My journey to Islam ( a sister reverted to Islam after 3 years of search )

Assalam Alaikum My Dear Sisters,
My journey to Islam began during a trip to Morocco in 2005. Before this trip all I knew about Muslims is that they believe that Jesus (peace be upon him) was not the son of God & they didn't eat pork. I arrived in Morocco very late, so it was early morning before I was finally able to lay down to go to sleep. That's the first time I ever heard the adhan, I remember thinking to myself, well I'm definitely in a Muslim country, what did I get myself into? Monday-Friday my sister & brother in law would come to the house for lunch, everyday before lunch my brother-in-law would pray. This is the first time I had ever seen a Muslim pray. During my trip the family took me to a small village outside of Marrakesh called Ourika. There were of course people selling various things alongside the road, 1 vendor was selling clay minarets, my sister-in-law picked up 1 & asked me "What about this?" I told her no, when she asked why I told her because I'm not Muslim nor will ever become a Muslim.
The major part of the time in Morocco I was in Casablanca. While in Casablanca when I would go outside the family would insist that I wear hijab. When I returned home this is a habit I continued but not on a consistent bases not really understanding what it meant.
A couple of years later my husband left me & we eventually got divorced. I then became interested in a man from Jordan. I decided that since I seem to be interested in Muslim men then I need to understand some basic things about Islam. My intended then introduced me to a sister from Massachusetts, that sister then introduced me to a sister that was holding classes on Yahoo about different aspects of Islam. I began to attend those classes everyday.
After some time the sister asked me what was holding me back from accepting Islam. I told her Jesus (peace be upon him). She explained to me that Muslims hold Jesus (peace be upon him) in the highest respect, they accept his virgin birth, they accept him as the Messiah, but that he was only a prophet, & not the son of God. So I finally took my shahada after much prayer & thought a week after my birthday in April 2008.
All in all my journey to Islam took 3 years. I have been a Muslimah for 6 years now, alhamdulilah.

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Revert story of sister *** Surabhi *** from India

My name is Surabhi Singh, now Saffiyah Subeerah, 27 years old single female living in New Delhi, India and working as a professional in a Delhi based company. I was born and raised as a Hindu in a nice and loving upper middle class family
when I was 19 years old, Islam touched my life for the first time via internet. I started studying about Islam, not to revert but from academic point of view, to gain spiritual knowledge just like I did for other religions like Buddhism, Jainism I started readings books on Islam, its inner aspect and I was quite happy to see that it made perfect sense and had whatever I needed for leading a peaceful and happy life. Islam had everything for me, complete submission to one and only Allah, the creator, promoting equality in all humans without discriminating on the basis of race, color, nationalities, class of sex. These teachings of Islam was most important for me and it won over my soul and then my quest for Islam started increasing, it was like I am seeking Islam and Islam seeking me. It was like Allah wants to embrace me and I want to embrace Allah, time was passing and Islam was slowly and slowly entering my heart and soul. I never looked back again and keeping getting immersed in Islam. I bought myself a copy of Qur’an and started reading. Later my devotion to Islam was going north even without reverting I started praying and Fasting during Ramadan. I started questioning myself what I really want in life and what was the purpose of life, do I want to be a Muslim and revert to Islam? or I would stop there, but I was feeling that I am more compatible to Islam, I can lead a very progressive and peaceful life as a Muslim .Than Finally after a long years of yes and no, I decided that I will embrace Islam and I would submit myself to Allah without any hope of reward and Allah will be most important one in my life above any one …So I decided to take shahadah without any further delay
After Ramadan I decided to revert to Islam but I wanted to chose a specific day though I knew I will always remember the day of my reversion so I chose my date of birth to revert.
Reaction of parents/friends
I have kept my reversion secret as of now with my parents, some of my friends knew but they don’t seem to have changed, they are behaving same with me before my reversion.
There has been great positive response from the Muslim community, I am getting all sort of help regarding my queries, confusions and also regularly updating me regarding Islam as a new Muslim without asking, I am over whelmed the kind of help I am getting …In Sha Allah I am very happy and hope to get this kind of help in future as well
Future plans.
I wish to follow Islam truly and submit to Allah and strengthen my Imaan, I would like to interact with more people and seek knowledge from them. I seek more knowledge and guidance from Allah and from my Muslims Brothers and sisters in near future and later I don’t know what Allah has stored for me, maybe get married to a nice Muslims man who can help me and be my partner in leading a life as per Qur’an and Sunnah of prophet.
I would like to add for my born Muslim brother and Sisters, that they realize that Allah had given them a privilege to be born as a Muslim and hope they forget it not and do not take that gift from Allah as granted. Ask me or any other revert to Islam who were born in non-Muslim families and had to face challenges and dilemmas just to get what you already have since birth, the truth and Guidance of Allah and the holy Qur’an and the knowledge that comes from it. Let us all be Thankful to Allah for guiding us….Alhamdulillah!!!

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my journey to Islam ” story of sister Aicha” ( Chantal )

Salaam alaykoum wa rahmatulahi wa barakatu
A little bit about me and my journey to Islam.
My parents are catholic and gave me their faith when i was born.
I used to go to church when i was little. Always found the church to be cold and dark….didn’t really like it.
As i grew up, and we moved to a different city, i became very close to the girlfriends i had at my new school. They where muslim…and at first i felt really connected toward their culture, they are Moroccon, really warm and the way their families are with eachother felt good.
As i got older i had many problems with my parents and really started to rebel.
But when i got my own place things really changed for me…i was in my own little world and my interest in faith grew…but not the catholic faith as i had many question marks about that, not of interest but of disbelieve.
I started to look into my friends faith and read a lot….after the reading and exploring about Islam i really found the truth that i was always looking for and found answers to my questions.
For me reverting to Islam was the best choice i have ever made in my whole life. And it felt very natural.
I reverted in 2001..al Hamdulillah
I dress pious and try to be a good muslimah in sha Allah. Still learning and will till my dying day.
May Allah (Subhana wa ta’ala) guide us all and give us the knowledge we need and look for……ameen.
this story is for sister Aicha and this is it’s source :
http://aichamoslima.wordpress.com/about/

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Jane “Imaan” Discover Islam by Hearing Azan ** A New Muslim Journey from Philippines **

My name is Jane and my adopted name is Imaan
I was born in Philippines in 1992, in a city called Manila.
Before Islam
I grew up in a Christian home together with my parents and my siblings. We always attend masses at Church every Sunday and my parents let me study in Catholic schools and universities. I learned a lot during that time about Christianity but most of them are questions in my mind which my parents and some professors never answer me back with a reliable answer. I used to ask myself before, especially when we are in the Church and praying, I am so confused. I felt like there’s something not true and I need to find it.
One day I saw a Muslima wearing Niqab in a store while buying some books I suddenly look in her eyes and we had an eye to eye contact at that very moment I felt like she’s the most beautiful woman I ever seen in my whole life. At that time I didn’t really know they are called Muslims but I called them before as Ninjas. When I went back home I asked all my aunties, cousins and some of my friends who are they, why they are wearing that, why they are hiding their faces, why and why and why but no one give an answer they just say “they are terrorist” “they kill innocent people” and so on..
During those days, we went to an Islamic place. I didn’t knew about Muslims and Islam at all that time. I heard from media that most of them are terrorist and my family believes on what they heard on media but I ignored it because I really don’t judge a person by their religion. When I was 18 years old. I started studying other religions. I never give up searching for an answer. People around me especially my parents seems annoyed by my questions I felt like no one understands me.
Finding Islam
After a year, we went to an Islamic place which 60% of the people there are Muslims but I never had a chance to make Muslims friends at that time because I am not really friendly and I feel so shy. Around six in the afternoon we went to a Church to attend a Mass with our whole family. It was 2nd day of November, I was standing in one corner then suddenly I heard the Azan for the very first time in my life I was so amazed and I felt like it’s calling me and my body wants to walk towards the sound. I didn’t notice the mass was ended then I was just staring in the sky and in that moment it was the best feeling I ever felt in my life.
Being a Muslim
When we got back in our city I started to study Islam and from there I decided to take my Shahada alone in my room. Alhamdulillah for the internet I met many muslim sisters and brothers and also Islamic internet sites who helped me out on how to perform Salah. Actually I kept on watching and watching all over again after that I did give a try to perform Salah for the first time and I was so shocked that I did cry a lot the whole time knowing my lips can speak Arabic words without doing an effort. It was a sudden change in my life. I quit all the bad habits I am doing, hanging out late at night with friends, Drinking alcohol and Smoking. People around me think I am crazy like a female psychopath. Every time I prayed Salah in front of them they keep on laughing at me, Friends called me uncool because I am not into their trips now. Fasting alone in our house during Ramadan and.. Being alone every Eid but still Alhamdulillah. Praying Salah and reading Quran makes me feel I am not alone at all. I admit, I always asked question to my brother and sister in Islam maybe they got a bit annoyed. I asked Allah to help me, to answer my questions. SUBHAN ALLAH! Every time I asked question, He answered it every time I open and read the Holy Qur’an.
Most of the people in my life kept asking me “Do you really need to convert to other religion so you can change to a better person?” and so I just smiled and think of the words I’ve read inside the Holy Qur’an
“Allah guides whom He wills to a straight path”
I didn’t choose Islam, Allah choose me.

