Originally Posted by snakelegs

wow - you have been through and survived an awful lot for a young person and you are obviously a very strong woman.
congratulations for turning your life around!
btw, i remember reading about that shooting in fremont - so sad to have survived aghanistan and then....

Thank you, You are from the Bay Area? A lot of my friends were related to the woman. It was so sad.

Sis Miizcamel Mashallah You have been through a lot and Alhamdullah you have a found a better life now.May Allah (S.W.T) protect you in every step you take in the future ameen.

Originally Posted by miizcamel

Thank you, You are from the Bay Area? A lot of my friends were related to the woman. It was so sad.

no, i'm in southern california, but i've been to fremont.
life is sometimes so ironic.

Mashallah!!!!!Mashallah!!!!!Mashallah!!!!!Mashalla h!!!!!Mashallah!!!!!Mashallah!!!!!

Mashallah!!!!!Mashallah!!!!!Mashallah!!!!!Mashalla h!!!!!Mashallah!!!!!Mashallah!!!!!


Mashallah!!!!!Mashallah!!!!!Mashallah!!!!!Mashalla h Mashallah Mashallah!!!!!



Alahdulilah!!!Alahdulilah!!!Alahdulilah!!!Alahduli lah!!!Alahdulilah!!!Alahdulilah!!!


Subhanallah!!!!Subhanallah!!!!Subhanallah!!!!Subha nallah!!!!Subhanallah!!!!


ALLAHU Akbar!!!!!ALLAHU Akbar!!!!!ALLAHU Akbar!!!!!ALLAHU Akbar!!!!!ALLAHU Akbar!!!!!

Diving the Islam Ocean


By Ayman Qenawi, IOL Staff







Worshipers were supplicating and getting ready to leave the Islamic Center of Washington after the Friday prayer when the imam picked up the microphone to introduce a new "brother".


Dressed in a jeans and a shirt, Jefferson Pinder, Assistant Professor, Art Department, University of Maryland, slowly made his way to the front line of worshippers.



He sat by the imam who, after welcoming him to Islam, started to help him pronounce the Shahadah — testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His Messenger — in both English and Arabic.






The young African-American professional ended the process to cheers of Allah Akbar resonating across the famous Washington mosque and its outside yard, where hundreds of worshippers were attending the weekly prayer.



People, young and old, flocked to the first line of worshippers to greet and welcome him to the family of Islam.



"I was overwhelmed," Pinder told IslamOnline.net in the mosque yard where he was still getting greetings and congratulations from people he has never seen before.


"I think it is a wonderful thing to go into a place of worship and see all different kinds of people which has not been my experience growing up as a Christian."


Islam Ocean



Professor Pinder had quite a soul-searching journey in which he was touched by the values and discipline of Muslims he met.
"It was a long journey that began with a trip to Senegal," he recalls.



"I'm an artist. I have been in work with many artists who are of the Muslim faith. They motivated my actually. I saw the way they went with their lives and how they conducted their lives," explained Pinder.



"When I came here one of my students at the University of Maryland where I teach was a Muslim and her work dealt with Islam.


It moved me. I met her family and they kind of taken my in and guided me along the way."
He says he admires the values, discipline and kindness of Muslims who are nonetheless devout and serious about everything that they are connected to.



"A genuine sense of community that does not end with the [prayer] service but just goes beyond. It's the kind of community you always think about and want to be part of."



Pinder does not expect his decision to affect his family ties.



"My dad is a Catholic, a minister," he says.


"I guess he realizes that Islam can provide something that Christianity might not and at the sometime he also realizes that there are a lot of commonalities.



"This kind of commonalities, I think, can keep our relationship strong."



Learning


The arts professor sees his conversion as the beginning of a new phase in his life.



"I think it is a wonderful opportunity for me to define myself again because for years I have been just lost, as far as faith goes," he said.



"Sometimes I think we get messed up in our American culture that we do not think there is an alternative, other ways of learning and other ways of going about life," adds Pinder.
"So, today I came here and I'm slowly learning a new way of looking at life and hopefully it will make me a richer person."



Pinder sees good connections, legitimate relationships from one faith to the next.
"I see Islam as an evolution of my learning of Christianity and hopefully it can take me to a place that Christianity was never able to bring me to."



He recognizes he still has a lot to learn about his new faith.
"So far, I'm just beginning this process…its like jumping out into an ocean and figuring out how to swim."





Pinder intends to start by becoming a member of the community and learning to do his prayers.


"I have a couple of mentors who are going to be teaching me more the Arabic and how to conduct myself and how to say the prayers," he notes.

"I think I'm just a new born now."



Related Links

• US Blacks Find Roots in Islam
• Jew Finds Solace in Islam
• Diverse US Muslims
• Americans Meet Islam at Film Festival
• Open Houses Present Islam to Americans

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/S...ws%2FNWELayout

Finding Islam in Potsdam

By Reading Islam Team




Abdalhafiz Ullmannis a 27-year old German residing in Potsdam, Germany. Three years ago, he embraced Islam.


