Are you one of those who think converting to Islam is a funny idea? Do you think the name of Islam is associated with terrorism, oppression, and dogma? The same goes with many other groups which have been wrongfully stereotyped. And it takes courage, quest, and deep understanding to catch hold of the true idea about them.
If you, as a non-Muslim, ask me whether Islam wants you to convert to it, we should give you a preliminary “No!” What Islam wants from you in the first place is “to be not indifferent,” to keep looking and searching for God and the deeper meaning of life.
No one can embrace a faith before they have ample reason (in a broad sense of the word) that it contains a bigger share of truth than any others. And you will surely have God’s help and guidance on your side.
“As for those who strive in Us, We shall surely guide them in Our ways, and Allah is indeed with the virtuous.” (26:69)
That’s what every “Muslim by birth” is also required to do as they reach puberty. In this sense, we are all “New Muslims,” and whether born in a Muslim family or not, we each have a unique story!
You can hear of many converts and the story of how they found their way to Islam here.
Now, some people could have uncommon intentions in order to convert Islam. So, when a person takes the testimony of faith (Shahadaain) and converts to Islam, is it for anyone to question his or her true faith? Or it’s only God’s business to tell the true faith from false in all of us, and not anybody else’s?
For example, you might have heard Muslims are not allowed to marry non-Muslims. Well, generally speaking, that’s true. But are there any exceptions? What if a person wants to convert to Islam so that he or she could marry a Muslim? Is it acceptable or not?
And What Happens to a Marriage if one of the two spouses converts to Islam? Are there any circumstances in which the couple can go on with their marriage as before? Or that such a marriage is dissolved unless the other half also accepts Islam?
Would converting to Islam turn all our life and actions upside down? The answer is both yes and no. One of the aspects of our lives that would be influenced when we convert to Islam is the relationship with our family. In this article, new Muslims will learn how to step into this new path with the least physical and spiritual challenges, while committing to Islamic rulings.
I still remember to this day my first encounter with a Muslim. One of the boys brought his friend to the youth house. […] What I do remember is the boy saying “I brought my friend ‘so and so’, he’s a Muslim and I want to help him become a Christian”. I was absolutely amazed by this 14 year old kid, he was calm and friendly! […] It blew my mind!
The Muslim kid left a copy of the Quran on the shelf, […] I started reading it. I soon became infuriated with this book when I saw that it made more sense than the Bible. […]The youth group used to go to various Churches on weekends to prayer events and Saturday nights were spent in a huge Church instead of at the bar. I remember being at one such event called ‘The Well’ and I felt so close to God and wanted to humble myself and show my Creator my love for Him. I did what felt natural, I prostrated. I prostrated like Muslims do in the daily prayers, yet I didn’t know what I was doing, all I knew was, that it felt really good… it felt right. […]
I felt myself slowly slipping away from the Church as my faith ebbed away. It was at this time that my best friend, the Christian man who had helped me come to Christ, along with another close friend of mine, raped my girlfriend who I had been with for two years. […] A couple of weeks later, it was revealed that the man who ran the youth house had molested one of the boys that I was friends with.
My world was shattered! […] I had nothing left to give, I was empty again. […] A little while after, my manager at work told me that a “Moslem” would be working with us, he was really religious and we should try to be decent around him. […]
He didn’t swear, he never got angry and was always calm, kind and respectful. I was truly impressed and decided that he would make an excellent Christian. We went back and forth asking things about each other’s religions, but after a time I felt myself getting more and more defensive. […] I felt it was he who was on the truth! […] I was convinced that if I could only pray there again, I could get the feeling back and the strong faith and then I could convert the Muslim. […]
I started to realize that I was being pushed in a certain direction, so I prayed over and over to my Creator to surrender my will to His[…] I sat up in bed and cried, ‘Jesus, God, Buddha, whoever You are, please, please guide me, I need You! […] If Christianity is the correct way then make me strong, and if it is Islam, then bring me to it!’ […] I went to work the next day and said to the Muslim brother “how do I say ‘hi’ to you?” He asked me what I meant and I said, “I wanted to become a Muslim”. He looked at me and said “Allahu Akbar!” We hugged for a good minute or so and I thanked him for everything and I began my journey into Islam.