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my revert story **Catrina**

La ilaha illa Allah

As Salam Alaikum , Brothers and Sisters,

 

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may his blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. 

 

I was always brought up with the belief in God and only one God, my mother had us christened catholic as babies , so we celebrated christmas, easter etc, but mum was never very religious, mum taught us to say the lords prayer before bed.

My younger brother found Islam a few years ago, on his visits he would always try and explain how the bible had been re written to mans liking ,  i just used to listen and although what he tried to teach me was interesting and some of it made sense, i was still  not understanding, as my children grew and made more friends via school and after Religious Education lessons at school they would come home and tell me about the different religions, i then became more open minded to others and learnt  more about people , some religions made no sense at all to me , but the more i heard and read about Islam, it was making sense.

 

My eldest son, 15 yrs of age at the time, came home from school one day and said what would i do if he became a muslim?, well i was lost for words as i had not expected this at all, as only a yr previous he had been christened Church of England at his request, so this was a complete surprise, i told him to do more research and learn more about becoming a muslim and to read some more of the bible and read the quran, he said he would, The next day he came home from school and said , “mum don’t be angry, i’v said Shahada ” i looked at him and said “what is Shahada”? I was once again surprised, but it was his choice and up to him, he then explained that he can only eat Halal meat, i knew what this was because i had catered for my brother , so this was not a problem, later that day my other son who was 13 told us that he had been learning about islam which i sort of knew  he had been, as he was not christened with his siblings.

 

Learning all this from my two eldest sons i rang my brother and told him , straight after work he came round with prayer caps and prayer mats and was making sure that my mind was at ease, Which it was i was totally at ease in my heart and mind , as i saw it i had done a good job as  a mother so far, in making sure my children believed in God, and even more proud that they had made up their own minds on their paths to follow, my thought was, they are going to be good boys not out on street corners, drinking, smoking getting arrested, instead thy will be doing good to others and taking good care of them selves. all this was in the june by the second Eid of that year my second eldest son had said his Shahada.

 

A year later my eldest was at mosque and got a invite to go to do Hajj all paid for by a brother, i was very worried and suspicious as any mother would be, but i was assured that it was a most charitable thing a muslim could do for another muslim, so i signed the letter to agree for my son to go out to Saudi Arabia , i did a lot of research before and after signing and learnt a lot during the months leading up to my son leaving for Mecca,  during this time i had a dream that all my neighbours were shouting out of their windows AS SALAM ALAIKUM CATRINA, yet none of them are muslim, i woke up with tears and a pounding in my chest , the same kind of feeling i had when i had my children and saw their little faces for the first time it was a feeling of happiness and love, yet i also felt confused, what did it mean i , did not tell my husband or my sons straight away i just found Quran app on my phone and read it when ever i got the chance , i started asking my brother more questions, and researching more on the net. 

Whilst my son was performing hajj, i was watching our brothers and sister circling the Kubba every night before i went to sleep  i was becoming closer and closer to Islam.

 

Whilst reading the Quran via the computer i decided to listen to it in Arabic . WOW it is so beautiful, so as well as reading our Holy Quran and Allah’s word making more and more sense to me , unlike any other holy book, and realising , there was not any possible way this was mans word there is just so much knowledge that could not possibly be known by man of that time 1400 years ago , and then there is the sound of it being recited in Arabic, it could not be changed by man for if man tried to change the word of God in this book it would not sound right it would not flow so smoothly from the tongue, it would have flaws and not have that rhythmic sound , to me definitely a book  of knowledge and wisdom that only our creator could know ,.

 

Now upon realising this i still had my worries. secretly wanted to become a muslim practise islam pray the way that i was supposed to , but i tried fighting it i would try and find reasons not to revert , id seen the way family members had reacted to my sons reverting and when ever my brother mentioned needing to go and pray when he was visiting my mum the look on her face ,   and if he mentioned, anything about islam the debates that would happen , i didn’t want this to happen.  So when ever my boys or my brother would mention me reverting ,  id say it is good enough that i believe, im not wanting to put a label on me and there no way i want to cover up ,.

 My eldest came back from Saudi Arabia just after Eid so elated , and i had learnt so much, i finally realised i had a pulling in my chest again i needed to read something about Islam or read a bit of the Quran each day, i finally spoke to my husband about it and his first words were “It up to you but im not becoming a muslim” i told him im not asking you to become muslim. 

 

I kept trying to question things but i could not, i spoke more to my husband and he said he was happy if i were happy, he started reading Quran also he admitted that he didn’t understand much so i tried to help where ever i could, and i would bring the subject of islam up every time my brother visited , . 

Then one day i declared that i do want to revert, probably soon, but still not quite ready to commit , my brother explained that , the sooner i reverted the better as were not promised tomorrow .

 

 My  brother and sister in law invited us for Eid last october, and i asked him could i take Shahada , He cried with such delight, My brother arranged for me to visit a brother and uncle that guided him and my second eldest son for their Shahada, after our meal my husband stated that he would like to come with us, then Subhanallah in the car on the way to our brother and uncle my husband declared that he also wished to do Shahada , well you can imagine my face my brothers face our two sons faces were smiling wider then the car bumper, it was wonderful.

 

 We said our Shahada and talked Brother Safar asked the question that i get a lot now    What made me decide, and i love explaining to born muslims and non muslims, And i think some wished they hadn’t asked as i do go on a bit  .

 

 I didn’t wear hijab straight away,  i did want to but did not have the confidence, to worried what others would say , over the winter months i started draping my scarf over my head when my mum asked why i just told her that it was to stop the draft, yes my mum still did not know that i was a muslim yet, then after we stopped getting the  drizzles of snow in february , i decided i didn’t care what any one else thought  of me this is me i like me . 

My husband knew i wanted to cover properly, so i bought a big thinner scarf wrapped it around my head and shoulders clipped it in place and took the children to school , and do you know what the reaction of other mums were, Nothing no one battered an eyelid other mums still spoke to me , over the weeks some asked if i was a muslim or weather i just liked the fashion, my reply this is not fashion it is modesty , , there are one or two that don’t speak but there are so many that do and alot more mums that have spoken to me for the first time new sisters,

 One new sister that i did not know was  a born Muslim approached me in a shop and informed me that she had seen me at the school playground and that she had a lot of respect for me being brave enough to wear hijab, and that she had had a dream a while before about her dad placing a covering over her head, and that she knew she needed to wear hijab, and it only since she has seen me wearing hijab that she will soon wear it also. A week later i got tapped on the shoulder at the school , i turned around to see our sister wearing hijab and she was thanking me for making her feel guilty for not wearing hijab,  and me not liking the thought of making someone feel bad, i apologised , she said No it is good and that i would get blessings for reminding her of the right way to dress.

Im know looking forward to my first Ramadan with my family In Shaa ALLAH.

In shaa Allah we keep on the straight path me and my family .     

