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Aprender
01-30-2011, 10:57 PM
It's nice to finally introduce myself here on the message board. I've been lurking here for a while and I've learned a lot about Islam from here and The Deen Show.

I suppose I should tell you a bit about myself. I'm a young woman who grew up in the U.S. in a Christian (Protestant) household. I've been interested in Islam for quite some time now and it's only recently that I've started to learn more about Islam through classes I am taking at the university.

As a child, a very good friend of mine was a young Muslim girl. We would always play together and people would often look at her weird, taunt or laugh at her because of her hijab. I always thought it was an amazing thing that she wore and sometimes I would cover my head when we played together so that if people were going to say something mean, they would have to direct it to us both.

I haven't seen her in many years now but now that I am adult, I realize that some of the ways that I live my life fit with Islam. I don't drink in general or to get drunk. I could never understand why people find it fun to temporarily lose control of their senses. I don't date. Although it is something that is acceptable in American culture, I've seen too much negative happen as the result of people my age dating or living together as a couple before marriage. I organize fundraisers for those who have even less than me quite often. Prayer is an important part of my life. I don't like eating pork or any meat for that matter. Lately, I find that I don't have much interest in what is called music today in mainstream America. I've always loved the Arabic language. I think it's beautiful but I haven't learned it yet.

As I will soon graduate from the university I find myself more interested in Islam each day. I even considered producing a documentary about women in Islam for my final class project before I graduate but there is more I need to learn first. Where I live there is a stigma that Muslim women are oppressed because of the hijab. I find it very peculiar that young people here think a woman is oppressed because of a cloth that she wears to cover her head. I have also found that because I don't follow what is the norm for American culture that I do not have many friends and I find myself defending Muslim's constantly.

I hope that I can make a few friends here and that I can continue to learn more about Islam.
If there is anything else you want to know about me, I'll be happy to give an answer. I look forward to my time here and getting any of the questions I may have answered.

Thanks.
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marwen
01-30-2011, 11:17 PM
Welcome aboard Aprender !

You have a great story, thanks for sharing it with us. Hope you have a nice stay, and find the right answers for your questions.

peace.
Reply

Neelofar
01-30-2011, 11:38 PM
Welcome to the forum, ur story really is quite touching. Good on you! We'll be more than happy to answer ur questions and hope you have a beneficial stay here
Reply

Perseveranze
01-30-2011, 11:43 PM
Peace Aprender,

thanks for sharing your story with us, it's very touching. I'd like to give you a link or two that may help you to learn more about Islam and maybe help you out in your future project :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdL_GH5RGn0

http://www.beconvinced.com

And here's a beautiful website - http://www.womeninislam.ws/en/
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PouringRain
01-31-2011, 12:20 AM
Welcome to the forum.
Reply

Sawdah
01-31-2011, 02:50 AM
Hi Aprender,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing your story. :) I hope you enjoy your stay here and benefit from it, God-Willing.
Reply

Aprender
01-31-2011, 03:10 AM
Perseveranze,

Thank you for those links. I watched the video of The Deen Show. It presented very useful information. I also visited the other sites and bookmarked them. :)
Reply

Aprender
01-31-2011, 03:12 AM
marwen, Neelofar, PouringRain, SeekerofJannah

You have all made me feel very welcome here already. Thank you. :)
Reply

- Qatada -
01-31-2011, 10:11 AM
Hi Apprender :) welcome to the forums.


Your perspective on life seems interesting, and it seems you are closely inclined to the Fitrah [natural disposition which God creates people in.] And you are not following the societies evils blindly. That is praiseworthy.


Can I ask, how did you find out about the DeenShow? It's really interesting isn't it?


I just want to link you to this website which you may find of great benefit;

http://islamreligion.com
Reply

Rafeeq
01-31-2011, 12:54 PM
Welcome to the islamic board,

Peace...
Reply

Amat Allah
01-31-2011, 01:15 PM
Wellcome my sweet heart to IB forum as a new precious and dear member of our big family...

feel free to ask whatever you want my sister and by Allah`s Willing and Mercy we will try our best to help ya ...

enjoy your stay my sweetie...and May Allah lead your way to the path of the endless happiness and all Mankind Aameeeeen

Humbly, your sister:

Amat Allah
Reply

selsebil
01-31-2011, 01:24 PM
Dear Sis,

Welcome to the forum.Hope you'd benefit from your stay here.We'd be happy to clarify anything about Islam!

