Islam has always attracted people of all backgrounds since the day Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) started inviting people to it. Its simplicity and clarity has made it easy for people to relate to its message. As immigrants from Muslim world started arriving in the USA in big numbers since the turn of the … Read moreWhy do Americans Convert to Islam?
Victoria Abdelfattah I was raised in a fairly religious Christian family. We went to church and every week and I was very involved in the church’s youth group. I loved learning the stories of the prophets, but for some reason I never thought of Jesus as the son of God. Around late middle school my … Read moreMy Journey to Islam – Victoria Abdelfattah
By Isa Hodge
You may be asking yourself why I choose the word reversion over conversion in the title. It is because we know we are reverting back to our original intended state, the nature of our creation; that is, as a Muslim (one who submits to the will of Allah). Most of us are taken from this form to an altered state because of society or family. This unnatural state violates the intention of our creation. For some, like myself, we feel this unnatural state and seek something else.
“I always believed in my heart that there is only one God, and, after listening to the concept of God in Islam, I came to realize that I can connect with Islam; it makes sense,” comments Peter. Peter contacted GainPeace to request a visit to a mosque and to complete an assignment he was given … Read moreTauheed – The #1 Reason to Embrace Islam
by Zakiyyah Al Zahid
My journey to Islam began when I was 16. I had been raised as a Christian with a strong sense of spirituality. Due to my mother’s nontraditional studies I developed a natural curiosity about Eastern thought processes. One night sitting in my room, I came to the realization that Jesus (AS) could possibly return in my lifetime. This thought was enough to catapult me into change. I figured it was time to get to know this figure of humility much better.
As a Christian, I thought the way to do this was to increase my presence in church. Sundays were no longer enough. I began to attend every Bible study I could find, going sometimes three nights a week on the Berkeley campus where I was studying. I also asked my advisor to sign me up for a class entitled “The Bible as Literature as a part of my English studies there. The deeper I delved into the Bible during group sessions at church, the more confused and frustrated I got. However, my Berkeley professor did a superb job clarifying the major issues I had with inconsistencies and contradictions. In his course I learned that the King James Version (which most Christians rely on) did not contain the original message of Jesus (AS). In fact, the oldest version of the Bible, the Greek Septuagint, was still very different from what Jesus (AS) actually taught. With this new information, I decided to increase my studies overall. Most importantly, I opened my heart and asked for guidance.
As salaam alaiykum,
My name is Vincent Skipper; I have lived in many places, mostly in the southern U.S. From the age of 12 to the age of seventeen I lived in a small town north of Memphis, TN called Munford. While in Munford I made a very particular friend who was very big into Confederacy ideology and I attended a church called Munford First United Methodist. While attending church, my interest in religion began to increase and I studied the Bible fervently. My goal, at that time, was to go into seminary. I attended two church camps and a special seminar for youth looking to go into the ministry. It was around this time that the twin towers were hit and I became acquainted with a new religion, Islam.
I didn’t spend much time investigating things on my own and what knowledge I did have was given through news cast like Fox News and CNN. Life went on and around 2004 I began to become more interested in the Confederacy, it started as an article on the Confederate flag. I began wearing Dixie Outfitter shirts and I would regularly read up on things involving the former Confederacy. Eventually it evolved to the point that I was regularly following the articles of the League of the South. Several times I tried to start neo-confederate cliques of my own but it never went far. We would gather members but lack of financial funding and real desire on the part of members caused it to eventually fall off. By this point I was extremely anti-Islam.
Linda “iLham” Barto
I was raised Southern Baptist, was always religious and active in my religion. In 1999, however, I began a spiritual journey that started with dreams of a country I had never known and people I had never seen. I had never read the Qur’an and did not know anything about Islam, but suddenly I began learning about Islam in my dreams. I eventually discovered that the country in my dreams was Tunisia. During this time, I encountered someone who had lived in Tunisia. He told me that most Tunisians are Muslims because their heritage is Muslim, but many of them have not experienced Islam as a personal and spiritual way of life.
I came to realize that God wanted me to take a message to Tunisia. I had never even thought about doing something like that before, and I really didn’t want to think about it this time, but God made it impossible to ignore Him. He inspired me to read the Qur’an and to research Islam.
“I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”: Imam Bassam Obeid said that in Arabic and in English. Both Arthur and his wife Theresa repeated after the Imam. Imam congratulated them on their embracing Islam.
Arthur recalled how he stumbled upon Islam. He had stopped at Tariq Ali Khan’s store to change his tires. That is when He met Ali. Ali’s honesty and respectful customer handling attracted him. He inquired: “Are you Muslim?” They entered in to a conversation and Arthur asked for a Quran. Ali gave him one with a condition that the book will be treated respectfully to which Arthur readily agreed.
For some time Arthur read Holy Quran long hours in the night and the next day he would ask Ali many questions to get the message right. Ali introduced me to Arthur and we decided to meet at my home for lunch. It was a great experience for me and for Arthur exchanging thoughts for several hours in one sitting. Later that day I took him to Masjid Mustafa to attend Abu Yusuf’s granddaughter’s aqeeqa. He was amazed at how calm everybody was at the masjid. Everyone who met him treated him with respect. Islam has already made an impression on him.
The Story of How a Grandfather and His Grandson Found the Way and the Truth in Islam
A personal account by David Cavall
I remember the first time my then 18 year old grandson Casey began a discussion with me about Islam and all it represented. He had been reading articles online as well as listening to talks by Ahmed Deedat and other speakers he called “reverts.” I was initially perplexed by his interest in Islam. Although raised as a Christian, Casey had shown little interest in any religious issues and rarely ever discussed anything about that subject with me. In speaking with him, I soon found that he had done a lot of thinking and research about Islam, and more specifically, the Qur’an. Our discussions quickly went from what he had learned to his questions directed to me about the basis of my Christian faith. Questions like: “Why are there so many different versions of the Bible?” “Why are there so many differing views (doctrines) held by Christians and why are there close to 43,000 different Christian denominations in the world today?” I should add that the majority of these thousands of denominations hold to differing beliefs as to what the Holy Bible teaches. They may agree on most things but there are many issues where they don’t. Casey’s questions were ones that I had often considered over the years but really couldn’t give an answer to. I had always been taught to refer to this verse from The Book of Hebrews when I came across passages in the Bible that didn’t make sense, it reads: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”