Catrina x

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My revert story ***Lauren Anderson***

Alhumdulilah, I became Muslim five years ago. In deciding to come into Islam I knew I needed purpose in life. I needed to know that whenever I died I would know that God was pleased with me. The reality had hit me that life was just routine for me. I would wake up, go to school and hang out with friends. It seemed redundant. I didn't find any satisfaction in this type of lifestyle. I never lead a destructive lifestyle, but I found myself questioning my purpose. I found myself asking the questions that all of us ask about life. I wanted to know that I had purpose and that my leaving of this world would be one of good. In my history classes I learned about the basics of Islam- the five pillars. I knew Muslims in my own personal life, but we never talked about Islam to the extent that you would think. I found myself feeling inclined to Islam one day in a public-library. I found my heart calling to Islam. I knew that Islam was true because God is one. I knew that God must've had a way of life already in place to guide the people. I was moved by the beauty of Islam. I saw it as a way of life. I saw it as a structured religion. In embracing Islam, I have found true peace and purpose. I now love life to an extent that I sometimes smile randomly. I truly feel proud in knowing that I am pleasing my lord and that my way of life is complete.
 Lauren Anderson

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My Journey to Islam ** Fatima Amanda **

 Assalamu aleykom wa rahmatu Allah wa barakatuh



I am so humbled and eternally grateful to Allah Subana Wa Ta'ala who forgave me of my sins and opened my mind, body and soul finding me worthy to the truth and inviting me to Islam on 8 Rabi Al-Awwal 1432 H during Egyptian revolution I experienced the absolute power of prayer as I watched on TV for the first time in Tahrir square, Muslims pray . This was my first call to prayer, I felt a blindness in my life had been cured.

Shortly after this a good friend of 3 years I had met on Facebook, who lives in Cairo, Egypt showed me via Skype the Masjid outside his window just as Fajr call to prayer sounded. I bowed my head and in my heart felt this to be the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard. This was my second call to prayer, I felt a deafness I had in my life had been cured. I then purchased a Qur’an opened to Al-Fatiha and first few pages of Al-Baqarah, I knew I was about to find out what I always prayed for, the meaning of life, serenity and peace of mind. I spent a year and half on a very special journey (that continues by the minute) soul searching leading me to begin studying Islam.

A week before Ramadan 1433 H (July 2012, I wrote an email to the Masjid in the community I live about a brother in India I became friends with on Facebook. He was studying to be Qur’an Hafiz and was hoping to come to Canada. Because of my love for Allah Subana Wa Ta’ala and his Prophet Sallallahu alayhi Wasallam and my love for Muslims around the world I was hoping they could help him with his dream. They read my email and also read I was soul searching and began my study of Islam. I received an email inviting me to attend Iftar on 2 Ramadan 1433 H and discuss if we could help this brother. This was the opportunity I had been waiting. I had not went to a Mosque since I heard my first call, there was a voice that kept telling me to wait, I would know the perfect time. It was this night I declared, As-Sahadah .

Immediately upon entering the parking lot of the Masjid and a Sister greeting me at the door I felt a light shine and my spirit jump and was fully awakened realizing I was always a Muslim by heart but did not know until Allah Subana Wa Ta'ala decided it was my time to live and to be given a right to life with dignity through the Muslim way of Life shown to us through the perfected life of our beloved Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu alayhi wasallam

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How My Bible Led Me to Islam ** Kristen **

I made a conscious decision to live my life after graduating from high school. Before that I was just dragging myself along.  I did not want to go down a road for x amount of years, only to find I had to turn back and start again.  So, I had a sit down with myself.  What did I want?  What would I do?  How would I start?

I concluded that no matter what I gained in this world – millions of dollars, being CEO of an international corporation, having a fancy car or a lovely house, or even a perfect husband and lots of loving children - it ultimately would mean nothing if God was not pleased enough with me to admit me to Heaven.

I began studying my Bible and the history of Christianity.  A subtle thought popped into my mind.  What IF you were wrong?  Is Christianity true just because you were born into it and it is what is familiar to you?  What about idol worshipers  wouldn't you encourage them to reevaluate their beliefs for certainty?  I did not have any doubts about the certainty of my faith, but for moral integrity I decided that IF such would be found to be true then I would follow God – in whatever way He wanted – no matter the consequences.

I came across many interesting facts in my studies.  One of them being that the Bible needs to be studied from the old language, as there are many insertions from scribes over the years which are not part of the original manuscripts.  Catholicism was around even before the time of Jesus.  The trinity was never mentioned in the Bible, but it was during the Council of Nicea of 325 AD that Roman Catholicism (which originally worshiped false gods and idols) absorbed Christianity.  December 25th, believed to be the birth of one of their gods, was now celebrated as the birth of Jesus – who was born nowhere around that date.  Ironically,it had been idol-worshiping Roman Catholics who had so fiercely persecuted early Christians before 325 AD.  Well, I wasn’t Catholic anyway.

A few other things caught my eye:

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God's law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.  Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.“  [Matthew 5:17-19]

So I decided to follow the law.  I just needed to find out exactly what that law was.

"And you may not eat the pig.  It has split hooves but does not chew the cud, so it is ceremonially unclean for you.  You may not eat the meat of these animals or even touch their carcasses.”  [Deuteronomy 14:8 ]
             
So I did away with pork.

“Do not associate with wine bibbers…”  [Proverbs 21:20]

So I decided to never drink alcohol.

This is what the LORD says: "Do not act like the other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them.  For the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an ax by the hands of a craftsman.  They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won't fall over.

So I stopped celebrating Christmas and did away with statues, pictures,and jewelry with the image of Mary and Jesus on them.

Then I found something that was just a big….huh?????

The verse is:   “His mouth is sweetness itself;  he is altogether lovely.”  [Song of Solomon 5:16]
I was reading from a Torah with notes in the original language, and the word מחמד is used.  That word is “Muhammed”.  “He is Muhammed.”

There are a few more, but I think the Prophet mentioned BY NAME is sufficient evidence of my “huhhh?” moment.

After studying the Bible, Old and New Testament (including the Torah in its original language), and Christian History.  I looked into Hinduism.  I was SHOCKED to find that the Hindu scriptures, like the Torah, spoke of the Prophet Muhammad by name, said he would live in Arabia, gave the name of his mother and father, and many more details which are too many to note here. If you want to look into it further go to this link:

http://www.irf.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=201&Itemid=131

I then began to study Islam.  I went to my local library and checked out every book about Islam. Something just didn't seem right as I began to absorb more and more information from the pages, which I later realized was DISinformation.  Even the translation of the Qur'an I had picked up must have been deliberately mistranslated as I specifically remember a fake verse being inserted which said “Jesus prayed to Allah to forgive him for saying that he was God” (and every Muslim knows that is NOT in the Qur’an which has remained unchanged in its original language down to the letter ).  Only later did I found out, that despite the pen name of the authors being a Muslim-sounding names, the authors of those books were not really Muslims at all--nor was their aim to give correct information about Islam.  Once I realized that I was conscious enough to make sure to get information from real Muslims authors.  I learned that Islam put down very clear rules and made things simple.  Many details about the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) were written down so we would not be confused on the best way to live our life.  Prophet Muhammed said it was he who was prophesied in the Bible.  And here’s the kicker…

The Qur’an cannot be written by a human being (or jinni).  This is hard for a non-Muslim to accept, but it’s just a fact that any person who has good knowledge of the Arabic language will attest to—what ever their religion. The literary style of the Qur’an is literally--divine.  In several places in the Qur’an it challenges man and jinnkind to gather in an attempt to produce just 1 verse similar to the Qur’an.  It goes on to say with assuredly that they cannot, and that challenge has stood unbroken for over 1400 years (despite councils and conferences being held for this very purpose).

During the time of Prophet Moses, magic was widespread and at its peak.  When Moses, who was unlearned in magic, threw the stick and his snake ate all the others, the best magicians in the land recognize that this was no trickery, and immediately became believers.

During the time of the Prophet Jesus, medicine was held as a divine art.  So God gave the prophet Jesus, who had not studied medicinal healing  the power to bring the dead back to life and heal with a single touch.  Any true student of medicine could see that such healing could only come from the leave of God.

During the time of the Prophet Muhammed, the Arabic language was at its strongest.  So God sent Prophet Muhammed,a man who could not even read or write, and gave him a book that even the greatest poets of that time admitted that they could not even attempt to reach such a level of elegance, concentrated meaning, and beautiful recitation with their own poems.  The Qur’an lead many poets to believe in the one, true God.

At this point, I was convinced, but Jesus not dying on the cross was something hard for me to wrap my head around.  This was the single most powerful belief that was instilled in me by almost every person I had ever come in contact with during my years of childhood.  I thought, is it possible for God to have put the likeness of Jesus onto another person and to raise him up?  My answer was immediately yes, everything is easy for God.

It had been a few years journey, but the next day, I took my shahada.   May Allah continue to guide me and keep me on His straight path, and make my children strong believers who fiercely guard their prayers.  Ameen.

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How I found Islam … ** Jessica **

This is the short story on how I found Islam ...

