MUALLAF - MUSLIM CONVERT

Story: Lauren Booth

2010-10-29T11:58:00.002+07:00

In-law of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has converted to Islam after a visit to Iran. In that country, Lauren Booth - Cherie Blair's sister - had something which he said was "pure experience".

The Guardian reports that journalists and broadcasters are now wearing the headscarf every time out of the house. He also always perform prayers five times and visited the local mosque every time there is time.

Lauren Booth decided to become a Muslim six weeks ago after visiting the shrine of Fatima al-Masumeh in the city of Qom.

"It was Tuesday night, I sat down and felt a spiritual injection drugged, when I felt the real happiness and joy," he said in an interview. When he returned to England, he decided to embrace Islam.

Booth work for Press TV, Iran news channel that broadcast dalama English. He also no longer consume food and drink haram and now read the Qur'an every day. Prior to his spiritual awakening in Iran, he had "sympathy" to Islam and spent lots of time for the Palestinians.

source: antaranews.com

Mesut Ozil, Baca Alqur`an Sebelum Tanding

2010-07-13T12:36:00.001+07:00

lepas dari aksi para pemain naturalisasi yang berasal dari keluarga imigran. Mesut Ozil, pemain bernomor punggung 8, adalah salah satu di antaranya. Pria kelahiran Jerman berusia 21 tahun ini berasal dari keluarga imigran asal Kota Zonguldak di Utara Turki. Ia memiliki kemahiran dan improvisasi tinggi di tengah lapangan.

Kepiawaiannya itu membuat Jerman tak perlu khawatir dalam penguasaan lapangan tengah. Tidak hanya Ozil, bahkan kakaknya, Mutlu juga merupakan seorang pemain sepak bola yang tampil untuk klub Heßler 06 di Gelsenkirchen.

Pria yang kini tengah membela Werder Bremen tersebut memiliki keunggulan pada kaki kirinya.

Tampil pertama kali membela klub Rot-Weiss Essen, Ozil kemudian mencoba peruntungannya di Schalke tahun 2005 hingga 2008. Kemudian dengan transfer sebesar 4,3 juta Euro, Ozil bermarkas di Werder Bremen hingga kontraknya bersama klub Jerman tersebut habis Juni 2011 mendatang.

Boleh dikatakan kesempatan Ozil mempertontonkan permainan impresifnya, berkat Cidera yang dialami Ballack. Hampir tidak masuk pada skuad timnas Jerman, Ozil saat ini malah menjadi pemain yang diprediksi menjadi “bintang masa depan”.

Kinerjanya ketika Jerman berhasil melibas Inggris 4 – 1, membuat banyak mata terpesona dan menyatakan ingin meminang pemain yang di anggap paling bersinar di antara 11 pemain Jerman.

INGIN KE LIGA PRIMER

Pemain yang dibanderol 15 juta Euro oleh Bremen ini, menyatakan keinginanya untuk bermain di Liga Primer. Sejumlah Klub besar Eropapun mulai mengincar dirinya. Sebut saja Chelsea, Manchester United dan Barcelona yang dikabarkan siap memboyong ‘Messi Jerman’ ini ke Klubnya.

“Saya sudah melihat bagaimana Michael Ballack di Chelsea, dan apa saja yang bisa didapat dengan bermain di klub besar. Hal – hal seperti inilah yang menggoda saya dan berpikir untuk bermain di sana,” ungkap Ozil seperti dikutip harian Inggris The Sun.

Teknik dan sentuhan indah Ozil pada si kulit bundar yang sukar ditebak oleh lawan, merupakan suatu sensasi yang jarang dilihat pada sepakbola modern saat ini.

Pria yang lahir pada 15 oktober, 21 tahun silam ini, tengah terikat pertunangan dengan Anna-Maria Lagerblom, yang merupakan saudara perempuan dari penyanyi Sarah Connor, yang menyatakan ke islamannya pada Juni 2010 mengikuti keyakinan Ozil yang merupakan seorang muslim yang taat. Ozil pernah dipergoki tengah membaca Alqur’an sebelum bertanding di ruang ganti pemain.

source: poskota online

Brother Ali: Islam & Music

2010-03-05T09:56:00.002+07:00

"Our prophet is a walking example of what human excellence can be and all the potentials that is inside of a human being," Brother Ali says.

Brother Ali has a very interesting explanation for what changed him from an angry, struggling teen growing in the Midwest to a famed Hip-Hop star who tours the world with his music. "There have been a lot of life-changing moments," Brother Ali told Islamonline.net. Some of the big ones were becoming involved with Islam and being involved with music."

Ali was born Jason Newman, with the rare genetic condition of Albinism, which is also accompanied by visual difficulties.

His childhood was marked by cruelty and exclusion by his white classmates. "I was kind of an outcast as a kid," he recalls, adding he felt most at home amongst African Americans. "When I come across white people and hear all the racism and the white supremacy, it makes me really confused and angry and upset."

But Ali, 33, says that Islam, which he embraced at the age of 15, helped him go through his difficult times, from parting ways with his wife of 10 years, to becoming homeless and trying to secure custody of his son. "Islam helped me with a lot of those things. It helped me understand myself and the world better."

Mission

For Brother Ali, who has recently wrapped up a world tour for his fifth album "Us," it was not an easy journey to rise and solidify his place amongst the Hip Hop elite. He says it is Islam and Prophet Muhammad that led him from being the angry, struggling teen growing in the Midwest to the famed Hip-Hop star who tours the world with his music.

"One of the main messages through out the Qu’ran and from the traditions of prophet Mohamed is the idea of excellence… that everything Muslims set out to do, they want to perfect it and they want to be excellent. Our prophet is a walking example of what human excellence can be and all the potentials that is inside of a human being. And I am really inspired by that." Ali believes that with his music and his Islam, he is on a mission.

"I believe this is what I was born to do and it is my job and my goal as a Muslim to be the best that I could be." His songs tackle everything from his life struggles, to race relations in America, to wars. In his last album, he presented a song about the war.

"We as Americans are being set to stick to blind generic patriotism. I made the song about this feeling, about the underside of America that we do not really hear about a lot," he explains.

"Because of this song I lost a tour I was looking for. When we were in Australia, the Department Of Homeland Security froze our entire account. And I suspect that this song and the controversy behind it was behind all this."

But Ali, now a father of Soulaila, 2, and Fahim 9, is not ready to compromise on what he believes in. "What is really important when you apply Islam to your life is not to pretend to play a character. That’s why in my music I try to be honest and express myself in the most honest way."

source: islamonline

Story #86 I Was Taught to Hate Islam; Tina Styliandou's story

2009-11-17T14:31:00.002+07:00

"All the "caricatures" and slander against Muhammad which is published now by the media, was part of our lessons and our exams!"

I was born in Athens, Greece , to Greek Orthodox parents. My father's family lived in Turkey, Istanbul for most of their lives, and my father was born and raised there. They were wealthy, well–educated, and as most Christian Orthodox who lived in an Islamic country, they held on to their religion.

A time came when the Turkish government decided to kick the majority of Greek citizens out of Turkey and confiscate their wealth, houses, and businesses. So my father's family had to return back to Greece empty-handed. This is what the Turkish Muslims did to them, and this validated, according to them, their hatred towards Islam.

My mother's family was living on a Greek island just on the border between Greece and Turkey. During a Turkish attack, the Turks occupied the island, burnt their houses, and in order to survive, they escaped to the Greek mainland. Even more reason to hate the Turkish Muslims then!

Greece was for more than 400 years occupied by Turks, and we were taught to believe that for every crime committed towards the Greeks, Islam was responsible. The Turks were Muslims and their crimes were reflecting their religious beliefs. This was actually a very wise plan of the Greek Orthodox Church (religion and politics in Greece are the same thing) to build hatred in the hearts of the Greeks against Islam, in order to protect their religion and prevent people from converting to Islam.

So for hundreds of years we were taught in our history and religious books to hate and make fun of the Islamic religion.

In our books, Islam was actually not a religion and Muhammad (peace be upon him) was not a prophet! He was just a very intelligent leader and politician who gathered rules and laws from the Jews and the Christians, added some of his own ideas and conquered the world.

At school, we were taught to make fun of him and of his wives or his Companions. All the "caricatures" and slander against him which are published today by the media were actually part of our lessons and our exams!

Alhamdulillah (thank God), Allah protected my heart, and hatred against Islam didn't enter it.

Other Greeks have also succeeded to rid themselves of the burden of the Orthodox religious inheritance placed on their shoulders and they have opened, by the will of Allah, their eyes, ears, and hearts to see that Islam is a true religion sent by Allah, and Muhammad is a true prophet, and the seal of all prophets.

Muslims believe that Allah sent messengers to mankind as a guidance to them, starting from Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ismael, Isaac, Moses, and Jesus (peace be upon them all). But Allah's final message was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

It was a great help to me that both of my parents were not very religious themselves. They rarely practiced their religion and used to take me to church only during weddings or funerals.

What drove my father away from his religion was the corruption he was seeing daily among the priests. How could these people preach for God and goodness, and at the same time steal from the church's funds, buy villas, and own Mercedes cars, and spread homosexuality amongst them? Are these the righteous representatives of the religion who will guide us, correct us, and lead us closer to God? He was fed up with them and this led him to become an atheist.

The churches lost most of their followers, at least in my country, because of their actions. In Islam a sheikh or scholar of the religion helps and guides others with full passion and only with the desire to please Allah and earn their way to Paradise.

In Christianity to become a priest is a profitable occupation. This corruption "within" drives many young people away from the religion they were born with and leads them to search for something else.

As a teenager I loved to read a lot and I wasn't really satisfied or convinced with Christianity. I had belief in God, fear and love for Him, but everything else confused me.

I started searching around but I never searched towards Islam (maybe due to the background I had against it).

So alhamdulillah He had mercy on my soul and guided me from darkness to light, from Hell to Paradise God willing.

He brought into my life my husband, a born Muslim, planted the seed of love into our hearts and lead us to marriage without us really paying attention to the religious differences.

My husband was willing to answer any question I had concerning his religion, without humiliating my beliefs (no matter how wrong they were) and without ever putting any pressure on me or even asking me to change my religion.

After 3 years of being married, having the chance to know more about Islam and to read the noble Quran, as well as other religious books, I was convinced that there is no such a thing as a trinity, nor was Jesus God.

Muslims believe in One, Unique, Incomparable God, Who has no son, nor partner, and that none has the right to be worshipped but Him alone! No one shares His divinity, nor His attributes.

In the Quran Allah described Himself. He said:
[Say: He is God, the One. God, the eternally Besought of all! He begets not nor is He begotten. and there is none like unto Him."] (Al-Ikhlas 112:1-4)

No one has the right to be invoked, supplicated, prayed to or shown any act of worship but Allah alone.

The religion of Islam is the acceptance of and obedience to the teachings of Allah which were revealed to His final Prophet Muhammad.

I became a Muslim, keeping it secret from my family and friends for many years. We lived with my husband in Greece trying to practice Islam, but it was extremely difficult, almost impossible.

In my home town there are no mosques, no access to Islamic studies, no people praying, or fasting, or women wearing hijab.

There are only some Muslim immigrants who came to Greece for a better financial future and who let the Western lifestyle attract them and eventually corrupt them. As a result, they do not follow their religion and they are completely lost.

It was incredibly difficult to perform our Islamic duties, especially for me, as I wasn't born as a Muslim, and didn't have an Islamic education.

My husband and I had to pray and fast with the use of calendars, no Adhan (the Muslim call for Prayer) in our ears, and no Islamic Ummah (community of Muslims) to support us. We felt that with each passing day we were stepping backwards. Our faith was decreasing and the wave was taking us.

So when my daughter was born, we decided, in order to save our own souls and our daughter's, if God wills, we have to migrate to an Islamic country. We didn't want to raise her in a western open environment where she would struggle to maintain her identity and might end up lost.

Thank Allah, He has guided us and gave us the chance to migrate to an Islamic country, where we can hear the sweet words of the Adhan, and we can increase our knowledge and love for Him, and our beloved Prophet Muhammad.

Source: readingislam (my journey to Islam)

Story #85 An Irish Dentist Embraces Islam; Roger Hadden

2009-11-17T14:15:00.002+07:00

"My conversion changed my life completely, and looking back I know I made the correct decision"...

My name is Roger Hadden, and I am originally from Dungannon in Northern Ireland. I am a dentist currently working in England. I have lived in Northern Ireland and Scotland, and I am now based in England. I was raised as a Christian, and my parents are born-again Christians. Although I was raised with the teachings of the Bible, I did not particularly adhere to its principles. I suppose I was like most British youth, in that I liked to have fun but maybe didn't know where the limits were set.

While I did not practice any religion, I always believed that there was a God. I was scientifically minded, but realized that acknowledging there was a Big Bang did not necessarily rule out the possibility of there being a God who controlled and planned this event.

We could not have come out of nothing, and we did not create ourselves, so we must have been created. I thought about God from time to time, but it never had a real impact on my heart. My first encounter with Islam I suppose was the media, but I tend not to judge people or things until I see or find out about them myself and hear both sides of the story.

When I went to university I met many Muslims. At that time we discussed religion a little, but I was not seriously thinking about becoming religious. My desires were too strong, so I just wanted to enjoy myself.

At that time, I knew that at some stage I would want to change my ways and become a Christian. I then would also want to find out about other religions and understand what makes people believe in them. When I was in final year at university, I made plans to reform myself and become as my parents, a "born-again Christian". So I started my research with reading the Bible. The concept of the Trinity always bothered me, and it was my main aim to understand it. I remember as a child wanting to ask God for something. I was not sure whether to pray to God or to pray to Jesus. I decided to pray to God as I knew if He created everything, then He will hear me and help me.

I spoke to some ministers, and several attempts were made to explain the Trinity. None of them convinced me. I continued to read the Bible, searching for the truth.

Obviously I am not a scholar in the Christian religion but the Trinity issue bugged me. Why did the Old Testament prophets all pray to God and do righteous acts hoping for God's forgiveness? Who did Jesus pray to?

There was no mention of the Trinity in the Old Testament, and many argue none in the New Testament. I knew God did not change, so there was a problem somewhere. I spoke to my friends at University. Some were Sikhs, Catholics, atheists, and some were Muslims.

When I found out that Islam commands the worship of One God, and not to make any partners with Him, I was very interested. I continued reading the Bible and Christian sources but also started reading some Islamic books.

I read that Muslims believe that God sent his message to mankind through different prophets since Adam the first man. All the prophets believed in only One God and they also believed that there was going to be a day of reckoning when everyone will be raised and judged.

I realized that this is what I believe, and what I thought the Bible was saying to me. I discussed things with my parents, and they were not too impressed. Within a couple of months by the grace of God I became a Muslim.

My conversion changed my life completely, and looking back, I know I made the correct decision, thank God. Instead of living my life in a selfish way pleasing my desires, I try now to help others and please my Lord. I have now been a Muslim for five years and I am still learning new and amazing things about the religion.

Every time I hear something "negative" about the religion, I get the issue explained to me and it turns out to be a very positive and beautiful thing. I am continuing to learn Arabic and the Quran.

In my career it has made me much more focused, and I now desire to do everything to my best ability. My friends at university are often surprised with regards to my change, especially relating to dentistry.

My parents believed I was brainwashed, and many of my friends thought, and still think, it is just a phase. As it has been over five years now, my parents know it is not just a phase.

I first told my parents that I was thinking of becoming a Muslim, and they told me that it was a "hate religion" and that I should not do it. We talked about it for a while, and as I was convinced, I was sure I had to do it. I did not want to be punished in the next life.

A few months later I took the best step and embraced Islam. The same day my Dad bought me a car, not as a conversion gift, rather, it was his kindness and it just happened to be on the same day.

Since university, I have always lived away from my parents but I try to visit them a couple of times a year. Overall though, I feel my relationship with my parents has improved, as I try to be good to them as God commands in the Quran.

I have moved on from university and lost contact with many of my friends, some I speak to now and again, but as with life, we keep moving on and old friends we see less of and new friends are made.

I am currently working as a dentist in the UK. I am working and doing a part time masters program. I am learning Arabic, and I regularly attend Islamic talks and seminars in order to increase my knowledge.

I am married to a very special lady and we have, by the grace of God a beautiful 1-year-old boy named Ismael (Ishmael from the Bible). We are trying to improve as Muslims, and we would like to travel abroad to a Muslim country. Ideally we would both love to study Islam to a higher level, so we are looking for opportunities to fulfill this dream.

source: readingislam

Story #84 My Name Made Me Muslim; Tarik Preston

2009-11-17T14:02:00.002+07:00

"I worship God and I don't worship Jesus because I feel safer worshipping God!"
My name is Tarik Preston. I embraced the religion of Islam in 1988 at the age of 19.

The story of how I came to embrace Islam is not a very long story, and in many respects, I think that the story of how Allah (God) continued to guide me after I entered Islam is more of an inspiring story.

Nevertheless, this story begins with my name. I was given the name Tarik at birth. In the 60s, the 70s, and even the 80s, it wasn't all that unusual for some Americans to give their children African names. Many times, the names they chose from Africa were actually Islamic names, which is what happened with my name.

Throughout my life before Islam I periodically met other people named Tarik, or someone who knew the significance of my name and they would ask me, "Do you know what your name means?" I would reply proudly as I had been taught: "It means 'star of piercing brightness.'"

Sometimes I would add the story of the famous Tariq ibn Ziyad who conquered Spain in the year 711 A.D.Ironically, despite knowing those important facts about the meaning of my name, I did not know the Islamic significance of my name until later, when I was a student in college.

I started college at the age of 16 majoring in pre-med/biology with the intent, at that time, of becoming a doctor. I knew that if I was going to have such an important responsibility, I would need a good methodology to follow in my life.

During my freshman year, I attempted to read the Bible, but Christianity had begun not to make sense to me.

While studying the marvelous complexity of cell biology that year, several of my classmates and I reaffirmed our belief in the Creator and that creation was not an accident as some scientists speculated.

During spring break, I had a theological discussion with my grandmother, with whom I was very close. And she, despite being a Christian, made a remarkable statement that I paid close attention to.

She said: "I worship God and I don't worship Jesus, because I feel safer worshipping God!" She advised me not to pray in the name of Jesus anymore and to just pray to God!

When I returned to college after that conversation, I continued to pray every night before sleeping as I had been taught. But I decided that I would no longer pray in the name of Jesus, and to direct my prayers only to God.
Once I made that decision, I started to feel guilty about praying lying down in bed. So I began to pray kneeling at the side of my bed, which felt better to me.

Still searching for something that would guide me safely through life, one day I asked God to guide me while walking across campus.

During my junior year in college, a fellow student who I knew embraced Islam saw me walking across campus and he greeted me with "as-salamu alaykum" (peace be upon you)! Having grown up in the 1970s in Chicago, I had heard this greeting many times, so I replied: "Wa alaikum us salaam!"

He then asked me if I was a Muslim, to which I replied (at that time), "No. I am United Methodist." He replied: "Oh! I thought you were a Muslim because your name is Tarik!".

Not long after that encounter, he came to a study session that I and a few classmates were having, and he attempted to inform us about Islam. He was very young and very new to Islam himself, so he didn't know very much. But he did warn us about the dangers of worshipping Jesus, the son of Mary.

Of course that was a familiar statement, but I still didn't know much about Islam, but I did learn what Muslims looked like because my friend had a very distinct appearance and demeanor after his conversion.

When I returned home that summer, I took a summer job as a telemarketer where I met a Muslim named Ahmed. Despite being a Puerto Rican convert to Islam, he had the same distinct look and demeanor as my friend from college, so I asked him, "Are you a Muslim?"

He smiled and replied: "Yes Tarik. Are you?"

I answered, "No. I am a United Methodist."

He smiled and said wryly: "With a name like Tarik you should be a Muslim."

He began talking to me about tawheed (the oneness of God). I was impressed with the concept of Islamic monotheism.

Eventually, he invited me over to his house and showed me a copy of the English translation of the Quran. I was very impressed by the respect that he had for this Book, and I asked him if I could borrow it in order to read it. He reluctantly agreed, saying that it was his only copy of the Quran, and he sternly advised me to respect the Book and keep it clean and in a place of respect in my home.

I couldn't wait to read it!

Two weeks later, I invited Ahmed to my house and we sat and talked again about Islam. I informed him that I believed the Quran was the truth and that I wanted to become a Muslim.

The very next day we went together to the Islamic Center in Washington D.C. and I embraced Islam.

A few years after my conversion, Allah blessed me to be able to study Islam at the Islamic University of Medina where I earned an Associate's degree in Arabic language and a Bachelor's degree in Hadith Sciences.

I hope the story of how I came to Islam encourages others to embrace Islam. I also hope that my story encourages my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters to share the true message of Islam with those around them in word and deed.

source: readingislam

Story #83 A Roman Catholic Discovers Islam

2009-08-13T11:01:00.004+07:00

Alhamdulillah, I found and read this beautiful story and I read those who think that he, Frank Estrada, made the wrong desicion. May Allah guide more and more people to the truth...

My name is Frank Estrada. I was raised a Roman Catholic. I was so devout, I even hoped to one day serve in the priesthood. I accepted the churches teachings even when I didn't agree with them. I even took every chance I got to convert people in the hopes of bringing them to Allah.

While serving in the US Marines, I did two tours in the Middle East. In a short time, I developed a hatred for Arabs and Islam. After I left active duty, I took a job with a company as a network administrator in Iraq. I worked with a man named Ahmed. In the beginning I didn't trust him simply because of his background. I'm lucky that he was patient with me.

Slowly, due to my ignorance, he taught me about the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Quran. He didn't teach me with words. He showed me that Muslims are not evil by his actions. More than that, he taught me the truth of Allah's message.

After I came home, I began to study Islam in earnest. I took a world religions course at Mesa Community College. Though I found the course prejudicial to Islam, it seemed to push me closer to it. I met a young woman named Amal in the class. We would spend hours talking and debating Islam against Catholicism. I found her arguments both logical and reasonable.

I started taking Arabic courses, so I could learn to read and understand the Quran properly. I still have a long way to go. I spoke to everyone I knew that was Muslim but, more than that, I watched them to see if their actions matched their words. I never saw any hypocrisy. I even went to the masjid in Tempe, Arizona to talk to other Muslims and the imam.

What finally brought me to my conversion though, was the Shahadah. I read it and tried to see how it fit with my beliefs. I compared it to the first commandment and found them doubles of each other. It was at that point that I had an epiphany.

Catholicism, whatever else it was, was polytheistic. The realization was shattering to me. I knew at that point that I could not obey the laws of Allah and continue to praise Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) as his son.

I talked it over with my wife. She was concerned, to say the least. We spent hours discussing what it would do to our family. She went with me to the masjid where we spoke with a man named Muhammed. Not only was he able to sway her fears, she decided to convert as well.

Becoming Muslim was no doubt the right decision. My friends and family, save my parents, were very supportive. My father would not speak to me for the next three months. My wife's family, to this day is still unsupportive. I have no doubt that Allah will soften their hearts in the future.

I thank Allah for all the people he has brought into my life to show me the truth. I thank him for giving me a mind to understand the truth. More than that, I thank Allah for my loving and understanding wife who has come to the truth with me. I shall end this paper as I began the day. There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet.

source: readingislam.com

Story #82 Abdul-Lateef Abdullah (Steven Eric Krauss)

2009-07-07T12:07:00.004+07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

From that first silat class in New York City to the day I took my shahadda,
July 30, 1999, I had undergone a thorough self-examination that was
comprised of two major processes. One was to question the culture of the
society I was brought up in, and the second was to question the role I
wanted religion to play in my everyday life. As for my culture, this one was
not as difficult as most people would think.

American culture is highly influential on how we see life because it
constantly bombards us with sensual gratification aimed at appealing to our
worldly desires. In America, happiness is defined by what we have and
consume, thus, the entire culture is geared toward the marketplace. Unless
we are removed from this type environment, it is difficult to see its
drawbacks, which are based on worshipping and putting faith in everything
but God, the only One that can provide us with real, lasting contentment in
our lives.

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

It was only until I actually became Muslim that I realized just how
encompassing the Islamic lifestyle is. Literally everything we do has one
underlying purpose – to remember Allah. The lifestyle provides us with the
way – not just the understanding – but an actual method of constantly
remembering our Creator in as simple an act as greeting someone, or getting
dressed in the morning, or waking up from sleep. Islam shows us that by
remembering Allah, everything we do becomes focused on Him, and thus becomes
an act of worship. From this, our energy, our thoughts, and our actions all
become redirected away from unhealthy and useless causes, and focused on the
source of all goodness. Thus, we are continuously tapping into His divine
strength, mercy and grace. So, by remembering Allah constantly, we become
stronger and healthier in every aspect of our lives and not distracted by
self-defeating thoughts and behaviors.

There still remain some minor aspects of Islam that have proven to be
somewhat difficult adjustments for me. Nevertheless, I thank Allah everyday
for the ease to which he has allowed me to make the necessary changes in my
life so that I can continue to live in America and still be, Insha-Allah, a
good Muslim. As a white, middle-class American, many cultural aspects of
Islam are quite different from the way in which I grew up. In fact, when I
finally broke the news to my family that I had become Muslim, almost all of
their questions and concerns were related to cultural differences –
marriage, social life, family, etc. They were much less concerned about my
general beliefs about God and religious practice. For my family, friends,
and co-workers, becoming Muslim was not seen necessarily as a negative
change, but it has required a great deal of education about Islam.

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

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

My journey to Islam has been a life-altering experience. It is one that with
every passing day, makes me more and more appreciative and thankful to
Almighty Allah. The extent of His mercy can only fully be understood from
the perspective of a Muslim – one who prostrates regularly and submits their
will to that of the Creator.

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

source:
This article appeared on islamfortoday.com and It's published here with kind permission from mr. Abd Lateef

Story #81 American Priest Converts

2009-06-19T14:44:00.004+07:00

I have less non Muslim friends now as I cannot participate in the activities that they choose to do for fun but I have developed valuable friendships with Muslim brothers that are better than anything I have had in the past. Insha Allah, if Allah chooses, I would like to go and study Fiqh to further the cause of Islam and benefit the Ummah that I love. All of this was through the grace of Allah and only the mistakes are mine.

Alhumdulillah (Thank God), I have been blessed by Allah with the gift of Islam since 2006. When I was asked to write about the path that I took and how Allah has blessed me, I was hesitant. I have seen others get caught up with personal fame by telling how they came to Islam and I knew that I didn’t want to have the same challenge.

I ask you then to take this story as the work of Allah and focus on his mercy and greatness rather than my story in particular, insha Allah. No one comes to Islam without the mercy of Allah and it is his work not that of the revert that truly matters.

I was born to a nominally Roman Catholic family in Upstate New York. I had a Roman Catholic mother and a Presbyterian father who converted to Catholicism in order to get married. We attended church on Sundays and I went through catechism, first communion, and eventually confirmation within the Roman Catholic Church. When I was young I began to feel a call from Allah. This call I interpreted as a call to the Roman Catholic priesthood and told my mother as such. She, pleased with this, took me to meet the priest at our local parish.

Fortunately or unfortunately, this particular priest was not happy with his vocation and advised me to stay away from the priesthood. This upset me and even today, I do not know how things would have been different if his response had been more positive. From that earlier brush with Allah’s call, and out of my own foolishness and in my teen years, I went the other way. My family broke up at an early age when I was seven and I suffered from the loss of my father who was not present after the divorce.

Starting at the young age of 15, I began to be more interested in nightclubs and parties than the Lord of the Universe. I dreamed of becoming a lawyer, then politician with a penthouse in Manhattan so I could participate in a party lifestyle with style. After I graduated with honors, from my high school, I went to college briefly. But my own twisted focus led me to drop from college and move to Arizona (where I continue to live until now) instead of getting my degree.

This is something that I regret to this day.Once in Arizona, my situation went from bad to worse. I fell in with a much worse crowd than I had at home and began to use drugs. Due to my lack of education, I worked low end jobs and continued to spend my time in drugs, promiscuity, and nightclubs.

During this time, I had my first encounter with a a Muslim. He was a kind man who was attending a local college as a foreign student. He was dating one of my friends and often accompanied us to nightclubs and other parties that we attended. I did not discuss Islam with him but did question him about his culture which he shared freely. Islam did not come up. Again I wonder how things would have been different had he been a practicing Muslim.

My bad lifestyle continued for some years and I won’t belabor it with details. I had lots of trauma, people that I knew died, I was stabbed and otherwise wounded but this is not a tale of the dangers of drugs. I only mention it to state that no matter where you are, Allah can bring you back from it insha Allah. I will fast forward to when I became clean from drugs. Part of the process of getting off of drugs and narcotics is to establish a relationship with a “higher power”.

For most this is God and or other expressions of divinity. I had long before lost my connection to Allah so I went on a search for my higher power. Sadly, I did not find the truth at first. Instead I went to Hinduism, which appealed to me because of its explanation of why suffering had happened to me. I went all into it, even changing my name to a Hindu name. It was enough to keep me off of drugs and move my life in a more positive direction, for which I am grateful. Eventually, though I began to again feel the tug from Allah. This began to show me that for me, Hinduism was not the true way.

Allah continued to needle me until I left Hinduism and I began to go back to Christianity. I approached the Roman Catholic Church to become a priest, as this is what I felt Allah was calling me for, and they offered me an education and a post in a monastery in New Mexico. By this time my family (mother, brother and sister) had moved to Arizona and I had close relationships with many friends.

Needless to say I was not yet ready. Instead I found an independent catholic church that I could study through their seminary program from home and become ordained and assigned where I was already living.This independent Catholic Church also appealed to my liberal ideals that I had developed through my years living rough. I attended their seminary program and in 2005 I was ordained a priest.

My first ministry in my new role was interfaith relations. My assignment was to visit and learn about the different faith traditions in the Phoenix Metro area and share with them an interfaith message of peace and understanding from my church. Most Christian traditions I already had studied and knew. I brushed up on Judaism and other Far East religions. I was what is known as a worker-priest, which means I had a job at the same time as I was doing my ministry. I had changed from working in corporate America to working in a behavioral health agency.

My post was down the street from a Masjid. I thought that this was my chance to learn about Islam for my interfaith relations. I went to the mosque and met some very nice brothers who directed me to the mosque in Tempe, Arizona. I also began to read about Islam independently and was startled by how touched I was with what I was reading. Allah had me now but I did not yet know it. I went to the Tempe mosque and was to meet a wonderful teacher in the form of Ahmad Al Akoum.

Br. Al Akoum, who is the regional director of Muslim American Society, had an introduction to Islam class open for people of all faiths that I began to attend. While attending this class, I began to see that Islam was the truth. It was only a short time later that I gave Shahadah at the Tempe mosquewith the Sheikh Ahmed Shqeirat. Both Br. Al Akoum and Sheikh Shqeirat are great men and without them I would not have been as comfortable coming into Islam. I resigned from the church and have been Muslim ever since, Alhumdulillah.

My life has changed dramatically for the better since embracing Islam. At first my family was saddened that I left the priesthood and didn’t understand, even feared, Islam. But since my way of interacting with them, based on my increased happiness and my striving to adhere to Quran and Sunnah, has changed—they have seen that it is a good thing. Br. Al Akoum knew that the first year is always toughest for the revert. To lessen the stress of it, he made sure that I was included in multiple community activities and met lots of good practicing brothers. It is only through contact with other Muslims that a revert can be successful.

Left on his or her own, it can be too daunting and their faith may slip too far, so if you know a revert, please visit them at least once every three days. I have advanced further in my job because of my new base as a Muslim. I became a manager of a program that seeks to prevent alcohol and drug abuse, HIV, and Hepatitis for at risk populations.

I have become a volunteer in not only Muslim American Society but also the Muslim Youth Centre of Arizona and other Muslim causes. I have been recently nominated to the board of the Tempe mosque where I first took shahadah. Alhumdulillah it has also clarified who are my true friends versus who were not.

source: readingislam.com

Islam & the West

2009-06-09T14:43:00.007+07:00

How the relationship between Islam and the West at this time. Do not think first, just read the following article that was published on readingislam.com...

