressed by the kindness and respect they received,” Khateeb said
“These are poor young men and they were embraced like brothers.”
Having expressed their interest in Islam to their hosts, the squad, its coach and female priest were all taken to IACAD to learn more about Islam last Thursday, Sept. 11 and returned home last Saturday.
“We spent two separate sessions, which were about a full day each, talking about Islam and answering all their questions and alleviating any doubts,” Khateeb said.
“We wanted to make sure they had proper understanding of Islam. Many of their questions were about halal and haram, consuming alcohol, and how the prophet Jesus is portrayed in Islam.”
“Two of them did not wish to convert, but they wanted to learn more about Islam and the culture before deciding what to do,” he added.
The Cameroonian squad was the latest group of visitors to IACAD who choose to revert to Islam at the center.
“The department has witnessed a lot of conversion cases of visitors and residents from different nationalities and most of them attribute their conversion to the tolerance and humane values and principles of Islam and the kindness they had from Muslims,” said Dr Hamad Al Shaibani, director general of IACAD.
The department organizes programs and events for non-Muslims and new Muslims to introduce the authentic, moderate message of Islam as a religion for all.
These take place in schools, shopping centers and cultural clubs.
Along with IACAD, Islamic Information Centre of the Dubai government-run Dar Al-Ber Society has witnessed a record of reversions to Islam over the past years.
Established more than 20 years ago, Dar Al Ber Society centre has witnessed the reversion of 20,000 from 200 different nationalities to Islam.
According to Dar Al Ber Society, about 2,115 people reverted to Islam in 2013.
The number, compared to about 1,907 in 2012, showed an increase by about 10%, according to Aljunaibi.
The number was much less in 2011 as only 1,380 were reportedly converted to Islam, while 1,500 joined Islam in 2010 and about 1,059 in 2009.
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Source: OnIslam.net.
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The most important thing is that I have God in my heart and He has given me love, happiness and peace.
Sometimes is hard to accept other people’s decisions, but we have to respect it. Lately I went to celebrate a special date for Muslim people. As always it was a beautiful day and one more day I had to be grateful with the sisterhood that I’ve found here in Irvine. I did a speech about why I reverted to Islam.
At the beginning, I didn’t know what to say. I said to myself, “What can I say? I’m shy. I don’t speak English well!” But I decided to say what my heart wanted to say, and after that I feel that my words couldn’t stop there. So, that’s why I am writing this. First, it’s hard for me to say in public why I chose to revert, because my friends and family don’t support my decision. But I am going to do this.
My name is Maria Clara Castellar. I live in Cartagena, Colombia. I am 21-years-old, and this is my story.
This story begins last year in my second semester of the year at my university. I was taking a class with one of my favorite teachers and in one of her classes she spoke about Islam and other issues of Islam as a subject. After that, I was extremely interested in Islam and I didn’t know why.
I started to read and was surprised to see that the page described the religion of Islam as a religion of peace, and a religion in which you can find God, love and happiness. When I learned this, I admit that something in me found an answer to a question I’d been asking myself for many years. I’d been looking for God in my life. I’d been looking for Islam.
My family is Catholic and I spent my life following the conservative traditions of the Catholic religion. I attended the church and assisted in the Catholic school for six years to become closer to God, but I couldn’t feel him in all of those years. I admit that I was completely lost.
One day, one of my friend told me about an opportunity to do volunteer work in other country. I signed a paper and quickly got my mother’s permission. I was interviewed, and that was all it took. Soon I found myself preparing to do volunteer work, but I needed to choose a country. I considered going to Egypt, but I needed to contact people. So, I searched until I found a man who works in a volunteer organization.
After contacting him, he offered to help me go to Egypt and complete my volunteer work. The man told me he could find some work for me, but I decided I couldn’t accept it because my mom wasn’t willing to let me go there. Instead, I went to Brazil, but my friendship with him never finished. We began speaking every day, and he fully introduced me to Islam as a religion, not just as subject in school. He taught me many new things.