I was pagan.
So I was trying to learn more about my turkish ancestry , I went to this site where you can make friends with people in other countries to learn their language. So anyways I made a penpal to help me with the turkish language.

My friend happened to mention they were Muslim in passing, also he mentioned a few things about Islam and how Islam organizes your life...

I got curious case the only thing I know about Islam is what I had pre conceived notions about....

I started reading and realized Islam was nothing like I thought it was, it was actually quite beautiful and organized. I am a person who loves organized haha...

Well too sum it up I felt something in my heart when I started studying Islam... I've never felt before , my heart felt full, and I absolutely fell in love ... I've never had this feeling before with any religion...

I said my shahada on skype with my now dear friend and brother. Now I'm on my journey to learn all that I can. I am taking it one step at a time.

Most my friends support me and some of my family. My husband is not Muslim and he is in the military... We also live on a military base ... So things have been tough, but nothing more than I can handle, Alhamdulillah!!

I have no Muslim friends yet in my community, but insha'allah I will.

I have my two dear brothers/friends online that have and are helping me through my transition... I don't know if I would have had the courage without their guidance. Masha Allah they are my rocks through my transition. But first and most Allah waited for me for almost 32 years to finally find him. Allah is most kind!

Thank you for listening to my story!
Jessica :)

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Professional woman pilot reverts to Islam ( My Road in Islam )

 I grew up in a Roman Catholic family, schools and universities. I was always very interested in knowing about religion and always questioned the “dogmas” of the catholic faith, but I  found the same answers every time I asked about the trinity , “ you had to believe and not question your faith because you are committing a sin”, the nuns at the school always replied. With this concept I grew up and  I developed a fear to challenge my faith, so I continued in the road of Christianity with a great faith and trust in God and  on what I learn to believe  “ the Holy trinity.”

In 2001 I had the first meeting with Islam when I worked for a Canadian Company own by Muslims, there I had my first confrontation with Islam, but I was young and very much dedicated to my professional career so I left the questions about religion behind, and I concentrated on finishing my career and taking care of my responsibilities with my family who also relocated with me from Colombia, my mother and my grandmother whose are now 61 and 93 years old. I was very blessed with the family were I was born; these two women taught me the love and respect to God, they started my journey to Islam by teaching me that I could not be or do anything without faith in God. Regardless the school they adhere or followed they taught me all about faith and respect for God.

I got married in 2003, a marriage that unfortunately marked my life with domestic violence but out of the sad episode I had my dearest son who is now eight years old. My husband at the time did not believe in God or I should said he believed on his own way, he drew me far from God even from Christianity, it is the most sad episode of my life, but one day in 2005 I broke out of that situation with the Help of my Mother and I continued life alone with my son, my mother and working hard to achieve  my career goals while  becoming the main provider of my home.

Aviation brought me many opportunities most of them really good, I had the opportunity to live in Malaysia a country that shares three religions, Islam mainly, Induhism and Buddhism, then I lived in South america and I worked in United States as Corporate Pilot, now I am  an Airline pilot flying mainly to Asia, Middle East and Europe. Unfortunately being the only female Pilot almost every where I go I spend lost of time lonely, most of my colleagues spend their spare time in nigh clubs and bars, and I was looking for something else that I could not find never in a club or at a bar, so I dedicated my spare time to continue my University  studies online, but no time for God other than a small pray in the morning and maybe at night time, no time to go to churches, so I was growing as a career woman but what about the life after???...

When I travel to the Middle East I always felt something  special inside , there I felt like dressing in a more decent manner than I normally did, I used to  wear tight jeans , tight  pants and fashion tops but I didn’t feel like dressing on that way on the Middle East,  not at a place where they call the name of God five times a day...I felt ashamed…..I guess this is how the conversion started .. once in Bahrein while waiting for my airplane to be fixed, I downloaded the Quran and I started praying every day in the morning before going to the breakfast. I was feeling very empty inside;  my life then was limited to wake up, work, eat, exercise and sleep….but what about my spiritual life???, not even  when I returned back to Home, I was not leading my son spiritually in the way I was suppose to. Previously on my search to find God I went from the Catholic church to the Baptist church, and after the ceremony of the baptism we only went  back to church a few times, mainly because of my tight schedule at work  and honestly  there was no connection, something was  missing, I was not there completely.

Was God in my life?? Yes, indeed , but He had better plans for me I think he was just waiting for me to realize that my life was not only to work and pay bill,  he knew  I had more responsibilities with myself and my son, those responsibilities  to build the life after;  so God knocked at my door...and I was afraid to open, I thought just by talking to God on my mind all day and say his name many times in the day was enough to feed my soul….but not it wasn’t enough, God knew I was on urgent need of him saving my life.

The moment I said Islam was for me, it was in the Middle East; when I heard the call for praying, at that moment I had to cover my eyes with my sun glasses in front of the other pilots that were with me on the way to the restaurant, because my eyes covered with tears...I felt like saying; stop! I have to join this pray. I still remember one of them making fun of the songs of the Quran, and I felt so upset inside, I felt like calling him ignorant, don’t you realize is a call for praying to God?… but the words didn’t come out , but the tears kept rolling down my eyes. On that night after dinner I came to my room grabbed the praying rug and bowed dow to God as I asked for his guidance for my spiritual light. After that night my search started more strong than ever, I watched videos, read the Quran on my long flights, looked out for Islamic organizations to find answers, and finally one day in Argentina while resting after a long flight I listed a program about Islam in the country, so I  googled for Islam in South America and I found that I was not the only hispanic interested in Islam, the community was bigger than what any one could imagine. I committed my self to return to Argentina soon and visit the biggest Masjid in the American Continent. so I did, three months passed and I was assigned to a trip to Argentina on the thanksgivings day. After arriving I made an appointment and went to visit the Masjid, met with the Sheij, a person from South Arabia who leads the Masjid, we talk  for about three hours and before I left he asked me if I wanted to embrace Islam, I said right away ,Yes!,  I felt fear for not coming back to Argentina  or maybe not to have that opportunity again.

 My biggest struggle was to change my preconceived conviction of Jesus (Pbuh) being God, at first I felt I was betraying him, I was concerned and scare, I couldn’t wash out those phrases from the nuns back at the school saying “ not to challenge the religion because it was a sin”. This was the most difficult part.

Sheij Mohammed from the Argentina’s Masjid helped me a lot with a little phrase, he said to me; “Ibrahim, Moses, Noah, and Jesus (pbut) where all in this road, do you think is there any reason why you can’t be following them?”…

reading the Quran and finding the recognition that Jesus (pbuh) has, the importance of Maryam  in Islam, she is in Islam more important than for many Christians, reading about the influence of Constantine and how he changed Christianity, all these studies helped a lot in clearing out my mind and feel comfortable with accepting the truth that was always hidden to me, not in purpose, hidden just because that it was the truth that my parents and ancestors knew and “never challenged”.

As far as my lifestyle, I stopped drinking, this happened few months before I accepted Islam, soon after my trip from Bahrein, after I prayed for guidance ,  I met with a good friend of mine; she and I always eat at the same restaurant and had a drink or two with the food,  that day I said “not” I don’t drink any more, and I declared inside of me I was never going to have another alcoholic beverage because I want it to seek  God. Also, I am not eating pork ,I am changing my wardroom, which is very difficult because I love clothing and fashion.  I was always proud of my body and I liked to dress in a way that every one could look at me, now I am starting wearing a Hijab,  wearing losing cloth, abayas and modest long shirt.

At work I am struggling very much, in the company where I work, most people are bias about Islam.

As far as My mother, she is Christian but she said to be glad to my positive changes and she is learning every day more and more about Islam and she feels proud of me being a Muslim and now that my son, 8 years old had also revert by his own willing to Islam she is happy that we are on this safe path seeing for God.

My dreams as new Muslim are  to study Islam sciences and help those families that are struggling with accepting the idea of converting to Islam, I want to focus on children coming to Islam .

I think convert to a new faith is harder for parents with young children because they   can be easy confused, this is why I would like to concentrate in children of converted families in the future.

I also would like as a Muslim Pilot  show the world that Islam is not the submission or oppression that many think it is , and defeat the idea that Islam  rejects career women; all contrary being able to do what I do is something that  only Allah could make possible.

The last thing I would like to share is that I had chosen a Muslim name for me which is Aisha Jibreel. Aisha means New Life, and Islam is a new life for me, and Jibreel, because he is the messenger of Allah and I am in Islam because Allah delivered to my heart a message of Peace by showing me the road to Islam.
 