It all started when Abdalhafiz's wife read an ad in the newspaper, posted by a woman from the Muslim Community in Potsdam, that there was a need for a gymnastics teacher. Being one herself, she called them right way.



She got the job, and 2 years later, she seriously felt that this community could be something for her and Abdalhafiz. At first, he was angry, not knowing what to expect. However, he took the courageous step and went with her.



At that time it was Ramadan. Together with his wife and the Muslim community, Abdalhafiz fasted Ramadan. How was the experience? How did things roll on after that?


Watch Abdalhafiz sharing his experience with Islam in this short video

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-mojPFiGNv4





http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/...am%2FDIELayout

When I Thought There Was No Way Out


.....I love Islam more than anything in my life. It has given me a peace and understanding, I never had before. Islam has taught me how to turn all the pain of the past over to Allah (SWT) and let it go.



Forgiveness was very hard for me to understand. I am a work in progress. Alhamdulilah!!



I thank my attorney, and everyone who had anything in their Myspace sites or blogs, for what they taught me about Islam.



I especially thank a beautiful sister from Pakistan who gave me a copy of the Holy Quran and some other wonderful books in a beautiful gift bag. I met her through the Islamic Center where I live.



All Praises be to Allah Most High, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, for guiding me to Islam…



Islam is my Life. Jihad is my Spirit. Paradise is my Goal.


http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/...am%2FDIELayout

Contemporary Stories

Argentinean Mariano Discovers Islam



By Mariano Ricardo Calle
An Argentinean young man finds Islam through learning Arabic songs' lyrics.



My name is Mariano Ricardo Calle. I am fromBuenos Aires, Argentina, not from the capital but the province.




Before I embraced Islam, I was a Catholic Apostolic Roman. I was baptized, entered communion and confirmation.






Since my childhood, I was connected with religion through my mom and my grandmother (her mom).







I read the Bible since seven years old. I began reading the Bible for kids in Spanish. My heroes were David, Nuh and Job.

When I was eleven, I prayed every night. Sometimes, I cried while speaking to God. In my adolescence, I fell into drugs until a crisis at twenty one years of age. I have always been searching for the truth.

At twenty four years I began to pray more, so I was praying twenty four times a day, one for Our Father, Two Ave Maria, One Credo and One Glory; under the water in the shower bowing on my knees under cold water (that was because there was no warm water).



This I did for a whole year. But that didn't help me too much, but God knows better.



http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/...lam/DIESection

Asalaam Waleikum....

I reverted about a year ago right before Ramadan, reasons I do not with to share...but other than that it has been a hard road. My parents are hindu disbelievers, we come from India, and if anyone knows there is a lot of hate between Hindus and Muslims there and hence my father is a strong opponent of Islam, when they found a copy of my Quran last year, i was ready for the worst but pulled a little and said i wanted to learn the truth and not what my family had told me about Islam. Me and my father fight on a daily basis as he ends up discriminating and saying degrading things about Islam. I have not told them yet of my reversion. I know that the minute my father finds out it is either the streets or death for me, neither one which i can afford. I am very lost in this world now, but very happy as i learn something everyday. i have found peace in Islam that i never found in Hinduism, a sense of direction and a strong focus in life. i read the Quran on a daily basis and pray as often as i can. hiding this from my family is hard, specially now during Ramadan, but i take it as a test, i need to pass. nothing comes easy in life is a lesson i have learned multiple times, but in the end the reward is sweet.

Originally Posted by TehzeebKhan

Asalaam Waleikum....

I reverted about a year ago right before Ramadan, reasons I do not with to share...but other than that it has been a hard road. My parents are hindu disbelievers, we come from India, and if anyone knows there is a lot of hate between Hindus and Muslims there and hence my father is a strong opponent of Islam, when they found a copy of my Quran last year, i was ready for the worst but pulled a little and said i wanted to learn the truth and not what my family had told me about Islam. Me and my father fight on a daily basis as he ends up discriminating and saying degrading things about Islam. I have not told them yet of my reversion. I know that the minute my father finds out it is either the streets or death for me, neither one which i can afford. I am very lost in this world now, but very happy as i learn something everyday. i have found peace in Islam that i never found in Hinduism, a sense of direction and a strong focus in life. i read the Quran on a daily basis and pray as often as i can. hiding this from my family is hard, specially now during Ramadan, but i take it as a test, i need to pass. nothing comes easy in life is a lesson i have learned multiple times, but in the end the reward is sweet.

Wa Alykum Asalam Sister in Islam,

May Allah SWT make your path easy and inshAllah Allah SWT will lighten the hearts of your parents in order that they will not make it too difficult for you. I wish you all the best in your journey and remember there are always people around to help you. Islam's Sisterhood and Brotherhood is very strong so always look to help in your fellow sisters in islam.