After that, I decided to read everything I could find about Islam and chose to do my final paper on the topic as a final step to receive my graduation. My mom bought me a lot of books about Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), books explaining Islam, and most importantly, my first Qur’an.
I tried to read it, but there was difficulty. I spoke with the director of my university about my plans, and became more encouraged to learn and read more. My director sent me new material and recommended me an interesting book to me called, “The Girls of Riyadh”. I had a lot of information, but something was still missing.
In 2013, this year, I decided to learn English and French, and did everything necessary to go to Canada with a friend of mine. Unfortunately, the embassy wouldn’t allow me to do this. I was so upset with myself because I didn’t get permission, and I hated the idea of not being allowed to study abroad. My mom said to me, ” Calm down. Everything happens for a reason…God knows.”
And yes, she was right.
After that I decided to go to the United States, although this wasn’t my first choice. I wanted to go to another country less like USA, but I came here because it was easy and because I could study here with my Columbian friend, and live in his mother’s house.
My mom assisted me in everything, and in less than one month I got my student visa and left to study at Irvine. I didn’t choose Irvine because I wanted it. My mom chose it because it was the closest city to Huntington Beach, where I was going to live.
The weekend that I arrived in California, I went to a city close to Huntington Beach because of a market place there. In the corner I found four men giving da`wah, I stopped there and they give me information about Islam, books Sometimes is hard to accept other people’s decisions, but we have to respect it.
Finally, on February 25 I began my class in Kaplan International Colleges- Irvine – USA. I was bored to study here, but soon I began to like it. I met a lot of Muslim and non-Muslim friends. I didn’t say my intentions about Islam until I met a beautiful person who taught me even more about Islam, and this person actually helped me to revert to Islam on May 28, 2013.
After many days I spoke with her again and told her I was completely sure to take my Shahadah (Testimony of Faith). She and her husband took me to the masjid, and I repeated the words after her. They congratulated me, and we celebrated with some Arabic food.
When she took me home, I took a long shower and I cried because I knew that my life changed in that moment. I had been wrong. My destiny had been to stay here. God brought me here, and I felt guilty because I hadn’t trusted in Him in the beginning, but Alhamdulillah! God gave me the opportunity to begin again, and I remember feeling alive -feeling like I was born again- and absolutely, I was born again.
The first person I told about reverting to Islam was my mom. As always, she supported me! My mother offered her congratulations, and I couldn’t help but wonder why she would be congratulating me? I couldn’t understand her words, but I think that she was happy that finally I found God in my heart.
What It Means to Be Muslim
I am a Muslim girl, and I’ll always be a Muslim girl. It doesn’t matter what people say about me, or about my decision. The most important thing is that I have God in my heart and He has given me love, happiness and peace. That is something that will never change. Islam is not a religion of terrorism. It isn’t anything bad. It’s the religion of the one true God; my religion.
Now my life is better than before. I have a lot of beautiful people around me. I have sisters. I have brothers. I have a family! I’ll always be grateful with all I have now and everything I’ll have in my future.
Islam has completely changed everything in my life. I am better person. I’m kinder and I’m lovely with my family, my friends and above all always grateful and in love with Allah! Alhamdulillah.
Thank you to my admirable mom, sisters, sisters and brothers who help guide me and help me as a new Muslim!
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Source: The Daily Telegraph and The Sydney Morning Herald
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By Theresa Corbin
I came to realize Islam is a world religion that teaches tolerance, justice and honor and promotes patience, modesty and balance.
My name is Theresa Corbin. I am a Muslim, but I wasn’t always. I converted to Islam in November 2001, two months after 9/11.
I was 21 and living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was a bad time to be a Muslim. But after four years of studying, poking and prodding at world religions and their adherents, I decided to take the plunge.
I am the product of a Creole Catholic and an Irish atheist. I grew up Catholic, then was agnostic, now I’m Muslim.
My journey to Islam began when I was about 15 years old in Mass and had questions about my faith. The answers from teachers and clergymen – don’t worry your pretty little head about it – didn’t satisfy me.