Aisha Jibreel Alexander
 

Female pilot reverts to Islam. My reasons( 1 of 2)

 

 

 female pilot reverts to Islam. My reason (2 of 2)

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How i found God – Why I chose Islam and not Christianity! ** Anne-Merete **

English translation is following under the original in Norwegian. Just scroll down and you will find it. 

 

Hva er det som får en helt vanlig partyjente fra Norge, uten noen gudetro,  til å tømme barskapet for alkohol, la grisen være et dyr og ikke et måltid, kaste miniskjørtet og deretter gå til innkjøp av et bønneteppe. Hva er årsaken til at et menneske kan forandre seg så mye. En ting er sikkert, det er ikke gjort over natten. Det er ikke sånn at jeg la meg til å sove etter en fuktig kveld på byen og våknet dagen etter og gikk rett inn i en moske. Det tar tid, krefter og tårer. Det som gjør det enda litt mer vanskelig å skjønne er at denne jenta var ikke bare uten gudetro, hun hadde i tillegg et VELDIG negativt syn på Islam.

Første gangen Islam kom inn i livet mitt var det som en religion jeg hatet.

Jeg skal ta dere med på en liten reise. En reise som starter på et lite pikerom en dag på 80 tallet fram til skrivende stund. Jeg var døpt i Kirka som så mange andre, men det var der min religiøse tilhørighet stoppet. Jeg så for meg kirka som en organisasjon som sugde penger ut av statskassen, men den var kjekk å ha i julen. Om jeg tenker tilbake, til den gangen jeg var en liten jente, kan jeg erindre at jeg hadde en form for gudetro. Jeg husker at jeg om kveldene i all hemmelighet snakket til Gud før jeg la meg. Barn har en livlig fantasi, og jeg var intet unntak, så jeg så for meg at vi mennesker var som lego klosser og at det var noen som styrte oss. Noen som bestemte alle bevegelser vi gjorde. Jeg må ha hatt et eller annet innebygd instink om at Gud eksisterer, noe jeg tror alle mennesker er fødd med.
Etter som jeg vokste opp forsvant disse tankene. Og som tenåring var det ikke noe snev igjen av den “lego-gudetroen” jeg hadde som barn. Religiøse mennesker så jeg på som kjedelige og dumme. Hvordan kunne de tro på noe som ikke var bevist. Det var da som å tro på Disney eventyr. Nei, jeg ville leve livet. Det at jeg faktisk ikke hadde sett etter om det var bevis for at Gud fantes, tenkte jeg ikke over.
Livet gikk sin gang, med oppturer og nedturer. Tenkte ikke så mye over verden og andre kulturer før 11.September 2001. Den dagen hele verden fikk øynene opp for Islam. Mitt første møte med Islam kom gjennom nyhetene som rullet over skjermen dag ut og dag inn. Hatet mot disse stenkastede usiviliserte menneskene vokste. Hvem trodde de at de var? Jeg leste alt jeg kom over av propaganda om Islam. Første gangen Islam kom inn i livet mitt var det som en religion jeg hatet. En religion jeg forbandt med terrorisme, midtøsten, Saddam Hussein, Bin Laden, kvinner som var tvunget til å dekke seg til, menn som slo kvinner og en fiende som truet vår “fredelige” verden. Hva jeg den gangen tenkte om Profeten Muhammad (fvmh) vil jeg ikke skrive her, jeg vil ikke engang tenke på det. På den tiden ble jeg medlem i FRP og var veldig engasjert i innvandringsspørsmål og alt som hadde med Islam å gjøre. Når man er på det stadiet så er det vanskelig for noen å få deg til å forandre mening og åpne øynene. Jeg hadde vel ikke så mye imot muslimer som personer, så lenge de ikke var praktiserende. De damene som brukte hijab, eller telt som jeg den gang kalte det, syntes jeg veldig synd på. Jeg trodde at de ble tvunget til det av mennene sine og at deres innerste drøm var å kaste tørklet og bli fri. Mennene var i mine øyne noen onde skapninger som trodde de var bedre en alle andre. Jeg vil poengtere at jeg var ikke rasist, hadde ikke noe imot mennesker fra andre kulturer. Det var Islam jeg hadde noe imot. Men man kan vel sette spørsmålstegn ved om det kanskje kvalifiserer til å kalle meg rasist allikavel…
Jeg har i mange år kjent muslimer, så det er ikke noe argument at jeg ikke hadde kjennskap til menneskene bak religionen. Men de jeg kjente var ikke praktiserende muslimer. Jeg tenkte derfor at de var gode mennesker fordi de hadde blitt mer vestlig. Jeg har spist svinekjøtt sammen med muslimer, og det var for meg en lettelse å se at de hadde vendt ryggen til religionen. Men praktiserende muslimer som lærte meg om Islam hadde jeg ikke møtt. Om jeg skulle fortelle noen om mine muslimske bekjentskaper følte jeg alltid et behov for å berolige de med at “Denne muslimen, spiser svin og drikker alkohol, så det er ikke farlig”. Nå i ettertid kan jeg ikke gjøre annet enn å riste på hodet og le av hvor dum jeg var. Jeg visste om et par muslimer som ikke drakk alkohol, og hadde all slags teorier om at de var ekstreme osv. Best å passe seg for man visste aldri hvilken organisasjon de tilhørte. Kanskje en smule overdrevet, men det var nesten så ille.
Så hva kunne så til denne store forandringen i livet mitt? Jeg liker å si at Jesus viste meg veien til Islam, og det er på noen måter sant. Selv om det var Gud som hjalp meg i riktig retning så var det b.la historien om Jesus i Islam som fikk meg til å åpne øynene. Men før jeg kom så langt som å i det hele tatt lese om Jesus, hva var det som gjorde at jeg tok steget?

Uten at jeg helt vet hvordan så hadde min interesse for Islam begynt å blomstre igjen, men denne gangen uten hatet.

Jeg hadde kommet til et punkt i livet hvor jeg ikke var så engasjert i religiøse temaer lengre. Jeg hadde kommet meg lengre unna propagandaen. Etter mange diskusjoner med religiøse mennesker, både kristne og muslimer, var jeg på et stadie hvor jeg hadde gått tom for argumenter imot religion. Jeg husker at jeg en dag tenkte at de som var religiøse var heldige som hadde personlige svar på sin eksistens. Den siste perioden som ikke-troende hadde jeg den meningen at jeg respekterte at andre har sin religiøse tro, men at jeg ikke har noen.
Uten at jeg helt vet hvordan så hadde min interesse for Islam begynt å blomstre igjen, men denne gangen uten hatet. Jeg var fortsatt overbevist om at den religionen ikke var noe god, men jeg hadde ikke lengre det samme hatet i mitt hjerte. Jeg fikk det for meg at jeg skulle se hva de forskjellige religionene hadde å si, og kanskje jeg fant svaret på min eksistens og meningen med livet i en av de. Etter å ha tatt et kjapt overblikk over alle religionene i verden så bestemte jeg meg for at det må være en monoteistisk religion(en religion som bare tror på en gud). Jeg bestemte meg for å starte med et åpent sinn og blanke ark. Legge bak meg alt jeg hadde lært om Kristendommen, jødedommen og Islam, deretter helt alene og uten påvirkning fra andre sette meg inn i hva de egentlig stod for. Jeg var på det tidspunktet sykemeldt og hadde all verdens tid.
Turen gikk til biblioteket. Jeg kom ut derfra med 3 dvd filmer. En om Kristendommen, en om jødedommen og en om Islam. Den første videoen jeg ville se var den om jødedommen. Men den virket ikke på dvd spilleren min. Og senere fant jeg ut at man måtte være født av en jødisk kvinne for å bli jøde. Da var den religionen uaktuell. Jeg stod da igjen med 2 valg: Kristendommen og Islam. Jeg satt på filmen om Kristendommen, med et håp om at nå skal jeg kanskje finne noe som gjør at jeg tror. Jeg var allerede døpt i Kirka, så det ville vært praktisk å bli kristen. Men ettersom jeg lærte mer om Kristendommen husket jeg årsaken til at jeg aldri hadde trodd på Gud. Det var de historiene om at Jesus var Guds sønn. Hele mitt liv hadde jeg hatt en overbevisning om at Jesus var et menneske som hadde levd, men han var ikke sønn av Gud. For hvorfor skulle Gud ha en sønn, og hvorfor ber kristne til Jesus?. Jesus ba jo aldri til seg selv, han ba til Gud. Dette virket lite troverdig og ga meg ingen mening. For at jeg skal tro på noe må jeg ha bevis for at det er sant! Vel, da var ikke religion noe for meg. Men det var enda en dvd igjen, Islam. Da jeg satt inn den filmen var ikke målet mitt lengre å finne noe å tro på. Da var det mer som underholdning og kanskje jeg kunne lære noe nytt som jeg kunne bruke i diskusjoner om Islam.
Jeg glemmer ALDRI den følelsen som traff meg rett i hjertet da jeg startet filmen. Det var filmet en moske og man hørte Adhan (bønnerop). Jeg hadde hørt disse bønneropene før, b.la på mine reiser til Tyrkia og Irak. Men de hadde aldri gitt meg den følelsen jeg fikk nå. Selv om jeg husker at da jeg var i Istanbul og hotellet var nærmeste nabo til en moske, satt jeg i vinduet å ventet på bønnetiden. Fordi det var så fasinerende.
Etter som jeg så mer av filmen lærte jeg grunnleggende fakta om Islam. Det er synd å si at jeg ikke engang visste om disse helt basic tingene. Og på tross av det så hadde jeg gått rundt å hatet Islam i så mange år. Filmen tok meg med på en reise fra Muhammad(fvmh)`s første møte med engelen Gabriel fram til hvordan muslimer lever idag. Det var en veldig fin film. Den fikk meg ikke til å tro på Islam, men den plantet et frø av nysgjerrighet i meg. For alt dette var nytt for meg. Rett etter at filmen var ferdig åpnet jeg dataen og det var starten på en intens periode som strakk seg over ca 5.mnd. Jeg vil tro at jeg i gjennomsnitt brukte 8 timer hver dag på å lese om Islam. Det var noe som skjedde i det skjulte, ikke engang de som stod meg nærmest visste om dette.