Islam... A Threat to the West?
By Reading Islam Team

In Camden, southwest of Sydney, Australia, Muslims were disappointed at a court's decision to turn down their case for building Islamic schools for the young Australian Muslim community. This incident coincides with a new documentary that was released recently by the Christian Evangelicals in Europe to urge Europeans to act against the increasing number of Muslims in Europe, which they claim will eventually change European culture and life style.

This wave against Islam came just as American president Barack Obama addressed the Islamic world from Cairo, Egypt, in hope of starting a new relationship with the Muslim world.

Is Islam a real threat to the West? Are Muslims determined to impose on others their way of life, which some claim undermines Western values?

Should Western Muslims be forced to choose between their nationality and their religion? Why do some people have the assumption that once a Westerner turns to Islam, then he or she immediately belongs to "the Muslim camp" and is no longer one of"us" anymore?

Is Islam the only identity Muslims can have? Does it wipe out other multiple identities that can easily intersect with each other?

Also read the opinions and comments about Islam and whether it's truly a threat to the west here...

image: google

Story #80 American Priest Converts

2009-05-30T11:55:00.003+07:00

Alhumdulillah (Thank God), I have been blessed by Allah with the gift of Islam since 2006. When I was asked to write about the path that I took and how Allah has blessed me, I was hesitant. I have seen others get caught up with personal fame by telling how they came to Islam and I knew that I didn’t want to have the same challenge.

I ask you then to take this story as the work of Allah and focus on his mercy and greatness rather than my story in particular, insha Allah. No one comes to Islam without the mercy of Allah and it is his work not that of the revert that truly matters.

I was born to a nominally Roman Catholic family in Upstate New York. I had a Roman Catholic mother and a Presbyterian father who converted to Catholicism in order to get married. We attended church on Sundays and I went through catechism, first communion, and eventually confirmation within the Roman Catholic Church. When I was young I began to feel a call from Allah. This call I interpreted as a call to the Roman Catholic priesthood and told my mother as such. She, pleased with this, took me to meet the priest at our local parish.

Fortunately or unfortunately, this particular priest was not happy with his vocation and advised me to stay away from the priesthood. This upset me and even today, I do not know how things would have been different if his response had been more positive. From that earlier brush with Allah’s call, and out of my own foolishness and in my teen years, I went the other way. My family broke up at an early age when I was seven and I suffered from the loss of my father who was not present after the divorce.

Starting at the young age of 15, I began to be more interested in nightclubs and parties than the Lord of the Universe. I dreamed of becoming a lawyer, then politician with a penthouse in Manhattan so I could participate in a party lifestyle with style. After I graduated with honors, from my high school, I went to college briefly. But my own twisted focus led me to drop from college and move to Arizona (where I continue to live until now) instead of getting my degree. This is something that I regret to this day. Once in Arizona, my situation went from bad to worse. I fell in with a much worse crowd than I had at home and began to use drugs. Due to my lack of education, I worked low end jobs and continued to spend my time in drugs, promiscuity, and nightclubs.

During this time, I had my first encounter with a a Muslim. He was a kind man who was attending a local college as a foreign student. He was dating one of my friends and often accompanied us to nightclubs and other parties that we attended. I did not discuss Islam with him but did question him about his culture which he shared freely. Islam did not come up. Again I wonder how things would have been different had he been a practicing Muslim.

My bad lifestyle continued for some years and I won’t belabor it with details. I had lots of trauma, people that I knew died, I was stabbed and otherwise wounded but this is not a tale of the dangers of drugs.

I only mention it to state that no matter where you are, Allah can bring you back from it insha Allah. I will fast forward to when I became clean from drugs. Part of the process of getting off of drugs and narcotics is to establish a relationship with a “higher power”.

For most this is God and or other expressions of divinity. I had long before lost my connection to Allah so I went on a search for my higher power. Sadly, I did not find the truth at first. Instead I went to Hinduism, which appealed to me because of its explanation of why suffering had happened to me.

I went all into it, even changing my name to a Hindu name. It was enough to keep me off of drugs and move my life in a more positive direction, for which I am grateful. Eventually, though I began to again feel the tug from Allah. This began to show me that for me, Hinduism was not the true way.

Allah continued to needle me until I left Hinduism and I began to go back to Christianity. I approached the Roman Catholic Church to become a priest, as this is what I felt Allah was calling me for, and they offered me an education and a post in a monastery in New Mexico. By this time my family (mother, brother and sister) had moved to Arizona and I had close relationships with many friends.

Needless to say I was not yet ready. Instead I found an independent catholic church that I could study through their seminary program from home and become ordained and assigned where I was already living.This independent Catholic Church also appealed to my liberal ideals that I had developed through my years living rough. I attended their seminary program and in 2005 I was ordained a priest.

My first ministry in my new role was interfaith relations. My assignment was to visit and learn about the different faith traditions in the Phoenix Metro area and share with them an interfaith message of peace and understanding from my church. Most Christian traditions I already had studied and knew. I brushed up on Judaism and other Far East religions. I was what is known as a worker-priest, which means I had a job at the same time as I was doing my ministry. I had changed from working in corporate America to working in a behavioral health agency.

My post was down the street from a Masjid. I thought that this was my chance to learn about Islam for my interfaith relations. I went to the mosque and met some very nice brothers who directed me to the mosque in Tempe, Arizona. I also began to read about Islam independently and was startled by how touched I was with what I was reading. Allah had me now but I did not yet know it. I went to the Tempe mosque and was to meet a wonderful teacher in the form of Ahmad Al Akoum.

Br. Al Akoum, who is the regional director of Muslim American Society, had an introduction to Islam class open for people of all faiths that I began to attend. While attending this class, I began to see that Islam was the truth. It was only a short time later that I gave Shahadah at the Tempe mosquewith the Sheikh Ahmed Shqeirat. Both Br. Al Akoum and Sheikh Shqeirat are great men and without them I would not have been as comfortable coming into Islam. I resigned from the church and have been Muslim ever since, Alhumdulillah.

My life has changed dramatically for the better since embracing Islam. At first my family was saddened that I left the priesthood and didn’t understand, even feared, Islam. But since my way of interacting with them, based on my increased happiness and my striving to adhere to Quran and Sunnah, has changed—they have seen that it is a good thing.

Br. Al Akoum knew that the first year is always toughest for the revert. To lessen the stress of it, he made sure that I was included in multiple community activities and met lots of good practicing brothers. It is only through contact with other Muslims that a revert can be successful.

Left on his or her own, it can be too daunting and their faith may slip too far, so if you know a revert, please visit them at least once every three days. I have advanced further in my job because of my new base as a Muslim. I became a manager of a program that seeks to prevent alcohol and drug abuse, HIV, and Hepatitis for at risk populations.

I have become a volunteer in not only Muslim American Society but also the Muslim Youth Centre of Arizona and other Muslim causes. I have been recently nominated to the board of the Tempe mosque where I first took shahadah. Alhumdulillah it has also clarified who are my true friends versus who were not.

I have less non Muslim friends now as I cannot participate in the activities that they choose to do for fun but I have developed valuable friendships with Muslim brothers that are better than anything I have had in the past. Insha Allah, if Allah chooses, I would like to go and study Fiqh to further the cause of Islam and benefit the Ummah that I love. All of this was through the grace of Allah and only the mistakes are mine.

it first publised on readingislam.com [my journey to islam]

Story # 79 A Jewish Female Converts

2009-05-29T12:40:00.003+07:00

I come from a Jewish family in New York. My mother was from S. A. but also Jewish. She never was comfortable with anyone knowing that. When my father died, she remarried a Catholic and became one herself. And that is how she brought us up. From the age of 5, I was told that Jesus was also God...? I never felt comfortable with it though. We moved to the Philippines — that is where my stepfather was from. And life there was unbearable. My stepfather, to put it mildly, was abusive to me and my two brothers. The effect of that hard life: my spelling is poor, one of my brothers is now a drinker, and the other has a low self-worth.

When I grew up and we returned to the USA, I left home. I took care of myself by working hard. I never had time for God, whoever He was. I did not feel that God helped me in any way, so why bother?

I did try to get back to my roots but Judaism made no sense, so I let that go. I did come across Muslims from time to time but the effect was, how do they dress that way, and why do they seem different? Over time, the idea of Islam kept coming back to me, so I tried to find out more. I read the history and life of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). That is what got to me: such kindness and sabr (patience) in the face of hardships.

It seemed to me that my life had no direction, so I went to learn more. After reading the opening chapter of the Quran (surah Al-Fatihah), I knew I had come home — this is where I wanted to be. I became a Muslim and have never regretted it. I always knew there was only one God — Allah — and things have not been always easy for me.

My mother died of cancer soon after I became a Muslim. But the faith I have helped me to make it through my pain. Just being able to go to Allah with all my pain was such a relief. It is the only true lifestyle known to man, and it is the truth and the last chance for us. I wish all mankind could come to know the truth (haqq) of Islam, and its peace and beauty!

source:
readingislam.com, and first published in Jews-for-allah.com

Islamic School in California

2009-03-19T11:16:00.005+07:00

If you are Muslim, living in California and want to put your children in the Islamic School, please come to Sacramento because now stand Al Arqam Islamic School in Sacramento, the capital of California.

Al-Arqam Islamic School was founded in September, 1998 by 7 board members, volunteers from 7 Islamic centers in the surrounding area--each serving a different ethnic population (in an effort to represent the entire Muslim community). School is located in a predominately lower-income, urban area. It is surrounded by apartment complexes and retail businesses. Directly next door to the school is a newly-established Sheriff's Department headquarters and Voter Registration office. The School is within one mile of the interstate (CA Highway 99). The socio-economic make-up of the parent population is predominately middle class. Read more about Al-Arqam...

The school was recently received in the strict academic programs, international baccalaureate, and became the first private school in the Sacramento area to reach the status of the international baccalaureate. More than 300 students enrolled in this school for most of the lowest-level class.

source:
al-arqam islamic school
Republika online

Story #78 Franck Bilal Ribery

2009-03-19T10:38:00.003+07:00

May Allah guide us all to the straight path and save us from the Hell fire. All praise and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds.

Tak banyak yang tahu jika Franck Ribery seorang muslim. Hingga pemusatan latihan terakhir Timnas Prancis jelang putaran final Piala Dunia 2006 pun, tak banyak yang tahu pula jika Ribery telah menjadi muslim, termasuk pelatih Raymond Domenech,juga rekan-rekan sesama pemain.
Barulah di laga perdana penyisihan grup melawan Swiss, status Ribery terbongkar. Ketika akan dilakukan kick off,Ribery menundukkan kepala lantas menengadahkan kedua tangan,layaknya cara berdoa orang muslim.Tanda tanya besar besar yang masih menghinggapi media saat itu, terjawab sudah.

Ritual doa yang dilakukan Ribery mengundang fotografer media cetak dan kameraman, untuk mengabadikannya.Kesokan harinya, pemberitaan tentang status muslim Ribery tersebar luas,sekaligus pelengkap berita pertandingan yang berakhir imbang tanpa gol.

Usai Piala Dunia 2006, majalah mingguan L’Express disebut-sebut yang pertama kali membocorkan rahasia kepindahan keyakinan Ribery hingga memeluk Islam. Pada awal tahun 2006 L’Express -- meski tanpa menyebut nama -- memberitakan salah satu pemain Timnas Prancis terlihat pergi ke masjid yang letaknya di selatan kota Marseille.

Cerita Ribery yang menjadi mualaf, sebenarnya telah muncul pada tahun 2005, ketika ia menerima tawaran klub Galatasaray. Saat itu, ia berkenalan dengan gadis keturunan Turki keturunan Maroko bernama Wahiba Belhami yang kemudian menjadi istrinya dan memberinya dua anak, Hizya dan Shahinez.

Media bahkan membuat cerita menjadi mualafnya Ribery dalam dua versi. Versi pertama menyebutkan bahwa Wahiba yang banyak menuntun Ribery menjadi muslim. Versi kedua menyebutkan status muslim yang disandang Ribery terjadi ketika bermain untul Galatasaray. Di klub besar inilah/kabarnya Ribery sering berbaur dan berdiskusi dengan komunitas muslim.

Ribery kemudian merasa perlu memasukkan unsur Islam pada namanya. Ia mengadopsi kata ‘Bilal’, kata ini ditempatkan di antara namanya menjadi Franck Bilal Ribery.

Ribery memang tak pernah memublikasikan tentang waktu tepatnya memeluk Islam. Yang jelas, saat diwawancarai majalah Paris Match, ia pun tak mau membuka rahasia itu. Ribery hanya bilang,"Islam membawa saya pada keselamatan. Islam juga yang menjadi sumber kekuatan saya, di dalam maupun di luar lapangan. Saya menjalani karir yang berat, saya kemudian berketetapan hati untuk menemukan kedamaian. Dan akhirnya saya menemukan Islam."

Ribery mengaku jika ia tak pernah melupakan shalat yang menjadi ibadah wajib umat Islam. Ke manapun dan apapun kondisinya, ia akan menyempatkan diri melaksanakan shalat.
Pada Selasa (13/1) Franck Ribery, pemain Bayern Munich itu menunaikan ibadah umroh ke Tanah Suci Makkah. Ia memanfaatkan kunjungan klubnya yang tengah tur ke Arab Saudi untuk menjalankan ibadah umroh bersama dengan rekan satu timnya, Hamit Altintop.

This article first appeared on Republika online

Story #77 Halimah Bint David

2009-02-07T10:41:00.006+07:00

I had a lot of questions on my mind: "Everybody, at some time or another, asks themselves the question: "Why do I exist?" or "For what purpose am I here on earth?" The variety and complexity of the intricate systems, which constitute the fabric of both human beings and the world in which they exist, indicate that there must have been a Supreme Being who created them. Design indicates a designer. When human beings come across footprints on a beach, they immediately conclude that a human being had walked by there some time previously.

My father raised me on his own and as a Christian. He worked hard to teach me Christian values. I read the Bible a lot when I was in elementary school (I skipped the words I did not know) and noticed there were some contradictions (i.e. eating pork, Jesus's peace be upon him supposed death). When I was twelve I knew I did not really believe in Christianity anymore, but I did not know what to think. I continued searching out God and praying to Him for the truth. I sought God a lot and very hard.

I had a lot of questions on my mind: "Everybody, at some time or another, asks themselves the question: "Why do I exist?" or "For what purpose am I here on earth?"

The variety and complexity of the intricate systems, which constitute the fabric of both human beings and the world in which they exist, indicate that there must have been a Supreme Being who created them.

Design indicates a designer. When human beings come across footprints on a beach, they immediately conclude that a human being had walked by there some time previously.

No one imagines that the waves from the sea settled in the sand and by chance produced a depression looking exactly like human footprints. Nor do humans instinctively conclude that they were brought into existence without a purpose. Since purposeful action is a natural product of human intelligence, humans conclude that the Supreme Intelligent Being who created them must have done so for a specific purpose. Therefore, human beings need to know the purpose for their existence in order to make sense of this life and to do what is ultimately beneficial for them.

When I was nineteen while calling myself a truth seeker, I traveled a lot looking for other cultures and beliefs to satisfy my need for finding God. I looked into Taoism, Wicca, Buddhism, Rastafarian, Judaism, Free Masonry, Christianity, Hinduism, Animism, etc.

I even looked at one or two pages about Islam but immediately dismissed it as it did not suit my own desire. I saw that Muslims worship Allah, and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is their Messenger and that they pray five times a day.

Five times a day!?

I thought that sounds like too much work; that could not possibly be the religion Of God the Creator of the Heavens and the earth!?

By time, I returned to the United States almost twenty one, I was not satisfied with any of the religions I had looked into. I decided to attend medical school (which was my dream). I filled out entrance exams and papers and was accepted at my delight.

I took a Greyhound Bus from Michigan and headed to Colorado for college. While I was traveling, I met a young guy who was sitting behind me for most of the trip. I asked his name and learned he was Ibrahim from Africa, traveling to college to be an engineer. We began talking, and he told me he was a Muslim. I asked him what that was and he explained that Muslims believe there is none worthy of being worshiped but Allah alone and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the last and final Prophet of the Abrahamic faiths.

I concluded that Jews were behind on two Prophets: Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them); and Christians were behind on one Prophet: Muhammad peace be upon him.

I inquired further into the religion Islam, and he shared with me a small book of collected prayers (dua and dhikr) that Muslims make. Inside the first daily remembrance I read was this:

"None has the right to be worshiped but Allah alone, without partner. To Him belongs all sovereignty and praise and He is over all things Omnipotent."

It was then that I knew Islam was quite possibly what I had been looking for. I then looked further into the book for more clarification on who Allah is and focused on these two:

"In the Name of Allah, Who with His Name nothing can cause harm in the earth nor in the heavens, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing."

"O Allah, whatever blessing has been received by me or anyone of Your creation is from You alone, You have no partner. All praise is for you and thanks is to You."

I then turned to Ibrahim and asked him how I could become Muslim. He told me to say my Shahadah: La ilaha illa llaah Muhammadur Rasoolullah (There is no deity that has the right to be worshiped but Allah alone and Muhammad is His Messenger).

And in believing that and stating it, I became a Muslim right then and there on a Greyhound Bus. So, after speaking with Ibrahim for fifteen minutes I became a Muslim. This was about seven years ago.

I never went to medical school. I decided to spend my time learning my new religion and moved to Utah. I met a great many Muslims there who warmly welcomed me into the community and spent much time teaching me the religion.

To sum up some of the most important things I have learned as a Muslim would be this:

- There has to have been a Creator due to the fact that there is creation.

- A proof that there is a God is shown through the masses; whom all feel the need to worship and do so through the vast amounts of different religions and beliefs.

Otherwise, where would we have ever gotten the idea from to even worship?

- If there were more then one god there would be complete and utter chaos from them arguing amongst themselves.

- Consequently, every human being is responsible for belief in God, which is imprinted on each and every soul. It is based on this inborn belief that Allah defined the purpose of humankind’s creation in Chapter Adh-Dhariyat (which means): *{I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me.}* (Adh-Dhariyat: 51: 56)

- The laws that we build our societies upon are a proof that there must be a Creator for everything and that we are mimicking Him and His divine laws by creating our own rules and legislation. Unfortunately, societies often make laws and legislation that are contrary to the divine laws of God.

Without these laws there would be complete panic and disorder spread out through the entire world, which would make life very different from the one we live in and experience.

- A religion cannot be properly judged by its' followers but can be properly judged by its' teachings.

- Islam is for all of mankind with complete structure and guidance for every aspect, condition and affliction that mankind ever meets and suffers with and/or from.

- Islam cannot be changed and 'put into a box' in regards to how you want to practice it, you must change yourself and your way of life to meet and fit into Islam.

- Thus, the essential purpose for which humankind was created is the worship of God. However, the Almighty is not in need of human worship. He did not create human beings out of a need on His part.

If not a single human worshiped God, it would not diminish His Glory in any way, and if all of mankind worshiped Him, it would not increase His Glory in any way. God is Perfect. He alone exists without any needs. All created beings have needs. Consequently, it is humankind that needs to worship God.

- Why do human beings need to worship and glorify God by obeying the divinely revealed laws? This is because obedience to divine law is the key to success in this life and the next. The first human beings, Adam and Eve, were created in paradise and later expelled from paradise for disobeying the divine law. The only way for human beings to return to paradise is by obedience to the law.

- Divine laws represent guidance for humankind in all walks of life. They define right and wrong for them and offer human beings a complete system governing all of their affairs. The Creator alone knows best what is beneficial for His creation and what is not.

The divine laws command and prohibit various acts and substances to protect the human spirit, the human body and human society from harm. In order for human beings to fulfill their potential by living righteous lives, they need to worship God through obedience to His commandments.

I am now married with children and am a stay home mother. I write and illustratebooks for children. I also maintain three websites on the Muslim's belief, character, manners and business ethics.

source:
It first appeared on readingislam.com and republished with kind permission from Mrs. Halimah.

Story # 76 Fatima Mali

2009-02-03T09:24:00.005+07:00

The remarkable journey of Fatima Mali
By. Mahmood Sanglay (Muslim Views Newspaper – South Africa – November 2007)
Sent by Muslim friends, Riedwaan Jefferies

Fatima Mali is a poor South African domestic worker from a black informal settlement who embraced Islam in 2005. Born in 1955 in Transkei (an ex-apartheid state in South Africa), she came to Cape Town, South Africa in 1991 in search of work. Sixteen years later, Fatima is one of ten recipients of the Gifted Haj programme. The Gifted Hajj presents at least ten deserving Muslims with the opportunity of fulfilling the requirements of the fifth pillar of Islam, the pilgrimage to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. This is Fatima’s ultimate journey, not because it is the first time she will set foot outside her country; not because it is the first time she will set foot on an aircraft; not even because the Hajj is the ultimate journey for every Muslim. Fatima’s Hajj is the ultimate journey because her journey begins before she receives the good news of the Gifted Hajj.

Her journey begins with the first steps she takes towards consciously embracing the life of a Muslim. It is an ordinary working day in 1995. Fatima, then known as Nozibele Phylis Mali, is busy working for her employer, Mehrunisa Dawood. Fatima is busy sweeping a room from which she can clearly hear Mehrunisa’s son Shafeeq, in the lounge, revising the Quranic chapters he has committed to memory. Fatima listens, spellbound. This is strange, curious. She does not understand. “Why is this child sitting like this? Fatima’s wonderment brings her work almost to a standstill. She is conscious of this. As a diligent worker, she does not want to appear slowing down her work, so she watches secretly. “I don’t want him to see me because I must work.” But she is drawn to the recitation, the respectful way this child is sitting with the Holy Book. It is so beautiful and almost disturbing at the same time – the way something beautiful that you cannot understand, that you deeply seek to understand, can be disturbing. Fatima is seeking answers to questions she is just beginning to ask herself. “What is he doing? Why am I so attracted to this melodious sound?” She hears footsteps and quickly resumes her work. But her mind and her heart are fixed on this child reciting the Holy Book. She is the outsider, adoring the beauty of a child on the inside reciting the Quran. She knows neither the Quran, nor the faith. But, as she watches and listens, she ultimately recognizes one powerful truth: “This thing comes from the heart.” The beauty of the Quran touches her, perhaps in a way not very different from the way the beauty of the Quran has touched the noblest personalities since the moment it was revealed in a cave many centuries ago.

Things that come into my heart
And so the one thing that comes into her heart is Shafeeq’s recitation, his posture, the whole atmosphere created by a sacred moment. But there are other things too, she says, that come into her heart. “This lady, every morning when I’m coming here, she got a smiling face.” Even when Fatima errs in her work, she has learned that there is no fear of reprisal for the common mistake in domestic chores. Instead, there is the culture of admonishment with kindness. This treatment is very different from that which Fatima experienced while in the service of a previous Muslim employer. With Mehrunisa it is an unusual relationship. There is a sisterhood that transcends the typical race, class and employer-employee barriers. Her food is served on the same plates as the rest of the family and she eats at the same table as her employer. When one touches another person through these man-made barriers, then one reaches the heart of the other. Fatima feels this touch and recognizes it as a feeling that makes her “happy and cry”.

Another thing that comes into her heart is Mehrunisa’s ritual ablution and prayer. At 1pm she goes into the bathroom and comes out wearing a beautiful long top and a scarf. Fatima stands at the bathroom door, wondering what is going on in there and runs off as soon as Mehrunisa opens the door. She feels a strange joy with all these things she does not understand. She wants to ask, but is afraid. Her questions multiply, surging like a wave. What is going on in this house? Why am I so attracted to these people and their life? Mehrunisa senses her curiosity. She knows Fatima is clearly searching for spiritual guidance. Fatima was born into a Methodist Church and is the youngest child and the only surviving member of her family. Mehrunisa prompts a discussion with Fatima on religion, the church and her faith. They speak of the things that dissatisfy Fatima in her faith, over breakfast. Mehrunisa advises her to pray. “When you leave my door, speak to God. Say “Oh God, please help me. Show me the truth.” Say that all the time as you walk until you get to your home. And God will show you the path.” Several months later, Mehrunisa takes Fatima to the Islamic Da’wah Movement (IDM) office where a Xhosa-speaking member of the congregation explains Islam to her in her home language. There is no delay. Fatima has already decided to embrace Islam. Mehrunisa reflects on the day Fatima went to the IDM: “When I came back the imam said she immediately said the Shahada and adopted the name Fatima. It was a very emotional moment for me. I was actually speechless.”

Hardships of a new life
The change in Fatima’s life is visible. She describes herself as a person who was at first preoccupied with her own needs and who has become one who is genuinely concerned about the needs of others. Now, she says, she even makes time to smile. But the new life does not come to her without its hardships. Although her brother Douglas is always very kind to her and shares his home with her, his wife, Christina, is vehemently opposed to her sister-in-law’s new faith and she openly resents Fatima, deliberately making life difficult for her.

Fatima, however, perseveres with patience and constancy. She is neither deterred from practicing her faith nor from refraining to respond in like manner to Christina. Christina’s hostility compels Fatima to leave her brother’s home and seek refuge in the nearby home of another sister in Islam, Nadia. Among her first acts of charity since embracing Islam is helping a neighbour and his two children who were abandoned by an alcoholic mother. The disillusioned father is so overwhelmed by the benevolence of Fatima and Nadia that he feels drawn to their faith and, with his children, embraces Islam. An act of kindness inspires a harvest of faith.

The angel of death
Within a few months, an unexpected turn of events presents Fatima with another challenge. In 1996, Christina’s teenage son fall seriously ill and dies of injuries sustained in an accident. Fatima responds with magnanimity and goes to the aid of her sister-in-law. At a time when all Christina’s friends forsake her after the funeral, the once-resented Fatima remains faithfully at the side of the grieving mother and helps to heal her broken spirit. Is it not in the nature of a grieving spirit to recognize compassion foremost from one who has been rejected? Christina’s heart melts with Fatima’s compassion. Her hostility dissipates and she is transformed into a bosom friend. She asks Fatima to allow her to join her when she goes to Macassar to attend the weekly madrasah, where they learn the basic teachings of Islam. After three visits to the madrasah, Christina’s heart relents and she finally embraces Islam, adopting the Muslim name Shanaaz. A bitter sister-in-law is transformed into a beloved sister-in-faith. And so Fatima becomes familiar with the visits of the angel of death. This messenger has already summoned the souls of many of her nearest kin. All her siblings, her parents and her husband are departed. Ten years later it is the last of them, Douglas, her beloved brother, who meets his death in October, 2006 as a victim of an armed robbery. This incident occurs three days before he is due to visit the offices of the IDM to embrace Islam. Fatima grieves, but her comfort is that Douglas had made the niyyah (intention) to accept Islam and that his reward is the realization of that niyyah. Fatima is elevated by the truth with loss and pain comes comfort and healing. Fatima remains steadfast.

The ultimate journey
Fatima does not speak of her joy of undertaking the Hajj. Before the decision was announced, she simply “never put it in [her] heart” until the good news reached her in April 2007. It is a quiet joy, tempered by the preparation and instruction under the tutelage of Mu’alima Yasmina. Mehrunisa offers further guidance and takes care of the physical and logistical matters. The Gifted Hajj Committee attends to the basic costs. Fatima is excited, but she continues to fulfill her role as helper and caregiver in her community wherever there is a need and where it is possible to help. Her four sons, aged twenty-seven, eighteen, fourteen and twelve, accept Islam immediately when they arrive in Cape Town, from Transkei, at the end of 2006. Nozuko, Fatima’s first-born, is married and has yet accepted Islam, but undertakes the responsibility to look after her younger siblings in her mother’s absence. In her original journey, from a self-centered woman, to a compassionate Muslim, Fatima touches the lives of many. Of these, a total of fifteen people commit themselves to the Islamic faith, including her children and neighbours. Of the fifteen, Shanaaz remains the most important symbol of reconciliation and steadfastness in Fatima’s journey. In a deeply profound way, Shanaaz represents a true measure of Fatima’s devotion. For the past four years, Shanaaz has been living with cancer. Her condition is deteriorating and Fatima continues to care for her sister in Islam who was married to her brother. The bond of faith supersedes, but also affirms, the bond of family. Mehrunisa affirms that propagation of Islam begins at home. Fatima reflects: “Allah is love…….. I must try.” Two women complete the circle of giving and receiving. But Fatima’s journey is not yet full circle. When and how it will be, Allah knows best.

Fatima Mali and nine other Muslims form various parts of South Africa are recipients of the Gifted Hajj. They depart for the Holy Land on 12 November 2007. The other pilgrims are Achmat Petersen (Western Cape), Rabia Amier (Kwa-zulu Nata - KZN), Haroon Rashid and Shariefa Khan (KZN), Sarrah Ramzan (Gauteng), Omar and Fatima Osman (KZN), Hajira Davids (Gauteng) and Shenaaz Ramdieree (Gauteng).

Story #75 An American Israeli woman converted to Islam.

2009-01-28T10:41:00.007+07:00

God's instructions will come to anybody that He will, regardless of skin, race or where they’re come from. This time I found story from An American Israeli woman converted to Islam. Subhanallah ... May Allah always give him a straight path.

Those who enter Islam are those who recognize the truth of Qur'an. Fortunately for those who get Hidayah of Allah because they are the options and include those who are lucky. Islam did not offer the wealth and riches of the world but Islam offers peace and eternal life at the end of time.

The story is divided into two parts. Because of the length of the story I just enter the link from the original site, please read here; Part 1 and Part 2.

Friday Prayers at The Mosque Ruins

2009-01-24T10:36:00.006+07:00

Yesterday was the first Friday prayers on January 23, in open air and on the rubble of destroyed mosques in 22 days of Israeli attacks in Gaza. More than 20 mosques were totally destroyed and damaged scores in the Israeli blitz, which also left more than 1,300 people dead and 5,450 wounded.

Although the prayer should be in the field but does not make people forget their obligations as Muslims. May Allah always give strength and patience to the Palestinian Muslims and muslims throughout the world. May Allah always protect us. Amin

images by IOL

Halal Food and Meat in Bendigo - Australia

2009-01-16T15:08:00.005+07:00

There are very limited places in Bendigo to buy Halal food and meat. If you want to go to a restaurant, you might go to Lady Sultan Turkish Takeaway in 336A Hargreaves Street in Bendigo CBD. You also can go to Kentucky Fried Chicken fast food restaurants which is located in Wattle Street and 88-92 High Street Kangaroo Flat. The Chicken in KFC is Halal since they purchase it from Hazeldene's Chicken Farm. This chicken farm employes Muslims' slaughter (Somali's brother) so that Insya Allah all chicken is halal to consume. Additionally, it exports their products to muslim's countries.

TWO PLACES TO BUY HALAL MEAT
First, IGA (Independence Groceries Australia) Supermarkets , it sales chicken from Hazeldene's in all 6 stores in Bendigo. The stores can be found easily in every part of the city.

Second, Mellington Meats which is located in 11 Lowndes Street Kennington. It provides wide range of meats; lamb, chicken, chicken snetzel, chicken kebab, beef, sausages, mince beef etc. The meats are from Muslims Butcheries in Melbourne (Brunswick). For your information, the owners are not muslim so that they also sale non halal meat. In this situation, it would be better to consider this circumtance as an emergency as there is no other option to buy Halal meat (especially beef and lamb) in Bendigo.

source: bendigomoslem.multiply.com

Note:
@ Febri...
Thanks for the information. Hopefully this information is useful for all Muslim.

Muslim Convert in Papua New Guinea

2009-01-16T14:47:00.004+07:00

In Papua New Guinea a growing number of people are now choosing to pray at a mosque rather than a church. PNG is experiencing a sharp increase in the number of people turning their backs on Christianity and converting to Islam.

"A lot of Papua New Guineans are converting to Islam not because they don't like the other religion. It's just they've become, they feel comfortable in there," said Khalid, an Imam who received his training in Malaysia.

"The practice of Islam is much easier than the other religions. In the religion of Islam you are your own preacher. You learn how to pray. God is not only in the mosque, it's everywhere. So if I don't come into the mosque, the house of prayer, I can pray under the trees, in the house, anywhere."

Papua New Guineans began converting to Islam in the early 1980s, and there are now more than 4,000 followers with recent reports of entire villages converting at the same time. Many are drawn to Islam because of the similarities the religion has with Melanesian customs, says Isa Teine, the general secretary for PNG's Islamic Society.