So I did what any red-blooded American would do: the opposite. I worried about it. For many years. I questioned the nature of religion, man and the universe.
After questioning everything I was taught to be true and digging through rhetoric, history and dogma, I found out about this strange thing called Islam. I learned that Islam is neither a culture nor a cult, nor could it be represented by one part of the world. I came to realize Islam is a world religion that teaches tolerance, justice and honor and promotes patience, modesty and balance.
As I studied the faith, I was surprised many of the tenants resonated with me. I was pleased to find that Islam teaches its adherents to honor all prophets, from Moses to Jesus to Mohammed (peace be upon hem), all of whom taught mankind to worship one God and to conduct ourselves with higher purpose.
I was drawn to Islam’s appeal to intellect and heartened by the Prophet Mohammed’s quote, “The acquisition of knowledge is compulsory for every Muslim, whether male or female”. (Ibn Majah)
I was astounded that science and rationality were embraced by Muslim thinkers such as Al-Khawarizmi, who invented algebra; Ibn Firnas, who developed the mechanics of flight before Leonardo DaVinci; and Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi, who is the father of modern surgery.
Here was a religion telling me to seek out answers and use my intellect to question the world around me.
It was 2001, and I had been putting off converting for a while. I feared what people would think but was utterly miserable. When 9/11 happened, the actions of the hijackers horrified me. But in its aftermath, I spent most of my time defending Muslims and their religion to people who were all too eager to paint a group of 1.6 billion people with one brush because of the actions of a few.
I was done being held hostage by the opinions of others. In defending Islam, I got over my fear and decided to join my brothers and sisters in the faith I believed in.
My family did not understand, but it wasn’t a surprise to them since I had been studying religion. Most were very concerned for my safety. Luckily, most of my friends were cool about it, and even curious to learn more.
These days, I am a proud wearer of hijab. You can call it a scarf. My scarf does not tie my hands behind my back, and it is not a tool of oppression. It doesn’t prevent thoughts from entering my head and leaving my mouth. But I didn’t always know this.
Studying Islam didn’t immediately dispel all my cultural misconceptions. I had been raised on imagery of women in the East being treated like chattel by men who forced them to cover their bodies out of shame or a sense of ownership.
But when I asked a Muslim woman “Why do you wear that?”, her answer was obvious and appealing: “To please God; to be recognized as a woman who is to be respected and not harassed. So that I can protect myself from the male gaze.”
She explained how dressing modestly is a symbol to the world that a woman’s body is not meant for mass consumption or critique.
I still wasn’t convinced and replied, “Yeah, but women are like second class citizens in your faith?”
The very patient Muslim lady explained that, during a time when the Western world treated women like property, Islam taught that men and women were equal in the eyes of God. Islam made the woman’s consent to marriage mandatory and gave women the opportunity to inherit, own property, run businesses and participate in government.
She listed right after right that women in Islam held nearly 1,250 years before women’s lib was ever thought of in the West. Surprisingly, Islam turned out to be the religion that appealed to my feminist ideals.
It might shock you to know that I had an arranged marriage. That doesn’t mean I was forced to marry my father’s first choice suitor, like Jasmine from “Aladdin”. Dad didn’t even have a say.
When I converted, it wasn’t a good time to be a Muslim. Feeling isolated, alienated and rejected by my own society pushed me to want to start a family of my own. Even before converting, I had always wanted a serious relationship but found few men looking for the same.
As a new Muslim, I knew there was a better way to look for love and a lifelong partnership. I decided that if I wanted a serious relationship, it was time to get serious about finding one. I wanted an arranged marriage.
I made a list of “30 Rock”-style deal breakers. I searched. I interviewed. I interrogated friends and families of prospects.
I decided I wanted to marry another convert, someone who had been where I was and wanted to go where I wanted to go. Thanks to parents of friends, I found my now-husband, a convert to Islam, in Mobile, Alabama, two hours from my New Orleans home. Twelve years later, we are living happily ever after.