 Faktisk så er Jesus omtalt flere ganger i Koranen enn hva Muhammad er.

Da jeg kom over det som stod om Jesus trodde jeg først at jeg leste noe som omhandlet Kristendommen. Men nei da, der var han. Jesus sønn av Maria. En profet i Islam. Jeg husker jeg tenkte: Selvfølgelig er han en profet. Det var som om jeg hadde fått svar på det som hele livet hadde holdt meg unna religion. Islam ærer alle profetene, og ingen annen religion i hele verden respekterer og opphøyer Jesus på samme måte som Islam gjør. Koranen bekrefter hans jomfrufødsel og Maria anses for å ha vært en av de beste kvinnene som er skapt. Hun har et helt kapittel i Koranen oppkalt etter seg. Om dere virkelig setter dere inn i Islam så vil dere bli forbauset over å se hvor lik Kristendommen og Islam er. Faktisk så er Jesus omtalt flere ganger i Koranen enn hva Muhammad er. Om dette for et par år siden hadde vært et spørsmål på Vil du bli millionær så hadde jeg tapt.
Etter som jeg fikk mer kunnskap begynte de første følelsene av frykt å spre seg. Jeg kjente at dette var noe jeg begynte å tro på, men det var ikke noe alternativ for meg å bli muslim. Jeg fikk panikk og gikk inn i en fase hvor jeg bestemte meg for at dette kan ikke være sannheten. Jeg måtte finne beviser for at dette ikke er sant. Jeg gikk aktivt inn for å lete etter feil med religionen, men det var ikke mulig. Man kan finne ting man ikke liker, eller som man som menneske kanskje kunne ønsket skulle vært annerledes, men det er ikke det samme som at det ikke er sant! Hver gang jeg kom over noe som kunne være feil bestemte jeg meg for å gå dypt inn i det. Men gang på gang fant jeg ut at det hadde en veldig logisk forklaring og måtte være sannheten. Etter som troen ble sterkere ble panikken desto større. Jeg var som en narkoman hvor Islam var mitt dop.
Jeg måtte finne en måte og komme meg unna dette på, jeg tenkte at løsningen var Kristendommen. Jeg måtte rett og slett gå inn for å bli Kristen! Troen på Gud var allerede så sterk at å bli ikke-troende var ikke lengre noe alternativ. Jeg la bort alle bøkene jeg hadde skaffet meg om Islam og satt meg ned og studerte Kristendommen. Men det var så mange motsigelser der, jeg manglet den følelsen av logikk som jeg hadde når jeg leste om Islam. Det ga meg allikevel litt komfort å vite at det er samme Guden i Islam og Kristendommen. Allah er bare det arabiske ordet for Gud. Hmm…. kunne jeg kalle meg selv kristen og ikke tro at Jesus var guds sønn, men en profet? kunne jeg kalle meg selv kristen og tro på at Muhammad var Guds siste profet? Man skal jo egentlig ikke spise svinekjøtt i kristendommen heller, så det ville vel ikke bli så stor forskjell? Jeg så etter alle løsninger jeg kunne komme på. Jeg ville ikke være muslim!!! Hva gjør man da, når man vet at man tror på Islam, men man ikke vil være muslim? Ordet muslim var forbundet med så mye negativt. Jeg så etter alle slags løsninger. Men faktum var at på det tidspunktet var jeg allerede muslim, jeg var bare ikke klar for å innrømme det for meg selv enda.

Jeg så etter alle løsninger jeg kunne komme på, jeg ville ikke være muslim. Hva gjør man da, når man vet at man tror på Islam, men man ikke vil være muslim?

Søken etter Gud hadde startet veldig rolig og avslappet, den hadde gitt meg indre ro. Men over natten hadde alt dette gjort meg til et nervevrak. Jeg hadde ingen å snakke med dette om. Da ville jo hemmeligheten være ute, og ingen ville forstå. Samtidig som denne søken etter Gud pågikk hadde jeg et annet liv utenfor husets fire vegger. Dette var en godt skjult hemmelighet, og jeg levde et dobbeltliv. Så til de som kjente meg den gangen, det er en grunn til at jeg sov lenge om morgenene. Kveldene og natten brukte jeg til noe helt annet enn å sove og se på tv. Innimellom alt stresset fant jeg stor ro i å høre på musikk som handlet om gud. De jeg hørte mest på var Maher Zain, Sami Yusuf og Ahmed Bukhatir.
Sangen til Maher Zain som heter Open your Eyes har en veldig fin tekst og den ga meg mange svar.

Hun sa noe sånn som at: Hva om du dør imorgen, da vil det være forsent. For å bli muslim må man ha troen på at det bare er en Gud og at Muhammad er hans profet. Alt det andre kommer med tiden…

Jeg var aktiv på et forum for muslimske søster, den gangen med en falsk facebook profil så ingen skulle vite hvem jeg var. Jeg stilte mange spørsmål og kom på den måten i kontakt med andre muslimer. Jeg husker jeg laget en post der inne om det å konvertere til Islam. Jeg følte jeg ikke var klar enda, fordi jeg hadde ikke nok kunnskap. Jeg visste ikke hvordan man ber b.la. En jente der inne kom med en kommentar som forandret livet mitt, dessverre husker jeg ikke hvem hun er. Hun sa noe sånn som at: Hva om du dør imorgen, da vil det være forsent. For å bli muslim må man ha troen på at det bare er en Gud og at Muhammad er hans profet. Alt det andre kommer med tiden… Dette var akkurat det jeg trengte å høre for å ta det siste steget. Jeg visste ikke så mye om hvordan man konverterer, ikke er det noen moske her jeg bor heller. Så det jeg gjorde var at jeg skrev Shahada(trosbekjennelsen) ned på et papir. Jeg sørget for at jeg var rituell ren(wudu) og vendte meg i retningen mot Mekkah. Jeg sa deretter disse ordene: ”La ilaha il Allah Muhammad al-Rasoul Allah” (“Det finnes ingen Gud unntatt Allah, og Muhammed er Hans sendebud”) Med disse få ordene hadde jeg entret Islam og jeg hadde blitt muslim!

“La ilaha il Allah Muhammad al-Rasoul Allah” (“Den finnes ingen Gud unntatt Allah, og Muhammed er Hans sendebud”) Med disse få ordene hadde jeg entret Islam og jeg hadde blitt en muslim!