"When we greet people we hug them. This is Islam. We don't shake hands and leave them, so most of our cultures are Islamic," Khalid said. "Polygamy - this is Islam. Islam encourages four wives. Before Islam came in, people already had two, three, four wives. This is Islam. So when the religion came in and said, 'oh we have to do this, our Islamic culture, we have to do this and that', people fit in easily. So it's very easy for Papua New Guineans to embrace Islam. Once the religion itself spread I tell you, I'm just predicting in 20, 30 years' time, all Papua New Guinea will submit to Islam."

Church leaders like Pastor Joseph Walters say they do not feel threatened by the rapid growth of Islam. "This nation is a very strong Christian country and I travel around a lot preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God around the nation and the people generally are very strong, very dedicated, very committed to the Christian faith," he said. "And so it may look like a threat to Christian faith in the country, but as a church leader in this country the way I see this, and because I travel a lot in crusades and just talking to people, Christianity is even stronger than ever before."

But not everyone has embraced the religion, with incidents of discrimination and Islam phobia quite common. The mosque in downtown Port Moresby has been fire-bombed, there is a bullet hole in one of the windows, and a senior PNG Government minister once said that Islam was dangerous and a serious threat to peace and unity here.

"There is not much understanding," Khalid said. "There is not adequate understanding by the people of this country about Islam, because the more negative pictures are painted on the religion of Islam, the more people tend to believe what the other people say instead of coming and hearing from the Muslims".

Khalid says attitudes will change as the number of Papua New Guineans converting to Islam continues to increase.

source:
abc.net.au -
bendigo moslem

Story # 74 Abdul Hakeem Heinz

2008-12-31T13:11:00.007+07:00

He was just a young boy when his mother converted, and it was then that he and his brother and sister changed from going to church to practicing Islam. This was quite a shock for him at first because his comfort zone had been in the Christian concepts that he had previously been taught.

Initially, Islam was presented to him as a set of strict rules that had to be followed. He admits that at first he found it all a bit tough to deal with. At seven he was expected to pray and fast.

Abdul Hakeem Heinz was brought up in the south of London. He was first introduced to Islam at the tender age of seven when his mother embraced Islam.

Years later he traveled and lived in Egypt for a few years and further developed his knowledge and understanding of Islam as well as his skills in Arabic language. He also had to learn the Arabic language and he found himself praying and reading Quran but without understanding what he was saying and why he had to do all this.

However, the years passed and after some time, it all started to settle in and Islam became his way of life. As he looks back, he notes that as a teenager, it was natural that he would start to question what life is about.

As he passed through the turbulence of his teenage years, the meaning of the message of Islam started to touch his heart and became more and more acceptable to him. He also began to understand what Islam meant in his life and as he learned more, he perceived Islam as the correct way.

Heinz admits, "In my early teens, it was something to be ashamed of to be a Muslim. At school I was taught Islamic studies but I was also taught that it was just like Hinduism and Sikhism."

It affected him that Islam and those who followed it were considered "different" from others. When he started secondary school, he did not want to be associated with Islam, but he kept it in his heart.

He explains his reaction, "It was because of the pressure from outside, but at the same time, I hadn't gone into Islam enough to justify my faith as I could have." The public perception of Islam at that time affected how he presented himself as a Muslim. He wanted to be among the common crowd, which is a natural part of human nature. This perception did not change until he was about fourteen years old.

At this age, he changed in the way he practiced Islam and how he presented his religion to others. This happened after he traveled to Holland and Spain. His journey to Spain was especially significant as there he had the chance to interact more with practicing Muslims.

He comments, "There was a minority Muslim community where I was in Spain but they were respected and some of the youth of my age group were very interested in religion. This made me no longer feel ashamed. Young people were embracing Islam and this made me feel proud."

When he returned to the UK from Spain, he was about fifteen. He went back to school, but the difference this time was that he was a Muslim from the inside! He was much more confident and so he started to talk about Islam more. Heinz says happily, "I could actually say 'I am Muslim'."

Then attitudes towards Islam started to change among his peers at school. He relates, "At that time, being a Muslim was considered jazzy, snappy, and cool! This helped me become even more confident. One of the things that helped me through all these changes was my independence to know Almighty Allah."

He admits reading when he was by himself and memorizing Quran. He also says that when he was a teenager, as a household his family members were Muslims, but Islam was not always being practiced properly.

Despite all this, there was something in his heart that was always drawn toward Almighty Allah and Islam. If he found life difficult or had problems, he would pray two units of Prayer and pour his heart out to Almighty Allah. He states, "I learned to submit myself to Allah.”"

Heinz believes that Muslims have to be sincere to Almighty Allah and recite Quran everyday. This is what helped him to pass through the difficult teenage years.

He noticed that as he became stronger, people changed their perceptions about him and started to respect him.

He says that if a person acts shyly, feels embarrassed and behaves apologetically, people will put him to one side. But if he does not really care about what people think, because he knows that he is on the truth, people will respect him because of the confidence he has.

Heinz says with surety, "People respect that kind of character. People respect you if you are yourself."

He believes that we do not owe anything to our friends or the group we are with, and that we should just be ourselves. He advises new Muslims not to try to be like anyone else.

He is now twenty-three years old and believes that generally, in the West, people his age are struggling in terms of responsibility and knowing what is expected of them as adults. He finds that they are not sure because they do not belong to a certain culture, or their culture drives them to succumb to this world that is filled with commotion and strife.

He says that when he was seventeen years old and decided to practice Islam properly, that helped him to grow because Islam gave him a strict code of conduct. He followed what it says and tried to understand his role as a human being.

Slowly he came to know that he has responsibilities and will ultimately become a proper adult and a better person, more considerate and mindful of others. He says that without Islam he would have been lost.

He is grateful to Almighty Allah that He has brought him so far. With Islam, a person can stand out among their peers because Islam makes a person mature.

He says, "Gaining Islamic knowledge in today’s world is important and we cannot escape Satan as he wants to keep us away from where we should be.

"New Muslims want to get on the right path and it is important to keep good company because a person becomes what his group is. If the person around you will bring you down, you might have to cut relations with him."

Heinz sees that his time in Egypt helped him to see how Muslims live and that it is great to feel that you belong to such a universal community. Apart from the knowledge of Arabic and Islam he obtained, Egypt also helped him to learn more about how to be a Muslim in everyday life.

He says that we learn from the people we mix with and that we should read Quran regularly and ask Almighty Allah to help us understand it properly. Everyone should find out what classes are happening in their area and attend them and spend time in the mosque. People can also go onto Islamic websites and be involved in the community around them.

He observes that in London there are a lot of places where a person can obtain knowledge and there are prominent speakers. He advises new Muslims to seek out such classes and lectures because not only will you gain knowledge, but you will also meet good people.

Looking to the future, Heinz says that he just makes supplications and hopes. He says, "I am more patient now because of the experiences I've had. I gained a lot of stability by having learned about the Companions and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)."

He sees that the best way to be a man and the best way to be a woman are by living according to the standards of Almighty Allah.

it was first published on www.islamonline.net and with kind permission from the writer Mrs. Selma Cook

Story # 73 Kimdonesia [ Australian Teenager]

2008-12-26T15:03:00.007+07:00

Kim, or Kimi, otherwise known as “KimDonesia” (Kim + Indonesia), a 17 year old Australian from Queensland, the Sunshine state, once lived in Lampung, southern Sumatra, for six months, accompanying her step-father who worked for a sugar company, Gula Putih Mataram (GPM).

While in Lampung she says she studied Islam, and was moved by the passionate devotion of the people there to the religion, and finally fell in love with it, particularly the sound of the call to prayer.

After moving back to Australia she converted to the faith, or reverted as she would have it. Here she explains, in rather good Indonesian, how she came to live in Indonesia in 2007:

In this video she explains her religious journey - from Wiccan moon worshipping, to nothing in particular, to Islam - she even has the pronunciation right, Islaaam, - and how living in Lampung and talking to the people there was one of the keys to her decision to throw her lot in with Allah.

Kimdonesia has in the short time since her conversion this year produced dozens of Islamic dakwah (missionary) videos on Youtube, and has a bit of a following among some Indonesians, at http://www.youtube.com/user/KimDonesia.

source: indonesiamatters.com

Halal Food Saves China Muslims

2008-12-02T14:13:00.005+07:00

China, the world's most populous country, has been hit by its worst tainted milk scandal in modern history. But Muslims in the northwest Xinjiang province feel confident their dairy products are safe, thanks to their halal standards.

"There are few additives to the food during the processing, so it's safer", Hui Li Huang, manager of Urumqi Arman halal food store, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

At least four babies died of kidney failure and 53,000 children fell sick after drinking milk contaminated by industrial chemical melamine, which was added to make the milk appear richer in protein.

The scandal led to massive recalls of Chinese food products containing milk at home and abroad. But the Muslim-majority Xinjiang province was safe from the contaminated milk because of the halal food standards. In Xinjiang, food products have to be certified by a local Islamic Council which includes imams trained to make sure the products adhere to halal standards. The council members and government inspectors regularly visit processing factories to ensure the food safety.

"The dairy industry is regulated by both religious and government institutions. We don't have contamination at the moment," said Wei Sheng Wang, director of the government's Xinjiang trade commission.

Flourishing
Most dairy products in Xinjiang are produced in the province to be used by the customers.

"Other provinces lost control of the milk supply because they had to get their product from middlemen. Here in Xinjiang, the enterprises themselves own the dairy farms and follow strict standards, customs and habits of local Muslims," said Dan Feng Zhang, general manager of the province's largest milk company, Gary Dairy.

The halal food standards have increased confidence in the Xinjiang food products, earning it the name of "China's New Zealand", a reference to that nation's small area but large food export capacity. For example, Ihlas candy factory on the outskirts of Urumqi, have increased candies and snack pastries exports to Turkey and is planning to expand its markets to other Muslim countries.

Halal meat companies also export its products to neighboring countries with sizable Muslim populations, such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Xinjiang also exports halal products to Mongolia, Japan and Malaysia.

source islamonline.net
Foto Google

Inspiring man from Egypt

2008-11-27T10:06:00.003+07:00

Egypt's soccer Mohamed Aboutreika the world's most popular soccer player in 2007, according to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and nominated for the CAF African Footballer of the Year award in, also admired for his piety and good manners. He has never imagined that his match against Congo in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers would draw many Congolese to the fold of Islam. Many Congolese were curious to know why Aboutreika prostrated after he scored. He also immediately kneeled to the ground before being joined by fellow teammates.

“Why he did that?” ask the fans. The Mufti of Congo explained to them that the prostration was meant to thank God for his blessings, an act encouraged by Islam. “Many of them developed a curiosity about Islam that eventually led them to embracing the Muslim faith," Sheikh Abdulla Mingala Lwaba, told IOL.

Aboutreika enjoys a huge popularity in Egypt, the Arab world and Africa. For his amazing skills and good manners, he can be a role models and good example. We hope there’re more stars gives a similar role model, and trigger many to ask about Islam and join it soon. May Alloh always blessing him.

In 2005, Aboutreika joined UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors Brazilian Ronaldo, French Zidane and 40 other international soccer stars for a "Match Against Poverty."
After scoring a goal during the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, Aboutreika revealed a T- shirt bearing the slogan "We Sacrifice Ourselves for You Prophet Muhammad" in response to the blasphemous Danish cartoons.

21 January 2008, Cairo: UNICEF and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have united in a joint campaign to harness the power of football during the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations- Africa’s biggest international football competition. The campaign seeks to promote quality education for all of Africa’s children and will be featured during the tournament in Ghana on billboards and in televised coverage of matches.

My Umroh Journey

2008-11-20T11:26:00.009+07:00

I performed umroh with a group from Paradiso Tour, last August. Subhanallah, my dream had come true. I prayed in front of Ka'bah. When I get back to homeland, there's something missing...I think that I want stay any longer in Mekah and Medinah. There're so many memories, funny, sad, happy etc.

We went in a small group, about 20 people, and we trust this trip to Paradiso Tour to manage everything we need in Jeddah, Mekah and Medinah. We went to Jeddah in 13 August, by Garuda Indonesia flight number GA 984 and took off from Jakarta in 08.20 WIB (about 12.20 in Jeddah’s Time).

Arrived in Jeddah about 20.00 [17.00 WIB, Jakarta time]. I saw the sun is still bright and I found a dry dessert. It was completely dry and hot. After that, me and groups directly went to Medinah which took about 6 hour from Jeddah and stayed at Dallah Int. Hotel, near from Nabawi Mosque. Wooooww….SUBHANALLAH…it's a beautiful mosque.

3 Days in Medinah than we continue to Mekah, we stayed at Ufuk Al Fateh Hotel,also near from Masjidil Al-Haram to have doing umroh. It almost midnight when we reached the Al Harram Mosque. So many people was thawafing around Ka’bah than running between the hills of Safa and Marwah (Sa’ee) and after finish the umroh we clipping my hair.

The last day, we back to Jeddah and stayed in Holiday Inn. Before check out from the hotel, we spent the time in Balad / Chornice market.

Got Question? Get Answer Here...

2008-11-20T10:46:00.006+07:00

Read this beatiful story from a new muslim convert and it also the answer that Islam comes in peace. If you have a lot of questions about Islam, find the answer here...

"I never truly committed and when I saw that sign I knew that was the final sign to complete my move."

Leslie C. Toole had been considering embracing Islam for the past ten years. But when the Chicagoan teacher saw a simple ad on a public bus, he knew the moment had come. Toole had come across Islam on a street corner ten years ago, when a man handed him a pamphlet telling him he'll find enlightenment in it.

"And I kept reading and reading and I wanted to make sure that I understand what I got involved in."

Just last month, an Islamic advertisement rolled past him on one of the Chicago Transit Authority buses. The sign caught his eyes and eventually he called the number on the giant ad.

"How to become a member of Islam was my primary question." Toole embraced Islam on Monday, September 29. His story is similar to that of 17 other Chicagoans who accepted Islam this month alone; thanks to the Islam ad campaign of GainPeace, a Chicago area outreach project of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA).

The group spent $30,900 to place signs on 25 public buses serving across Chicago. The ads direct people to a toll-free hotline, 800.662.Islam, and a website established to help those who are seeking answers to questions about Islam.

The campaign was initially to run from September 19 to October 20, but it has been extended till November 23 because of the massive positive feedback.

The hotline has received thousands of calls, in addition to more than 300,000 hits on the website.

When curious Chicagoans dial the hotline, GainPeace also provides them with an English copy of the Noble Quran, The Message magazine on Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as well as brochures and books on topics related to Islam.

Novel

Campaigners say the aim of the bus ad campaign was to find a novel way to steer people toward information on Islam.

"The topic [of the ad] is Islam: the way of life with different prophets' names," Sabeel Ahmed, Director of GainPeace, said.

"The bottom and top message are supposed to generate more interest in people."
Ahmed affirms that with the hotline and the website, people would get the chance to know more about Islam, with the opportunity to call knowledgeable Muslims to clear up any misconceptions, biases or fears.

"We want to create a channel through the website so people can interact with us and work out the commonalities, to get to know each other better."

Toole, the new Muslim, believes that the simple ad which merely says "Got Questions? Get Answers" is a brilliant way to draw people's attention.

"I thought it was a neat idea…I had never seen that before." The Islam ad campaign does not run in Chicago alone.

ICNA, a New York-based grassroots organization that has 22 chapters across the US, has organized similar campaigns in Seattle and New York.

In the Big Apple, 1,000 ads went up on the city's subway cars last month, portraying in a visual format questions that people may have about Islam.

Because of the campaign's success, other cities in the US and Canada have asked the group to help start similar projects.

A recent US survey revealed that the majority of Americans know very little about Islam and do not see any common grounds between the Muslim faith and their own Christian beliefs.

Mentoring

"We want to create a channel through the website so people can interact with us and work out the commonalities, to get to know each other better," Sabeel Ahmed, Director of GainPeace, said. GainPeace role does not end with educating people about Islam.

When a person embraces Islam, the group appoints a Big Brother or Big Sister, who becomes a mentor for the new Muslim, providing information, support and advice. "The mentor is like a guardian angel," says Ahmed.

The mentor and the new Muslim meet face-to-face and stay in touch with mails and phone calls. Toole, who has chosen Ilyas as his new Muslim name, is very grateful to his mentor. "He's been very helpful. He's provided me with tons of books to move me forward."

GainPeace also provides the new Muslim with a Shahadah package, which includes: A How to Pray DVD, a Help Yourself in Reading the Quran book, and brochures on various topics about Islam.

It also offers online classes once a week for new Muslims, which Toole is looking forward to joining. "I'll be able to learn everything from Muslims' lifestyle to prayer practices and the Arabic language."

Toole says that the more he knows about his new religion, the more confident he feels that he has made the right decision.
"It's definitely perfect for me. It's hard to explain because when you know something is right, it’s just a deep-rooted feeling inside of you that you found home."

This article first appeared on islamonline.net and copied from readingislam.com

Understanding Islam

2008-10-24T14:19:00.004+07:00

Every Muslim always try to clear up many of the misconceptions that are prevalent about Islam. . I hope this article could help clear up some of the primary misconceptions about Islam, and to promote a better understanding of Islam. Here is on of many

10 things people should know about Islam
by Deborah Birkett

1. Allah is God. The great majority of the non-Muslims I meet believe that Allah is a kind of personal name for some kind of small-"g" god, perhaps like Jupiter or Vulcan (gods of the Roman pantheon). I've even heard people refer contemptuously to the God of Islam as a "desert god," as if Judaism and Christianity originated in Yankee Stadium or something. The fact is that Allah is simply a compound word made from the Arabic words al (the) and lah, (god): the God. Monotheism -- the belief in a single, supreme, divine creator -- is the central and most important aspect of Islam. (And it's pronounced uh-LAH, not "Al, uh?") Even most English translations of the Qur'an I've seen do not translate the word. I believe it is really problematic and misleading not to translate such a key word for which there is an exact English equivalent.

Along these lines, I've taken several Muslims to task for using the Arabic term for God when they're speaking in English: all it does it serve to confuse those for whom it's never been made clear that Allah is the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians. Muslims may differ on various points with Jews and Christians, but this is not one of them. You'd never know, though, from the way these groups act with each other much of the time, that they each hold dear the same belief in the God of Abraham, Moses, and of Jesus (for Christians and Muslims) and, for Muslims, of Muhammad. (Muslims accept all the prophets prior to Muhammad, including Jesus. More on Jesus shortly.)

2. The biggest sin is Islam is shirk: "associating partners with God." Shirk may be generally defined as polytheism, but also includes such things as the Christian concept of a triune God, or the worshipping of anything other than God, whether it's a human being, any natural/human creation or phenomenon. This tends to create quite a theological abyss between Muslims and polytheists, but also with Christians and certain other religious groups.

You can imagine from this that expressions such as "Holy Mother of God!" give most observant Muslims the theological willies.

3. Muslims don't believe that Jesus was the son of God. As mentioned in #1, Muslims accept Jesus (in Arabic, "Isa") as a prophet, and an extremely important one at that. Following from #2, however, they do not accept the Christian belief that Jesus was the son of God (literally or metaphorically), although they do believe he is the son of Mary (in Arabic, "Maryam"). They further believe that at the time of the Crucifixion, another man was substituted for Jesus and made to look like him. Jesus was then raised up, "body and soul" by God into heaven.

This is probably the most significant point of difference between Christians and Muslims. Some Christian theologians and clergy believe that Christians err by placing too much emphasis on Jesus and elevating him to God's level, but that's an argument for another time and place.

4. Muslims don't worship the Prophet Muhammad. This naturally follows from #2, but, I suspect because of the extreme emphasis on Jesus in much of Christian practice, many assume that Islam parallels this with Muhammad and Muslims. While the Prophet is considered by Muslims to have been the human being with the best character, he is still regarded as a human being, albeit an exceptional one. And while he is regarded as the final prophet of God, he is not the only one. He does not have divine status, although Muslims hold him in the highest regard and are expected and encouraged to try to emulate his habits and characteristics, those being of the highest quality.

Muslims were for years incorrectly referred to as Mohammedans (spelled variously). This has generally become archaic, but you still see it now and then. It's actually profoundly offensive, since it implies shirk. (And while we're on it, it's Muslim, not Moslem, and Qur'an or Quran, not Koran.)

5. Translations of the Qur'an are not the Qur'an. It's well-known that something is always lost in translation. For those English speakers who don't ever expect to read the Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic, and whatever other languages in which its component texts originally appeared, it seems to be accepted that translations of the Bible are all more or less equally valid, although one may have a preferred translation. But only the Qur'an in its original Arabic is considered to be the Qur'an; translations are treated with great respect but are simply not equally valid. Muslims believe that the Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad (who was completely illiterate) by God through the angel Jibril (Gabriel). Muhammad memorized the passages as they were revealed and recited them and shared them with his family and followers. Pre-Islamic Arab culture was predominantly oral, and others ultimately learned and memorized the entire Qur'an; it was not completely written down until after the Prophet's death.

There have been many, many translations over the 1400-odd years since it was first written down; plenty of them are bad -- a few of them deliberately so in order to discredit Islam. Many poor translations offer little more than the bias and ignorance of the translator. But it's imperative to remember that any translation is at best an approximation, and it can be very dangerous to make sweeping judgments based on translated verses, especially in isolation.

6. Not all Muslims are Arabs; not all Arabs are Muslims. There seems to be widespread confusion about this. I suppose that, on some level, it's understandable: the Qur'an was revealed to an Arab speaker in Arabia, and two of Islam's holiest sites (the Holy Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah) are in what is now Saudi Arabia. But Arab people live in many countries, not just Saudi Arabia, and subscribe to many different religions, not just Islam: Christianity, Judaism, and Druze among them. The most populous Muslim country in the world is not even an Arab country: it's Indonesia. Only about twelve percent of the world's Muslims are Arabs. Muslims are nationals of many countries, from India to Sweden to Australia. Anyone who wants to can convert to Islam, and it's actually only a minority of Muslims who are also of Arab heritage. Also, not all Arab customs are Muslim. All Muslims do not speak Arabic, although prayers are to be said in Arabic, and Muslims are encouraged to learn to read Arabic so that they can understand the Qur'an. And while I would really, really like to believe this doesn't even need to be said, recent events have proved me wrong: not everyone with brown skin or wearing a turban is a Muslim or an Arab.

7. Culture is not religion. So much of the oppression and misogyny (female illiteracy, "honor" killing, female genital mutilation, forced marriages, physical abuse, etc.) we hear about in quasi- and pseudo-Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran stems from patriarchal cultural customs and baggage and not from Islam, although it's always "justified" sixty ways to Sunday with supposed religious dictates and self-serving interpretations of scripture.

If any of these countries actually thoroughly implemented Islam as intended and honored the spirit as well as the letter of the "law," women, for example, would not only have far more rights and freedoms than they currently do in any of these countries, but the behavior of men and the actions of governments would have to change so radically that you would probably not recognize these countries at all. Islamic concepts and requirements are that different from how these countries currently operate.

8. Islam is not a monolith. It is a large, widespread, rich, and complex religion, with an extremely intricate and sometimes enigmatic scripture, and an estimated 1.2 billion followers worldwide. There is overwhelming diversity within the Islamic world, beginning with the major Islamic subgroups: Sunni Muslims (accounting for around 85-90% of Muslims), Shi'ite Muslims, Sufis, Ismailis, and other small splinter groups. Within these groups there are schools of legal thought; there are four major ones within Sunni Islam alone. Muslims might be born into the religion or convert to it, and this contributes to the diversity within its adherents. It's absolutely essential not to see any one Muslim, genuine or otherwise, as representative of all Muslims.

The very diversity of Muslims worldwide is one reason the annual pilgrimage (hajj) to Makkah, the birthplace of Islam, is so compelling: every year for over fourteen hundred years, millions of Muslims have united for a few days, putting aside all differences of race, ethnic background, class, gender and language, to participate in a ritual established by the Prophet Muhammad.

9. Jihad does not mean "holy war." This has to be one of the most damaging, most persistent myths about Islam. The Western media have helped perpetuate this, but there are plenty of benighted Muslims who insist on misapprehending and incorrectly using this term. Jihad, (which comes from the Arabic root word jahada, meaning "to toil, to exert oneself, to strive for a better way of life") is correctly translated as "struggle" or "endeavour," and can easily apply to such things as a student working to earn a medical degree or a group of people raising money to build a mosque. It can apply to the struggle to control one's temper, or to learn to read and write. Part of my husband's jihad as a Muslim is the effort it takes for him to get up in time to offer the first prayers of the day, which occur before dawn. It encompasses the idea of struggling or fighting for good or against evil, but that does not necessarily mean with violence, and it certainly does not mean that any crackpot claiming to be Muslim and waving a Qur'an around can decide who is good and who is evil, and start killing people.

There are certain extreme circumstances under which the notion of jihad might encompass aggression or armed conflict, but these are only to be engaged in as a last resort, when all legal, political, economic, social, and diplomatic attempts to defend Muslims and their right to worship, or to combat other severe oppression (and not only against Muslims), have failed. Any kind of military action is, at best, a subset of the concept of jihad. In fact, there is a well-known Islamic saying indicating that any kind of military conflict is the "minor jihad"; the "major jihad" is the struggle to control and improve oneself. Some of the passages in the Qur'an describing battle and aggression (the passages militants often quote out of context to support their agendas) are narrating actual historical events, not advising them as a course of action or a religious duty. They are also offset by many other passages enjoining peace, mercy, goodness, tolerance, patience, forgiveness, compassion, restrictions in warfare, etc. It seems the bin Ladens and "Muslim" militants of the world just haven't gotten to those parts of the Qur'an yet.

10. Islam does not promote, sponsor, condone or encourage terrorism or murder. The smear campaign against Islam (during the twentieth century in particular) has been extremely thorough and successful.

Read more
10 MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ISLAM by Huma Ahmad
The misconceptions about Islam by Dr Zakir Naik

Source:
islamonline.com
islamfortoday.com

Story # 72 Abdullah DeLancey

2008-10-15T11:30:00.011+07:00

Islam!!! What was that? As far as I could remember, I had never known a Muslim and Islam was not heard or spoken of "as a faith" in my part of Canada. Unless, of course, it was news stories talking bad about Islam. For me at that time, Islam was not even a consideration. Not on my religious radar at all.

My name is Abdullah DeLancey. I am Canadian and I am employed as a Patient Service Worker at the local hospital. I have been married for almost 20 years and we have 3 wonderful children.

Alhamdulillah, I am now a Muslim. I wasn't always a Muslim, though. Previously; I was a Protestant Christian for all of my life.My family brought me up in the Pentecostal Church until I was an adult at which time I moved to a fundamental Independent Baptist Church.

As a faithful Christian I was very involved at Church, giving lectures for the Adult Sunday School and other duties. I was eventually elected as the Deacon of the Church. I really wanted to further my dedication to God and decided to pursue a career as a Minister. I was awarded a scholarship to help me start taking a degree in Divinity. My goal was to be a Pastor of a Church or a Missionary. However, becoming a Minister would commit me and my whole family to the Church full time for life. So just before attending Bible College, I thought it best to look at Christianity critically and ask some very serious questions about my faith. I questioned the Trinity, why God would need a son, and why the human sacrifice of Jesus, as stated in the Bible, was needed to provide me with forgiveness.

I questioned the Christian belief of how all the righteous people in the Old Testament were "saved" and in heaven if Jesus wasn't even born yet. I pondered serious questions about Christianity that I had neglected to ask my whole life. The answers I received from Christians on these theological issues "which are the basis of the faith in Christianity," defied all reason and were absolutely beyond any logical thinking. Why would God give us a wonderful brain and then expect us to temporarily stop using it? Because that is what Christianity is asking people to do when they say you just must have faith. That is blind faith.

Realizing that I had always accepted Christianity, with blind faith for my entire life and never had questioned it was perplexing to me. How could I have not realized this before? I could not find the answers in the Bible. Once I realized that the Trinity was a myth and that God is powerful enough to "save" someone without the need for help from a son or anyone or anything else. Things changed. My entire faith in Christianity fell apart. I could no longer believe in Christianity or be a Christian. I left the Church for good and my wife dutifully left with me, as she was having trouble accepting Christianity too. This was the start of my spiritual journey. I was now without a religion but believed in a God.

This was a very hard time for me and my family as Christianity was all we had ever known. I had to search for the truth. I began studying various religions and found them as false one after another. Until, I heard about Islam.

But then I started to read a little about Islam. Then, I kept reading a little more. Then, I read the Quran. This wonderful revelation of truth changed my life forever. I immediately started to study every piece of information pertaining to Islam I could get my hands on. I discovered the nearest mosque was about 100 miles away from my city. So I promptly loaded the family van and drove my family to this mosque. On the way, I was very nervous but also very excited at the same time.. I asked myself, was I even allowed in the mosque because I wasn't an Arab or a Muslim?

However, after arriving at the mosque, I quickly realized I had nothing to fear. I was greeted by the Imam and the Muslims with a most warm greeting. I found them very nice. Nothing like the bad things the news always said about Muslims. They gave me a book by Ahmed Deedat and assured me I could be a Muslim. I studied all the material on Islam they gave me. I appreciated these books very much because our local library had only 4 books on Islam.

After studying I was in shock. How could I have been a Christian for so long and never heard the truth? I now believed in Islam. I knew it and I wanted to convert. I was put in contact with the small Muslim community in my city. On March 24th 2006 I went to the Mosque. Just before Friday prayer started and with most of the local Muslim Community present as witness; I testified that" La illaha ill Allah, Muhammadur Rasul Allah": "There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. I was now a Muslim. It was the best day of my life. I love Islam and have peace now.

Difficult times have come since I became a Muslim. When people started realizing I was now a Muslim they would shun me or laugh at me, most of our old Christian friends have never talked to us again. My parents have all but disowned me. I love being a Muslim and it doesn't matter if some of my fellow Canadians think of me as odd for becoming a Muslim. Why? The reason is that I alone, am the one that will have to answer to Allah after my death. Allah is the giver of strength and Almighty Allah has helped me through all the rough times after my conversion to Islam. I have many, many Muslim Brothers now.

I have legally changed my first name to Abdullah, which I like very much. I am now the first and only Muslim Chaplain approved to work at the local hospital in my City. I am a Muslim and I am truly happy. All thanks be to Allah.

source:
islamonline
reading islam
Abdullah DeLancey is also founder of muslim for life

Posted with kind permission from Brother Abdullah DeLancey...Thank you brother.
***

Story #71 Aisha Canlas

2008-09-09T11:40:00.002+07:00

She name is Aisha Canlas. She was a Catholic before she came to Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for applied for a job. No one, even her, had known that she will convert to Islam. Alhamdulillah that Allah guide her and showing her the right path.

“I researched about the culture, the country as a whole, the language and of course the religion. I really got curious about Islam, that even before I took the plane going here I read things about it”.

Me and my family, we went to different churches to pray to God but through man made images. During that time I was asking myself is that the real face of God? How come anyone could know what He looks like? Have they already seen Him?
There is this one place in Manila where there is a mosque. Whenever it was time for salah and I heard the Adhan, I would close my eyes and feel serene even though I didn't know what it meant. It was like music to my heart.

To be equipped and not to experience a culture shock I researched things that may help me to get along well, while living in a Middle Eastern country. My conversion was not done in a snap of a finger. I frequently ask my doctors about Islam. Because in my mind they will be able to help me understand more about Islam since they have lived their whole life here in the Kingdom.

It was in January 15, 2008 that I learned that there is a Madrasa or 'Islamic Teaching' in my workplace. That's when I decided to attend the class. I first attended it with my friend and roommate, who is a born Muslim, on January 17, 2008.
All eyes were on me at first, since I was new in class and the only Christian sitting among them. I listened to what our teacher was telling us about Islam, the Quran and about Prophet Muhammad (Salallahu Allayhi Wasalam) and Allah (Subhana WatAllah).