Originally Posted by TehzeebKhan

Asalaam Waleikum....

I reverted about a year ago right before Ramadan, reasons I do not with to share...but other than that it has been a hard road. My parents are hindu disbelievers, we come from India, and if anyone knows there is a lot of hate between Hindus and Muslims there and hence my father is a strong opponent of Islam, when they found a copy of my Quran last year, i was ready for the worst but pulled a little and said i wanted to learn the truth and not what my family had told me about Islam. Me and my father fight on a daily basis as he ends up discriminating and saying degrading things about Islam. I have not told them yet of my reversion. I know that the minute my father finds out it is either the streets or death for me, neither one which i can afford. I am very lost in this world now, but very happy as i learn something everyday. i have found peace in Islam that i never found in Hinduism, a sense of direction and a strong focus in life. i read the Quran on a daily basis and pray as often as i can. hiding this from my family is hard, specially now during Ramadan, but i take it as a test, i need to pass. nothing comes easy in life is a lesson i have learned multiple times, but in the end the reward is sweet.

Mashallah , this is a very strong. To be a Muslim right in a hinduism environment. Alhamdulillah Rabbil Alamin. He guides whomsoever he wills. Never loose ur patience. Allah SWT will surely make a way out for you. Be steadfast.

Originally Posted by coddles76

Wa Alykum Asalam Sister in Islam,

May Allah SWT make your path easy and inshAllah Allah SWT will lighten the hearts of your parents in order that they will not make it too difficult for you. I wish you all the best in your journey and remember there are always people around to help you. Islam's Sisterhood and Brotherhood is very strong so always look to help in your fellow sisters in islam.

i am very happy to be here among other people who believe in what i believe and i can turn to with questions, there are many on here who are also going through something similar to me....i know i am not alone

Originally Posted by Asma Shaikh

Mashallah , this is a very strong. To be a Muslim right in a hinduism environment. Alhamdulillah Rabbil Alamin. He guides whomsoever he wills. Never loose ur patience. Allah SWT will surely make a way out for you. Be steadfast.

thank you, and yes my patience has been tested a lot of times, when i am praying someone comes knocking on my door, or now during ramadan, they force me to eat, its gets hard and frustrating, i try to get as many days i can to work, from 4-10 pm so i can go there right after school and then break my roza when i need to....but then i work in a restaurant and stand all day which is draining out my energy, its hard but all sacrifices are for Allah and Islam, and i am more than willing

My First Ramadan



For years, Jelly Panderias watched her Muslim friends, even those who are not very practicing, fast the holy month of Ramadan.


"I used to ask them about their feelings and why they were not eating or drinking as usual," she recalls.

This year, Panderias finally got her chance to experience the same feelings of her Muslim friends.

"This is my first Ramadan as a Muslim," the 22-year-old told IslamOnline.net.

Born to Catholic parents, she pronounced the Shahadah – testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) is his Messenger – at a mosque in northern France two months ago.

"Fasting Ramadan is the real embodiment of becoming a Muslim," she said proudly.

"I'm now living the same feelings of nearly one billion Muslims around the world."

Muslims worldwide began this week observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Ramadan, the ninth month on the Islamic lunar calendar, began in France like in most world countries on Monday, September1.

During Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain during daylight hours from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset.

Muslims dedicate their time during the holy month to become closer to Allah through prayer, self-restraint and good deeds.

Special

Panderias spent her first Ramadan day with the family of a Moroccan friend.

"My friend invited me for iftar and after that we went together to perform Tarawih in the mosque," she added.

"I'm so excited about my Ramadan experience."

Tarawih is a special nightly prayer performed by Muslims in their thousands during Ramadan.

Panderias is not alone.

"Embracing Islam ahead of Ramadan has become very common," Sheikh Zuhir Bureik, the head of the French Council of Imams, told IOL.

He noted that three girls in their 20s and a man in his 30s came to his mosque in a Paris suburb a few days before Ramadan to pronounce the Shahadah.

"Ramadan was a central factor in their decision to embrace Islam," said Bureik.

"One of them told me that she used to fast Ramadan before becoming becoming a Muslim. She said that encouraged her become a Muslim."

French statistics suggest nearly 3,500 people convert to Islam every year in the European countries.

Unconfirmed statistics put the figure at nearly 50,000.

France is home to 6 million Muslims, the biggest Muslim minority in Europe.


http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/S...News/NWELayout

Originally Posted by TehzeebKhan

thank you, and yes my patience has been tested a lot of times, when i am praying someone comes knocking on my door, or now during ramadan, they force me to eat, its gets hard and frustrating, i try to get as many days i can to work, from 4-10 pm so i can go there right after school and then break my roza when i need to....but then i work in a restaurant and stand all day which is draining out my energy, its hard but all sacrifices are for Allah and Islam, and i am more than willing

Mashallah thats even more stonger. May Allah Tallah make your path easy sis.
*hugs*