Not every Muslim finds a mate in this manner, and I didn’t always see this for my life. But I am glad Islam afforded me this option.
I never had to give up my personality, American identity or culture to be a Muslim. I have, at times, had to give up on being treated with dignity.
I have been spat on, had eggs thrown at me and been cursed at from passing cars. And I have felt terror when the mosque I attended in Savannah, Georgia, was first shot at, then burned down.
In August 2012, I moved back home to New Orleans, where being different is the norm. I finally felt safe- for a while. But now, with the continuous news coverage of the un-Islamic group known as ISIS, I have been subjected to much of the same treatment I received in other cities. And I now feel less safe than I ever have.
It enrages me to know there are some who call themselves Muslims and who distort and misappropriate Islam for political gains.
It weighs on me knowing that millions of my countrymen see only these images as a representative of my religion. It is unbearable to know that I am passionately hated for my beliefs, when those hating me don’t even know what my beliefs are.
In my journey to Islam, I came to learn that Muslims come in all shapes, sizes, attitudes, ethnicities, cultures and nationalities. I came to know that Islam teaches disagreement and that shouldn’t lead to disrespect, as most Muslims want peace.
Most of all, I have faith that my fellow Americans can rise above fear and hatred and come to learn the same.
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Source: cnn.com
Theresa Corbin is a writer living in New Orleans. She is the founder of Islamwich and a contributor to On Islam and Aquila Style.
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These women feel more at ease with the traditional expectations of women in Muslim society.
Latinos are one of the fastest growing groups in the Muslim religion. The Pew Research Center says about six percent of American Muslims are Latino. And women make up a little more than half of the new converts (the people who have changed their religion to Islam).
On a recent Friday, men listened to their imam at Masjid Miami Gardens in Miami, Florida. This clergyman spoke about forgiveness.
On the upper level of the Gardens, the women watch through glass. They hear the imam through a monitoring system.
This is the world that Greisa Torres entered four years ago. That is when she arrived in Miami from Cuba. She says she lost her identify in the move, and found it in the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Ms. Torres converted to Islam while pregnant with her second son.
“It’s very hard for me because we don’t have family here, just my husband and my kids. On this day, my baby, my Mahdi Aparicio, this day he was born. That’s why I convert to Islam, because I’m scared.”
Some estimates say there are 3,000 Hispanic Muslims in the Miami area and more than 40,000 nationwide.
Stephanie Londono received a master’s degree from Florida International University. She published a study about religious conversions by Latinas, women of Hispanic ancestry.
Ms. Londono says some women turn to Islam because they reject Western values. They believe success in the West is measured by careers, education or wealth.
These women feel more at ease with the traditional expectations of women in Muslim society. They feel that what some consider less freedom in this way of life is something good or a benefit.
Ms. Londono says they like clear definitions between “halal”, meaning acceptable, and “haram”, which means unacceptable.
“So they know exactly where they stand. So the Qur’an happens to become this book that is almost like a guidebook, that tells you exactly how to wear, what to wear, when to wash, what to eat, how to behave, when to pray…”
Less traditional Muslim women may avoid the hijab. But Latinas are happy to wear this head covering. Ms. Londono says they purposely speak Spanish while their heads are covered to show they represent Islam.
“When the people see you with the hijab, they respect you. It’s emotion you feel because you are different.”
Being seen in public in a hijab breaks traditional images that all Arabs are Muslims and all Hispanics are Catholic.
Ms. Torres also discovered similarities in the cultures as she changed religion. For example, 4,000 Spanish language words have roots in Arabic. This is because Moors (Arabs) occupied Spain in the Middle Ages.
Greisa Torres finds this useful. Some of what she is learning about Islam is taught in Arabic.
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Source: voanews.com
This report was based on a story from VOA’s Carolyn Presutti. Jeri Watson wrote the story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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“Many things happened in my life, and I’ve been lost for 22 yrs. Today I’ve found my guidance to paradise. #AllahuAkbar.”