From then on, I started to really understand Islam. After that I asked permission from my Mum who is in the Philippines to allow me to convert from Catholicism to Islam. Alhumdullillah, my mother did not oppose. (My father died November of last year). She said she was just afraid that when I convert I would forget them. I said that Muslims have high regards towards parents, specially with the Mother.
It was January 24, 2008 when I made my Shahadah in front of my teacher and other students. While I was reciting the Shahadah there was heat emanating from me. I can't explain the feeling that time.

The only thing I knew after reciting my Shahadah is that my heart felt light from burdens. At last I found the inner peace I was looking for in my life. Being in Islam is really different. I was questioned by some colleagues why I decided to enter Islam. I said that I believe that there is no one else to be worshipped than Allah and one of his messengers is Prophet Muhammad (Salallahu Allayhi Wasalam).
Some Christians thought that I betrayed my faith. Yet, in my heart I know that it is not true. Alhumdullilah, I had also experienced Umrah. I went for Umrah last March 5, 2008 and it was really memorable and something special.

It's like I am separated from my problems, my worries and all the bad things in the world. I was really delighted and felt that I can stay there a lifetime praying to Allah and praising him for all the wonderful things he has done for mankind.
Never had I known that I will be able to see the Kabah in real life. I've seen it in pictures when I was young but to actually see it personally, filled me with happiness; and gratefulness filled my heart.

I am attending Madrasa (Islamic Teaching) during weekends in my workplace. As time passes by, I've been learning about Islam. I feel everything will turn out alright as long as my faith with Allah is intact and keeps on growing stronger.

I hope and I pray to Allah that I will be able to convince my family to embrace Islam also. I want them to be saved from the wrath on the day of judgement.
In my opinion, the best thing a Muslim can do is to lead a life of goodness to be a good example. That gets non-Muslims curious and also helps them realize that the negative stereotypes about Islam are wrong.

I was a very committed Christian, who married a Muslim man. I married him because of his character, because I knew of no Christian man who so demonstrated the teachings of Christ as this Muslim did.

Still, I was determined to prove to my husband that he was on the wrong path and that he should become a Christian. All he did was ask me serious questions about my belief, such as "Where in the Bible does Christ teach that he is God?"
When I found that there is no such place, I began to search more and more. After a lot of research, I became frustrated. I read the English meaning of the Noble Quran (ironically, that my pastor had given to me) in order to better debate with my husband.

Instead, I found a text harmonious with Biblical teachings. I found comfort in the concept of One God. Thanks be to Allah, we are now a Muslim family.

Source: readingislam

Story #69 Saidah Paola Duque Correa

2008-09-09T11:15:00.002+07:00

My family and friends took my decision calmly....Sometimes they joke a bit about it, but alhamdolillah they accept it in a good way. My nephew, Omar David, 6 years old, likes to write the word Allah (swt) in Arabic calligraphy, and he likes Islamic songs too, he sometimes asks me to read him the Quran.

My name is Saidah Paola Duque Correa. I am a Colombian girl born in Bucaramanga city, but I have mostly lived in Valledupar city. I am a bacteriologist, from Universidad de Santander - UDES- (Colombia). Before embracing Islam, I was Catholic but non-practicing; and now I'm proud to be Muslim and I give thanks to Allah (swt) for this.

4 years ago, I began to know about Islam, alhamdolillah; but before that I wanted to know about Arabic culture, Arabic music, meet Arab people, etc. I liked Arabic calligraphy (and I still like it). Well, these are some of the things that I was interested in then. But little by little, in between this looking and without thinking of it, I met with Islam. My first meeting with Islam was through the internet... One day in 2004; I left a message at an Islamic site, where I felt interested to know about Islam.

A few days later, I received an e-mail that said: "Are you interested to receive free Islamic books and in Spanish?" signed by Mostafa Mohye Mossad, from Egypt. When I read this e-mail, it was a great surprise to me, but at same time I felt doubt from it, because it wasn't normal to me that people offer books and for free. And also because I didn't know brother Mohye, but this email was the first contact between us. This doubt wasn't enough to stop the feeling about wanting to know more about Islam; and I did send my address to brother Mohye. And so after 2 months approximately, the books arrived at my home! I was so happy! And from this moment, I began to share with brother Mohye this wonderful way in showing non-Muslims what Islam is really about, and to help brothers and sisters in Islam about their din. And from this time until now I send to brother Mohye the addresses of both Muslims and non-Muslims interested in getting books about Islam, and he sends the books to them to whatever country they are in and in any language.

In July 2004, we began our dawa work with 4 persons: brother Mohye, sisters Maryam, Claudia and me. And now in 2008, alhamdolillah our dawa network group, is 30 Latinos/Latinas from Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Mexico, etc. alhamdolillah. And each day we meet people very interested to know about Islam.

Many Muslims and non-Muslims felt it strange that Saidah, that wasn't Muslim yet, share in this activity of dawa. Or that she defends Islam in front of people when they say something wrong about it, or about Muslims; and I explain to them the truth about Islam. But Allah (swt) was purifying my heart.

Anyway, thanks to these books I was learning more and each day and my love for Islam was growing, and I was looking learn more in the internet too, and also ask friends on the net about it. My first introduction to Islam was through the net...

Well, in the beginning when some friend asked me, I would answer: "I'm only learning, but I do not intend to convert," And that really was my feeling. But, after some time my thoughts about this subject changed, alhamdolillah...

This was when I began to understand that Islam is the truth, that it is the only way, the light, the correct way and the true din; but with all this in my mind and heart, many times when brother Mohye asked me: "Do you want to say the Shahadah now?", I would answer him: "Oohh, not yet, I need a little more time."

In 2007, some of my Muslim friends on the net knew I wasn't Muslim yet (I mean I hadn't said the Shahadah in front of any Muslim yet). But before this, I said the Shahadah in my heart, because I was sure about that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger.

They told me: "Your heart is Muslim, you are Muslim, all that you do is because you are Muslim, but you don't know it yet, the only thing that you need to do is the Shahadah!! And they were saying the truth. Allah (swt) was showing me that Islam was filling my life and was beginning to make me feel closer to being Muslim.

At the end of Ramadan 2007, I went to Maicao-Colombia, with Aisha, my sister in Islam. We went because she wanted to say the Shahadah there and I went to be with her, without thinking that when I return to my city, I would return as a 'Muslim'.

In Maicao city, when I was going to the mosque, and the sisters were praying, I did prostrate and asked Allah to help me in my decision. If this was the way He wanted me to be following, I asked Him: "Please, give me the force I need to embrace Islam definitively; and it was only a few days, and I told Aisha and brother Mohammad Hamoud that my decision had been taken alhamdolillah, and they were happy for my sake.

We went to the mosque so I could say my Shahadah, and just a few minutes before, I did call my parents to tell them what I was intending to do, because it was a very important decision that would affect my life. When I told them, my father, Milciades, answered me: "Bueno mija, felicitaciones! (What means): "Well daughter, congratulations!" With these words from my father I got happier and felt more blessed.

I noticed my mother, Luisa, was a little confused, but anyway she said: "Ok daughter, you know what you are doing." May Allah continue blessing them. I love them! I said my Shahadah on the Internet, in front of 2 persons, brother Mohye and Brother Ahmed, from Egypt.

My decision to embrace Islam was a big feeling, so deep from my heart. It wasn't because someone forced me to it was just that Allah (swt) showed me the way and gave me the light.

All the prophets came to teach us this, the only truth. Allah (swt) is one and unique, the Merciful, the Compassionate, the Forgiver, the Creator of all. And all the beautiful names and attributes belong to Him only.

Now we need as Muslims, to show people that Islam isn't what some TV channels broadcast unjustly. It is true that some Muslims do very bad things, but this is not from Islam, this is from the person himself. And we can't allow this image to continue in the mind of a lot of people, we must work for a change.

These days, I continue working with Mostafa Mohye, who is the manager of News Projects with new Muslims in Spain and Latin America, with the Conveying Islamic Message Center in Egypt. The last thing that I want to say is thanks to Allah for showing me the way! Thanks to Allah because I am Muslim! Thanks to Allah!

Source: readingislam; myjourneytoislam

Story #70 Jelly Panderias

2008-09-04T11:46:00.002+07:00

"This is my first Ramadan as a Muslim," Jelly Panderias, the 22-year-old. She was born to Catholic parents, she pronounced the Shahadah – testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) is his Messenger – at a mosque in northern France two months ago.

For years, Jelly Panderias watched her Muslim friends, even those who are not very practicing, fast the holy month of Ramadan.
"I used to ask them about their feelings and why they were not eating or drinking as usual," she recalls. And this year, Panderias finally got her chance to experience the same feelings of her Muslim friends.

"Fasting Ramadan is the real embodiment of becoming a Muslim. I'm now living the same feelings of nearly one billion Muslims around the world."

Panderias spent her first Ramadan day with the family of a Moroccan friend. "My friend invited me for iftar and after that we went together to perform Tarawih in the mosque. I'm so excited about my Ramadan experience."

"Embracing Islam ahead of Ramadan has become very common," Sheikh Zuhir Bureik, the head of the French Council of Imams, told IOL. He noted that three girls in their 20s and a man in his 30s came to his mosque in a Paris suburb a few days before Ramadan to pronounce the Shahadah. "Ramadan was a central factor in their decision to embrace Islam. One of them told me that she used to fast Ramadan before becoming becoming a Muslim. She said that encouraged her become a Muslim."

Ramadan, the ninth month on the Islamic lunar calendar, began in France like in most world countries on Monday, September 1. During Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain during daylight hours from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset. Muslims dedicate their time during the holy month to become closer to Allah through prayer, self-restraint and good deeds.

Source: Islamonline.net

sex education (Islam Perfective)

2008-08-08T13:29:00.003+07:00

Does Islam allow for a pure and honest relationship of a boy with a girl? How far is sex education is correct from an Islamic perspective?

Answer :
some cultures take this to the extreme and allow for no communication whatsoever between the two sexes. This in itself creates confusion, shyness and unnecessary inhibitions in later life when one meets prospective spouses. Indeed, a person may be rejected because of their lack of communication skills, which may not necessarily be a personality trait, but just the result of too much social inhibition.

Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood stated that, "We should accept that what is forbidden in Islam is seeking privacy with someone of the opposite sex without a third party present.... What we need is first to recognize that there is nothing at all wrong with young people meeting in situations where intimacy cannot occur because of witnesses; and secondly to create occasions in which they can meet safely in halal (permitted by Allah) ways, so that they CAN get to know each other."

Here are some circumstances where you can be halal friends, as long as there is no encouragement to meet in private: Many students have committee meetings, colleagues have meetings, and so do administrators for example, and they are conducted in a mixed setting, where everyone is in full view of each other. It is only when there are two people of the opposite sex in an enclosed space for a period of time, that Satan becomes the third person, whose primary role is to encourage fitnah (temptation).

In reference to sex education, I am referring here in terms of general sexuality: understanding your bodily organs, menstrual cycles, puberty, family planning, when it is allowed to have sex (i.e. marriage), self-control of urges, reproduction, etc.

Sex education should start in the home with your parents educating you first, before the school system does (especially if it is an un-Islamic school). However, the sex education communicated to children MUST be age-appropriate. If sex education is left to peers and schools in the West, it is usual that the information given is not within Islamic principles Any other physical forms of information that relate to marital relations should be left until the person seeks to get married. They should be well prepared for this and should not shy away from searching for Islamically appropriate information on this issue.

A huge problem in our Muslim communities today is that we have made ? sex? a dirty word. We have made the topic taboo, even in appropriate manners and circles. Sex in Islam is a healthy act, an act of worship, or `ibadah, if practiced within marriage. If we keep silent on the importance of sex education, we begin to view sex as something bad? as the Catholics do. They prohibit sex for pleasure and view it only as a means for procreation. Islam, on the other hand, takes a balanced view, and encourages sex for both pleasure and procreation.

Note:
1. Sex is a natural instinct and inclination in man and it is to be controlled in adolescence and then nurtured in marriage.
2. Sex education should come in stages, depending on one? physical and cognitive development.

Source: Islamonline.com

Story #68 Iman Reda Mohamed

2008-06-18T14:23:00.001+07:00

I am Muslima since June 10, 2007 and since that day I am trying to make everything in my life better than my past. I don't like to talk about my past because it's sad, empty and bad but sometimes I need to reveal my history to the persons who want to know about my religion and why I accepted Islam... I love to talk about my present because it's the time that I'm living and enjoying.

In the days before my conversion, I had been studying and learning so much about Islam and I had the opportunity to share this information with new friends that want to be Muslimas, alhamdulillah.

But this is not all, because I had been receiving many gifts from Allah. Could you imagine if I shared this information about our religion, I will be rich with the pleasure and love and mercy and grace from Allah, Allahu Akbar.

More about Iman's story

Story #67 Abdul Lateef Abdullah

2008-06-12T10:57:00.003+07:00

This morning I read good article about "Not a Pop-Star Leading My Way" written by Abdul- Lateef Abdullah, from readingislam.com. I read the article very carefully because I need that info for myself and of course I will telling what I know to people around me. In short, I want to share anything good - knowledge of Islam - to everyone. I wish people would love to read his article and want to know more about Islam.

At the end of the article I found that Mr. Abdul Lateef is also Muallaf, so I open the link and find his story. May Allah blessing him and all muslims.

***

My experience in Islam began as a graduate student in New York City in 1998. Up to that point in my life, for 25 years, I had been a Protestant Christian, but had not been practicing my religion for quite some time. I was more interested in “spirituality” and looking for anything that didn’t have to do with organized religion. To me, Christianity was out of touch and not relevant to the times. It was hard for me to find anything in it that I could apply to my everyday life. This disillusion with Christianity led me to shun everything that claimed to be organized religion, due to my assumption that they were all pretty much the same, or at least in terms of their lack of relevance and usefulness.
Much of my frustration with Christianity stemmed from its lack of knowledge and guidance around the nature of God, and the individual’s relationship to Him. To me, the Christian philosophy depends on this rather bizarre intermediary relationship that we are supposed to have with Jesus, who on one hand was a man, but was also divine.

For me, this difficult and very vague relationship with our Creator left me searching for something that could provide me with a better understanding of God, and our relationship to Him. Why couldn’t I just pray directly to God? Why did I have to begin and end every prayer with “in the name of Jesus Christ?” How can an eternal, omnipotent Creator and Sustainer also take the form of a man? Why would He need to? These were just a few of the questions that I could not resolve and come to terms with.
Thus, I was hungry for a more straightforward and lucid approach to religion that could provide my life with true guidance, not just dogma that was void of knowledge based in reason.

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

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

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

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

From that first silat class in New York City to the day I took my shahadda, July 30, 1999, I had undergone a thorough self-examination that was comprised of two major processes. One was to question the culture of the society I was brought up in, and the second was to question the role I wanted religion to play in my everyday life. As for my culture, this one was not as difficult as most people would think.

American culture is highly influential on how we see life because it constantly bombards us with sensual gratification aimed at appealing to our worldly desires. In America, happiness is defined by what we have and consume, thus, the entire culture is geared toward the marketplace. Unless we are removed from this type environment, it is difficult to see its drawbacks, which are based on worshipping and putting faith in everything but God, the only One that can provide us with real, lasting contentment in our lives.

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

It was only until I actually became Muslim that I realized just how encompassing the Islamic lifestyle is. Literally everything we do has one underlying purpose – to remember Allah. The lifestyle provides us with the way—not just the understanding—but an actual method of constantly remembering our Creator in as simple an act as greeting someone, or getting dressed in the morning, or waking up from sleep. Islam shows us that by remembering Allah, everything we do becomes focused on Him, and thus becomes an act of worship. From this, our energy, our thoughts, and our actions all become redirected away from unhealthy and useless causes and focused on the source of all goodness. Thus, we are continuously tapping into His divine strength, mercy and grace. So, by remembering Allah constantly, we become stronger and healthier in every aspect of our lives and not distracted by self-defeating thoughts and behaviors.

There still remain some minor aspects of Islam that have proven to be somewhat difficult adjustments for me. Nevertheless, I thank Allah everyday for the ease to which he has allowed me to make the necessary changes in my life so that I can continue to live in America and still be, Insha-Allah, a good Muslim. As a white, middle-class American, many cultural aspects of Islam are quite different from the way in which I grew up. In fact, when I finally broke the news to my family that I had become Muslim, almost all of their questions and concerns were related to cultural differences—marriage, social life, family, etc. They were much less concerned about my general beliefs about God and religious practice. For my family, friends, and co-workers, becoming Muslim was not seen necessarily as a negative change, but it has required a great deal of education about Islam.

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

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

My journey to Islam has been a life-altering experience. It is one that with every passing day makes me more and more appreciative and thankful to Almighty Allah. The extent of His mercy can only fully be understood from the perspective of a Muslim—one who prostrates regularly and submits their will to that of the Creator.

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

source:
readingislam.com

Story #66 Saumya

2008-06-11T11:08:00.004+07:00

Firstly, I want to say congratulation to all my new sister around the world, may Allah the almigthy shower his blessing upon muslims to follow his true. I always pray for muslims, and hope we always in his guidance and protection. I hope also that muslims around the world health, save and peace. Insya Allah...Amin. Secondly, nobody forces people to enter islam but we have to remember that everyone is responsibe for his /her deeds. As human beings we are given the choice to believe and accept it or reject it. Alhamdulillah that you are guided to Islam. I hope more and more people will convert to Islam, find the truth and live together with Islam harmony.

***

When the truth is revealed to you and you stand face to face with it, how long can you refuse to accept it? How long would you run away denying it? There comes a point in your life when you have to break free from all the chains that hold you back from answering the True Call.

It is a moment where nothing else seems significant and equivalent to the call of the Almighty Allah and His path of freedom, bliss and satisfaction. All the lies with which you have been living with start fading and your beliefs as a disbeliever fall like a pack of cards. And what you witness is an Eureka moment, a moment when you realize the truth, when you realize the beauty of Islam. Then you take no time to accept it. You just have to take a bold step lest fearing the societal pressure and disagreement. For you should always fight for the Truth and stand firm on to it, no matter be it against your own kin.

I remember the day when I stood in front of the mirror in my room, looking vaguely, trying to search for something but failing to find an answer. In retrospect, I was never an atheist, I always believed that God existed and being a Hindu it existed for me in thousand forms: from a stone to a tree, from a tree to a river, from a river to a well (funny but true). All were objects of worship for me as I was told by my family and other traditions.

I took pride in being a polytheist, considering that all objects made by God are worth worshipping and that there exists a part of God in them, in every single being; so all are worthy of worship. It could be a cow, a tree, a river (as I said also a well), idols and even human beings themselves.

I detested Islam for being so rigid and stubborn on this. I found the Muslims static, living in the past, while the world is moving far ahead of them. For me all their beliefs were unreasonable (maybe because I never looked for reason), impractical, cruel and outdated. Probably, it was not my fault, it was that I was made to look at them this way. It was a pre-conceived notion, which I inherited from this society which has often kept a negative image of Islam in majority of its opinion.

My first encounter with Islam was in high school where the majority of my classmates were Muslims and during free classes we used to have discussions on Islam (largely because of the anti-Islam propaganda by the Hindu Organizations post 9/11 and the Gujarat riots). During these talks they tried to clear various misconceptions that I carried regarding monotheism, rights of women, their status, and other popular myths which have become clichéd more or less.

Yet, it was not convincing for me, I still kept those beliefs and my pride in being polytheist. Though I was not anymore an anti-Muslim, I was moved by the sufferings of the people who were one of us, simply dying because they practiced a different faith. I became more secular in my outlook. I give the major credit of becoming a monotheist to Arya Samaj, a Hindu organization that believes that Hinduism preaches monotheism and not rituals and idol worshiping. After coming under its influence I stopped worshiping idols, performing any sort of rituals and going to temples.

These are what I call the steps I was taking to finally reach my destination that is Islam. Though Arya Samaj has its own flaws, I again found myself in the same cob-web; where rituals and fire worshiping became an integral part. Reading Vedas, Manu Smiriti, and other scriptures only confused me. It was all philosophical, nothing material which could help you precisely find an answer for your daily life queries.

While in college studying Law, it was the first time when the clarity of Islam dawned over me. It was nothing but a small course of Family Law - Hindu Law and Islamic Law regarding marriages, divorce, succession, etc.

While Hindu law was riddled with various technicalities, confusions, differences of opinions and lack of stability, Islamic law on the other hand was clear, precise and certain. My opinion here changed overnight. What I used to find static, appeared stable to me. This made me curious to read more in this regard; I spent hours online talking to friends who used to tell me about Islam.

I read various links and participated in forum discussions. My outlook towards Islam started changing which was reflected when I spoke with my friends or discussed things with them. Of course this change was not appreciated by them, they warned me against the so-called 'brain washers' whose sole aim is to divert Hindus to Islam.

All this used to bother me, I felt scared of their disagreement. I felt as though I were cheating my friends and family by doing what they sternly disagreed of. But, as I said earlier, how long can you run away from the truth? You cannot live with a lie and accepting the truth needs courage. And as the Holy Quran says:

*{Believers, uphold justice. Always bear true witness, even if it be against yourself, your parents, or your relatives-and regardless of whether the person against whom you are speaking is rich or poor. God is close to people regardless of their material circumstances. Do not be led by emotion, as this may cause you to swerve from the truth. If you distort your testimony, or refuse to testify, remember that God is aware of all your actions.}* (An-Nisaa': 4:135)

And that day all the fears just drifted away, because if I wouldn't have converted then I guess I would never had. I would have stayed stuck in the complexities of the life of the material world where false emotions stop us from doing the right thing. Though my friends and family members are yet unaware of it, but certainly I will tell them sooner or later and I hope Insha'Allah that they will respect my decision.

Alhamdullilah, I'm a Muslim today, trying to learn more and more about the Holy Quran and the guidelines of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Insha'Allah, I will walk on his path in a better way. With the help of a few friends and an organization, I've learned to pray; I'm praying 5 times daily alhamdulillah. I pray to Allah to give me more strength so that I could always stand firm on my decision.

Source: readingislam.com

Story #65 Jim Cate

2008-05-27T11:35:00.003+07:00

On a side note, my wife has become upset with me over my conversion and has been trying to get me to renounce Islam. I tell her I can never turn my back on God and continue to lead a humble Muslim life before her and being patient with her in the hopes of her one day embracing Islam. I am now mentally, spiritually and physically feeling my best since converting to Islam.

I was raised as a Christian and went to a fundamentalist Bible believing church. I made a profession of faith to Jesus in 1969. In all of my years as growing up Christian, I read and studied the Bible regularly. Later on, I enlisted in the US Marines and led Bible studies with my troops. In 1988, I started my own church reaching out with a special Spanish ministry to the Hispanics. In 1990, I got out of the Marines and joined the US Navy reserves.

In 1991, I was ordered to active duty for operation Desert Storm. I remember being impressed with the Arabs worshipping 5 times a day and I never forgot about hearing the Athan (call to prayer) 5 times a day over the many loud speakers in the deserts of Saudi Arabia. I purchased several prayer rugs while I was there.

As I continued in my Christian faith, when I got home, I started to become unsettled regarding it. I went to several different churches and faiths over the years and studied their doctrines. I studied and read the book of Mormon quite a bit and became fascinated with the Mormons. However, I eventually found many conflicts between the Bible and the book of Mormon.

I later joined a 7th Adventist Church and thought this was the true path. I studied and read several of Ellen G. White’s books concerning the 4th commandment of keeping the Saturday Sabbath. However, I eventually saw some conflicts between the Bible and one of Ellen G. White’s vision of heaven.

I stayed home from all churches after that and got a job working for the Kansas City Star newspaper. I came across a couple of Muslims at work and observed them daily, becoming impressed with their humble and pious character. One day, I went to my favorite used book store and saw an English translation of the Noble Quran in Jan of 2008. I took it home and began reading it. I started to feel a drawing to the Islamic faith after about 4 weeks of reading it daily.

One January early morning, I was looking up on the internet on how to convert to Islam. I found and repeated the Shahada very prayerfully and did this 2 or 3 times while meditating on it and with a prayerful attitude. I suddenly felt a great weight lifted from my shoulders as I discovered that God had forgiven me of all my past sins. This website (www.IslamReligion.com) then sent me several books on Islam from Saudi Arabia. Since saying the Shahada, I immediately began performing wudu (ablution) and salah (prayer) 5 times daily. It has now been 9 weeks since I converted to Islam and I am reading the Quran and studying the Islamic books daily.

Source:
islamreligion.com
also read: US soldier converted to Islam in Afghanistan

*** I want to say welcome in Islam to brother Jim, may Allah give you bless and His light to you. Hopefully Allah will also open people’s heart to embrace Islam. I really happy to read your story. I found your name on readingislam.com, then I search your story in google page and found it on islamreligion.com.

Story #64 Tatiana Fatima

2008-05-27T10:42:00.004+07:00

Islam is beautiful because we learn something all our lives. We can never achieve perfection of the same sort as God's, because He shows us that it is only Him who is perfect. But it is our duty to get closer to Him spiritually, to live based on His commands, to avoid what He prohibited, and to be good examples to others around us. It is only thus that we can show Him our enormous love and devotion.

Not even a million words are enough to express my love to God sufficiently. It is a deep, sincere feeling coming from the depth of my heart, moving through every part of my body up to my fingertips, when I talk to God in my prayers. I am so thankful to Him for His gift and for making me a Muslim. In all my life I will praise Him and thank Him.

My journey to Islam started simply and inconspicuously. I always smile when I remember the beginning. I loved traveling with my parents. We visited various Muslim countries. Egypt was the last one and its culture and everything in it captured my attention. It was my first time to be near a mosque, but I did not enter it since I did not know if I could as a non-Muslim. Whenever I heard the call to Prayer, my heart trembled and I got into a sort of trance and did not hear anything but the voice from the minaret. I was absolutely captivated by it. The solidarity between people gathering in mosques and praying together charmed me and has remained in my memory until today.

When I returned, I felt as if I was leaving something very close to me. At that time I knew very little about Islam, almost nothing, compared to what I know now. When I came home, I had a great desire to learn Arabic because it was charming to me. It has become one of the most beautiful languages of the world to me. But in my town there were no Arabic language courses. They only offered English and German courses. They almost managed to have an Arabic course, but it was canceled even before it could start. It was some time before the beginning of the fasting month of Ramadan and our teacher was preparing to go home. My excitement was replaced by disappointment.

Some time passed and I started to approach Islam gradually. I read about Islam on various websites, I watched all sorts of TV programs about Islam and Muslims. I followed a discussion forum of Muslim women on the Internet where I found out more and more.

Among the contributors there were some Slovak women as well. Once a sister from Kosice wrote there that there were Arabic and Quran lessons. Her name was familiar to me because I had seen her in a talk show with some other Muslim women a month before that. I immediately sent an email to her saying that I wanted to attend these lessons and she wrote back. We met a week later. She was kind and good and I had a wonderful feeling of her. I had a feeling of tranquility and safety with her.

I had no prejudice to anybody or anything, so it was not hard for me to learn something new. We came to the lesson together and I got to know other girls and women as well. I attended the lessons regularly and I enjoyed the Quran lessons most of all. We learned some Suras and in spite of me not being a Muslim, everybody was respectful and patient to me.

The Arabic lessons finished after a few months, but we all met even after that. We would talk a lot for hours. It meant so much to me because I could be with them and see their lives. It was not clear to me if I wanted to become a Muslim. I did not know how to find out whether it should happen. I did not consider it to be crucial to change my faith. The important thing to me was learning about God and loving him.

I asked the sisters how to find out about the right time. They always told me that one day I would simply perceive a sign from God, a specific feeling which cannot be confused with anything. So I waited…

My family is Christian, but nobody guided me to religion. My mom used to say that I was free in this respect. She did not force me to believe or disbelieve. We did not go to church, but we all believed in God. But, as for me, I always felt I was nearer to Him than the other members of my family.

Time passed and everything calmed down. It was a short-term lack of interest. As if my previous way of life was coming back. I would meet Muslim women only once in a while and I would not even study so much at home anymore. That is why I prayed as honestly as I could and asked God to give me a sign and make me a Muslim if it was His will.

In the summer I spent some time at my grandmother's and when I returned home from my vacation, there was a turn in my heart and I perceived this "special" feeling; this call that I heard so much about but never experienced. It came unexpectedly and suddenly. I remember the words of the sisters: "You will feel it. God will give you a sign." I will never ever forget the feeling at that time. I was like a child that was desperately longing for something. I felt a great desire to become a Muslim. I felt that God accompanied every thought of mine, every deed of mine, and I wanted to be closer to Him.

I believed in the truth and power of what He sent down to us through our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Suddenly I had no doubts. I knew my choice was right — right for me. And if you ask me why, I cannot explain it. You simply know it. You find out it is the right time…

I wrote to my dear friend, the first Muslim woman, whom I met and who helped me much more than anybody else. On the same day I declared the Shahadah (declaration of faith) in the presence of her and another Muslim woman. When she hugged me, I felt like a new person. Born again, cleansed from everything from the past and ready for a life according to the Quran and the Prophet's Sunnah.

If someone had told me some years ago who I would be and what direction my life would evolve in, I would probably not have believed him. I would not have been able to imagine a life as a Muslim. And now I cannot imagine a different life… In the beginning I felt there was so much of what I did not know. When I observed the lives of Muslims as a non-Muslim, I did not realize how much they knew. It was probably because I considered them to be a whole.

But after my conversion I had so many questions. I wanted to know everything from the beginning. I had a strong desire to study and learn. Islam awakened life in me. I want to receive information, study, get familiar with the history of this great religion and forward my knowledge to others.

My first attempts to pray were very amateurish, but sincerely coming out from my soul because I had a great desire to learn it. At first I wrote the whole procedure on a piece of paper and read the Suras from there too. I always talked to God and asked Him to help me to improve. About three weeks later I could pray without this piece of paper.

Source:
islamonline.com
readingislam.com

Story #63 Angela Collins

2008-05-08T14:14:00.002+07:00

In essence Allah (the one God) opened my heart, Islam gave me the direction, and now I live to serve out the guidance lent by my Creator for happiness here on earth and if Allah wills, in the hereafter.

I am a recent convert. Catholicism is the religion followed by my forefathers. At the age of 14, I refused the trinity concept and narrowed what I saw as a complicated tale of 'three in one' down to 'two in one' and started attending a Baptist church.

I accept that I cannot control the events that occur in my life or in the lives of others. Islam is the only religion that communicates total submission to our Creator, the Creator of all people and of all things.

As a Muslim I know that everything I do first begins with an intention and then I must transform that intention into an effort in order to carry out what has already been decreed. This wisdom defines my path to be a better person to myself, my family, my community and to all of my brothers and sisters here on earth.

Throughout my life, I have searched for understanding, but when it came to my faith I truly was confused about why God would come as a human being and would allow himself to die for the sins of only those privileged enough to believe in his (or his son's) crucifixion.

I found this explanation extravagant and shared my doubts with pastors and scholars who gave every effort to communicate the Christian belief to my understanding. I asked myself: "Why would my religion need to be so complex?"

When I reached adulthood, I decided to make it very simple. There was just one, our Creator and that was it. No other explanation could rationally make sense.

I see Islam as a religion that came to clarify the errors of human beings who changed the original word of God to fit their interests. Islam is simple: God is God. God created us and we worship God and God alone. God sent Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon him) to deliver his message to guide all people.

In Islam, Jesus is the only prophet who never died which is why he is the only messenger who will come back before the Day of Judgment to lead the people of the books: [the Torah, the Injeel (Bible) the book of Psalms and the Quran]. The Quran is the final book that has never been altered to fit the changing interest of people throughout history.

Islam confirms that you are not awarded passage into heaven just because you say you are Muslim. And you may not go straight to heaven just because you believe that God is monotheistic. You go to heaven based on your intentions and actions following the message taught to us by the messengers themselves and confirmed by the original books of God.

Heaven is not an exclusive club for those who merely follow what their fathers taught them. Instead it is your responsibility, especially as a Muslim, to constantly search for truth, understanding and to read and think.

After reading every chapter in the Quran twice and taking detailed notes, I believe that this masterpiece could only have come from my Creator. Without a doubt the author of this book knows more about me than I know about myself.

It is no secret that Islam is seriously misunderstood and disliked by many here in my homeland, theUnited States. My conversion to this "controversial" religion has my family and friends puzzled.