The Qur’an compassionately commands women to wear the veil of modesty so that they will be treated with respect and those mines of compassion will not be trodden under the feet of low desires, nor be like worthless goods for the excitement of lust. Civilization, however, has drawn women out of their homes, rent their veils, and corrupted mankind. For family life continues through the mutual love and respect of man and wife. But immodest dress has destroyed sincere respect and affection, and has poisoned family life. While worship of the human form in particular has shaken morality in appalling fashion, causing the abasement of man’s spirit.
Reply

Abdul-Raouf
01-31-2011, 01:29 PM
Welcome to IB...May ALLAH guide you to the right path.

Peace.
Reply

Ansariyah
01-31-2011, 02:48 PM
Welcome to the forum sista!=)
Reply

Aprender
01-31-2011, 11:36 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by - Qatada -
Hi Apprender :) welcome to the forums.


Your perspective on life seems interesting, and it seems you are closely inclined to the Fitrah [natural disposition which God creates people in.] And you are not following the societies evils blindly. That is praiseworthy.


Can I ask, how did you find out about the DeenShow? It's really interesting isn't it?

It's actually an interesting train of thought that led me to The Deen Show. I visited the church of my family member one day I saw them rolling around the floor and speaking in tongues. I thought that it was a really strange thing that they did. First, I thought that I wasn't very close to God because any time I was in church I did not roll around on the floor like them or speak in tongues. The pastor of the church gave me weird looks because I wouldn't allow him to touch me on the forehead like he did the other people. It just didn't seem like the right thing to do. And also, after a lot of the people were done rolling on the floor and speaking in tongues, they were really hot and sweaty and they looked upset. To me, if you're supposed to be filled with the holy ghost of God a person should be one of the happiest in the world and at peace with themselves but they were not. After the service was over that day, that particular family member of mine would be so angry in the car.

That same family member would speak in tongues while we were at home and one day I asked if what was said and this person smiled at me and said they thought ancient Egyptian and that they think they're a prophet. I frowned. The ancient Egyptians worshiped many gods and I don't think the holy ghost would have any use for that dialect these days. I also found it offensive to the faith that this person thought of themselves as a prophet.

It didn't make sense to me so I wanted to investigate the history of speaking in tongues in Christianity.

I went to YouTube and I found a revert video titled 'How the Bible Led Me to Islam' by Joshua Evans. I watched the entire thing and when I was done I saw some other videos he had done on the Deen Show. Since then I have continued to watch it after I complete my university assignments and I learn more and more about Islam each day from it and other sources.

And thank you for the link. I have added it to my bookmarks.
Reply

Aprender
01-31-2011, 11:39 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Amat Allah
Wellcome my sweet heart to IB forum as a new precious and dear member of our big family...

feel free to ask whatever you want my sister and by Allah`s Willing and Mercy we will try our best to help ya ...

enjoy your stay my sweetie...and May Allah lead your way to the path of the endless happiness and all Mankind Aameeeeen

Humbly, your sister:

Amat Allah
:) Thank you. Your response has put a large smile on my face. Your words are very kind.
Reply

Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
01-31-2011, 11:47 PM
Welcome welcome!

You sound like a breath of fresh here as well as your story. I hope that you will stick around for as long as is willed for you and that Allaah guides u to Islaam. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate. Looking forward to your posts, as I'm sure they will be interesting.

Peace! :D xx
Reply

tw009
01-31-2011, 11:50 PM
Welcome Aprender. I hope your stay here is very beneficial. May Allah(swt) keep you guided and ease all your affairs.
Reply

Woodrow
02-01-2011, 12:01 AM
It is very amazing how Christianity often is the road that leads people to Islam. I feel the best reverts are those who were the most sincere of Christians. I often hear Reverts say they came to Islam because they love Jesus(as).
Reply

YusufNoor
02-01-2011, 12:52 AM
:sl:


remember: the hijab does not oppress women; Muslim men maybe, but not the hijab!

funny thing about "speaking in tongues," i remember various Christian sects claiming that they "spoke in tongues;" which is usually some kind of gibberish. BUT if you read Acts, which is allegedly the beginning of the "Church," what do you read?