This is how the American footballer Dominique Easley announced his reversion to Islam a few days ago on social networks, joining the company of modern Muslim athletes in the NFL.
The New England Patriots’ tweet a few days ago has drawn massive praise and messages of support on social media.
His Twitter post has been retweeted more than 5,902 times and generated hundreds of comments since its release.
“@DominiqueEasley Alhamdullilah! May Allah make this journey a beautiful one, may He add more blessings into your life and grant you Jannah,” a twitter user commented on Easley’s post.
“All my respect brother! May Allah bless you inshaAllah!” another one wrote.
The Patriots’ defense interior player shared his reversion to Islam on Instagram too, attracting more than 1,200 likes and dozens of encouraging comments.
He posted a photo for him with three men dressed like Muslims at a mosque.
“Welcome to Islam Alhamdulillah…” one Instagram user wrote.
“SalaamAlaykum, may Allah accept it from you and may He keep you steadfast,” another one wrote.
“Alhamdulellah you’ve found your way, pray for your loved ones to find theirs too ❤️”
“Prayers for you from your brothers and sisters in Pakistan.”
“My brother Salamalikum. may Allah protect you and guide you. And all of us, Im a convert 2 years now Alhamdulillah.”
“Congratulations on finding your peace, and welcome to a very big family lots of love and prayers for Ya!!” a fan posted.
“Congratulations bro welcome to Islam. Allah bless you.”
Born in April 1992, Dominique Easley has signed a four-year-deal with the New England Patriots in 2014. The contract is believed to worth $7.3 million.
The 6-foot-2, 288-pound versatile defensive lineman was drafted No. 29 overall out of Florida, where he stared 26 games in four seasons.
The population of the US Muslims is estimated between 6-8 million.
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Source: Newspapers
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My name is Anne, I am 24 years old and I accepted Islam at the end of March 2015.
I wanted to know what I should do about my life, and somewhere in my heart was Islam.
My journey goes back to my upbringing as a Catholic Christian in the UK. My brother and I were given this upbringing since my mother’s side of the family were Catholic and her father was extremely devout.
The schools I attended growing up were Catholic, and I owe a great deal of my education and faith to them. However, as a child I began to have questions that made me feel betrayed and guilty at the same time.
During Year 2 (I was aged 6) we were making preparations for our first Holy Communion (the second sacrament of the three sacraments of initiation for Catholics: Baptism, Communion and Confirmation). After the first Holy Communion, a Catholic may take part in mass at Church and eat the bread and wine that the Priest transforms by his blessing into the body and blood of Christ. The preparations for my First Communion involved going to classes to learn about Jesus, the Bible, the church and the Catholic way of life. It also involved going to Confession for the first time in my life.
We were all waiting in line outside of the church, each being called in one by one to talk to the priest about our sins. I made my way to the Altar and sat on the steps by the Priest, anxious about what I might say I had done in the previous weeks. He talked for a while about forgiveness, and then asked me what sins I had committed.
I remember feeling embarrassed and confused, I had fought with my brother a little, but had made friends with him again. Was I a bad person? Had I committed sins and not even known about them? Was I lying to the Priest when I said I hadn’t really committed a sin? I told the Priest that I had hit my brother that week, but I had said sorry to him for it. The Priest continued to question me, digging for more sins, determined to show me that I was a sinner. I walked away with a feeling of betrayal that would stay with me for a long time.
Throughout my childhood I had more and more questions. Why were there pictures of saints? Why is there a statue of the Virgin Mary? How do we know what Jesus looks like? Is the bread really Jesus’ body? Was I born with sin? Is Jesus God? What is the Holy Spirit, and what is the Trinity? Is it some kind of gas type substance? Why all the gold? Why can’t Catholics use contraception? Why can’t Catholics divorce?
I was very confused until my teenage years when I made my decision to leave my religion. Whilst all of my friends at school had their Confirmation into the Church, I refused. I could not lie to God about what I believe.