It is my sincere belief that Allah led me to Islam by enhancing my passion in exploring unfamiliar perspectives through foreign travel. I have a genuine interest in building bridges with all people everywhere rather than promoting my own ideology as the only system that can work for all people.

While culture shock is a mild term to express the drastically different life styles of Muslims in the Middle East, I saw great beauty in the generosity of people, the cohesiveness of families and the immediate acceptance of a girl so foreign in her ways.

Even so, in the present I face a culture shock within my own predominantly Middle Eastern Muslim community. I do understand the challenges a Muslim born into their religion faces to dissect their own culture within it.

After finding myself in Islam, I am able to adhere to the teachings supported by the Quran and Hadiths while also managing to bypass the cultural manifestations taught by Muslims born into their religion. Islam is multi-cultural and is a system that can be adopted in any environment at any point in time.

I can confidently say that if Allah had not breathed Islam into my soul, I would have never found Angela. Well, today, here I am: Angela, a Muslim American: the soul who persistently searched for her Creator and has found the Creator of all that is in the universe and beyond, in Islam.

Source:
islamonline.net
Turn to Islam

Go Muslim Women Go

2008-04-08T13:53:00.003+07:00

It’s good to know that we still allow doing anything, like sports, we want to. Well, I’m not suprise too when I read muslim woman allow to swim even though we permitted to swim in separate swimming pools. But, some women still swim at public swimming pools with one piece swimsuit ( a head to ankle with hood). We can’t force them not to swim at that pools, but gives some advices and tell them that it’s not halal / unlawful. If there is no swimming pools for women, I think, and if it’s necessary, we can use public pools and wearing swimsuit which cover our body from a head to angkle. Don’t forget, we still have to know that our faith is rejected women and men swimming together.

According to Dr. `Ali Muhyy Ed-Deen Al-Qara Daghi on islamonline.net, there are 3 conditions to be met in this respect:
1. Women must not adorn themselves for the purpose of being seen by men.
2. They must not unveil any of their private parts that Islam orders them to cover.
3. They must not intermingle with men in any way that brings them physically close together.

So, it’s clear that Muslim women's practicing sport is governed by restrictions relating to Islamic observances that must be followed.

And don't forget to read articles here:
SAMIRA Takes Indonesian Women to Pools
Burqini Brings Muslims to Aussie Beach
Hijabs for Muslim sports girls

Source:
Islamonline.com
Foto by Google

How To Pray in Islam

2008-03-13T11:28:00.008+07:00

Face the Qiblah (toward Mecca), and make sure you’re in a clean area, now you are about to start one of the following prayers: 1st prayer (Subh), 2nd prayer (Dhuhr), 3rd (Asr), 4th (Maghrib), 5th (Ishaa).

Standing, you will start the prayer raising both hands up close to your ears and say "Allahu Akbar" (God is Most Great).

Then put one hand on the top of the other hand between your chest and upper stomach, and start reciting surat “al fatiha”, say “ameen” once you finish it, and then start reciting another small surat (check here to find out more about “al fatiha” and the other “surats”).

Once you finish reciting raise your hands up to the ears, saying "Allahu Akbar." Bow (your hands on your knees, back straight, your face toward the ground, saying three times, "Subhana rabbiyal adheem" (Glory be to my Lord Almighty). This position is called (ruku’).

Rise back to standing while saying "Sami’a Allahu liman hamidah, Rabbana wa lakal hamd" (God hears those who call upon Him; Our Lord, praise be to You).

Raise hands up, saying "Allahu Akbar" then descend to the ground (see photo), while your face on the ground say three times "Subhana Rabbiyal A'ala" (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High). This position is called “sujud”

Rise to a sitting position (see picture), saying "Allahu Akbar."

Then prostrate back on the ground (this is the second time you do it), while your face on the ground say three times "Subhana Rabbiyal A'ala"

source: arabic.speak7.com

Story #62 Hagar

2007-12-08T12:23:00.000+07:00

Are those who know equal to those who know not? It is only men of understanding who will remember. (Az-Zumar 39:9) These were the first words from the Qur'an that touched Hagar. "When I read that I could not stop thinking about it. I wondered what should I really know to understand? What really is knowledge?

What is it in reading books and studying theories, philosophies and thoughts if at the end we still do not find any meaning for our existence? Western answers for this dilemma just made me frustrated, uncomfortable, hopeless and, at the end, depressed.

At that time I could not believe in God nor pray anymore. How it happened? I do not know. What I know is that it was like in one day I believed in God (I was Christian – a Protestant) and the next day to think about the existence of a God, Creator, was like nonsense to me. I used to read part of the Old or the New Testament every day and also make studies of it. I found nice words there, but unreal ones. I mean, without applicability. I have never seen anyone living in accordance with these words.

Observing the way people live, the way things happen, the way deals and arrangements are done around the world to make ones superior to others, I, in my mind, concluded that this is a very unjust and unfair world. The Bible's words, so nice, were not more than some man's invention. Religion was not more than a way to keep the poor and the oppressed people calm, satisfied and submissive, like cattle. It was verily the opium for the people. It was a way to keep the uncontrollable mankind under some rules that allowed him to live without kills each other at least openly.

In this point it was easy to lose my faith, my belief. I thought, "If there is a God, he is cynical and unfair. I do not make deals with unfair people, I do not make deal with an unfair god."

I wished I had never learnt how to read and wished just be like other people around me. Going to work, coming back home, watching TV (and accepting all what is said there), reading Sidney Sheldon, buying clothes, etc. I thought maybe I could be happy living in that way. Alienated. But I was in a path without return. What I have seen, read, observed was me and I could not find any reason to be alive anymore. I stopped making questions and chose one definite answer: this entire world and the whole creation were by chance and full stop. Done. The problem of the creation was solved and the mankind was just pathetic and ridiculous. But for some reason at that time I could not nominate (and now I call destiny) I still could not sleep well seeing injustices and manipulation practiced for some groups above others. I chose a side and a cause to defend.

I chose to learn more about Muslims and defend their cause. I could choose another "minority" or oppressed people, but, for reasons that Allah knows better, I chose Muslims. I had never heard about Islam before, but I was curious to know who was those that the western world was calling terrorists. I knew if the TV was showing them as evil, it was necessary to investigate because something was hidden on the whole story.

To know about Muslims and Islam I should be in touch with Muslims. In Brazil, my country, we do not have too many communities. Then I went to the Internet and met many in chat rooms. One young Saudi Muslim told me about Nizar Qabbani and I researched about him and found a poem called "I am with Terrorism". The poet quotes many events and places totally unknown to me and I realized how ignorant I was. I had never heard about any of those facts.

One day, I was chatting with a chat friend (today a loved brother) and he showed me a site where I could read the Qur'an. I opened it and random a surah (chapter) to read. The title was in Arabic and I asked him the meaning in English and he told me it was the "Day of Judgment". He told me that he was wondering why I chose exactly that surah, that should be an advice.

I remember I said to him if there is a God and if He is Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, He knows that words of punishment cannot affect me at all. Instead I am looking for words of hope, reasonable and effective words of hope. At that time I remember that every night I had the same wish: I wish I could not wake up tomorrow. But the next day my eyes were opened again. It was reaching an unbearable level.

One day I was really desperate. I made ablution the way I read Muslims do, I prostrated the way I knew Muslims do and said "God, if You are real, release me from this situation. Show me the way." Al-hamdu llilah. He did. I felt peace in my heart. Such peace I was looking for.

In my German class there were some sisters and I asked them some instructions. They gave me some books and my first Qur'an. May Allah bless them all. I read the Qur'an. And there I found: [And I created not the jinn and the mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone).] (Adh-Dhariyat 51:56) [And We have made some of you as a trial for others; will you have patience?] (Al-Furqan 25:20) And all the answers I was looking for were there.

My life didn't change. It was still hard most of the time. What changed was my attitude facing the life. I still have more "no" then "yes" from Allah. The difference is that now I know that He is my Lord and my Wali (Guardian), and His "no" is better to me. I am grateful.

Source: readingislam

Happy Eid Fitr 1428 H

2007-10-15T12:16:00.000+07:00

To all Muslims in the world, HAPPY EID FITR 1 Syawal 1428 H. May all hearts re-bleach awhite and Allah the Almighty accept our efforts, purity our hearts and more closer to Him.

In this holy day, I spend most of Eid with family. After Eid Prayers we go have breakfast together and after that we usually first visit my father's brothers and we also open house to our neigbors.

Happy Eid Fitr, everyone! And best regards to you and your families.

Story #63 Yahya Schroder

2007-09-16T14:10:00.000+07:00

My wish to become Muslim became so strong that I had to leave my family. I left my stepfather, my mother and the nice luxury lifestyle to go to Potsdam. I moved to my father's apartment which is rather small and I had to stay in the kitchen but it was okay because I had nothing just a very few clothes, school books, and some CDs.

It must sound for you like I lost everything but I am very happy, I'm as happy as when I woke up in the hospital after the dreadful accident. The next day was the first day of Ramadan. The day after this was my first school day in my new school.

(Yahya Schroder, he is a European Muslim and became Muslim 11 months ago when he was 17. Now, he lives in Potsdam, Germany. According to islamonline.net he said that he want to share his experience with Muslim around the world in a non-Muslim state)

***

As a convert to Islam, I think it's much easier to follow the deen (religion) than a born Muslim who is been raised up here. Almost all young born-Muslims I know want to become German. For them Islam is only a tradition and they think that they have to give up their tradition (Islam) to be accepted by the Germans, despite the fact that the Germans won't accept them even if they gave up their religion.

I grew up in a little village. I lived with my mother and my stepfather in a huge house with a big garden and a big pool. And as a teenager I "lived a cool life;" I had some friends whom I used to hang around with, do stupid things and drink alcohol like every young German teen.

The life of a Muslim in Germany is quite difficult than one would think especially for me as a German Muslim because when someone asks a German what they know about Islam; they would tell you something about Arabs. For them it's like mathematical operation Islam = Arabs.

They still don't know about our big nation. When I converted to Islam I had to leave my family and I moved to the community in Potsdam near Berlin. I left this huge house and all my material valuable stuff.

When I lived with my mother and my stepfather I had everything; a big house, my own money, TV, Play-station. I was never concerned about money, but I wasn't happy. I was searching for something else.

When I turned 16, I met the Muslim community in Potsdam through my biological father who became Muslim in 2001. I used to visit my father once a month and we used to attend the meetings of the community which were held on Sundays.

At that time, I was interested in Islam, and my father noticed this and told me one day that he wouldn't speak about Islam when we are together because he wanted me to learn from people of greater knowledge so that other people won't say: "Oh he became Muslim just because he's 17 and does everything his father does."

I agreed and I started visiting the community every month and learned a lot about Islam but at that time something happened and changed my way of thinking. One Sunday, I went with the Muslim community swimming and I broke my back twice by jumping in the pool and I hit the ground with my head.

My father brought me to the hospital and the doctor told me:
"You have broken your back quite bad and if you did one wrong movement you'll become handicapped."

This didn't help me much, but then just a few moments before they bought me to the operation room the Ahmir, one of my friends of the Muslims community, told me something. "Yahya, you are now in the hands of Allah, it's like a rollercoaster. Now you are on the top enjoy the ride and just trust in Allah." This really helped me.

The operation took five hours and I woke up after 3 days. I couldn't move my right arm but I was feeling like the happiest person on this earth. I told the doctor that I don't care about my right arm I'm so happy that Allah has let me survive.

The doctors have told me that I have to stay in the hospital for few months. I stayed for only two weeks there, because I was training very hard. One day a doctor came and said: "today we will try to take one step on the staircase," the exercise that I did on my own two days before the doctor told me.

Now, I can move my right arm again and I was just two weeks there Al-hamdu lillah. This accident changed a lot in my personality.

I noticed when Allah wants something; the individual's life can be turned over in one second. So, I took life more serious and started thinking more about my life and Islam, but I was still living in this little village.

The day after my first day in school I said Shahadah Al-hamdu lillah. So, everything was new for me, new apartment, new school, and first time without my family. Like in my school when they first noticed that I am a Muslim they started to make jokes at me.

I think this is usual because of what they learned from the media. "A terrorist," "Osama bin Laden is coming," "Muslims is dirty," some people thought I am just a crazy guy. And they even didn't believe me that I am German.

But now after 10 months the situation changed. I made a lot of da`wah to my classmates and now I even have a praying room although I'm the only Muslim in my school.

My classmates changed from making jokes to asking serious question about Islam and they noticed that Islam is not a religion like the other religions. They noticed Islam is cool!

They see that we Muslims have Adab (manners) in dealing with each other. They noticed that we are independent from all this peer pressure, we just keep it real we don't need to be in a special group like in my school.

At my school there are three main groups: the hip hop guys; the punks; and the party people. Everybody tries to be a member of one group, so as to be accepted by others.

Except me! I can be friend with everybody. I don't have to wear special clothes to be "cool." So what happened is that they are always inviting me and my Muslim friends to their barbecue parties.

The special thing on this is that they respect me as a Muslim and even more, they get Halal food especially for me and they have organized two barbecue grills one for them and one for us Muslims! The people here are very open for Islam.

source: islamonline.net

HAPPY RAMADHAN

2007-09-12T12:58:00.000+07:00

All Muslims around the world will celebrate the holy month of Ramadan. Muslims in Indonesia will starts fasting tomorrow, 13 September 2007. Fasting during the month of Ramadan is an obligation on every adult and healthy Muslim. It’s one of the 5 pillars of Islam including Announcement of Faith, Praying (Shalat 5 times a day), Zakaat (the right of the poor on the wealth of the financially able) and Hajj (once a life time pilgrimage to Kaaba).

HAPPY RAMADHAN to all, and may this month be a peaceful month for all...

10 Things (people should know) about Islam

2007-09-06T13:37:00.000+07:00

this article is to help clear up some of the primary misconceptions about Islam, in the hope of promoting better understanding of this religion.

1. Allah is God. The great majority of the non-Muslims I meet believe that Allah is a kind of personal name for some kind of small-"g" god, perhaps like Jupiter or Vulcan (gods of the Roman pantheon). I've even heard people refer contemptuously to the God of Islam as a "desert god," as if Judaism and Christianity originated in Yankee Stadium or something. The fact is that Allah is simply a compound word made from the Arabic words al (the) and lah, (god): the God. Monotheism -- the belief in a single, supreme, divine creator -- is the central and most important aspect of Islam. (And it's pronounced uh-LAH, not "Al, uh?") Even most English translations of the Qur'an I've seen do not translate the word. I believe it is really problematic and misleading not to translate such a key word for which there is an exact English equivalent.

Along these lines, I've taken several Muslims to task for using the Arabic term for God when they're speaking in English: all it does it serve to confuse those for whom it's never been made clear that Allah is the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians. Muslims may differ on various points with Jews and Christians, but this is not one of them. You'd never know, though, from the way these groups act with each other much of the time, that they each hold dear the same belief in the God of Abraham, Moses, and of Jesus (for Christians and Muslims) and, for Muslims, of Muhammad. (Muslims accept all the prophets prior to Muhammad, including Jesus. More on Jesus shortly.)

2. The biggest sin is Islam is shirk: "associating partners with God." Shirk may be generally defined as polytheism, but also includes such things as the Christian concept of a triune God, or the worshipping of anything other than God, whether it's a human being, any natural/human creation or phenomenon. This tends to create quite a theological abyss between Muslims and polytheists, but also with Christians and certain other religious groups.

You can imagine from this that expressions such as "Holy Mother of God!" give most observant Muslims the theological willies.

3. Muslims don't believe that Jesus was the son of God. As mentioned in #1, Muslims accept Jesus (in Arabic, "Isa") as a prophet, and an extremely important one at that. Following from #2, however, they do not accept the Christian belief that Jesus was the son of God (literally or metaphorically), although they do believe he is the son of Mary (in Arabic, "Maryam"). They further believe that at the time of the Crucifixion, another man was substituted for Jesus and made to look like him. Jesus was then raised up, "body and soul" by God into heaven.

This is probably the most significant point of difference between Christians and Muslims. Some Christian theologians and clergy believe that Christians err by placing too much emphasis on Jesus and elevating him to God's level, but that's an argument for another time and place.

4. Muslims don't worship the Prophet Muhammad. This naturally follows from #2, but, I suspect because of the extreme emphasis on Jesus in much of Christian practice, many assume that Islam parallels this with Muhammad and Muslims. While the Prophet is considered by Muslims to have been the human being with the best character, he is still regarded as a human being, albeit an exceptional one. And while he is regarded as the final prophet of God, he is not the only one. He does not have divine status, although Muslims hold him in the highest regard and are expected and encouraged to try to emulate his habits and characteristics, those being of the highest quality.

Muslims were for years incorrectly referred to as Mohammedans (spelled variously). This has generally become archaic, but you still see it now and then. It's actually profoundly offensive, since it implies shirk. (And while we're on it, it's Muslim, not Moslem, and Qur'an or Quran, not Koran.)

5. Translations of the Qur'an are not the Qur'an. It's well-known that something is always lost in translation. For those English speakers who don't ever expect to read the Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic, and whatever other languages in which its component texts originally appeared, it seems to be accepted that translations of the Bible are all more or less equally valid, although one may have a preferred translation. But only the Qur'an in its original Arabic is considered to be the Qur'an; translations are treated with great respect but are simply not equally valid. Muslims believe that the Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad (who was completely illiterate) by God through the angel Jibril (Gabriel). Muhammad memorized the passages as they were revealed and recited them and shared them with his family and followers. Pre-Islamic Arab culture was predominantly oral, and others ultimately learned and memorized the entire Qur'an; it was not completely written down until after the Prophet's death.

There have been many, many translations over the 1400-odd years since it was first written down; plenty of them are bad -- a few of them deliberately so in order to discredit Islam. Many poor translations offer little more than the bias and ignorance of the translator. But it's imperative to remember that any translation is at best an approximation, and it can be very dangerous to make sweeping judgments based on translated verses, especially in isolation.

6. Not all Muslims are Arabs; not all Arabs are Muslims. There seems to be widespread confusion about this. I suppose that, on some level, it's understandable: the Qur'an was revealed to an Arab speaker in Arabia, and two of Islam's holiest sites (the Holy Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah) are in what is now Saudi Arabia. But Arab people live in many countries, not just Saudi Arabia, and subscribe to many different religions, not just Islam: Christianity, Judaism, and Druze among them. The most populous Muslim country in the world is not even an Arab country: it's Indonesia. Only about twelve percent of the world's Muslims are Arabs. Muslims are nationals of many countries, from India to Sweden to Australia. Anyone who wants to can convert to Islam, and it's actually only a minority of Muslims who are also of Arab heritage. Also, not all Arab customs are Muslim. All Muslims do not speak Arabic, although prayers are to be said in Arabic, and Muslims are encouraged to learn to read Arabic so that they can understand the Qur'an. And while I would really, really like to believe this doesn't even need to be said, recent events have proved me wrong: not everyone with brown skin or wearing a turban is a Muslim or an Arab.

7. Culture is not religion. So much of the oppression and misogyny (female illiteracy, "honor" killing, female genital mutilation, forced marriages, physical abuse, etc.) we hear about in quasi- and pseudo-Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran stems from patriarchal cultural customs and baggage and not from Islam, although it's always "justified" sixty ways to Sunday with supposed religious dictates and self-serving interpretations of scripture.

If any of these countries actually thoroughly implemented Islam as intended and honored the spirit as well as the letter of the "law," women, for example, would not only have far more rights and freedoms than they currently do in any of these countries, but the behavior of men and the actions of governments would have to change so radically that you would probably not recognize these countries at all. Islamic concepts and requirements are that different from how these countries currently operate.

8. Islam is not a monolith. It is a large, widespread, rich, and complex religion, with an extremely intricate and sometimes enigmatic scripture, and an estimated 1.2 billion followers worldwide. There is overwhelming diversity within the Islamic world, beginning with the major Islamic subgroups: Sunni Muslims (accounting for around 85-90% of Muslims), Shi'ite Muslims, Sufis, Ismailis, and other small splinter groups. Within these groups there are schools of legal thought; there are four major ones within Sunni Islam alone. Muslims might be born into the religion or convert to it, and this contributes to the diversity within its adherents. It's absolutely essential not to see any one Muslim, genuine or otherwise, as representative of all Muslims.

The very diversity of Muslims worldwide is one reason the annual pilgrimage (hajj) to Makkah, the birthplace of Islam, is so compelling: every year for over fourteen hundred years, millions of Muslims have united for a few days, putting aside all differences of race, ethnic background, class, gender and language, to participate in a ritual established by the Prophet Muhammad.

9. Jihad does not mean "holy war." This has to be one of the most damaging, most persistent myths about Islam. The Western media have helped perpetuate this, but there are plenty of benighted Muslims who insist on misapprehending and incorrectly using this term. Jihad, (which comes from the Arabic root word jahada, meaning "to toil, to exert oneself, to strive for a better way of life") is correctly translated as "struggle" or "endeavour," and can easily apply to such things as a student working to earn a medical degree or a group of people raising money to build a mosque. It can apply to the struggle to control one's temper, or to learn to read and write. Part of my husband's jihad as a Muslim is the effort it takes for him to get up in time to offer the first prayers of the day, which occur before dawn. It encompasses the idea of struggling or fighting for good or against evil, but that does not necessarily mean with violence, and it certainly does not mean that any crackpot claiming to be Muslim and waving a Qur'an around can decide who is good and who is evil, and start killing people.

There are certain extreme circumstances under which the notion of jihad might encompass aggression or armed conflict, but these are only to be engaged in as a last resort, when all legal, political, economic, social, and diplomatic attempts to defend Muslims and their right to worship, or to combat other severe oppression (and not only against Muslims), have failed. Any kind of military action is, at best, a subset of the concept of jihad. In fact, there is a well-known Islamic saying indicating that any kind of military conflict is the "minor jihad"; the "major jihad" is the struggle to control and improve oneself. Some of the passages in the Qur'an describing battle and aggression (the passages militants often quote out of context to support their agendas) are narrating actual historical events, not advising them as a course of action or a religious duty. They are also offset by many other passages enjoining peace, mercy, goodness, tolerance, patience, forgiveness, compassion, restrictions in warfare, etc. It seems the bin Ladens and "Muslim" militants of the world just haven't gotten to those parts of the Qur'an yet.

10. Islam does not promote, sponsor, condone or encourage terrorism or murder. The smear campaign against Islam (during the twentieth century in particular) has been extremely thorough and successful.

source:
by Deborah Birkett - islamonline.com

Story #62 Noor Aubie

2007-09-02T13:23:00.000+07:00

I looked around at my Muslim friends at work. These were good people, not terrorists. I chose the Muslim name "Noor" because of Surat An-Nur:

[Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah guides whom He will to His Light: Allah sets forth Parables for people: and Allah knows all things.] (An-Nur 24:35)

I became a Muslim officially on January 1, 2006, in Damascus, Syria. But I made Shahadah in 2003 when I stood in a sunlit meadow and told God my hopes and dreams. The truth is I always feel like a "new" Muslim because there are so many things that I don't know. I stand with one foot in the Muslim world and one in the non-Muslim world. This is very painful, very harsh.

As a basically self-taught Muslim, I have wandered the Internet and the bookstores in search of true Islam. I have had only a little direction, although I have received a lots of misdirection. It has been a struggle to get the facts right and weed out people's cultural beliefs. I made a point early on to learn Qur'an and Sunnah and leave everything else aside. I have struggled a lot to get where I am, and it has been both a joy and a heartache.

My faith has only grown through this entire experience, although a few times I met up with really bad Muslim brothers, I really wanted to run and hide and cry. In the beginning, I thought people who were born Muslim were much better than me. What a shock for me to discover that I knew more than a lot of them. What a shock for me to realize that they do not "practice what they preach," even among themselves. This makes me really sad. The Ummah (nation) is in big trouble.

In the beginning, I received very good support and guidance from brother Mohamed Saffie, and now I take classes at the IMO (International Muslims Organization) in Toronto, Canada. Imam Hamid Slimi, my mentor there, is an outstanding teacher and has a brilliant way of getting to the simple heart of what true Islam is. May God reward these two brothers with Paradise.

There have been kind brothers and sisters along the way, but there are too many to mention here. May God Almighty reward all who have helped me and who continue to keep me on the straight path.

I have also read some excellent books about Islam written by Muslims and non-Muslims, and I benefited from the good teachings of many Muslim scholars. And then there are the everyday Muslims, like the men and women in the group, in which we study the Islamic creed, who help me understand complex Islamic ideas and who make me a better person just for knowing them.

I think my story really starts when I was a small child. I grew up in a rural area just north of Toronto, Canada. I have two brothers, but I was a very lonely girl. I mostly played on my own and had a great imagination.

I remember being very young, maybe 3 or 4 years old, and lying in bed and thinking about life and death. I wondered about God's motives and who I would be if I had been born to a different family. Big ideas for such a little girl. My parents were always a little bewildered by me and my solitary games. I loved to climb very high trees and I would stay there for hours. Just sitting and thinking. I would run wild through the fields and pick flowers and eat berries.

We were very poor when I was young, and my brothers and I fought all the time over everything. My parents were young and did not believe in "sparing the rod." These days we would say that it is child abuse, but we mostly survived it.

The only time I could have my mother all to myself was if I went to church with her on Sunday mornings. I used to love to go and listen and smell the smells and look up at the great cross. It was probably the only time I did as my mother asked me to, the only time I was actually quiet.

When I was a teenager, I became very rebellious. I was angry about my abusive childhood and about not feeling loved by my parents. My father would get drunk and beat us for the smallest infraction. I hated my family, I hated myself, and I ran wild with my bad friends
I remember always looking at the ground, not being able to look anyone in the eyes. I was always so scared. So I took drugs and drank with my friends to feel like I belonged somewhere, I thought God did not know me. I left home when I was 18 years old and traveled with a group of government-sponsored volunteers for one year.

When I returned home I went to college and became a Child and Youth Mental Health worker. I worked for two different government agencies and I saw all kinds of abused and broken children. It really broke my heart and my spirit.

While I worked, I also attended university, working on my BA in philosophy and psychology. When I was 25, I quit both my job and school because I was so burned-out emotionally and physically. I was also suffering from deep depression.

One spring evening, I decided to kill myself. I prepared the bathroom with towels and ran hot water in the sink. I took my sharpest knife and ran it across my wrist lightly, drawing only a little blood. Then I cried out in pain and fear to a God that I had given up on. And He was there. I felt an unusual pressure on my left shoulder, like a hand, and that was all I remembered.

I awoke hours later, and the sun was shining and the world was new. To this day, I have no feeling in that place on my shoulder.

I went back to the church where I, as a child had last known God. I cried every Sunday for a month, and then I began to study and after one year I was confirmed in the Anglican Church. And I met the man who is now my ex-husband.

We were together for eight years before things began to deteriorate between us. The beginning of the end for me was when I was involved in a very bad car accident in May 2001. An elder man slammed into the rear of my stopped car. He was driving 80 kms per hour when he hit me, and he pushed the rear-end of my car up against the back of the driver seat.

I injured my neck, back, and shoulder, and badly damaged both of my knees. I went through a lot of therapy. After the accident, I could not concentrate and was very restless. I told a friend that I wanted to "fly away." All that summer, I felt an impending sense of doom. By September 2001, my marriage was ending and I was very unhappy.

On 9/11 my entire world changed. I was so shocked and horrified. I felt as if God slapped me on the back of the head. Another wake-up call. The whole world shifted for me and I became aware of events and people I had never considered before. At first, I was scared, like everyone else. Then I began to wonder about what the media was telling me.

I looked around at my Muslim friends at work. These were good people, not terrorists. I began talking to them. At first, I was interested in the geopolitical aspects of what was going on. Why did "they" hate "us"? Then I found out what Western governments had been doing in the Middle East and North Africa for centuries. No wonder "they" hated "us."

While I was doing this research, Islamic ideas began to creep into my mind. I turned towards those who could help me in this area. Al-hamdu lillah, brother Mohamed Saffie took up the challenge, giving me reading assignments and teaching me basic Arabic phrases and the Arabic alphabet.

I became ravenous for more information. Someone gave me an English translation of the Qur'an, and the words of God leaped off those pages and into my heart. I was so strongly pulled into this book that it felt like the words had been in my mind all along, but I had forgotten them.

When I first heard the Adhan called, I cried and cried. Every thing I read and learned squeezed my heart tighter and tighter and filled me with both joy and sadness. Subhan Allah, I want to cry just writing these words.

While Islam was finding my heart, I also had some difficulties with some people who were strongly opposed to my conversion. I was begged, threatened, discriminated against, verbally abused, and laughed at. I have lost friends and alienated my family, but in my heart I know what is right.

I continue to be surprised and disappointed by both non-Muslims and Muslims. I hope my journey of learning never ends. And I pray that I can be what God wants me to be, that I stay on the straight path and that I am always humble before my creator, Ameen.

Source: ReadingIslam.com

Story #61 Jenna Govan

2007-08-30T13:39:00.000+07:00

Govan's mother thinks her daughter is a bit fanatical, because she prays five times a day and wears hijab. Her mother came to this conclusion because she had seen so many other people who call themselves Muslims but did not do these things.

Govan's mother likes the way her daughter's life and her husband who takes care of her and their children and how he is so responsible and kind. Her mother has noticed that Govan is a better person.

Jenna Govan was born into an Australian family. Her parents divorced when she was young, and she grew up with her mother and younger brother. This small family went to church every Sunday until Govan was 10 years old. At first they used to go to the Seventh Day Adventist Church, later they went to the Baptist Church.

Sometimes her grandmother would take Govan to Sunday school, and there Govan would hear the stories of the prophets that she loved. However, religion never entered her everyday life as she observes that praying was something she only did in church.
When Govan was 10 years old, her mother remarried and the little girl had problems with her stepfather for some years. In her teen years, Govan started to rebel and got involved in drugs. It was then that she met her first husband who was a Muslim but was not a practicing one. Govan was in year 11 and he was in year 12.

At that time, Govan recalls that she did not know anything about Islam or Muslims. However, her husband's friend, who was practicing Islam, gave her books about Islam and told her about the scientific miracles in the Qur'an.

Govan remembers how she had never been convinced about the concept of Jesus from the Christian point of view, and she found the Islamic version very simple and logical. She made Shahadah when she was in her late teens and her husband proposed to her on the same day.

Govan found herself in the Malay community in Australia, but the reaction she got disturbed her and made her feel sad. They said to her husband that marriage with an Australian girl would never work. Govan came to realize that many Muslims like to stick to their own communities, and she felt quite isolated.

While she was married to her Malay husband, neither Govan nor her husband practiced Islam. However, they had friends who were practicing Muslims, and sometimes she would wear hijab when they were with them, but her husband would tell her that she could still be Muslim and stylish, so she gave up the idea of hijab at that time.

Govan was quite confused about what Islam meant to her and how she should live it. She ultimately decided to leave her husband because he refused to practice Islam and teach her anything or encourage her to be better. He did not want to give up clubbing and drinking. Even though she knew only a little about Islam, she knew that such behavior is wrong. The marriage was over. He did not even try to get her or their son back. They went their separate ways.

Govan then got her own place and started to make friends with practicing Muslims. She learned more and more about Islam, met other new Muslims, and started attending Islamic classes once a week.
Two years ago, Govan remarried and her new husband is a practicing Muslim. She has another baby and currently studies commerce at university and still attends Islamic lessons. She is determined to try and help new converts.

Govan says that her new Muslim family are very happy with her and have a "live and let live" attitude. They respect her for the hardships she has gone through and for the commitment she shows to her husband and children.

Source: readingislam.com

Story # 60 Ryan Harris

2007-08-29T14:32:00.000+07:00

"I was in the social studies class and the teacher was talking about Islam. It really cloned to me, the foundations of peace and understanding. It may not be for other people and that's fine."

Ryan Harris, the player in the Denver Broncos, reverted to Islam at the young age of eight when he was taught about Islam in the social studies class. Being born into a Unitarian family made him find similarities between Islam and his original belief.