Mange som leser denne historie klarer nok ikke å forstå hvordan jeg kunne tatt dette valget, men sannheten er at jeg hadde ikke noe valg lengre. Av hele mitt hjerte tror jeg at dette er sannheten, det er for meg ingen tvil. Men for å kunne tro må man sette seg inn i hva religionen virkelig sier. Og man er ikke i stand til å tro før Gud åpner hjertet ditt for det. Mitt hjerte har vært lukket i så mange år, og jeg føler meg heldig som har fått denne gaven. Det er et personlig valg som jeg har valgt for meg selv. Troen min skal jeg ikke tvinge på noen. Det eneste jeg ber om er min rett til å ha den. Jeg vet hva mange tenker om meg og jeg vet hva mange sier om meg. Jeg vet på hvilke punkter mange av dere misforstår Islam. Jeg har selv vært på den andre siden! For noen år tilbake var jeg den som snakket negativt om Islam og muslimer, så jeg dømmer dere ikke. Tvert imot, jeg forstår dere. Men gjør dere selv en tjeneste, sett dere inn i hva Islam virkelig er. Ikke for min del, men for deres egen del. Det er ikke noe godt å gå rundt å bære på så mye hat, man går glipp av så utrolig mye.

Troen min skal jeg ikke tvinge på noen. Det eneste jeg ber om er min rett til å ha den. Jeg vet hva mange tenker om meg og jeg vet hva mange sier om meg. Jeg vet på hvilke punkter mange av dere misforstår Islam. Jeg har selv vært på den andre siden!

Dette var historien min om hva som førte til at jeg ble muslim, hva som hendte etter dette skal jeg skrive mer om senere. Det var en lang prosess som førte til at jeg kom ut av skapet som muslim, fram til at jeg nå idag blogger om det så hele verden kan lese. Håper dere vil følge meg videre. Om du har noen spm, eller det er noe du vil jeg skal forklare nærmere så er det bare å skrive til meg.
Salam alleikom (fred være med deg)

ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

What is it that makes a regular party girl from Norway, with no believe in God, to empty the liquor cabinet for alcohol, let the pig be an animal and not a meal, throw the miniskirts and then go to the purchase of a prayer rug. What is the reason that a person can change so much? One thing is for sure, it is not done overnight. It’s not like I went to sleep after a night out and woke up the next day and went straight into a mosque. It takes time, effort and tears. What makes it a little bit more difficult to understand is that this girl, who dident believe in any God, also had a very negative view of Islam.

The first time Islam came into my life, it was as a religion i hated.

I’ll take you on a little journey. A journey that starts in a small girls room, one day in the 80′s, until the time of writing. I was baptized in the church, like so many others, but that was where my religious affiliation stopped. I imagined the church as an organization that sucked money out of the government, but it was nice to have for Christmas. If I think back to when I was a little girl, I remember having some form of believe. I remember that in the evenings, in secret, I talked to God before I went to bed. Children have a vivid imagination, and I was no exception. I thought that humans were like Lego blocks and that there were someone who ruled us. Someone who decided all movements we did. I must have had some built-in instinct that God exists, and I think all people are born with it.
As I grew up, i lost it. And as a teenager, there was nothing left of the “lego-god belief” I had as a child. I saw religious people as boring and stupid. How could they believe in something that was not proven. It was the same as believing in Disney movies. No, I would live my life. But i diden`t think about the fact that I had not actually seen if there was proof that God existed.
Life took its course, with ups and downs. I did not think so much of the world and other cultures before 11 September 2001. The day the world had their eyes on Islam. My first encounter with Islam came through the news that rolled across the screen day in and day out. The hatred against those stone throwing, uncivilized people grew. Who did they think they were? I read everything I could get over of propaganda against Islam. First time Islam came into my life was as a religion I hated. A religion I linked to terrorism, Middle East, Saddam Hussein, Bin Laden, women who were forced to cover themselves, men who beat women and an enemy that threatened our “peaceful” world. What I at that time thought about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) I will not write here, I will not even think about it. At this time I was a member of FRP(political party) and was very involved in immigration issues and anything that had to do with Islam. When you’re at that stage it is difficult for anyone to make you change your mind and open your eyes. I had not so much against Muslim people, as long as they were not practicing. I felt very sorry for those women who wore a hijab, or tent as I called it at the time. I thought that they were forced into it by their husbands and that their inmost dream was to throw the towel and be free. The men were in my eyes some evil creatures who thought they were better than everyone else. I want to emphasize that I was not a racist, had nothing against people from other cultures. It was Islam I had something against. But one may question whether it might qualify to call me a racist anyways…
I have for many years known Muslims, so there is no argument that I had no knowledge of the people behind the religion. But those I knew was not practicing Muslims. I thought, therefore, that they were good people because they had become more Western. I’ve eaten pork along with Muslims, and it was for me a relief to see that they had turned their backs on religion. But I had not met practicing Muslims who taught me about Islam. If I were to tell someone about my Muslim acquaintances I always felt a need to reassure them that “The Muslim, eats pork and drinks alcohol, so he/she is not dangerous.” Now in retrospect, I can not do anything but shake my head and laugh at how stupid I was. I knew a few Muslims who never drank alcohol, and had all sorts of theories about them being extreme, etc. Best to watch out because you never knew what organization they belonged to. Maybe a bit exaggerated, but it was almost as bad.
So what is the reason behind this big change in my life? I like to say that Jesus showed me the way to Islam, and it is in some ways true. Although it was God who helped me in the right direction, it was among others, the story of Jesus in Islam that made me open my eyes. But before I went as far as reading about Jesus, what was it that made me take the step to start learning?

My interest in Islam began to flourish again, but this time without hatred.

I had reached a point in my life where I was not so interested in religious themes anymore, had gotten more distanced from the propaganda. After many discussions with religious people, both Christians and Muslims, I was at a stage where I had run out of arguments against religion. I remember one day I was thinking that those who were religious were fortunate to have personal answers to their existence. Now i felt that I respected that others had their religious beliefs, but I diden`t have any.
My interest in Islam began to flourish again, but this time without hatred. I was still convinced that the religion was not any good, but I no longer had the same hatred in my heart. I wanted to find out what the different religions had to say, and maybe I found the answer to my existence and the meaning of life in one of those. After taking a quick look at all the religions in the world, I decided that there must be a monotheistic religion (a religion who believe in only one God). I decided to start with an open mind and a clean slate. I put behind me everything I had learned about Christianity, Judaism and Islam. sat down all alone and without the influence of others, and found out what they really stood for.
I took a trip to the library. I came out of there with 3 dvd movies, one about Christianity, one of Judaism and one about Islam. The first video I wanted to see was about Judaism. But it did not work on my dvd player, and later I found out that you had to be born of a Jewish woman to be Jewish. Then that religion was not an option. I was then left with two choices. Christianity and Islam. I started the dvd movie about Christianity, with a hope that now I might find something that makes me believe. I was already baptized in the church, so it would be very convenient to be Christian. But as I learned more about Christianity, I remembered why I had never believed in God. Those were the stories that Jesus was God’s son. All my life I had had a conviction that Jesus was a man who had lived, but he was not the son of God. For why should God have a son, and why did Christians pray to Jesus?. Jesus prayed never to himself, he prayed to God. This seemed very strange and made no sense. For me to believe in something I need to have proof that it’s true! Well, it was not a religion for me. But there was still 1 dvd left, Islam. When I started the film my goal was no longer to find something to believe in. Then it was more like entertainment and maybe I could learn something new that I could use in discussions about Islam.
I’ll never forget the feeling that hit me right in the heart when I started the movie. It was filmed a mosque and one heard the adhan (call to prayer). I had heard the call to prayer before on my travels to Turkey and Iraq. But they never gave me the feeling I got now. Although I remember when I was in Istanbul and the hotel was right next door to a mosque, I sat in the window waiting for praying time. Because it was so fascinating.
When I saw more of the movie, I learned basic facts about Islam. It is a shame to say that I did not even know about these basic things before. And in spite of it, I had gone around hating Islam for so many years. The film took me on a journey from Muhammad (pbuh) `s first encounter with the angel Gabriel, until how Muslims live today. It was a very nice movie. It diden`t make me believe in Islam, but it planted a seed of curiosity in me. For all of this was new to me. Right after the movie was finished, I opened the computer and it was the beginning of an intense period of approximately 5.monts. I would think that I spent an average of eight hours each day to read about Islam. It was something that happened in secret, not even those who were closest to me knew about this.

In fact, Jesus is mentioned more times in the Quran than Muhammad.