Acts 2
The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?
"speaking in tongues" enabled those listening to understand IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE! THUS, if someone WAS "speaking in tongues," according to Acts, you would have heard English! funny how people miss that!

if you learned about Islam in University, i would worry about what you learned!

anyway, welcome to the forums. here are some additional links for you:

1) Dr Bashar Shala, an Egyptian[iirc] born Cardiologist and Neurologist in Memphis used to give wonderful lectures on Sunday nights after Mahgrib. if you have never listened to the Seerah [life of the Messenger of Allah], you simply must. you learn about the revelation as it happened along with the associated history. even though it can be long, i view it sort of as the "cliff notes" on Islam! Dr Shala completed the Seerah in 2002:

http://www.pleasantviewschool.com/me...t%20%28pbuh%29

he has since begun to redo it in better sound quality:

http://www.pleasantviewschool.com/me...wi%20%28saw%29

as you navigate the site, you will find Islamic History as well. if you finish the Seerah, the part on the Khulafah Rashida: is nearly as amazing:

http://www.pleasantviewschool.com/me...amic%20History

there is also a section on the Quran:

http://www.pleasantviewschool.com/me...s%20of%20Quran

with Stories from Surah Al-Kahf being outstanding:

http://www.pleasantviewschool.com/me..._Surah_Al-Kahf

with the Owner of the 2 Gardens being magnificent [Quran-46]:

http://www.pleasantviewschool.com/me..._Surah_Al-Kahf

another fascinating speaker is Mufti Ismail Menk of Zimbabwe, whose English is better than mine!

http://www.muftimenk.co.za/Downloads.html

the general lectures are topical and the one on Social Conduct, while a tad slow for Menk, is a wealth of knowledge. the Tafseer series Tafseer - Ramadaan 1426 (2005) Klerksdorp (Reasons of Revelation of verses of the noble Qur'an) was my very first intro to the Seerah. THAT was the VERY BEST lecture series i ever heard at that time!

another Scholar is Dr Bilal Philips:

http://www.bilalphilips.com/index.php

he has both audio and video downloads, of which 12 ) Foundations of Islamic Studies is a 17 hour introduction of Islam. vid page, very bottom:

http://www.bilalphilips.com/bilal_pa...sk=view&id=288

a brother you might have met on the Deen Show, Numan Ali Khan is doing some amazing works on the Quran and Tafseer"

http://www.kalamullah.com/searchresu...index.html#917

May Allah guide you and assist you!

i hope you find these resources useful.

:wa:
Reply

Zafran
02-01-2011, 01:00 AM
Salaam

welcome to the forum

peace
Reply

Aprender
02-01-2011, 02:53 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by selsebil
Dear Sis,

Welcome to the forum.Hope you'd benefit from your stay here.We'd be happy to clarify anything about Islam!

The Qur’an compassionately commands women to wear the veil of modesty so that they will be treated with respect and those mines of compassion will not be trodden under the feet of low desires, nor be like worthless goods for the excitement of lust. Civilization, however, has drawn women out of their homes, rent their veils, and corrupted mankind. For family life continues through the mutual love and respect of man and wife. But immodest dress has destroyed sincere respect and affection, and has poisoned family life. While worship of the human form in particular has shaken morality in appalling fashion, causing the abasement of man’s spirit.
It's interesting that you send this reminder. The other day I called home to say hello to my parents and my father is always reminding me to cover my head when I come to visit lately. He's never said it before. Mind you, my family is not Muslim but he is always telling me to do this and now I am studying Islam.
Reply

Aprender
02-01-2011, 03:05 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by YusufNoor
:sl:


remember: the hijab does not oppress women; Muslim men maybe, but not the hijab!

funny thing about "speaking in tongues," i remember various Christian sects claiming that they "spoke in tongues;" which is usually some kind of gibberish. BUT if you read Acts, which is allegedly the beginning of the "Church," what do you read?



"speaking in tongues" enabled those listening to understand IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE! THUS, if someone WAS "speaking in tongues," according to Acts, you would have heard English! funny how people miss that!

if you learned about Islam in University, i would worry about what you learned!

May Allah guide you and assist you!

i hope you find these resources useful.

:wa:
Thank you for those links. I will check them out soon!

Actually, at the University all that I've learned about Islam has been consistent with what I've studied on my own. When I was in high school, however, I took a class about religions in the world and I was taught the wrong things about Islam. The teacher was a former Christian pastor who told us a lot about Islam that made many students in the class no longer interested in it. Now that I am at the university and learning about it I see that much of what he taught us was wrong. In a class I am taking this semester about Islam I am now able to properly help clear some of the misconceptions that people in my class have about Islam.