Before finding his faith, he was raised in the church of Unitarian Universalism, at Unity Church Unitarian in St. Paul. In the summer before attending Notre Dame, Harris was featured on the MTV Show True Life in a documentary entitled "I Want the Perfect Body." Harris was drafted by the Denver Broncos as a 3rd round pick (70th overall) in the 2007 NFL draft

Now, Harris is thinking of pursuing a career in politics, which he thinks is a great platform that affects a lot of peoples' lives.

Source:
readingislam.com
wikipedia.org
Interview with Ryan Harris at myfoxcolorado.com

Story #59 La Bianca

2007-08-29T14:16:00.000+07:00

La Bianca, a country girl, she was brought up on a farm in Western Australia. When she was a child, she had a pet kangaroo and helped with taking care of the cows and sheep. She used to go hunting rabbits and foxes. There was not much religion in her upbringing, but she believed in God and she was taught traditional Italian morals. In an Italian household, girls are protected and quite sheltered.

She used to go to church with her family on Sundays, but it was superficial; she didn't really understand anything. When she thought about Holy Communion, all she knew was that she would get a white dress and have to recite some words — it was all expected of her and she did it. As far as La Bianca was concerned, Jesus and Mary (peace be upon them) were just statues in the church. Still, she used to pray to God.

While she was growing up, she had no knowledge of Islam or Arabs; she did not even see a city until she was 16 years old! She acknowledges the fact that she was gullible and naïve. Of her own admission, the positive part of this is that it has made her more open and natural; she says that she wears her heart on her sleeve. She has found that city people are emotionally tougher and are often more stand-offish and critical, whereas country people tend to take people as they are.

In the country, men mostly stay on the farm and enjoy the country life. With its trucks, motorbikes, shooting, and horses, the country life is a man's paradise! Young women usually look for the city life — pursuing fashion, being hip, getting excitement, and partying. La Bianca left the country when she was 16 years old looking for the bright city life. Having a big Italian family spread throughout Australia, La Bianca had no difficulty finding an aunty with whom she could stay in the city.

Bianca got her first job working as a receptionist, and there she met a Muslim girl named Tasneem, a South African Muslim, albeit not a practicing one. Tasneem did not wear hijab or pray but always made sure that the meat she ate was halal. Even though she neither did anything immoral nor drank alcohol, Tasneem would still go clubbing, and she was allowed to by her parents as long as she came home early. The main thing La Bianca learned from Tasneem was fasting in Ramadan.

La Bianca reminisces that she always felt attracted to Muslims because the people she met were warm, friendly, and accepting with gentleness, directness, and a love of family. She enjoyed socializing with her Muslim friends and the atmosphere in the family reminded her of her country girl upbringing (good food and hospitality). She comments that she feels comfortable with people who are comfortable in their own skin. She further observes that people often pick on others a lot because they do not like themselves.

She especially likes African people because of their warmth and sociability but finds European culture to be quite cold with a lot of barriers between people. She observes that when she was growing up she and her siblings loved the Aboriginal people more than the Europeans. Her father respected anyone who worked hard and did the right thing. He was not at all racist. However, La Bianca's mother was racist and thought that Europeans were superior to others, and she easily criticized other people.

As La Bianca mixed with more and more Muslims, she learned that Muslims pray five times a day, but it was not until she met her husband that she really learned what Islam was all about.

La Bianca remembers that as soon as her husband met her, he took her home to meet his mother (his father had died some years before). Both he and La Bianca wanted a long-term commitment — the whole package; marriage and family. She started going to Islamic classes and changed the way she dressed. She donned long skirts and loose shirts. She observes that as she was learning about Almighty Allah, everything made sense; everything was beautiful and harmoniou.

She comments that she liked the idea that there are consequences for what people do; that every one should try to do the right thing. This was unlike the Catholic religion whose teachings she was raised upon: People can do anything and that Jesus will cover for them.

Every one has a test, and La Bianca's big test was wearing hijab. She reveals that it was changing her image that affected her most. At home, in the country, on the farm, or in the workplace, people would ask her why she was wearing "that." Nevertheless, La Bianca wore long dresses and a scarf.

At first, her Dad felt she was not respecting his friends if she did not dress in a way that would please them. She admits that in the beginning, she felt guilty for making him feel disrespected, but her growing consciousness of Almighty Allah made her realize that she wanted to please Allah more than she wanted to please any human being.

She had told herself that she did not want to make any concessions, because she knew she was doing the right thing and she knew that if she started to make compromises, it would never stop and she would be left with no Islam at all! She certainly did not want that to happen.

Despite her initial difficulty in wearing it, hijab made so much sense to her. She found that after she started to cover up, she was not approached by men and she felt much more respected. It just felt right in her heart. La Bianca observes that she loves the idea that women are a treasure and that they should be protected and seen only by those who deserve to see them.

La Bianca made Shahadah in the company of a small group of friends. She felt that Islam is the truth, and she was hungry to learn more. Her husband and his family encouraged her to wear hijab, but it took some time for her to wear it properly because she had to wean herself from being defined by how she looks to the outside world.

When asked about the reaction of the Muslim community to her conversion, she said that at first she was "flavor of the month" simply because she was a new Muslim. After some time, however, people became critical because they just could not accept her as she was. Most of the Muslims were either of Arab or Turkish descent and they found it difficult to accept someone who could practice Islam without reflecting their culture.

Over the past three years since La Bianca embraced Islam, she has had a circle of close and true friends. However, generally speaking she has found that many Muslim women are competitive and find it extremely difficult to accept people who are different from themselves.

Her wishes that she could advise the community of Muslim women that women come to Islam from all walks of life and we have to be understanding and patient as they make the transition into Islam.

Source:
Written by Selma Cook is Managing Editor of the Youth Section and Volunteer Youth Resource Network at IslamOnline.net and Readingislam dotcom

Story #58 A'ishah Cook

2007-06-02T10:55:00.000+07:00

Everyone wanted to meet me, the Canadian girl who converted without being married to a Muslim. And almost five years after converting I was ready to get married.

I was raised Protestant, in the United Church, and by the time I had reached high school I was questioning things in the religion that I didn't understand. I tried other denominations, hoping to get some clarity on a few issues: Jesus being God or the son of God, a baby being born into sin, and Eve being blamed for all the evils of the world. But I never received answers to my satisfaction.

By the time I reached university I still believed in God and I still prayed, but I no longer belonged to any church.

In my third year I met a friend who had studied Islam. Not that I knew what Islam was at the time, but he had on his answering machine "as-salamu `alaykum, peace be upon you." I remember trying to repeat it back, completely unable to, but I loved the idea of greeting people by saying "peace be upon you."

For a few years after hearing "as-salamu `alaykum," I would periodically go to the library to read up on Islam. I would try to read anything that even mentioned Islam. At one point I became very confused because I started to read things from the Nation of Islam, not realizing it was different from Islam.

I remember asking my friend if I could join the Nation of Islam, and he said no and laughed, since I'm white. I was so upset about this since everything I had read talked about the sense of brotherhood and sisterhood that existed within all ethnicities once you were Muslim. Eventually this issue was straightened out for me.

The one book that I really remember was of people going for Hajj. I remember thinking how beautiful the women looked, even though this concept of covering up was completely foreign to me and seemed rather silly. I would go all the way downtown just to look at the pictures in this book. I didn't understand what this Hajj was, but the look of serenity that these women seemed to reflect was amazing.

Finally, four years after hearing "as-salamu `alaykum," I decided I wanted to convert. I wanted to be a part of a religion that accepted anybody from anywhere as a brother or sister under the one banner of Islam. I didn't know a single Muslim at this point, I hadn't read the Qur'an yet, didn't know about hijab (in retrospect probably a good thing), but I did know it answered my questions that Christianity wasn't able too.

Now I had to figure out what to do. I had heard of an old friend who had returned to Islam, but who no longer lived in the same city. When we reconnected she introduced me to family of hers that lived in my city. They embraced me and helped give me guidance. To this day, almost 12 years later, they still treat me like family. I then went to visit my friend and her husband, and took my Shahadah with them.

I read a lot during this visit and heard a lot. Much of it was very confusing and overwhelming. I was all of a sudden expected to change completely, I wasn't ready for this, and I needed to go at my own place. There was so much I needed to learn, to understand why I was supposed to do this or that and the significance in it. And more importantly, I had to truly believe in why I was to do something before I would commit to it.

Back home I met some Muslims who accepted me the way I was. They never pressured me, but helped me when I was ready to learn more. One day we saw a video on the signs before Judgment Day. All I kept thinking was, if I'm so ready, why do I feel so scared?

So, six months after saying my Shahadah, I decided to try to wear hijab. The first day I wore it, I went to the mall with these friends. What better place for a test run? I actually felt very liberated and at peace — even though I had to keep rushing to the wash room to check it.

I started off wearing it on the weekends when I went out, then during the week evenings. I worked for my parents, who wouldn't allow me to wear it at work, but thankfully they retired about 8 months later and I haven't looked back since then.

The first year of being Muslim was quite a struggle. Trying to pray five times a day wasn't the easiest thing in the beginning. I didn't eat pork, nor did I drink, so diet wasn't a problem.

My first Ramadan was interesting. I realized very quickly that I had to work my way up to a full day, which I managed before the end of the month. Trying to find clothing that covered my almost 5'10" frame was very difficult; thankfully I learned to sew very quickly.

My family thought I was going through a phase, or at least I'm sure they hoped I was. But otherwise they were tolerant of the changes they started to see. Not to say there weren't stressful, tearful times with some of the comments made, but they never tried to prevent me in my change, which was evolving rather quickly.

Many of my friends I could no longer maintain a friendship with, nor did I want to. Our lives were just leading down very different paths and it became exhausting trying to explain why I couldn't do this or had to do that.

Even within the Muslim community it was stressful. Everyone wanted to meet me, the Canadian girl who converted without being married to a Muslim, but I still had no close friends, nor did I feel that I could relate to others. I was beginning to wonder if there were any other Muslims out there that were like me.

Finally, after just over a year of being Muslim, I got invited to join a small, close-knit halaqah with three other gals. All of us were of different background, but we were all North American raised and we all connected.

This halaqah became the foundation for my Islamic knowledge. Every week we met for a few hours. We always had work to present, books to read, notes to take, things to learn. We also had a lot of fun.

This halaqah not only gave me the roots and confidence I needed, but it also developed a strong sense of sisterhood among us. They were truly my family. We stayed together for years, until I got married and moved away.

Almost five years after converting I was ready to get married. I knew my obligations as a Muslim woman, my rights and my duties as a future wife, and my husband's duties to me, so marriage was the next step.

I was introduced to my future husband and within a few months we married. Al-hamdu lillah, I have been Muslim for almost 12 years and have been blessed to spend seven of them with my husband.

Once someone asked me how long I had been Muslim. When I said almost 12 years, she responded with "wow you must know everything." Obviously, I started to laugh. This journey is never ending, there is always something to learn, and each time I read the Qur'an I discover something new.

There are days that I struggle more than others, but surrounding myself with good Muslims is essential. One thing I know for sure is that Allah is always there for me to turn to.

Source: www.readingislam.com : my journey to Islam

Story #58 Sunaku (Japanese)

2007-05-29T14:24:00.000+07:00

I lived a calm, secure life and was nurtured by my mother who took to raising me alone after the death of my father. All means of happiness and security were made available to me. However, since my childhood, I was never truly happy, and I was often overwhelmed by a sense of anxiety. I tried to overcome these feelings by working hard at my studies and traveling around the world as a tourist, but my anxieties persisted until I finished my secondary education and traveled to England to study English.

"The more I read about Islam, the more I increased in faith and understanding"

During a school holiday, I traveled with one of my Japanese friends to Jordan. My friend had visited the country before, and she arranged for us to stay with a Jordanian Muslim family. I found their lives very practical and organized, while their house was very clean. I was impressed by the strong family bonds that joined them and their sense of civil responsibility. There was sincerity and mutual trust between them that I had not noticed elsewhere. The husband of the family worked to earn the family's income while the wife maintained the house and appeared content and happy with her job. I sensed that this was the happiness that I was missing, and I realized that my image of Islam was inherently wrong.

I had no idea of the reality of Islam as I had never known Muslims before. My image of them was based merely on what I saw on the news, and thus I ignorantly felt that they were a violent people concerned only with money and oil. I judged Muslim women to be victims of gender persecution at the hands of their husbands.

After my trip to Jordan, I decided to study Islam to learn its true message. When I returned to Japan, I visited the Islamic Center of Tokyo and requested a Japanese translation of the Qur'an and a book on the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). I continued to visit the center and study Islam with scholars of Japanese, Pakistani, and Arab nationalities until I realized that Islam was in fact the Truth.

My belief that Allah is the sole Creator and Sustainer of the universe had become unflinching, and the more I read about Islam, the more I increased in faith and understanding. I discovered that Islam in fact improved the status of women and freed her intellectually from objectification. I soon realized that my previous image of Muslim women was distorted, while in fact Islam offered a lifestyle that I had previously only dreamt of living. After six months of study, I decided that I must become Muslim, thus I declared my conversion and soon became content and resolute in my new faith.

I began to pray the daily prayers and fast the month of Ramadan. Allah gave me the ability to memorize some of the smaller chapters of the last part of the Qur'an. I was attracted by the Arabic language when I first heard it, and so I decided to learn this beautiful language. I spent some time learning Arabic in the Islamic Center of Tokyo, and later I would move to Egypt to continue my Islamic studies at an institution affiliated with al-Azhar University and specifically my Arabic studies at a language institute for non-native speakers.

I pray that Allah uses me and my story to guide others to the Light of Islam, the greatest gift that one can ever receive.

Source: www.readingislam.com

Story #57 Monica (Japanese)

2007-05-29T14:17:00.000+07:00

My family was religiously Buddhist like many Japanese people, however my connection to Buddhism had been poor since my early childhood, and my parents were unconcerned with my devotion. Nevertheless, since my earliest days, many questions regarding the universe, existence, and life circled in my mind. They would remain with me until I reached the age of twenty when I finished my collegiate studies and began to work amongst the clouds as a flight attendant for a Japanese airline. I hoped to find peace and meaning through work but rather a great emptiness in my life persisted. There was something missing from my life and I desperately hoped to find out what it was.

I was raised in the technologically-advanced atmosphere of Japan. I lived a peaceful, sedentary life and was blessed with a caring family and the tools to succeed in my studies and work. All avenues were open for me to enjoy an easy and fulfilling life.

Allah, the Controller of all affairs, willed that in 1988 I would work as a translator for a Japanese delegation to a tourism agency in Egypt for the duration of one year. Through my new colleagues, I came to learn about Islam. After completing the year abroad, I returned to Japan and decided to study Islam in the hopes that I might find the answers to my lifelong questions.

The information that I had previously gathered about Islam from school and television was not only extremely limited but also severely distorted. Such is the same with most Japanese people who read and hear about nothing but violence coming from the Muslim word.

When I returned to Japan, I went to the Islamic Center in Tokyo and asked for a translation of the Holy Qur'an in Japanese. I would visit the center repeated over a period of three years as I studied Islam with the local scholars. With the passage of time, my understanding and appreciation of Islam increased remarkably. I found the answers to the philosophical questions that had been hounding me for so many years in this beautiful religion.

I was impressed by the status of women in Islam. The Muslim woman is protected and honored, and her feelings, mind, and decency are respected much more so than I had previously imagined. I began to seclude myself and ask Allah to guide me to the Truth and educate me about it. I began to meditate upon the created world in order to see the Hand of Allah behind it. I would meditate upon the trees, flowers, birds, animals and the carefully crafted design and balance that ruled them. I felt that Allah had in fact two books: the spoken book in the form of the Holy Qur'an and the silent book in the form of the universe and all its miracles and majesties.

Thus, I saw Allah in His creation and I was guided to Islam by my heart and emotions. I felt the Light of Allah fill my heart. An overwhelming happiness overcame me as my imaan (faith) grew and I felt as if Allah was with me at every moment.

Allah, the Controller of all affairs, willed that I would work as a flight attendant on a particular flight to and from Indonesia for the period of a year. I was taken by the Indonesians' temperament and their adherence to the Qur'an in their daily lives. The Indonesians that I befriended helped me to understand Islam better and increase my love towards it.

I faced several difficulties with my family but I had resolved that I must be a Muslim despite all hurdles that lay before me. I began to perform the five prayers in their correct times, and I exerted great effort in memorizing verses of the Qur'an to enable me to do this correctly.

In 1991, I traveled to Egypt to announce publicly my conversion to Islam at the famous al-Azhar University. I found work in Egypt to live on and soon married an Egypt Muslim man. I remained in Egypt and with time, Allah blessed me with a beautiful daughter named Maryam - the only female name specifically mentioned in the Qur'an.

al-Hamdu lilah (all praises be to Allah), I currently live a happy life with my new religion and my new Muslim family. I am spending a lot of time and effort memorizing the Qur'an, and whenever time permits, my husband and I study the Qur'an together and read certain Islamic texts together. I hope to one day guide my family to Islam, in shah Allah (God willing) soon. Generally speaking, the Japanese people are missing a major component of a happy life, despite their technologically-advanced civilization. I believe that great numbers of them would enter Islam in if they had the proper understanding. They are looking for such answers, and there is no doubt that they are in great need of them.

source: www.readingislam.com

Story #56 Richard Leiman

2007-05-08T12:33:00.000+07:00

In November of 1996, I publicly made Shahadah. At work, I pray Zhuhr and `Asr by myself or with other Muslim brothers in a small mosque in my work place. I proudly carry my prayer rug in the hallways at my work in an attempt to get people to ask me what they are. When they do ask me about it, I tell them that I am Muslim and the mats are what I use to pray on. Also, my work area, including my computer, is decorated with Islamic artwork. My background on my computer is usually the Ka`bah or our masjid. Now that I am a Muslim, there is no turning back to disbelief!

As a child, I always had access to a short-wave radio. I used to listen to the BBC World Service about the Middle East. I also loved the music from that part of the world, and I probably was listening to the Qur'an being recited, but did not know it at the time.

As I grew older, I continued to listen to the BBC World Service. Back then, they had a program called Words of Faith in which they had a five- to eight-minute talk given by a different religious speaker each day of the week representing all the major religions in the United Kingdom. Out of all the speakers, the Muslims were the ones I loved listening to most.

Every time the Muslim representative spoke, I wanted to find out more about Islam. My impression of the religion was that the person who practices Islam is a happy person, not like the mean people portrayed by the American media. I just refused to believe people that loved Allah so much could be like the people portrayed by the media. Because I come from a Jewish background, the thing that united me with Islam was the belief that Allah had no partners.

Work in the United Kingdom

An important time in my life came when I met a real Muslim, but did not know it yet. I was doing contracting computer programming work in New York State when I had a strong urge to visit the United Kingdom.

I visited London and loved it. During my visit, I went to several employment agencies without luck. One of the agencies gave me several trade magazines. When I arrived back in the States, I started to send more CV's to companies and other agencies listed in the magazines. I returned to the United Kingdom because one of the companies wanted to interview me. Then I started to visit more companies and agencies until I landed a position even though I was on a visitor's visa.

The company that hired me applied for a work permit for me and the Department of Employment told me that I had to leave the country in order for the paperwork to be processed. Again, I went back to the States. Another agency obtained a temporary work permit and employed me for a company called LogoTech, which, at that time, was located in Egham, Surrey.

Meeting a Real Muslim for the First Time

Some time after I started working at LogoTech, I found out that my supervisor, Anis Karim, was Muslim. I asked him if he knew how I could get a copy of the Qur'an. To my surprise, he obtained a copy of the Qur'an for me within a few days. He also asked me to pledge that I would have a bath before I read from the Qur'an and that I would never show it to anyone who might make blasphemous remarks about it.

The next day, I took my morning bath and made breakfast. Then, while eating breakfast, I started to read. Later I found out that "read" is what Allah had the Angel Gabriel instruct our beloved Prophet to do, even though he could not read or write!

Well, words can't describe how I felt when I read just that small portion of the world's most holy book. It took only 10 pages, when, at that point, I told myself that this religion was for me. This occurred around 1990. The more I read, the more I wanted to know, and I loved what I was reading.

At the time, I did not know anything about how to pray or any of the details of Islam. If Anis had invited me to go the masjid in London, I would have gone with him. The only thing I knew about praying to Allah was the prostration position. At the time, I knew that Muslims prayed several times a day, and so I started to do so at night before I went to bed and in the morning when I woke up.

Back to the States Again

When the work permit ran out, I had to return to the States and was unemployed for several years. I visited my father in Huntsville, Alabama, and created a database application for him. I saw that Huntsville was a high-tech cosmopolitan city and decided to try to land a programming position there. My father told me that if I did not get a position, I would have to go back to New Jersey to my mother, who had moved from New York to New Jersey. About a fortnight before I was going to go back to New Jersey, I landed a programming position at a company in Huntsville.

My First Trip to a Masjid

My sister and I were planning a trip to Indonesia because we had a pen pal on the Internet. My sister asked me if I could help her find Islamic jewelry as a gift. At that time I had no idea that there were Muslims in Huntsville.

Then Allah put things into place for me. I remembered that there was a shop called Crescent Imports, which I thought was run by Muslims. It was not. It was run by the group called Nation of Islam. Now here is the strange part that only Allah could have arranged. We spoke to the owner of the shop and told him that we wanted to find Islamic jewelry. He directed us to the Huntsville Islamic Center.

I do thank Allah for having them direct me to the masjid. We went to the building, but there was only one car parked there. I spoke to a man in the car, and he told us that we should speak to the imam about where to find the jewelry. I was still afraid to go into the building because for me, it was such a sacred place.

At the moment, I remembered one day when I saw a lady at work wearing a hijab. I told her about accepting Islam personally and she said, "Why don't you visit the masjid in Huntsville?" I eventually went back to the masjid after I summed up enough courage to go into that a sacred place.

I spoke to the imam, and he invited me to perform salah with the Muslim brothers. This was a turning point in my life. I loved it and started to visit the masjid once a week at night. Then I started to visit it several times a week at night. The urge to come more times was stronger and I now perform most of my prayers at the masjid, except `Asr and Maghrib prayers when I am at work.

This story first appeared on www.jews-for-allah.org and republished by Islam Online.net

Story #55 Zainab Morrow

2007-05-02T14:54:00.000+07:00

I think I converted to Islam to fill a void in my life. As I was ill last year, I had a lot of time to search for answers to fundamental questions. Why am I here? What is going to happen when I die?...I felt quite nervous but was glad to have a sister's helping hands to guide me.

I was raised in the Roman Catholic faith, and quite a few ideas did not make sense to me. It did not make sense to me to pray to saints to get answers to my prayers. I always had trouble with the concept of Trinity. I was searching for a direct and meaningful relationship to Our Creator.

Throughout the years, I had looked into other spiritual paths such as Buddhism and Hinduism, but again these paths did not answer those fundamental questions. Despite the misconceptions conveyed by various media outlets, I started being curious about Islam around the end of January 2006.

I began to read books that dealt mainly with an introduction to Islam. Through my readings, I found there were differences between Islam and Christianity but there were also similarities.

Both religions descended from Abraham. Both are monotheistic religions, but the main difference is the status of Jesus. In Islam, Muslims worship only one God, Allah. I was surprised to find that the Qur'an mentions several prophets that are also found in the Bible. Islam considers the prophets all messengers of Allah. None of them is more important than the other. In Islam, spirituality and faith are fully integrated into daily life.

I started reading the Qur'an around the same time as the introductory books. I was amazed to find that the Qur'an has not changed in 1,400 years. It has remained the same as it was revealed to Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). The message of the Qur'an is clear and contains no contradictions, unlike the Bible. The Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) who had to memorize each revelation, as he was illiterate. The Qur'an could not possibly be the work of a human.

In March 2006, I finally contacted the Islamic Center close to the area where I live. I was referred to a university professor who has since become a mentor to me. I had several questions to ask him. I could have found the answers in books and on websites, but I wanted to listen to someone who truly knew about Islam.

In our first meeting, my mentor explained to me the basics of Islam. I learned there are five pillars in Islam. I also found out that women were given rights 1,400 years ago. The first pillar of Islam is saying the Shahadah. Obviously, I was not ready to say it the first time we met. I came back home with lots of information feeling a little bit overwhelmed but vowed to continue this journey despite the challenges I would face in the future.

I had never been to a mosque before. One day, I made up my mind and decided to go to the Islamic Center and check their resources. I was apprehensive, as I did not know how things would go. I met the person in charge of the library. I felt welcomed and I was told to ask for any information I needed. I could not have anticipated that one day, I would go to the center to pray.

I continued in my search for the truth for several months before I was ready to say the Shahadah. Through my mentor, I was able to access reliable websites and read about different aspects of Islam. I thought it necessary to consult my mentor, as it can be overwhelming the amount and kind of information on the web.

Sometime in the fall, I had another meeting with my mentor and wanted to learn more about wudu' and how to perform the prayers correctly. We discussed the different steps to perform ablution and how to prepare for prayers. I was also told that wudu' is used to purify oneself and be ready to pray to Allah.

Afterwards, my mentor and his wife prayed and I was able to witness firsthand how to pray correctly. Again, I went back home and started to learn Al-Fatihah and tried to perform the five prayers throughout the day. It takes a lot of discipline to pray five times a day at prescribed times.

Around December 2006, I wanted to go to the masjid and pray with other sisters. I first went on a Saturday for Zhur Prayer (Noon Prayer). My mentor's wife took me to the sister's area and explained to me what I had to do upon entering the prayer hall. I felt quite nervous but was glad to have a sister's helping hands to guide me. I feel it is really important to have someone to guide new Muslim converts.

The only thing I had left to do was declare the Shahadah. In January 2007, I felt ready. I wanted some sisters to be present for such an important event. A good friend of mine, another sister I met at the masjid, organized a social gathering on a Sunday afternoon. She invited four other sisters to be part of this special event that would change my life forever.

I was very nervous when I arrived at my friend's place, but as I was the first guest to arrive, I had the chance to share my apprehensions with this wonderful sister. Then, the other sisters arrived bringing food and gifts. We first talked about my interest in Islam with them and about the journey I was undertaking. I finally declared the Shahadah just before `Asr Prayer (Afternoon Prayer). It was a very moving experience. I received gifts from the sisters who shared this special day with me.

As a new convert, there are some aspects of my life that have changed, such as performing wudu' and praying five times a day. I know that some days I am better at it than others. Only a few friends know about my conversion. I want to grow in my faith before I can be more open about it. I know Allah will be there to guide me in this new path.

Source: IslamOnline.net

Story#54 Slovakians

2007-05-02T14:21:00.000+07:00

I was born on February 27, 1989, in a small village in central Slovakia, where everybody knows everybody and where being "different" is a problem. My mom and dad are Christians.

In the first year of my primary school, my parents registered me in the course of religious education. I knew very little about God then. I remember very well a meeting I had those days with an aunt of mine. She couldn't have children, so she treated me like her own daughter. She spent a lot of her time with me. She took me to the church and to every Sunday sermon during the following five years. But I was just a kid so my "priorities" were focused just on playing games.

I tried to please her as much as I could, because I loved her so much. Time passed by and I started to prepare myself for Confirmation. I started to go more often to the church. I don't have fond memories regarding the ceremony itself because two days before I broke my arm. Maybe this was a sign, I don't know.

Anyway, I took pleasure on the whole event. To tell the truth, I liked playing the role of princess, wearing beautiful clothes and showing off. I don't have anything to remember that day. Pictures were lost I don't know where.

I attended church services regularly till the seventh class of primary school, more or less as a habit rather than necessity. I did not like how after sermon, old women gossiped about as many people as they could, and boys smoked and hurried to pubs. There was nothing I could do. I just considered it as a part of daily hypocrisy. As I grew up, I found new interests. I wanted to try forbidden fruits, too!

My relationship with my father is far from ideal. It never was. In fact, it will never be. We quarrel very often. It can't be otherwise, even if I try my best. I couldn't get used to it. Those days of desperate tears and moments of bitter disappointment left their mark on my personality.

I wanted to revenge. I gave him reasons to shout at me. At least I knew the reason; I knew he was finally right (shouting at me) and this did not hurt me any more. I stayed out late at night with people that may never find their perspective in life; they take drugs, alcohol, cigarettes. Now this is all behind me, but those days I felt lost in the wire of vice, in the arms of evil.

My six–year-older sister tried to give me a helping hand. However, she moved to the city of Bratislava, where she found a job and I was left alone. Of course, you might think that my mom was still there for me, but as it happens often in here, moms take daddy's side. So when the time came to choose the secondary school, I decided that I wanted to go to school with a dormitory, far from problems at home. Maybe it was a cowardly escape from problems, but those days I thought it was the only correct solution I had. I didn't want to suffer anymore for my ill-relationship with my father.

My New Way
The school was located in the city of Nitra. I was away from the people I knew. I started from scratch, anew. I felt more quiet, satisfied, and equilibrated. I was scared of weekends though. The idea that I had to spend two days at home terrified me. I was looking forward to the day when I become an "adult" and leave all this.

One weekend in January 2005, I went to visit my sister in Bratislava. We went for dinner to a restaurant nearby where a friend of her — a Muslim — joined us. He earned my attention with his talk about Islam. He had an answer about every question I asked.

I couldn't sleep that night. I wanted to know more. A Muslim? What does he believe in? Why is he different from me? Why is it so? Always when TV channels informed about "them," I heard the remarks that my dad usually used to make in their address. I ignored those remarks as I wanted to make my own opinion about these people based on my own experience with them.

My father doesn't know any Muslims so he can't understand them. Or better to say that he knows someone already but hasn't made a difference about his perception of Islam. It's ironic! Even though I tried to narrow that gap between us, I haven't been successful so far.

The other day I met again with my sister's friend and the topic of our conversation was clear! I learned new and interesting things. He lent me books to read within a week in my dormitory. Deep inside, I felt turmoil, I didn't know how to react, to laugh or cry. All I have believed in, till that day, suddenly became inexplicable. Different thoughts occupied my mind.

Humans are curious, and I hadn't made a decision yet, so I asked our friend for a Slovak translation of the holy Qur'an. I am grateful to him for his patience and willingness to help me.

It was January 27, 2005, when I held the holy Qur'an for the first time. I opened it and focused my eyes on the sentence I will never forget:

{And leave Me (alone to deal with) those in possession of the good things of life, who (yet) deny the Truth; and bear with them for a little while.} (Al-Muzzammil 73:11)

I was scared more than any time. I felt different. I regretted only the fact that I didn't have anybody to share my feelings with. I wanted to erase all I have believed in from my mind. It was not easy. I know that this is not necessary anymore. What I believe in, now, is in my heart and my mind. I know that this is exactly the thing that I have been looking for all my life.

During this short period of time, I've done a lot of stupid things and couldn't resist the vice. I've tried many evil things. But nobody is perfect and I'm not an exception. What is most important is to know your mistakes and failures and correct them. I sincerely regret all my wrongdoings.

I don't think about my past but hope for a better future. Deep inside my heart, I've always believed that there's always something more important that I found at last.

I started to believe in One God only! Every evening I repeated the same sentence: Ash-hadu anna la ilaha illa Allah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulu Allah. (Arabic for: I bear witness that there is no true god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Messenger.)

The real colors of life.
I spent my summer holidays in Bratislava. I met a Muslim woman who told me a lot about Islam. We spent three days in the Czech Republic in a Muslim summer conference. That was an unforgettable experience. An experience that influenced and changed me for better. That lady was and still is my shining light. She was the only one who supported me at the most important moment of my life. Fully convinced that my decision was right, I accepted Islam as my religion. At last!

After eight months of an uphill path, I declared the Shahadah (the declaration of faith.) I was filled with joy, tranquility, and understanding; that feeling of rebirth, starting-over. I felt and still feel free! Like a butterfly that is set free after being locked up for a long time.

I wish everybody could feel this. I feel this freedom and tranquility whenever I pray and ask for God's mercy. It's a chance to live a better and meaningful life!

Only few people know about my decision and that's better. My parents couldn't understand it. There were conflicts, and they took the Qur'an from me, took away my books on Islam, and my mobile. I felt lonely, yet my faith got stronger everyday.

My sister doesn't believe in God. In sha' Allah (God willing) she will find the truth too, like I did. I pray for her, she deserves it.

