[…] 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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My story is quite brief but my journey has been such an eye-opener, and I thank Allah for the mercy that he had on me, bringing me to this beautiful religion which is now my way of life.

About 6 years ago, I converted to Islam, and here is my story...

I have always been interested in learning about different cultures and religions, especially, because of living in Australia. We have such a diverse society; I have always believed it to be important to understand all the different and beautiful cultures and religions. This way you can understand why people are the way they are.

 I have always believed in God, coming from a Macedonian Orthodox family in which religion was more based on the cultural side of things. We went to church for Easter or Christmas as a family or for christening or wedding ceremonies, but we never regularly visited God's house for any other reason.

I come from a very good family with great values and morals, but when it came to religion it was just something that was from the old days and not really enforced or practiced. For me, though, I knew something was not right with Christianity. Things just did not make sense to me.

I was never very religious and, in my younger years, went through questioning my beliefs, even the existence of our Creator.

But deep down, I knew there was a stronger force in action thirsty for knowledge, I quickly learned with my love for reading that the Almighty was there; reinforcing what is truly the undeniable existence of Allah.

I learned about Islam from some of my Muslim friends, but it was from my own research that I found Islam and its true beauty. All the teachings from the Quran then made sense, since there was a guideline for everything in life.

I stopped reading for a while, since the Western lifestyle, then, was still very appealing to me at that age.
But one day, I came across a video called the miracles of the Quran...

What really grabbed my attention was how over 1400 years ago Quran revealed the 3 trimesters of a woman's pregnancy when scientists in the 21st century have just uncovered this fact!

This then made me say the two testimonies (Shahadatain) and I started going to private Islamic classes and lectures.
But still, I kept my conversion to Islam a secret from my non-Muslim friends and family. To my non-Muslim friends I said, I believed in Islam, but I did not say that I made the change.

It was only 3 years ago that I realized, I could not deny or hide my true beliefs anymore. I told my non-Muslim friends and family that I am a Muslim. Alhamdulillah, it was the best thing I have ever done.

Some of my old friends left me, but I am not sad. I realized that it was all part of Allah's plan. Allah made me acquainted with new amazing people who were striving just like me to please our Almighty. My family did not take it as bad as I thought they would. They had their moments and did not truly understand the reason for the change. But I did not have such a hard experience like others who have made this beautiful journey.

In December 2011, I did the most life-changing act, which was putting on Hijab. It was the best decision of my life. I have never been mentally happier in my life. Now I feel I am complete. In 2012, I was invited by Allah to do the holy pilgrimage (Hajj).

Every day, I ask Allah why he had chosen me?! I am not the best of His servants. I cannot thank Him sufficiently, for the mercy He had on me, for giving me the opportunity to open up my eyes and heart to Islam, worshiping and getting closer to my only Creator.