I look back at all the events that happened in my life over time, and I realize that I was being prepared to become a new Muslim. I was shown so much mercy from God. Out of all that happened in my life, there was something to learn. I learned the beauty of the Islamic prohibition of intoxicants, the prohibition of illegal sex, and the need for the Hijab. […]
For those of us who have accepted Islam at some point in our lives, we truly are blessed and fortunate. […]Islam truly is a way of life, and even if we suffer poor treatment by fellow Muslims or non-Muslims, we must always remember to be patient and turn only to God. […]
May God increase our faith and make it in accords to that which pleases Him and grant us His Paradise, Amen!
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[…] I was born to British parents in Darussalam in Tanzania in 1964. […]. I was educated at the famous Roman Catholic Monastic School […] and went on to study history in the London University. However, I left my education unfinished.
Currently, I am working with an Islamic media company based in England and engage myself in dawah activities [preaching] including lectures on Islam in London’s famous Hyde Park.
[…] I grew totally disillusioned with the British educational system. It was thoroughly Eurocentric and projected world history in a way that suggested that the civilization attained its full glory and apogee in Europe. Having lived in Egypt and seen some of the majestic ruins which only archaeologists have access to, I found the West’s interpretation of history totally fallacious. I began a private study of histories of other peoples of the world, various religious scriptures, and philosophy. I was practicing Buddhism for nearly three years though never formally embraced it.
The study of the Holy Qur’an immediately attracted me. Its message had a magical appeal and I grew convinced that it was a divine revelation. I believe only Allah guided me, none else. I don’t know what made me deserve Islam.
[…] I was dissatisfied with Christianity from the age of eight. The concept that was taught to us through rhymes such as Hail Mary! Was not at all acceptable to me. While on one hand, the Christians described God to be eternal and infinite they felt no compunctions in ascribing birth of God from the womb of Mary. This made me think that Mary must be greater than God.
Secondly, the Christians’ concept of the trinity was a puzzle for me. The similitude like Canadian Maple leaf being one despite three sections appeared utterly inapplicable.
The crunch came when an Egyptian started questioning me. Despite being confused about the Christian belief I was trying to be dogmatic as most white, middle-class, English Christians do. I was flummoxed when he led me to accept that God died on the crucifix, thus laying bare the hollowness of the Christian claims of eternity and infinity of God. I now came to realize that I was believing in as absurd a concept as two plus two is equal to five all through my adolescent years.
The West’s pre laid, programmed life intensely repelled me. I began to question if a person has to live a life merely to get strait-jacketed in a rigorous schedule. I found Europeans struggling a lot to enjoy life. They had no higher purpose in life.
The West’s capacity to brainwash its people became plain to me when I discussed the Palestine issue with Egyptians and Palestinians. […]
Egyptians were poor, suffered hardships, yet were happy. […] But in England I found people shallow, materialistic. They try to be happy but happiness is superficial. Their prayers combined songs, dances, clapping but no humility, nor intimacy with God.
I realized that popular opinion in the West was totally hostage to the Zionist-controlled media. The question of Palestine was one among these. My conversation with Palestinians revealed how the West had believed in myths about Israel. First among them was that the Jews had the right to return to their original homeland in Israel. Secondly, they conveniently described themselves as Semitic while the fact was that most Jews of the world were Slavs who had later converted to Judaism. Thirdly Israel’s economic miracle was theorized to create the economic and scientific myth.
The fact was that I never got to know the Palestinian side of the issue. I got convinced that the people of the West were brainwashed by the media. I found that the US was trying every trick to punish nations indulging in small violations of human rights in the third world but was itself sending death squads into Latin American nations to liquidate their leaders who refused to toe the US line. Such hypocrisy is never criticized by the US media.
[…] The Western psyche emphasizes one’s individuality. This is at variance with Islam. Any sincere Muslim feels disturbed. He or she is constantly bombarded by sex and sexuality. Most girls lose virginity by 13 and it is normal for girls to have three to four boyfriends.
The dilemma before Muslims in the West is as to how to integrate with a society so steeped in sex, drugs, drinks and sexual intimacy. And if no integration, then how to save themselves from ghettoization.
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