Thanks for the Bible passage! After some research I found those same conclusions about speaking in tongues. Perhaps I will show it to that particular family member.
Reply

YusufNoor
02-01-2011, 03:41 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Aprender
Thank you for those links. I will check them out soon!

Actually, at the University all that I've learned about Islam has been consistent with what I've studied on my own. When I was in high school, however, I took a class about religions in the world and I was taught the wrong things about Islam. The teacher was a former Christian pastor who told us a lot about Islam that made many students in the class no longer interested in it. Now that I am at the university and learning about it I see that much of what he taught us was wrong. In a class I am taking this semester about Islam I am now able to properly help clear some of the misconceptions that people in my class have about Islam.

Thanks for the Bible passage! After some research I found those same conclusions about speaking in tongues. Perhaps I will show it to that particular family member.
:sl:

what most people miss the mark on is the beauty of Islam. that is what i love about Mufti Menk and Bashar Shala. let me give you a homework assignment:

al-Fatihah by Mufti Menk:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...6761126106509#

the Mufti explains the 1st Surah in the Qur'an, BUT as he usually reminds us that as human beings, we are NOT better than anyone else, he strikes me as [outside the Messenger of Allah, Peace be upon him] as the closest you can hear to Jesus, Peace be upon him, speaking! [and he usually wears an imama, not that thingy]

and Dr Shala discusses Satan's downfall a bit in Surat al Kahf, which centers around him thinking that he is better than Adam. this lecture portrays the heart and soul of Islam in a way that touches the heart:

http://www.pleasantviewschool.com/me..._Surah_Al-Kahf

Stories of Quran-46 26.22 MB · MP3
The Owner of the two Gardens (Surah Al-Kahf v 28-49) ; Speaker: Dr. Bashar Shala 03-23-2008

those 2 brothers are very gifted speakers. i often think that IF i heard them before i reverted to Islam that THEY would have brought me in. they are THAT good! and they are different than most.

:wa:
Reply

Ramadhan
02-01-2011, 04:49 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Aprender
It's actually an interesting train of thought that led me to The Deen Show. I visited the church of my family member one day I saw them rolling around the floor and speaking in tongues. I thought that it was a really strange thing that they did. First, I thought that I wasn't very close to God because any time I was in church I did not roll around on the floor like them or speak in tongues. The pastor of the church gave me weird looks because I wouldn't allow him to touch me on the forehead like he did the other people. It just didn't seem like the right thing to do. And also, after a lot of the people were done rolling on the floor and speaking in tongues, they were really hot and sweaty and they looked upset. To me, if you're supposed to be filled with the holy ghost of God a person should be one of the happiest in the world and at peace with themselves but they were not. After the service was over that day, that particular family member of mine would be so angry in the car. That same family member would speak in tongues while we were at home and one day I asked if what was said and this person smiled at me and said they thought ancient Egyptian and that they think they're a prophet. I frowned. The ancient Egyptians worshiped many gods and I don't think the holy ghost would have any use for that dialect these days. I also found it offensive to the faith that this person thought of themselves as a prophet. It didn't make sense to me so I wanted to investigate the history of speaking in tongues in Christianity. I went to YouTube and I found a revert video titled 'How the Bible Led Me to Islam' by Joshua Evans. I watched the entire thing and when I was done I saw some other videos he had done on the Deen Show. Since then I have continued to watch it after I complete my university assignments and I learn more and more about Islam each day from it and other sources. And thank you for the link. I have added it to my bookmarks.


Subhanallah such a very interesting story you have!

Maybe one of these days you wouldnt mind posting your revert story to:
http://www.islamicboard.com/new-musl...ours-here.html
Reply

Aprender
02-01-2011, 05:33 AM
^

When I revert, I will be sure to do that. :)
Reply

Aprender
02-01-2011, 05:37 AM
Thank you YusufNoor,

I will check out these videos ASAP.
Reply

Amat Allah
02-01-2011, 05:57 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Aprender
:) Thank you. Your response has put a large smile on my face. Your words are very kind.
The kindness is in your heart sweetie.You are very wellcome my dear at anytime and May Allah never prevent you from the smile of comfort and real happiness and May Allah give you the best of this life and the best of the Hereafter and all Mankind and Jinn Ameeeen

please take care of your precious self...

leaving you under Allah`s sight...
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