Subsequently, I ignored religion. If religion is this confusing, I thought, then I want no part in it. I couldn’t put up with the mental gymnastics. However, I could never bring myself to say that God did not exist, so I became agnostic.
During my teenage years, my parents got divorced after years of abuse from my father at home. My dad had an affair and had finally left by the time I was 14. I also had a very hard time fitting in at school because my dad taught there. I was different from the other kids and showing signs that I was very unhappy, I became an easy target for bullying.
My mum was going through a difficult time emotionally and wasn’t as able to look after me and my brother with the amazing care she had shown when we were small. Dinner time became a distant memory, and some days the only food was toast or cereal.
My family had broken down entirely, my parents became unrecognizable to me, and because of the shame for my dad and my family, I wasn’t able to confide in my friends at school to tell them what was happening at home. I turned to the Internet to escape my problems, to express the hurt in my life, and to invent a different Anne from the person my peers at school saw.
It was through one particular friend on the Internet that I first learned something about Islam. We used to talk sometimes about religion, but it would be difficult to say that we talked much in particular about Islam since he kept his faith quite private.
Eventually we used to talk about Islam and I started to become quite taken with the faith. There was no Trinity, no Priest, no confession, and the story of Jesus was a much more intellectually satisfying one. It felt like someone had turned the lights on after a long time.
There was suddenly a huge number of people in the world who actually agreed with me, yet I hadn’t known that they existed! And all along I had felt like I was a terrible person for having questions.
Unfortunately, I didn’t take active steps towards Islam for myself. My conversation with that person was strained. After a while, his overall attitude towards me felt somehow judgmental. As such, I would never have accepted Islam at that time; I didn’t want to change my religion in a way that would make him feel like he was right about me, and I didn’t know if I liked Islam simply because I liked him. It was his thing, not mine.
I felt very lonely, and one night in October last year I went to bed asking questions to God. I wanted to know what I should do about my life, and somewhere in my heart was Islam, the real question that hadn’t yet been answered.
That night I had a very powerful dream that I am drowning. I knew this dream was important and I had a feeling it was something to do with God or Islam. I searched for some words from my dream as ‘Islam’, ‘hands’, ‘five’, ‘pearl’ on my phone and came up with some answers. I was sitting in bed in the dark, the light on my phone turned off.
I was still sitting and thinking, in the dark, when a light like lightning flickered in the corner of my bedroom. Picking up my phone to turn the light on, I aimed it to where the light came from to see what it was. Nothing was there. Nobody was awake in the house. The light on my phone turned off again and I watched. The light came back and flickered once more!
The next day I woke up and told my mum about the dream and that I was going to read the Qur’an. I tried to reach out to my friend, the only Muslim I knew, to see what he thought about that. He couldn’t help me with it, and I started reading.
I moved to a different town where I met lots of Muslim sisters who have helped me with my religion. They have also helped me decipher the dream, since the interpretation I had was not very satisfying. Firstly, one sister told me that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave the following pearl of wisdom:
Essentially, we are all drowning in loss since we are running out of time by Allah’s promise.
“Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth, before you become old; your health, before you fall sick; your wealth, before you become poor; your free time before you become busy; and your life, before your death.” (Al-Bukhari)
And all that time I was wasting on having a damaging relationship and on feeling too proud to admit that Islam was right. I was denying reality big time.
Another sister has also told me about Surat Al-`Asr, for which one suggested I watch the Tafseer by Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan. In the video I found he talked at length about mankind ‘drowning in loss’, and not having time when you are drowning.
Essentially, we are all drowning in loss since we are running out of time by Allah’s promise. I heard that this Surah of the Qur’an is often described as definitive of Islam.
So, that was it for me. It was only a matter of time until I took my Shahadah, with the help of the sisters who have helped me so much Alhamdulillah.
I hope my journey is an inspiration to anybody going through difficult times not to lose their faith. Life is a winding road, you never know what turn it will take!
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Source: hadithoftheday.com.
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