I lived through that wonderful feeling and know that I am in the right path even though it is often tricky, full of barriers, and misunderstood by many.

What is my mission then? I know the answer: to be a good woman, friend, later a good wife, and liked by God! This is the only thing that matters. I am happy and thankful for everything.

Read also: Anna Arwa's story : Bandar Branos's story

Original posted @Islamweb.sk & republished by islamonline.net

Story #53 Jack Ellis

2007-02-19T10:46:00.000+07:00

Why does one become a Christian? Why does one become Muslim? You do it because it feels right. . . . For Jack Ellis, being a Muslim, it’s a big deal. People like to know what he believe in. According to the American Boston Herald, Jack Ellis had changed his name to Hakim Mansour Ellis, on February 3.

BEFORE Jack Ellis or Hakim Mansour Ellis (his new name) reverted to Islam, he studied the Qur'an for years and found his destination in Islam following a trip to the African country of Senegal. He reverted to Islam in last December in the country of Senegal.

Ellis was born on January 6, 1946 in Macon, and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from St. Leo College in Florida. The father-of-five has started praying five times a day and regularly frequents the Islamic Center on Bloomfield Road, and proud of religious freedom in the United States.

"It's a personal decision, a private decision as to how one worships. But I do understand that I'm not a private person," Ellis said. "But being the mayor of the city, I think people have a right to know what I believe in, that I am a man of faith, and the faith I'm now a part of is the faith of Islam. I do believe that the prophet Muhammad was the last prophet as well as we believe Moses was a prophet," Ellis added.

Ellis served two years of combat duty in Vietnam as a paratrooper platoon sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division. He was awarded three Bronze Stars, the Army Commendation Medal for Valor and Heroism, and the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat. Ellis will complete his second consecutive four-year term, as a mayor of Macon, in December and isn't eligible for re-election. But he said he might run for Georgia's 8th District congressional seat in 2008.

Ellis was first sworn in as Mayor of Macon on December 14, 1999 becoming the first black Mayor in the city’s 176-year history.

Voters reelected Ellis as he made Macon one of the most livable cities in America.
He used his Federal and State grants to assist the youth in job training, mentoring, tutoring, after-school programs and crime reduction programs. He built over forty affordable houses marketed to first time homebuyers.

"I'm the same person even though I'll be changing my name,"

**The history of Islam in the United States starts in the 18th century. Muslim community in the US has increased greatly over the past one hundred years, mainly due to the increase in the number of Muslim immigrants, and the high rate of Americans who convert to Islam. According to wikipedia, up to one-third of American Muslims are African Americans who have converted to Islam during the last seventy years.

Story #52 Ayesha Starkey (Australian Woman)

2007-01-22T14:42:00.000+07:00

When I read that Surah -Al-An`am 6:162- (Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds I sat and cried for about an hour. In these few words I had found the purpose of life. It sounded so nice, even in English. The more I read of the Qur'an, the more everything seemed so simple, so natural to understand.

I was brought up in the Church of England, but my family and I only went to church on Christmas and Easter. When I was a teenager, I used to go to church alone because I had this yearning to be close to God and I felt peaceful when I prayed. I was searching for something more than just me and my reality.

I never believed that Jesus was the son of God — I always thought he was a prophet. Even though I had been taught differently, it just did not seem logical that God would have a son. I used to pray to God the Creator, not Jesus.

I stopped going to church because I used to get annoyed when they kept asking for money. The Church of England is the biggest landowner in England. I thought the money should go for charity, not to fix the church's financial problems.

Also at that time, there was the problem in northern Ireland. Catholics and Protestants were fighting and killing each other while calling themselves Christians. Each side would say it's doing the right thing. I had this continual feeling that there were so many things wrong around me.

Learning Islam
I used to work as a secretary for a Muslim doctor, and we used to discuss religion. He would read to me in Arabic and then translate the meanings. I wanted to argue with him, so I bought a copy of the Qur'an in English from a secondhand shop. I did not know I could get one for free. Another secretary at the same doctor's clinic had joined the Salvation Army, and we also would argue about religion.

I went to the small local masjid but found it shut. There was a contact number posted for anyone who wanted information. I phoned the number and a Pakistani man answered. He wasn't a scholar, just someone involved in da`wah (inviting people to Islam).He sent me pamphlets about the pillars of Islam. I read them in only one day and found that I desperately wanted more information. I told him I wanted to be a Muslim, so he came with his wife and they told me about the message of Islam and the basic things expected of me. After that the doctor and I discussed Islam instead of arguing!

Family Life
At that time, I was divorced and had two small sons. The boys used to visit their father, who wasn't a Muslim, and at that point I didn't want him to know that I had reverted. I had to keep it all a secret for some time.

The brother who brought me books about Islam called one day and asked me if I'd like to officially become a Muslim. I went to the same masjid again on a Sunday where there were a lot of sisters having a lesson. There was a sheikh there and he told me the basics of Islam, and I became a Muslim in front of many witnesses. There was a woman there who taught me to read Qur'an, and she readily answered any questions I had.

They started teaching the boys as well. After I had been a Muslim for a few months, I decided I would wear hijab and that I would tell everyone. I told my parents and the boys' dad. He thought it was a phase I was going through and that I would come back to my "normal" self soon. He did not say anything at first. I thought he was taking it well.

However, time passed and he saw that I was not going back to my old ways, so he started giving the boys beer and feeding them bacon and eggs. I told him about the masjid where he could go to get more information about Islam if he had any questions, but he only became more anti-Muslim.

After some time, he got really angry and applied for sole custody. Thanks to Allah, he did not get it. Since the day he was denied sole custody by the courts, he has not seen the boys. At the family court counseling, he told the counselor, "The kids are Australian!" as if they cannot be both Muslim and Australian at the same time.
Muslim Community

When I accepted Islam I thought the Muslims were all united and that there was just one Islam. That had appealed to me. But as I started to mix with Muslims more, I found that they had broken up into sects. However, I found that beneath all that human interference, the authentic sources are still there and you can find the answers to any question. I really believe sheikhs and scholars should give their fatwa and the evidence and then respect each other's opinions.

Even before becoming a Muslim, I found it impossible that anyone could think another human being was infallible. When I came to know that even Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was not infallible, except for the revelation, it seemed right and normal, and in accordance with the fitrah (pure nature) of man.

Personal Growth
I had always had the feeling that I was not good enough, and that left me with a huge vacuum inside. After I became a Muslim, I realized that it is normal to make mistakes and that Allah is forgiving, so I had hope to keep trying and improving.

I think it is really important that Muslims see one another as human beings who are fallible and on a journey of learning and growing. If we do not see each other like that, people might give up trying, especially if Muslims adopt a black-and-white approach to Islam and to life. This concept also applies to children: You need to give them hope that they can start a new page.

This is just one of the many beautiful things about Islam, but Muslims sometimes forget the humanness in one another and find it difficult to forgive. We should love people more than we hate the sin because people can change and Allah made us inclined to weakness. If we step away from people and do not interact with them, how can we help and advise them? Only Allah knows what we deserve.

I found that the more we learn about Islam, the more we realize how little we know and how little good we do. How then can someone, for example, wear hijab and look down on those who do not? Everyone is on a different level of understanding, and we do not know what good deeds Allah will accept from us because of our intentions.
It is important not to lose sight of the reason why we do things. We should not judge people according to their outward appearance or outward manifestations of practicing Islam. I am very grateful that when I became a Muslim, people took me just for who I am.

One of the things I had to stop when I became a Muslim was drinking alcohol. Being a single parent and not having direction and meaning to my life led me to drink more and more alcohol. Also, before becoming a Muslim, the people I was mixing with used to drink a lot. It was normal to drink a couple of bottles of wine a night. When the time came for me to take Shahadah, I vowed I would never drink again, and I never did. Before that, I had been well on my way to becoming an alcoholic.

In the early days after I accepted Islam, even though friends sat with me coaxing me to drink, I refused. One time I was driving home with these friends from a journey. They had passed out in the car, but because I had not been drinking, I got to see a beautiful sunset. I remember thinking what a blessing it was. The others missed out on this blessing because they were drunk. I was so grateful to Allah that I had the courage to change my life for the better.

New Friends
I met new friends through the couple who had been teaching me and through the lessons I began attending. They took me to Tarawih Prayers and I started going to other classes.

The other women were wearing hijab, but no one told me I also had to wear it. I felt upset afterwards that people did not tell me everything that was expected of me as a Muslim. Were they afraid of telling me what I have to do as a Muslim because they thought I would run away? Sometimes people fail to understand that often new reverts want to do everything properly, so not telling them what is expected is a big drawback.

New Muslims are looking for something with structure and rules so they can change their life for the better. It is important to teach them and explain in a nice way without forcing and yet without neglecting the duty of telling them the truth.

Bringing Up Son in Islam
My boys were 4 and 6 years old when I became a Muslim. I honestly believe I have had things very easy. My boys have not caused me problems at all. No teenage rebellion, drugs, or any of the usual problems of being a teenager these days.

They grew up with guidelines and knowing about Allah the Almighty. I homeschooled them until they went to secondary school, and that gave them a good base. Islam became part of their character.

They did not have problems attending the local high school. They know who they are and have a strong sense of what is right and wrong. They do not mind being different. They prayed at school and they were part of a group that requested a prayer room. In Australia they give you what you ask for, but you won't get it if you do not ask.

Now after 15 years, they have a strong identity and so do I. Every good thing comes from Allah the Almighty.

source: www.islamonline.net

Story #51 Abdul- Raouf Ahmed

2006-12-21T11:33:00.000+07:00

I can not explain on how honored and grateful I am for this golden opportunity and for Allah bringing me to where I am today. I hope and pray with all my heart and soul that others will do the same. Also, may Allah bless and make it easier for all my brothers and sisters all over the world as much as it was made for me.

If anyone ever has an opportunity in reading this, I hope and pray that he/she is going to be as spiritually and emotionally moved as I am now. Just being able to be here writing this is a miracle from Allah. Amen. (Abdul- Raouf Ahmed)

I am a white, American and born in the southeastern (Tennessee). My maternal grandmother adopted me. My mother gave me to her immediately after I was born. I stayed with my grandmother until the day Allah took her from this world December 23, 1992.

At the age of 16 (1975), I was introduced to drugs and alcohol by my aunt and her high school friends. I quit school 1 yr and started working in order to provide a better and easier way of life for both my grandmother and my self.

My drug and alcohol progressively became worse. The more I worked, the more I abused them both. I quit the drugs 8 years later. My alcohol dependency became stronger with no way out that I knew of at that time. Therefore, I saw that our situation in life was not going to become any better and I felt like a big failure and a loser. My next step was to kill myself. I tried to overdose on pills but I did not take enough. Therefore, I just drank more and more alcohol over the years. My life was no longer mine. It now belonged to the alcohol. This was my soul mate and best friend. I lived for it day in and day out. I attempted two more suicides in places where I knew no one could ever find me, so I thought. How they did it Allah only knows. I would have succeeded both times if Allah had not send those people to where ever I was located at the time. These places were so recluse and out of the way, I can not even remember where they are to this day. I do not even know on how I arrived at those places. I was too drunk.

February 1992, I quit working because, my grandmother’s health would not allow me to be away from her that much. Therefore, I started going out to drink and party with my so-called friends after she would go to bed. December the 23rd, Allah took her from me. This is where my whole world crumbled out from under me. I drank as much as I could and as long as I could for 4 months.

April 1993, my best and only real friend threatened to leave and never return if I did not get help. I went into a treatment center three different times repeatedly over a period of 3 years. These treatments were for depression, anxiety, stress, and of course, alcohol addiction. Things become addiction at the time a person loses self-control and allows what ever it is that he/she is abusing to take over completely. One never has control over substance abuse. I mean never. That is an illusive fallacy to think otherwise. Loss of control starts at the first drink and/or the first pill.

May 1995 the 28th, I made the Shahadah [Editor's Note: Shahadah means the “Testimony of Faith”]. Let us back up 2 days. Someone that I knew was staying with me. We were having our usual night of drinking and partying. The subject on religion came up in conversation. He was or is Catholic and I was brought up as a Christian. At this time, I had not even thought about religion for at least 10 to 15 years that I know of. I thought that this was going to be a religious bashing conversation but, it turned into something very special to me. This person knew that I was very negative towards religion due to past experiences with hypocrites and being abused by the ones inside the family. He asked me if I had ever heard about Muslims or Islam and I said, "no, is it just another group that likes to go for worship on one or two nights out of the week with one face and leave with their real face?” He said that it was not like that. Islam is a 24 hr., 7 days a week and 365 days a year life-style. He knew about this from someone he lived with for seven and half years. The Muslim he lived with was from the Middle East.

This subject finally ended but, our drinking didn’t. Many hours later, I had all the alcohol I could take and went to bed. Although I was wasted on alcohol, I could not sleep. I could not even pass out like I normally would. All night long all I could hear in my head was Islam, Muslim; Islam, Muslim over and over again. It just would not stop. Well, the next morning, after I had finally pulled myself together, I picked up the phone book just to see if there was anything listed under religion about Muslims or Islam. I found nothing. Therefore, I proceeded cleaning the big mess up. A little time had passed. I decided to look again. I found nothing. I threw the phone book. I grabbed the vacuum cleaner and started vacuuming. I ran into that phone book again. I thought, this is it! I will look once more and if I do not find anything this time, I will never even consider anything that has to do with God again.

I picked up the book, sat down and opened it. I opened it exactly to the right page and the only thing I saw was the name of the local Muslim community. Who would ever had believed something like this could happen in a million years. I called and spoke to one of the brothers and arranged to meet with him at the Mosque. The next day, Thursday, I called to confirm the appointment. Another brother answered but, the telephone line was giving too much static interference. He heard just enough to contact the other brother with my message. I had to yell to accomplish this. That brother had arranged transportation for me. I went that evening and he explained to three others and myself about the basics of Islam.

Everything sounded fascinating but, I told him that I needed to go home and give it some more thought after he had given the invitation to make Shahadah. I went home and pulled a beer out of the refrigerator. I opened it but, this time I only took a few sips of it and threw the rest away. I went to bed early but, I tossed and turned all night long. All I could think about was becoming a Muslim. Me, a poor white male, who had been searching for something better out of life, becoming a Muslim. What a head spin. Why? Because of the way in which I was guided and the thoughts of my becoming a member of another religious organization.

The next day, I called him and told him that I wanted to be a Muslim. He arranged for me a ride to the Mosque and gave me the Shahadah in front of everyone that night after they prayed Salat Al-`Isha' [Editor's note: Salat Al-`Isha' means the “night prayer”]. That was the most exciting night for me even though I was a nervous wreck and scared to death, almost.

I moved from my apartment and went back to where my best friend was living. He, his roommate and all the others that I knew at the time made fun of me for becoming a Muslim. A few months later, I moved to the university campus in order to be closer to the Mosque and to get away from the alcohol.

Winter is now just starting and the heat was so bad in my new apartment that I almost froze to death. In addition, I discovered that I would have died that winter due to some health problems that I never knew that they had developed over the years due to intoxication of alcohol. The brothers watched over me day and night that whole winter. They even moved me into the Mosque for several months in order for my staying warm and to where it would be easier for them to take care of me. I still cry over this because, Allah gave me another chance and stopped me from dying outside of His graces and mercy. I can not explain on how honored and grateful I am for this golden opportunity and for Allah bringing me to where I am today.

Source:
www.islamonline.net

Dance and Watching TV in Islam view

2006-12-19T13:43:00.000+07:00

Islam doesn’t prevent people from having entertainment but Islam itself provides the rules. At the same time, Islam does not tolerate any kind of entertainment that contains haram or even leads to haram behavior. Dancing can be either between women, between men, or mixed between both sexes. It is allowed for women to dance together unless it involves revealing any of the woman’s `awrah – that is, the parts of the body between the navel and the knee – in front of other women. It is also allowed unless the dancing means that mandatory obligations will not be carried out or if it coincides with unlawful acts. However, if a woman dances in front of her husband, then there is no restriction, as it is a way of cementing relations between spouses – and this a key pillar of establishing the Muslim family.

Dr. Su’ad Salih, professor of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) at Al-Azhar University, states:
“Islam is a religion of moderation; it does not prevent singing and dancing, but it forbids anything that stimulates people’s desires, whether it is among men or women. Women are supposed to observe good manners if they dance in front of other women. They should not exceed the limits by doing anything that stimulates desires and incites evil. There are many cases where women are tempted by other women”.

Dr. Salim Ahmad Salamah, Dean of the Faculty of Usulud-Deen at the Islamic University, Gaza:
“It is permissible for women to dance and sing as long as there are no males around. In addition, the words of the song should be free from any foul words or vulgarity. Furthermore, no non-Muslim women should be attending, for the `awrah of a Muslim woman before them is the same as in the case of a man. Thus, as long as the words of the song are pure and clean and there are no males or non-Muslim women around, there is nothing wrong in dancing.

It is permissible for women, as far as Islam is concerned, to dance and sing so long as there are no males around. In addition, the words of the song should be free from any foul words or vulgarity. Furthermore, no non-Muslim women should be attending, for the `Awrah of a Muslim woman before them is the same as in the case of a man. Thus, so long as the words of the song are pure and clean and there no males or non-Muslim women are around, there is nothing wrong in dancing.”

By analogy, men are allowed to dance together as long as they cover their `awrah (the parts of the body between the navel and the knee) and there is no fear of temptation. Men and women dancing together is absolutely haram in all cases, except when a wife dances in front of her husband. The reason behind this prohibition is that with mixed dancing bodily contact is close and improper sexual desires are aroused. This has been strictly forbidden by Islam in an attempt to block the way against evil. If men and women were permitted to dance together, a lot of haram acts could occur. That is why mixed dancing is not allowed.

The ruling is clearly stressed in the following fatwa issued by Dr. Husam al-Din Ibn Musa `Afana, a professor of Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence at Al-Quds University, Palestine:

“It is not permissible for Muslim girls to participate in folk dancing groups as such act is Haram in Islam for the following reasons:

1- Free and unlawful mixing between men and women who play the roles in such folk dance. Such form of illicit mixing is Haram in Islam.

2- It is also unlawful for Muslim girls to take part in such dancing performances even without men’s participation as such women-only performances are intended to make shows for the general public, which is unlawful.

3- No one can deny that folk dance is usually accompanied by unlawful music, which is also Haram and forbidden.

4- Such dancing performances do disseminate moral laxity and ill morals in a Muslim society, which is also forbidden.

5-Muslims have to be aware of such cultural invasion. It’s to be borne in mind that what is known as folk arts is not a heritage of the Muslim Ummah. The heritage of Islam and true Muslims has nothing to do with such insignificant and trivial kind of art. Muslims should be proud of their Islamic creed, laurels of their great Muslim men.

On the basis of the above, I conclude that it is totally forbidden for Muslim girls to participate in such dancing performances. It not also allowed for Muslim men to allow their daughters, wives, sisters to participate in such folk dancing groups and the likes of it.”

Watching TV
In fact, watching television is exactly like getting involved in any sort of reading books. Whatever affects ethics and religion negatively is Islamically unacceptable, and what is supportive to them is Islamically recommended. In general, television is like a vessel that could contain something good, as well as it could contain something bad; so it depends on what one watches in it.

Not all TV programs are haram. It is haram to watch programs that show nudity or any type of indecency. As a Muslim we should always select channels and programs that are beneficial, educational, and informative. If, by accident, one happens to see any indecent thing, you should turn the TV off forthwith. In fact, the problem is not in the TV as a machine but in what a person sees in it. If one watches documentary movies, news, educational and Islamic programs, then there is nothing wrong in watching TV so long as the TV does not distract the person away from his/her Islamic duties such as prayer.”

Source: Islamonline.net

Story #50 Anna Linda Traustadottir

2006-12-19T13:14:00.000+07:00

Anna Linda Traustadottir: "I grew up being one of the most anti-Muslim, anti-Islam people you could ever meet. I was. I had also been anti-Arab before moving to Cairo to study Arabic (I thought Arabic calligraphy was beautiful). I’d grown up in the States, raised on American movies, which always portrayed Arabs as fundamentalists, radicals, women-oppressors, religious fanatics, terrorists, never normal, average people. The large majority of people who are anti-Arab have never been to any Arab country. The reality there is very different".

In 1997, while studying Arabic in Cairo, one of my English girlfriends, a born-again Christian bought me a portable Bible, with both the Old and New Testaments. I was extremely pleased because I had decided that I needed to know what the Bible was and what was in it. And I felt that I could hardly call myself Christian without consciously studying the Bible.

In 1998, whilst studying at Damascus University, I read the whole Bible, from cover to cover, taking notes as I went along. Once I had completed it, I realized that there were too many inconsistencies, too many things I didn’t agree with. Like the Old Testament’s portrayal of God and women, not to mention all the things that Paul wrote in the New Testament. And when I read about the holy men, the Prophets, like Noah, Lot, David, etc., I found that I didn’t respect them. I love and admire Moses (from the Old Testament) and Jesus (from the New Testament).

Having already read the Torah, I tried getting a complete Jewish Talmud, to no avail. I’d always heard that Jews (except for reformed) do not recognize someone who converted to Judaism. Also, many, though not all, Jews are Zionist (those who support Israel). And I am terribly anti-Zionist and anti-Israel, and so, by default, pro-Palestinian. I also wanted a religion that would accept a convert. I dabbled with Buddhism but decided this was not for me, as Buddhists don’t believe in God. And I strongly believe in God, always have. Buddhism is still interesting as an alternative way of life. My mum and I used to discuss Hinduism and so I was very interested in it, but there are just too many Hindu gods for me. Therefore Hinduism was out of the question. That, and the fact that you cannot convert to Hinduism.

When I had my son, Andrés ?mar, in October 2001, I was asked whether he would be baptized, and even then I refused. I felt that innocent children would surely be welcome in Heaven, baptized or not. Anyway, how could I introduce him into the Christian religion when I myself did not call myself a believing Christian, though I was born and raised as a Protestant? I didn’t believe in the Trinity, in Mary as the “mother” of God, in Jesus as the “son” of God, in Jesus dying to cleanse us of our sins, in Jesus crying out in Aramaic on the cross: “Eli, Eli, lama sabakh-tha-ni?” I mean why would Jesus cry out: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” when Jesus knew he was sent on a mission by God as a prophet of God?

In 1999, I went back to Damascus to work at an embassy. There in 2000, I met an engineer named Mohannad. We married soon after we met. To be honest when I married Mohannad, I married him because I loved him, even though he was Muslim. Over time, I realized I loved him because he was Muslim. A good Muslim. I had met many Muslims here in Denmark and in the Middle East, and just like in my life, I’ve met some nice and not-so-nice Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. I thought all those Muslims I’d met were representing Islam. And whenever I asked Muslims questions about Islam, one thing struck me: Nearly everyone claimed to be an expert in Islam, even those who gave me, I later found out, false information. It would have been more prudent just to say: I don’t know/I’m not sure. Yet I never judged Christianity or any other religion by its followers. Strangely though, I judged Islam by every Arab I meet, even though (1) not all Arabs are Muslim. Some are Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Druze, Coptic, Alawite, etc. And (2) most Muslims aren’t Arab. Muslims can be Indonesian, Indian, Chinese, Macedonian, Malay, Russian, Thai, African, Bosnian, American, Swedish, etc., and of course, Arab. I had been raised not to be prejudiced, but I was. It took me a long time to realize this.
It’s only after countless hours of discussion, and at times arguments (!), with my husband that I came to be open-minded enough to realize that I didn’t have the full picture.

During Ramadan, November 2002, I asked Mohannad whether he would help me read the Qur’an in Arabic. He had little time, but I was determined to read the Qur’an in Arabic with the help of a good translation. When I read the Qur’an, Islam’s holiest book, I thought it was beautiful, so scientific, so compassionate, so feminist! Nearly all the books I’d ever read about Islam, all written by non-Muslims, showed Islam in a negative light. Those people who wrote against Islam sometimes gave partial quotes from the Qur’an, leaving out the rest of the verse, or they would translate the verses incorrectly, on purpose or by mistake. I knew enough Arabic to know that what I was reading was unlike anything I’d ever read.

So much science, so much knowledge that has been only recently discovered. I mean the Prophet Mohammad mentions: black holes, space travel, DNA and genetic science, evolution (transformation and mutation), geology, oceanography, embryonic development, aquatic origins of life... WOW! I had always heard that the Qur’an was basically just a watered-down version of the Bible, but none of this was in the Bible! I wondered how someone over 1400 years ago could have written anything like this! Some of these ideas were only discovered this century. Then I thought, well, Arab scientists, astronomers, mathematicians, cartographers were so advanced for that time, maybe some of them got together and wrote a book, loosely based on the Torah and the Gospels. But then I studied it further and realized that the Arabic scientific revolution followed the arrival of Islam. Then I read that Muslims believe that the Qur’an was given to Mohammad through the Angel Gabriel, and is the continuation of God’s word. Muslims believe that parts of the Torah and parts of the Gospels, that speak of Jesus’ life, are inspired by God, or “Allah” as God is called in Arabic. Not just Muslims, but Christian and Jewish Arabs also call God “Allah.” Muslims revere Abraham, Solomon, Moses, Jesus, and Noah, in fact, all of the Biblical Prophets. It is also mentioned that there are other prophets that came to other nations to help them become better people. It’s said that Buddha was one of these prophets, but that he along with Jesus, never meant for people to believe he was superior to God, just that he was a messenger of God. They also believe that the Prophet Mohammad is the last prophet, until Jesus returns to Earth.

It says in the Qur’an that Allah can put a veil over our eyes and a stone over our hearts so that we can neither see nor feel the message of the Qur’an. Only when Allah is ready for us to know it, do we understand. On 12 December 2002, I had an incredible dream that started me thinking and contemplating religion more deeply. Dreams are very important in Iceland and dream interpretation is practically a science! I never thought I needed a religion. Religion fascinated me, but I had believed I was doing fine just believing in God, taking bits from different religions until I got my own cocktail: “Anna’s Mix.”

In January 2003, I started looking at the Internet, just doing searches like: “Islam,” “Qur’an,” “Muslim,” etc. In March, whilst in Reykjav?k, I got the opportunity to speak with one of my best Icelandic girlfriends, a Muslim, and she recommended a really good English translation (the Abdullah Yusuf Ali version), to go along with the original Arabic. In April, I received it and started using it as a supplement.

In May 2003, my Icelandic Muslim friend returned the visit and stayed two weeks with us. We started talking about the Qur’an. I told her that I wanted to translate it into Icelandic. She told me it was her dream too. We agreed we would do it together. We used our time together well, discussing Christianity, Judaism and Islam all day, every day. She had questioned her Lutheran faith, considered Judaism, visited Israel (“Occupied Palestine” as far as I am concerned) twice, and only on her second visit, started to consider the other side of the Arab-Israeli conflict. She got interested in Islam. She had earlier gone a similar path as I, coming to the same conclusions. Back in 1995, when she told me she’d become Muslim, I behaved badly: I was extremely negative. Shame on me for being unsupportive!

Now I found myself seeing myself Muslim. I told my husband about my revelations, and he questioned me at length. He asked me to wait with changing my religion. He told me that becoming Muslim would make my life more difficult, that people who didn’t know Islam would treat me differently, that at this time, in the year 2003, and in this world we live in, people would ridicule me. He said I might lose contact with my family and my friends if I took on the Muslim faith. He feared that people that didn’t know me so well or that I hadn’t seen in a long time, or ever met him, would think he was forcing me to become Muslim. I told him if that were true, we could not have got married, for when we married, I was Christian, and had remained Christian up until then. Also, I argued, people who have known me at all know I am a strong-minded, true feminist/humanist, that I am opinionated, but not narrow-minded, and that no one can control me... My parents have tried for years to no avail!

I decided then and there that if friends and family didn’t want any contact with me because I decided to become Muslim, so be it! My religion is mine and I am proud of my research into Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. It has taken me years and countless hours of reading and soul-searching to get to this point. My belief in God is something I have always taken seriously and I have never been ashamed to declare this faith, even when others ridicule me for believing in something they say we cannot see. I argue, look around you, how you can not believe in a supreme being that created everything around us. And for those of you that view Islam as some kind of cult, it isn’t. It’s one of the biggest religions in the world, if not the largest: One in four people on this planet is now Muslim, and it’s the fastest growing religion.
So finally, on 4 June 2003, I decided to officially become Muslim so that I could go on Hajj to Mecca. I had been searching for answers for a long time, since my childhood, and by the mid-1990’s, I was buying books on different faiths. Deep inside, I imagined I would find the answers for me. I remember the first time I heard the “Azan” (the Muslim call for prayer, when a fellow says “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great) from a minaret at a mosque). It was a bright, sunny, February Sunday in Cairo in 1997, so church bells were also ringing, but when I heard the call for prayer, tears streamed down my face, without my realizing it. I wasn’t Muslim, but it moved me. One of my oldest and dearest friends, a Catholic, was in Beirut a while ago, staying at a hotel and woke up to the call for prayer at 4.30 during her first night in Lebanon. She thought it was so moving that she also cried.

When I read the Qur’an, I feel it in my stomach, deep in my gut, that this is right for me. The inspirational beauty of the Qur’an makes me sometimes cry. It’s an all-encompassing way of life. No other religious book ever moved me to tears.
The Qur’an is simply put the most complex book I’ve ever read. The more you read it, the more you both understand and at the same time, question. The Qur’an is meant to inspire you to learn more. Every time you read it, you peel off different layers of understanding. I am not an expert; I never will be. Even if I read from it every day for the rest of my life, I will still learn something new. It’s full of mysteries. I still also supplement my Qur’anic studies with Biblical studies like the “Gospel of Barnabas,” “The Torah,” etc.

I’ve also since got some new Muslim girlfriends over the Internet. Whilst searching the net, I came across an Icelandic Muslim site: www.islam.is, and I contacted the writer. We started a correspondence. Around New Year’s 2004, I sent her a report I wrote entitled “Islam in Iceland 2003,” which I am submitting to the Saudi Government, she suggested we three work on the translation of the Qur’an from Arabic to Icelandic (K?raninn), as she also speaks Arabic. So it seems that we will be three Icelandic Muslim women working on translating the Arabic Qur’an. For those of you looking for a good English version, I’ve heard the Muhammad Asad translation is also very direct, but I myself have yet to get hold of it.

I did however buy an incredible amount of reading material in Kuala Lumpur last summer. It’s a new Muslim’s mecca for books. I really stocked up! My husband, son and I stayed a month in Malaysia. What an incredible place! Of Islamic areas, I had only been to the Arab Middle-East and here was a whole new Islamic world in South-East Asia! The experience was wonderful to say the least. I had always been fond of Islamic art and architecture, and all of Malaysia is both an indoor and outdoor museum! Under the former Muslim Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Islam had a revival. He wants to unite all the Islamic countries, not just in a so-called Islamic Union, but he also wants one currency, a gold dinar. What a visionary! Islam needs more men and women like him!

I always try to be positive, so I think it’s a very exciting time, the 21st century! If someone like me can become Muslim, there’s hope for anybody! The friends that I have discussed religion with recently know that I have become Muslim, and without fail, they have been extremely supportive. I was a bit surprised that they were not shocked. They said they knew one day I’d find my niche (I’d been searching so long), and they were happy for me. Some even call me by my new Muslim name: Nur, which means light. I also still use Anna Linda, because it’s the name my parents gave me and it represents part of the person I was for 36 years. Nur is just the continuation of me!

Source: islamonline.net

Story #49 Mrs. Linda Delgado

2006-12-19T11:40:00.000+07:00

I believe Allah has chosen Mrs. Delgado to see the truth by the light of Islam. I also believe Allah sent Islam to many people around the world. I praise Him for His mercy, love and kindness to me. First I read Mrs.Delgado’s story, there was a tears in my eyes and my body was shaken. Happy and sadness was come together.

About five years ago, I was fifty-two years old and a Christian. I had not become a member of any Christian church, but all my life I had been searching for the truth. I attended many churches and studied with their teachers. All fell short and I recognized none as being the truth about Allah. Since I was nine years old, I had read the Bible everyday of my life. I cannot tell you, over the many years, how many times I searched it for the truth.