When I came across the story about Jesus, I thought at first that I had come across something about Christianity. But no, there he was. Jesus son of Mary. A prophet of Islam. I remember thinking: Of course he is a prophet. It was as if I had the answer to the question that all my life had kept me away from religion. Islam honors all the prophets, and no other religion in the world respects Jesus as Islam does. The Quran confirms his virgin birth and Mary is considered to have been one of the best women created. She has a whole chapter in the Quran named after her. If you really decide to learn about Islam, you will be amazed to see how similar Christianity and Islam are. In fact, Jesus is mentioned more times in the Quran than Muhammad. If this a couple of years ago had been a question on Who Wants to be a Millionaire , I had lost.
After I got more knowledge the first feelings of fear started to spread. I knew that this was something I began to believe in, but there was no option for me to become a Muslim! I panicked and went into a phase where I decided that this must not be the truth. I had to find evidence that this is not true. I was actively looking for faults with the religion, but it was not possible. You can find things you do not like, or things u wish was different, but that does not mean that  it`s not true! Whenever I came across something that might be wrong, I decided to go deep into it. But again and again I found that it had a very logical explanation and had to be the truth. As the faith grew stronger so did the panic. I was a drug addict where Islam was my dope.
I had to find a way to get away from this, I thought that the solution was Christianity. I would simply go on to become Christian.The belief in God was already so strong that to be non-believer were no longer an option. I put away all the books I had about Islam and sat down and studied Christianity. But it was so many contradictions there, I lacked the sense of logic that I had when I read about Islam. But it gave me some comfort  to know that it is after all the same God in Islam and Christianity. Allah is simply the Arabic name for God. Hmm …. Could I call myself a Christian and not believe that Jesus was God’s son, but a prophet? Could I call myself a Christian and believe that Muhammad was the last prophet of God? One should not really eat pork in Christianity either, so it would not be such a big difference? I looked for all the solutions I could think of, I did not want to be a Muslim! What do you do then, when you know that you believe in Islam, but you don’t want to be a Muslim? The word Muslim was associated with so much negativity. I looked for all kinds of solutions. But the fact was that at that time I was already a Muslim, I was just not ready to admit it to myself yet.

I looked for all the solutions I could think of, I would not be Muslim. What do you do then, when you know that you believe in Islam, but you do not want to be a Muslim?

The search for God had started very calm and relaxed, it had given me inner peace. But over night it had suddenly made ​​me a nervous wreck. I had no one to talk to about this. For then the secret would be out, and no one would understand anyway. While this quest for God unfolded, I had another life outside the four walls. This was a well hidden secret, and I was living a double life. So to those who knew me then, there’s a reason i was sleeping long in the mornings. Evenings and night I used for something else than sleeping and watching tv. In between all the hassle I found great peace in listening to music that was about God. The ones I heard most was Maher Zain, Sami Yusuf and Ahmed Bukhatir.


The song of Maher Zain called Open Your Eyes has very meaningful lyrics and it gave me many answers.

She said something like this: What if you die tomorrow, then it will be too late. To become a Muslim one must have faith that there is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet. Everything else comes with time …

I was active on a forum for Muslim sisters, i used a fake facebook profile so no one would know who I was. I asked many questions and got in that way contact with other Muslims. I remember I made ​​a post in there about converting to Islam. I felt I was not ready yet, because I did not have enough knowledge. I did not know how to pray etc. A girl in there made ​​a comment that changed my life, unfortunately I do not remember who she is. She said something like this: What if you die tomorrow, then it will be too late. To become a Muslim one must have faith that there is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet. Everything else comes with time… This was exactly what I needed to hear to take the final step. I did not know much about how to convert, it’s not a mosque where I live either. So what I did was, I wrote the Shahada down on a paper. I made sure that I was ritually clean (wudu) and turned in the direction of Makkah. I then said these words: “La ilaha il Allah Muhammad al-Rasoul Allah” (“It is no God except Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger”) With these few words I had entered Islam and I had become a Muslim!

“La ilaha il Allah Muhammad al-Rasoul Allah” (“It is no God except Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger”) With these few words I had entered Islam and I had become a Muslim!

I guess many who reads this story can not understand how I could take this step, but the truth is that I had no choice anymore. With all my heart I believe that this is the truth, it is for me no doubt. But in order to believe you must find out what the religion really says. And you are not in a condition to believe until God opens your heart to it. My heart has been closed for so many years, and I feel fortunate to have been given this gift. It’s a personal choice that I have made for myself.  I will not force my belief on anyone. The only thing I ask is my right to have it. I know what many are thinking about me and I know what many people say about me. I know on which points many of you misunderstand Islam. I’ve been on the other side! A few years back I was the one who talked negatively about Islam and Muslims, so I do not judge you. On the contrary, I understand you. But do yourself a favor, find out what Islam really is. Not for me, but for your own sake. There is nothing good to walk around carrying on so much hate, you miss out on so much.

 I will not force my belief on anyone. The only thing I ask is my right to have it. I know what many are thinking about me and I know what many people say about me. I know on which points many of you misunderstand Islam. I’ve been on the other side!

This was my story about what led to me being a Muslim, what happened after that I’ll write about later. It was a long process who made me come out of the closet as a Muslim, until today when I am blogging about it so the whole world can read. Hope you will come back to my blog another time. If you have any questions, or it is something you want me to explain further, just write to me.
Salam alleikom (peace be upon you)

                                                  this story is for sister Anne-Merete and this is the link of her blog http://jannahratherthanvalhalla.wordpress.com/2013/01/14/how-i-found-god-why-i-chose-islam-and-not-christianity/

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Journey to Islam

An argument between myself and a muslim turkish student on religion, me as an atheist totally dismissed every word said, but, during one such discussion something inside me clicked and i really started to listen. That was the turning point 5 years ago, a few nights after this conversation i had the strangest and most amazing experience whilst trying to sleep. I felt a wave of love flow over me and through me, cant really explain but after that i was totally 100% convinced the was a god and Islam was the religion for me. Said my shahada with a friend in a masjid in northern cyprus and have been learning and practicing ever since.

I am on a journey. An irresistible journey. Pulled and coaxed and encouraged slowly forward. Constantly I am reminded of the reason for this changed way of thinking. One moment I was facing a terrible, dark place and the next I had been turned in a new direction and shown a new path. I had thrown away everything and stood alone with nothing. A hand was given to me and I have never let go. On occasions I have faltered on this path and the changes I have made have never been easy. Always I feel like I am leaving the world I knew behind and sometimes this causes me great pain and anguish. Other times I am very happy to let things go, things that have never held my belief. The people I love I am afraid to leave behind. But I have no choice. I have to learn how to deal with all this change well. Sometimes I don’t know what to do or why I feel the way I do. And I struggle. Then I remember the love and mercy and peace I have been given so far and I need more. All the time. This is my jihad.

Certainty

Certainty

Clarity

Allah

The Beginning

The End

The Future

The Hereafter

The Journey Made

The Questions Answered

Take Courage

Give Yourself

Give Of Yourself

To Allah

The Answer

To All Our Questions

Give Certainty

A Chance

An Airing

Give In To Sanity

Say No To Shaitan

Alhamdulillah

Choose The Right Path!

I’ve been brought to my knees

Looked deeply inward to discover who I am

I’ve pulled out the madness, the sadness

Laid it out before me

Cried for the pain I suffered

Cried for the time I wasted

Now I am here alone

But I am not lonely

Only taking time to heal, to rebuild

My hands hold my heart gently

My eyes full of tears for love lost for myself

I repeat to myself, it’s ok, it’s ok, you’re ok

Breathe deeply, sigh, and lower my eyes to the floor

I have me, Allah has given back me

Better than I have ever been

Stronger than ever before

My prayers are not thanks enough

For how I feel to have another chance

The past is in that box in the cupboard

I didn’t have to wait long for it to go

It was ready to leave me

Ready to be put away and left

Now my mind is free again

The possibilities are endless! 

Here

This is where I want to be, right here, right now

There is nowhere I would rather be than right now, right here

Here is…

Here just is…

Everything around me is right here and right now



Everything stopped

Everything came to an abrupt full stop

Teetering on the edge, I nearly slipped

Everything I knew disappeared, dissolving away like a fading dream

I reached, but out to what?



Reality slipped through my fingers

Faster, faster, rushing away, escaping from me

I was left with one thing…

ALLAH, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

And a choice was put in front of me.

Now I am here

And I can smile, I took the right path

The dark veil was lifted from my eyes and I saw LIFE

I am RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW

Praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds.

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