During the long years of my search for the truth, I studied with many religious faiths. For over a year I studied two times a week with a Catholic priest, but could not accept Catholic beliefs. I spent another year studying with the Jehovah Witnesses and did not accept their beliefs either. I spent nearly two years with the LDS (Latter-Day Saints, i.e. the Mormons) and still did not find truth. I had a Jewish friend and we had many discussions about the Jewish beliefs. I went to many Protestant churches, some for months at a time, trying to find answers to my questions.

My heart told me Jesus was not God but a Prophet. My heart told me Adam and Eve was responsible for their sin, not me. My heart told me I should pray to God and no other. My reason told me that I was responsible for both my good and bad deeds and that God would never assume the form of a man in order to tell me that I was not responsible. He had no need to live and die as a human; after all, He is God.

So there I was, full of questions and praying to God for help. I had a real fear of dying and not knowing the truth. I prayed and I prayed. I received answers from preachers and priests like, “This is a mystery.” I felt that God wanted people to go to heaven so He wouldn't make it a mystery as to how to get there, how to live life accordingly, and how to understand Him. I knew in my heart that all that I was hearing was untrue.

I live in Arizona, USA and at the age of fifty-two had still never talked to a Muslim. I, like many Westerners, had read much in the media about Islam being a fanatical religion of terrorists, so I never researched any books or information about Islam. I knew nothing about the religion.

My Discovery
About four years ago, I retired after twenty-four years as a police officer. My husband also retired as a police officer. The year before my retirement I was still a police sergeant/supervisor. Police officers worldwide have a common bond, which we call a law-enforcement brother-sisterhood. We always help one anther no matter what police department or country.

That year I received a flyer asking for help with a group of Saudi Arabian police officers who had come to the United States to learn English at a local University and attend a police academy in the city that I live in. The Saudi police officers were looking for homes to live in with host families in order to learn about US customs and to practice the English that they would be learning.

My son is raising my granddaughter as a single parent. We helped him to find a house next to ours so that we could help in raising her. I talked to my husband and we decided that it would be good to help these police officers. It would be an opportunity for our granddaughter to learn about people from another country. I was told that the young men were Muslims and I was very curious.

An Arizona State University Saudi interpreter brought a young man named Abdul to meet us. He could speak no English. We showed him a bedroom and bathroom, which would be his when he stayed with us. I liked Abdul immediately. His respectful and kind manner won my heart!

Next Fahd was brought to our home. He was younger and shyer, but a wonderful young man. I became their tutor and we shared many discussions about police work, the USA, Saudi Arabia, Islam, etc. I observed how they helped each other and also the other sixteen Saudi police officers who came to the USA to learn English. During the year they were here, I came to respect and admire Fahd and Abdul for not letting the American culture have any impact on them. They went to mosque on Fridays, said their prayers no matter how tired they were, and were always careful of what they ate, etc. They showed me how to cook some traditional Saudi foods and they took me to Arab markets and restaurants. They were very kind with my granddaughter. They showered her with presents, jokes and friendship.

They treated my husband and me with much respect. Each day, they would call to see if I needed them to go to market for me before they went to study with their fellow Saudi officers. I showed them how to use the computer, and I ordered Arab papers online and began to search the Internet to learn more about them, their customs and religion. I did not want to do things that would offend them.

One day, I asked them if they had an extra Qur'an. I wanted to read what it had to say. They sent to their embassy in Washington DC and they got me an English Qur'an, tapes, and other pamphlets. At my request, we began to discuss Islam (they had to speak English and this became the focus of our tutoring sessions). I grew to love these young men, and they told me that I was the first non-Muslim they had ever taught Islam to! After a year, they completed their studies and training at the police academy. I was able to help them with their police studies, as I had been a police instructor during my career as a police officer. I invited many of their brother-officers to the house to help with university projects and to practice English. One brother had his wife come to stay here in the US, and I was invited to their home. They were very gracious and I was able to talk to his wife about Muslim dress, prayer ablutions, and similar things.

A week before “my foster sons” was to return home to Saudi Arabia, I planned a family dinner with all their favorite traditional foods (I bought some because I didn’t know how to cook all of them). I purchased a hijab and an abaya (long Islamic gown). I wanted them to go home remembering me dressed appropriately as a Muslim sister. Before we ate, I said the Shahadah (public declaration of faith). The boys cried and laughed and it was so special. I believe in my heart that Allah sent the boys to me in answer to my years of prayers. I believe He chose me to see the truth by the light of Islam. I believe Allah sent Islam to my very home. I praise Him for His mercy, love and kindness to me.

My Journey in Islam
My Saudi boys returned to their homeland about a week after my reversion. I missed them greatly, but was still happy. I had joined the local mosque as a member almost immediately after my reversion and registered myself as a Muslim. I was anticipating a warm welcome from my new Muslim community. I thought all Muslims were like my Saudi boys and the other young Saudi officers whom I had met and spent time with during the previous year.

My family was still in a state of shock! They thought I would stick with this new religion for a while, become disgruntled, and move on to another religion as I had done all my adult life. They were surprised at the changes that I began to make in my daily life. My husband is a congenial man, so when I said that we were going to be eating halal foods and eliminating haram (forbidden) foods, he said, “Okay.”
My next change was removing pictures of people and animals from the rooms in the house. One day my husband came home from work to find me placing family pictures that had once hung on the walls in our home, in large, handsomely-bound photo albums. He watched and didn’t comment.

Next I wrote a letter to my non-Muslim family telling them about my reversion and how it would and wouldn’t change our family relationships. I explained a few of the basics of Islam. Still my family kept their own counsel, and I continued to work on learning prayer and reading my Qur’an. I got active in sister groups on the Internet and this facilitated my learning about my new beliefs.

I also attended a “Fundamentals of Islam” class at the mosque when I could get away from my work. I was still a state police sergeant and it was difficult – no, impossible to cover. This became a source of real discontent and concern for me. Just eight months and I could retire, so I asked for and was granted the right to telecommute from my home three days a week doing planning and research projects.

After the first six months had passed, sisters at the mosque that I attended still hadn’t warmed up to me. I was disappointed. I began to feel like an outsider. I was puzzled and concerned. I tried to become active in community services with a few sisters who had been friendly towards me. I looked for the kindness, friendship, and best of manners that were practiced each and every day by my Saudi boys. I made many mistakes at the mosque, such as talking in the prayer room as I tried to get up and down from the floor. I went to a community celebration and ate with my left hand; I wore clear nail polish on my trimmed nails and got scolded. I did wudu (ablutions) incorrectly and was frowned at. I became very discouraged.

Then one day I received a package in the mail from a sister-friend who I had met on the Internet. In the package were several abayas, hijabs, silk stockings, and a warm and friendly note welcoming me as her sister in Islam. She lives in Kuwait. Next a dear sister sent me a prayer robe and prayer rug she had hand-made herself. This dear sister lives in Saudi Arabia. I got an email that had a statement that I always remember at times when I get that “outsider” feeling. The note said: “I am glad that I became Muslim before I met many Muslims.” This is not an insult. It was a reminder that Islam is perfect and it is we Muslims who are imperfect. Just as I have shortcomings, so may my sisters and brothers. I also began to understand what I personally believe to be one of the greatest gifts that Allah gave to the Muslims: the sister and brotherhood in Islam.

Over the past four years my life has changed dramatically. My family has come to accept with generosity and tolerance that I am Muslim and will remain Muslim. All thanks are to Allah for sparing me the trials of so many reverts who must deal with beloved family who strive to dissuade them from Islam.

Gradually, I made some sister friends locally and by cyber space, dozens of sister friends became my Muslim family bringing me support, love and friendship. It was close to my first year as a Muslim that I became ill with a series of life-threatening diseases. I clung tight to the rope of Islam and was grateful for the black seed tea and ZamZam water that my sister-friends sent me from around the world along with their daily du`aa’ (supplications).

As my health continued to fail and I grew weaker physically, I had to discontinue community service work and became more isolated from the local Muslim community. I continued to work hard on my prayer, having great difficulty with the Arabic pronunciation but not giving up. My Islamic teacher made some cassette tapes, and a sister brought them to my home to help me. After two years, I had learned to recite four Surahs (chapters) of the Qur’an. This may seem like a small number to most Muslims, but for me it was a very big accomplishment. I set about learning the words for the other parts of prayer; another two years of struggle.

During the early part of my third year as a Muslim, I suffered a heart attack and had heart surgery. It was a sad time for me, as I knew that I would never again touch my head to the floor when praying, but would forever have to sit in my chair and pray. It was at this time that I truly understood the provision from Allah that Islam is the religion of ease. Praying while seated in a chair is acceptable; not fasting when one is sick is acceptable. I did not have to feel that I was less a Muslim because of these circumstances.

After visiting several mosques and observing that they were like mini United Nations, I began to see that the small groups within the mosque were mostly formed because of language and culture and not because of liking or disliking any person. I felt good that regardless of these differences, I could always count on a smile and an “As-Salaam’ Alaykum!”

After a while, I began to gravitate towards sisters who are reverts to Islam like me. We have much in common – we experience many of the same trials, such as non-Muslim family members, difficulty pronouncing Arabic, being lonely on Muslim holidays, and not having a family member to break fast with during Ramadan. Sometimes our reversions meant losing life-long friends who just couldn’t accept our new habits, or it was because of our discontinuance of activities common to non-Muslims, such as dancing and mixing in groups.

As I grew less able to do community services, I searched for some way to contribute to the greater Muslim community. I continually asked Allah for His help in this. One day, my young granddaughter suggested that I write books about my Saudi boys, Islam, and my family’s experience with Islam. I decided to write the books and also include stories about a group of young girls, both Muslim and non-Muslim, who were friends. The stories would include the young girls’ problems encountered at school and at home and I would use my knowledge of Islam as a guide for these book characters.
I began writing a book series that I called Islamic Rose Books. I created an e-group for sister authors and aspiring writers and this developed into the creation of the Islamic Writers Alliance. The Alliance is an international organization created to provide support for female Muslim authors and aspiring writers. Our main goal is to help each other promote our works to readers and publishers. I also decided to help two Muslim food banks by creating databases that help them to track their inventory, clients, and contacts and to create reports necessary for funding purposes. I decided that I would spend a large portion of my profits from book sales to buy books for Islamic children’s libraries. I have discovered that many such libraries have lots of empty shelves where Islamic books belong.

I still have much to learn about Islam. I never tire of reading the Qur’an and one of my favorite pastimes is reading about prominent, historical Islamic figures. When I am unsure about something in Islam, I look to the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). I see how he responded to situations and use this as my guide. My journey in Islam will continue, and I look forward to many new experiences. I thank Allah daily for His Mercy and Love.

(Linda (Widad) Delgado is a Muslim, lives in Arizona, is married, and has three children and eight grandchildren. Mrs. Delgado is a graduate of the University of Phoenix and is a retired State Police Sergeant. She is the Director of the Islamic Writers Alliance www.islamicwritersalliance.net. She is also a publisher: Muslim Writers Publishing www.muslimwriterspublishing.com and author: 2005 AMWA Excellence in Media, Literary Art Award for Islamic Rose Books. Click here to read her journey to Islam. You can reach her at www.widad-lld.com.

source: islamonline.net

Story #48 Abdul Aziz Myatt

2006-11-07T11:04:00.000+07:00

As I wrote on blog description that no matter what color and nationality you are, you can always be a Muslim. Yup, no matter whom you are...catholic, protestant, Hindu, Buddha, Konghuchu or even ex-Nazi, you can be a Muslim. I believe that people who converted to Islam believe Islam came to both of their mind and heart and accepted Islam and Allah as their God and Muhammad was His Messenger. Of course, by accepting Islam as his new faith he had begun a new life and started a new life with a new book of life. Allah had forgiven every sin, and new book of the record of sins is empty.

Here is a story of Abdul Aziz Myatt, A British Neo-Nazi's Journey to Islam, that I found his story from Muslim site; Islamonline.net. Enjoy to read...

I have a new life now, a new identity — for I am a Muslim, and all Muslims are my brothers, wherever they happen to live, and whatever race they are said to belong to.

How was it that I, a Westerner with a history of political involvement in extreme "right-wing" organizations, came to be standing one Sunday outside a Mosque with a sincere desire to go inside and convert to Islam? The simple answer is that it was the will of Allah — He guided me there. As for my political past, it belongs to the past. All I can do now is to trust in Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful, the Lord of all the worlds.

In terms of the 'Western' explanation that most Westerners will seek in order to try and understand my conversion, I suppose my journey toward Islam began when I first went to Egypt and, as a tourist, visited a Mosque. The Adhan — the call to prayer — had begun and I was struck by its beauty.

It is fair to say my heart responded to it in a way that, at the time, I did not understand. Then, I knew little about Islam, but each time I visited Egypt I learnt a little more. I talked to several Egyptians about their religion, and bought a copy of an English translation of the Qur'an. The little bits I read made a lot of sense to me, and the more I learnt about Islam, the more admirable it seemed to be. The more Muslims I met, the more I admired them.

But I was still in thrall to my own ego, my own Western way of life, and by two other things which prevented me from fully appreciating Islam and investigating it further. First, my life-long belief in Nature: the belief that we somehow belong to Mother Earth in a special, almost pagan, way and that our own consciousness is the consciousness of Nature.

Second, that it was our nation, our national culture, which defined us and which therefore, was of supreme importance. But, in my heart, I always felt a universal, honorable, compassion, as I always felt the need to be aware of the numinous, the sacred. Many times in my life I believed this "numinosity" derived from God, the supreme Being — while at other times I believed it derived from Nature, from the cosmos itself: from what I often termed "the gods".

For decades, I wavered between these two versions regarding the origin of the sacred. Because of this awareness, these feelings, I was not as many people — and journalists in particular — believed me to be: some sort of fanatical political extremist who 'hated' people. And yet it is true to say that I was perhaps too arrogant — too sure of myself and the understanding I believed I had achieved — to give in to this compassion, this awareness, and accept I was simply a humble creation of an all-powerful supreme Being. Instead, I believed I could make if not a significant difference then at least some difference to this world, based on my own beliefs and understanding.

Conversion
My conversion really begins when I started a new job, working long hours on a farm, often by myself. The close contact with Nature, the toil of manual labor, really did restore my soul, my humanity, and I became really aware of the Oneness of the Cosmos and of how I was but part of this wonderful Order which God had created.

In my heart and in my mind I was convinced that this Order had not arisen by chance — it was created, as I myself was created for a purpose. It was as if my true nature had fought a long battle with Shaitan, who had deceived me, but who could deceive me no more. I felt the truth of the one and only Creator in my heart and in my mind.

For the first time in my life, I felt truly humble. Then, as if by chance (but it was the guidance of Allah) I took from my bookcase one of the copies of the Qur'an I had bought after one of my visits to Egypt. I began to read it properly — before, I had merely "dipped into it", reading a few verses, here and there.

What I found was logic, reason, truth, revelation, justice, humanity and beauty. Then, with a desire to find out more about Islam, I "surfed the Internet" for Islamic sites. I found one with audio files of Adhan and Salah and verses from the Qur'an. Again, my heart responded. There was no need for words.

In the next few days I found more web-sites as I read all I could about Islamic beliefs. Stripped of my prejudices, my arrogance — no longer deceived by Shaitan — here was everything that I myself felt, and always had felt to be true: dignity, honor, trust, justice, community, truth, an awareness of God on a daily basis, the need to be self-disciplined, the spiritual way before materialism, and the recognition of how we, as individuals, are subservient to God.

I marveled at the life of Muhammad and at the spread of Islam — at how those early Muslims, once "rough and ready" nomads, had through only the words, deeds and revelations of the Prophet, created perhaps the most civilized civilization there has ever been. I became enthralled reading about the life of the Prophet Muhammad, for there was something remarkable here: he seemed to represent everything I felt in my heart and my mind to be noble and civilized. In fact, he seemed to me to be the perfect human being: the perfect example to follow.

The more I discovered about Islam, the more it answered all the doubts, all the questions, of my past thirty years. It really did feel as if I had "come home" — as if I had at last found myself. It was like the time I first went to Egypt and wandered around Cairo.

The sounds, the smells, the scenes, the people — I really felt I belonged there, among "Islamic Cairo" with minarets and the Adhan around me. Personally, I have always loathed cities and large towns — but Cairo was somehow different. I liked it (and still do) — despite the overcrowding, the noise, the traffic. Now, I would sit for hours listening to recordings of the Adhan (which I understood) and the Qur'an in Arabic (which I did not understand). Truly, here — I felt — was the numinous.

Thus, my own conversion became not a question, but a duty. For I had found and accepted the truth that there was no god but Allah and that Muhammad was His Messenger.

So it was that I came to enter a Mosque to say that I wished to convert to Islam. They were so pleased and so friendly — so brotherly — that it brings tears to my eyes now as I remember it, and I thank Allah that I found the true Way in the end.

In my new life, I have a lot to learn, and a desire to learn, as I believe I have the best guides anyone can have — the holy Qur'an and the example of the noble Prophet Muhammad.

Islamic education in the West

2006-10-26T11:10:00.000+07:00

How do we as muslims living in the west maintain an Islamic education for our children? In order to preserve the structure of the Muslim family in the kaafir countries, we need to meet a number of conditions and requirements, both within the home and outside the home.

Within the home

1. It's essential for parents to uphold the habit of praying regularly in the mosque with their children; if there is no mosque nearby, then they must pray in jamaa’ah at home.
2. Read Qur’aan and listen to its recitation daily.
3. Eat meals together.
4. Speak in the language of the Qur’aan as much as they can.
5. Uphold the good manners prescribed by the Lord of the Worlds for families and in social settings; these include those that are to be found in Soorat al-Noor.
6. Don't let themselves or their children watch immoral and corrupt movies.
7. Children have to sleep at home and should stay home as much as possible, to protect them from the influences of the bad environment outside. They should be very strict in not allowing their children to sleep outside the home (“sleepovers”).
8. Avoid sending children to universities far from home where they would have to stay in university accommodation, or you will lose your children, who will be assimilated into the kaafir society.
9. To be careful to eat only halaal food and the parents must avoid using all kinds of haraam things such as cigarettes, marijuana and other things which are widely available in kaafir countries.

Outside the home

1. Send our children to Islamic schools from kindergarten to the end of secondary school (high school).
2. Send them to the mosque as much as possible, to pray Jumu’ah and other prayers in jamaa’ah, and to attend lectures, halaqahs and study circles, etc.
3. Establish educational and sporting activities for children and youth in places that are supervised by Muslims.
4. Organizing educational camps where all members of the family can go.
5. Parents should strive to go to the Holy Places to perform the rituals of ‘Umrah and the obligations of Hajj, accompanied by their children.
6. Training children to speak about Islam in simple language which adults and children, Muslim and non-Muslim, can understand.
7. Training children to memorize Qur’aan and sending some of them – if possible – to a Muslim Arab country so that they can gain an understanding of the religion, then come back to be daa’iyahs who are equipped with knowledge of Islam and the language of the Qur’aan.
9. Training some of our sons to give Jumu’ah Khutbahs, and to lead the Muslims in prayer, so that they will become leaders of the Muslim community.
10. Encouraging children to marry early so as to protect their religious and worldly interests.
10. We have to encourage them to marry Muslim girls from families who are known for their religious commitment and good attitudes.
11. We have to avoid using the number 911 and calling the police to come to the house to resolve conflicts. If conflicts arise, we must get in touch with a responsible member of the Muslim community or with wise Muslims to help resolve the conflict.
12. Not attending parties where there is dancing, music and singing, or joining in celebrations of immorality or the festivals of kufr; stopping our children, with wisdom, from going to church on Sundays with Christian students.

And Allah is the Source of strength and the Guide to the Straight Path.

Source: www.islamonline.com

The Difference Between Zakat Al-Fitr, Zakat Al-Mal & Charity (Sadaqah) in Islam

2006-10-09T12:00:00.000+07:00

Zakat al-mal is related to the saved money, whereas zakat al-fitr is paid by the head of the household on behalf of the family members. Also, zakat al-mal is to be paid when the savings reach the prescribed nisab (minimum amount on which zakah is due), but zakat al-fitr is to be paid by the person who has food for one day. The two categories vary in the amount required for each.

There are essential differences between zakat al-mal and zakat al-fitr.

Zakat al-mal relates, as its name implies, to the saved money; however, zakat al-fitr is paid by the head of the household on behalf of the family members. Also zakat al-mal is to be paid when the savings reach the prescribed value, which is equal to 20 mithqals of gold and 200 dirhams of silver. There is no fixed nisab for zakat al-fitr, but it is to paid by the person who has one day's meals and the members of his family on the eve of `Eid Al-Fitr. Besides, zakat al-mal can be paid at any time of the year as long as the nisab remains in one’s possession for one year. Zakat al-fitr must be paid by the person who witnesses part of the month of Ramadan and part of the month of Shawwal.

On the other hand, the amount of zakt al-mal is a fourth of a tenth, i.e., 2.5 per cent of one’s wealth. But the amount of zakat al-fitr is two qadahs (an old measure) of rice or wheat or other usual food known in the area or their equivalent.

The evidence of the above is the hadith recorded in the two authentic books of Hadith (namely Al-Bukhari and Muslim), and reported by Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him) prescribed zakat al-fitr as one saa` (an old measurement) of dates or wheat on every person whether male or female from among the Muslims." In another authentic hadith, the Messenger of Allah is reported to have ordered that zakat al-fitr be paid out before going to the `Eid Prayer. This is done with a view to make all Muslims feel happy in that day.

It goes without saying that zakat al-mal expresses the state of richness and satisfaction of the person who gives the zakah, as it is to be paid by the well-to-do people. On the contrary, zakat al-fitr must be paid by both the rich and poor. Therefore, the poor should pay the zakah on behalf of his household in order to make him pay the zakah as he used to receive it from the rich. In addition, the purpose of the poor paying zakat al-fitr is to help them get the reward promised by Allah for zakah on an equal footing with the rich. This, in turn, is to encourage them and honor their dignity. This is considered a great wisdom that cannot be found in any other religion or man-made system.

Charity (sadaqah)
Among the considerable signs of showing gratitude to Allah are Zakah and charity. When a Muslim pays his Zakah or spends something in charity, his soul is purified from miserliness and he rises to the peaks of magnanimity and honor. This very act of spending money in charity and Zakah is a great sign of showing gratitude to Almighty Allah. Of course, all Muslims are commanded to show gratitude to Allah night and day.

Tackling the issue in more detailed manner, Dr. Muzzamil Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) states:
Almighty Allah says: (Speak to My servants who have believed, that they may establish regular prayers, and spend (in charity) out of the Sustenance We have given them, secretly and openly, before the coming of a Day in which there will be neither selling nor befriending. It is Allah Who hath created the heavens and the earth and sendeth down rain from the skies, and with it bringeth out fruits wherewith to feed you: it is He Who hath made the ships subject to you, that they may sail through the sea by His Command; and the rivers (also) hath He made subject to you. And He hath made subject to you the sun and the moon, both diligently pursuing their courses: and the Night and the Day hath He (also) made subject to you. And He giveth you of all that ye ask for. But if ye count the favors of Allah, never will ye be able to number them. Verily, man is given up to injustice and ingratitude.) (Ibrahim 14: 31-34)

Allah has given us many things. His blessings are countless. We should be thankful to Him all the time. We should also show our gratitude by doing good to others, by helping the poor and by spending in His cause.

A believer does good deeds recognizing Allah’s goodness to him/herself. A believer’s way with wealth is that he/she enjoys it with moderation and spends it to seek Allah’s blessings in the Hereafter. Almighty Allah says: (But seek, with the (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on thee, the Home of the Hereafter, nor forget thy portion in this World: but do thou good, as Allah has been good to thee, and seek not (occasions for) mischief in the land: for Allah loves not those who do mischief. ) (Al-Qasas 28: 77)
In the Qur’an there are five words used for charity: Zakah (obligatory charity), sadaqah (charity), khairat (good deeds), ihsan (kindness and consideration), infaq fi sabil Allah (spending for the sake of Allah).

Why is there so much emphasis on charity and generosity? Because charity elevates the human personality by removing selfishness, greed and materialism. It creates compassion, care, love and kindness. It makes a person more thankful to Allah. It helps those who are in need and it provides funds for good causes and for community projects.

The Qur’an says that all Prophets of Allah preached Salah and Zakah: (And We made them leaders, guiding (men) by Our Command, and We sent them inspiration to do good deeds, to establish regular prayers, and to pay Zakah; and they constantly served Us.) (Al-Anbiya’:73)
Almighty Allah has promised many blessings for those who help the poor and give in His cause. Allah says in the Qur’an: (The Believers must (eventually) win through, Those who humble themselves in their prayers; Who avoid vain talk; Who And who are payers of the poor-due) (Al-Mu’minun 23: 1-4) Almighty Allah also says: (Those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness, and establish regular prayers and pay zakah, will have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. ) (Al-Baqarah 2: 277)

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Never does charity cause wealth to diminish.” (At-Tirmidhi, Hadith no. 2247)
There are also many warnings against those who do not spend in the way of Allah: ( They who hoard up gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah, unto them give tidings (O Muhammad) of a painful doom, On the day when it will (all) be heated in the fire of hell, and their foreheads and their flanks and their backs will be branded therewith (and it will be said unto them): Here is that which ye hoarded for yourselves. Now taste of what ye used to hoard ) (At-Tawbah 9: 34-35)
Almighty Allah also says: (And spend something (in charity) out of the substance which We have bestowed on you, before Death should come to any of you and he should say, “O my Lord! Why didst Thou not give me respite for a little while? I should then have given (largely) in charity, and I should have been one of the doers of good.” But to no soul will Allah grant respite when the time appointed (for it) has come; and Allah is well-acquainted with (all) that ye do. ) (Al-Munafiqun 63: 10-11)

Zakah is an obligatory charity:

Zakah is obligatory like Salah. There are some Muslims who do not pay Zakah and there are some who give whatever they feel like giving, without observing the rules of Zakah. Muslims must learn the rules of Zakah, just as they learn the rules of Salah. Briefly the rules are as follows:

Zakah is obligatory on those who have the nisab (i.e. the minimum wealth owned for one year). It is about 3 ounces of gold or its cash value. Muslims should calculate carefully all their wealth. After deducting their personal and family expenses whatever is left they must give Zakah on it. The ratio of Zakah on cash, gold and silver is a minimum of 2.5%. The personal belongings such as residential home, car, clothes, furniture, computer, books etc. are exempt from Zakah.

Zakah is for:
1. Poor
2. Needy
3. Those who administer the Zakah
4. Those whose hearts are reconciled or Islam (new Muslims etc.)
5. To free the slaves
6. Those unable to pay their debts
7. Travelers rendered helpless
8. In the Way of Allah.

These categories are mentioned in the Qur’an in Surah At-Tawbah verse number 60.

Those who have enough for their basic needs should not take Zakah. One should not give Zakah to his/her own parents, children or dependants. Zakah is also to help the needy Muslims only. Non-Muslims can be helped from sadaqat and other charities.

Sadaqatul Fitr or Zakahul Fitr:

This is a special charity for the month of Ramadan. All those who are supposed to give the Zakah must give sadaqatul Fitr in Ramadan for themselves as well as on behalf of their dependants. This charity should be given during Ramadan or before the `Idul Fitr prayer.

source: islamonline.net

Hijab: Religious Symbol or Obligation?

2006-10-07T11:05:00.000+07:00

The issue of hijab in the west and Hijab in European Countries has reached a very serious stage. Here is a clarify whether hijab is a religious symbol or not?

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

It is completely rejected to say that hijab is a religious symbol because hijab has an indispensable function in the life of a Muslim woman. That function is protection of the Muslim woman and preservation of her honor and chastity. This means that a woman who wears hijab does not do this to declare her religion or distinguish herself. Rather, she wears it out of obedience to her Lord.

On the other hand, preventing hijab on the basis of preserving the secularity of the state is an illogical claim because secularism in a liberal community means that the state authority should be neutral in matters of religion. The government should neither accept nor reject, neither is for or against any religion. The state is to provide freedom of religion for all people.

One might further ask: If a non-Muslim woman chooses to dress modestly by covering her body and even her hair, would she be prevented from doing so by this ban? And if she is given the freedom to cover herself because she is not Muslim, why then is a Muslim woman not given the same freedom?

In this concern, the eminent Muslim scholar, Dr. `Ali Jum`ah, Mufti of Egypt, states:

"A Muslim woman is obliged to wear hijab as soon as she reaches puberty, as indicated in the Qur'an, the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the consensus of Muslim scholars from early ages of Islam up till now. Hijab is known to be essential and necessary in religion; it is not merely a symbol that distinguishes Muslims from non-Muslims. It is an obligation that forms part and parcel of the Islamic religion.

Allah Almighty says: "O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go abroad). That will be better, so that they may be recognized and not annoyed. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful." (Al-Ahzab: 59)

He also says: "And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms." (An-Nur: 31)

Also, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Asma', daughter of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them): "O Asma'! Once a girl reaches puberty, nothing of her body may be seen (by non-mahrams) except this and these, (he pointed to his face and hands while saying so).""

Sheikh Muhammad Husain Fadl Allah, a well-known Shiite jurist of Lebanon, also comments:

"Wearing hijab derives from religious commitment; it is in the same status of religious obligations in the way that incompliance with it constitutes a sin. Has secularism become so weak that the secular authorities fear a scarf, a turban, or a cross hanging from the neck to threaten its stability?"

Moreover, the eminent Muslim scholar, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, states:

"I completely reject and condemn the French resolution that prevents the Muslim female students from wearing hijab at school. By doing so, they force Muslim women to ignore the teachings of their religion and disobey Allah's commands, which say: "…and to draw their veils over their bosoms", and: "O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go abroad)."

Actually, all Muslims with their various affiliations and inclinations agree upon the obligation of hijab. Hence, we have been struck by the hijab ban, which is a persecution against the Islamic teachings and values, especially which it is made by France, the land of liberality and openness, the home of the French Revolution that called for freedom and equality. Moreover, France has the largest Muslim community in Europe.

Therefore, such resolution contradicts two human rights: individual freedom and religious freedom, which are asserted by all constitutions and charters of human rights all over the world.

On the other hand, banning hijab on the basis of preserving secularity of the state is an illogical claim, because secularism in a liberal community means that the state authority should be neutral in matters of religion. The government should neither accept nor reject, neither be with or against any religion. The state is to provide freedom of religion for all people. Conversely, Marxist secularism is hostile against religion in general; it considers religion to be like addiction that hinders peoples' development. Marxism denies the existence of God and denies the existence of man's soul as well.

Claiming that hijab is a sign of religion is by no means acceptable, because a religious sign or symbol has no function but to declare the religious beliefs of the one who wears it, such as the cross for a Christian and the kippa for a Jew. They both have no function but to declare the religious beliefs of those who wear them. Hijab, on the other hand, has a religious function, namely, to protect Muslim women and preserve their chastity. It could not strike the mind of hijab-clad women to wear it for declaring their religious beliefs. Rather, they wear it in obedience to Allah's commands.

Therefore, the hijab ban contradicts the principles of freedom and equality that have been asserted by the French Revolution and stipulated in all heavenly revealed religions and international charters of human rights. In fact, the hijab ban is a form of persecution against the committed Muslim women; it infringes upon their freedom; it prevents them from their right to learn and work to the favor of non-Muslim and uncommitted Muslim women.

Real civilization is characterized by tolerance, so it has room for various races, religions, and ideologies. It does not tend to make people copies of a prototype. People should be brought up to the point of tolerance with one another in spite of their difference in religion, as the Glorious Qur'an teaches us in the following verse: "Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion." (Al-Kafirun: 6)

It hurts to hear the claims that one who wears hijab bears hostility towards others. What hostility can a woman who tries to protect her honor and who is committed to the teachings of her religion bear towards others? Hostility and enmity are never expected from a pious person, man or woman, who is conscious of Allah and fears Him.

It is true that the majority pass whatever laws they agree upon, according to the principles of democracy. Yet, just democracy cares for the rights of the minorities, whether religious or ethnic; it does not oppress the minorities. Were it so, the majority in a democratic society could get rid of the minorities under the name of democracy."

source: Living Shari'ah; www.Islamonline.net