A few questions.

format_quote Originally Posted by Mistrique

Firstly what would you say is the one single biggest and strongest piece of evidence in on favor of Islam?

Islam's main message which was the same message that has been preached by all previous prophets including Jesus(peace be upon him) is that God in one. So before one can first accept Islam is the religion revealed by the Creator to mankind one would first have to acknowledge the existence the Creator.

To do this one would have to reflect on creation.. Observe and study the world around us. I personally like to use the analogy of looking at something like a laptop. Simply by using reason you can figure out that from this laptop you can tell that there is a manufacturer. Then we can take apart this laptop and study how it works, then we would be able to use it to its fullest extent for our advantage. If anything, this should make us be even more awed by the design of the laptop.

"And He has subjected for you the night and day and the sun and moon, and the stars are subjected by His command. Indeed in that are signs for a people who reason. - Quran Sura Nahl 16:12"

Every verse in the Quran is called an "ayaah", which means "sign". And such is the nature of "signs", not everyone can see them. For example let's say we come across a snake with some interesting patterns on it's scales. Someone knowledgable would be able to tell that the snake is likely to be venomous while someone who's not knowledgable wouldn't think anything of it except maybe "Wow nice patterns."

From the Islamic perspective, the entire universe is a sign pointing towards the Creator. Those who do not reflect merely see the universe and admire it's beauty, then there are those who do reflect and can see that the universe did not come from nothing.

format_quote Originally Posted by Mistrique

Secondly have you ever had any doubts about your faith? if so what were they and how did you overcome them (assuming you did overcome them of course)

There are very few people who have 100% faith. If our faith is at 100% then we would be sinless, which I don't think is a claim no one here would make. Doubts in faith however shouldn't necessarily be blamed on the religion(in this case Islam). A lot of times it is through our own ignorance, lack of knowledge as well as our lower desires(carnal?). So what is the best cure for doubt? Knowledge! This is why it's important to learn in Islam.

There is a Hadith where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said something like "Knowledge is the lost treasure of the believers, seize it wherever you find it.".

Another one is..
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, “Whoever travels a path in search of knowledge, Allah makes easy for him a path to Paradise.”
[Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Book 39, Number 2646, Hasan]

That said, even in learning there are proper channels/etiquettes. Not only would one need proper teachers but more importantly the proper intentions, and also humility. But that is a whole other subject already.

Greetings Mistrique and welcome to the forum

format_quote Originally Posted by Mistrique

Firstly what would you say is the one single biggest and strongest piece of evidence in on favor of Islam?

Many things, not just one.

Here though, I'll mention the Qur'an.

The Qur'an is the last and final scripture of God, revealed over 1400 years ago to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) via the angel Gabriel (peace be upon him). It's message is for the entire world, until the world ends. Thus it is fully preserved with no word in it coming from any human. It is 100% the word of God, unlike the other scriptures that we have with us today, that have been changed by humans, thus it supersedes the previous scriptures.

It has no versions or editions. Millions of people from all over the world have it memorised, and they all recite word for word the same thing. It contains practical guidance on how to live our life, how to worship God, stories of previous prophets from which to learn lessons, warnings, rules, comfort, solace, and in it God corrects any misconceptions people may have about Him or His prophets. It tells us what has always been expected from humans since the beginning of time; what God told His prophets to teach people since the very beginning. That message never changed. The essence of Islam is what always was, and has always been, the true and natural religion; the way of all the Prophets, the original and only message.

The message, was: to submit wholeheartedly to the will of God and to worship Him and Him alone, without any associates in, or parts to, His Divinity, and to obey the prophet. All the prophets and messengers taught that people should be under no misperception that they can commit themselves to God as their Lord, and then combine this with accepting others as their Lord, or associating others in His Divinity, by deeming certain humans to be incarnations of Him, to be His sons, or any other way. They taught that we should strive hard to translate our belief in the One True God into practice, by obeying God and the messengers He sent to convey the message.

The Qur'an has been translated into nearly every language. These are regarded as translations of the Qur'an, but not as the Qur'an itself, which is in Arabic, and has rhythm and poetic beauty. Any preconceived notion that you might have of a book should be put aside. This book is completely unique, and unlike any other book in the history of the planet, or that ever will be. It is unique in every way; its content, arrangement, style, authorship, preservation, and memorisability, amongst other things.

An increase in knowledge and education, and scientific discoveries, provide further evidence that Islam is the truth. It is the religion for the thinking person. Science is gradually confirming the statements made in the Qur'an 1400 years ago, on a variety of subjects, such as embryology, hydrology, geology, etc, that it would have been impossible for anyone to know then. Some of those are mentioned here:

Exploring Islam

Another thing to note, is that Islam is not named after a specific person (like Christianity, Buddhism), nor after a certain race or place (like Judaism, Hinduism), but is named by God Himself, and the meaning loosely translates as 'submission to God', which is what every Prophet and their righteous followers did, from amongst all times, all races and all peoples. That in itself is one fraction of the evidence that it was the way of all the Prophets from the beginning.

format_quote Originally Posted by Mistrique

Secondly have you ever had any doubts about your faith? if so what were they and how did you overcome them (assuming you did overcome them of course)

I have never doubted Islam, but faith itself can have highs and lows, sometimes you feel super motivated and sometimes not as much.

format_quote Originally Posted by Mistrique

Finally do you believe that a person like me with western values would ever fit into Islam?

As sister Aprender said, Islam is for everyone. There may be some things you have to give up, such as pork, alcohol, non-halal meat, and certain other things, as it's about submitting to your Creator and loving and obeying Him.

Talking of God, this is what we believe about Him:

There is only One God. He alone should be worshipped. He is our Creator, Sustainer, Cherisher, and Lord.
He does not beget, nor is He begotten. He has no sons, daughters, siblings, parents, cousins, or relatives of any sort.
He is eternal and does not die.
He does not depend on anyone/anything, yet we all depend on Him. He is free of all want and need.
There is nothing like Him. He is all Hearing, all Seeing, all Knowing, all Powerful, the Creator of the Universe.
He did not and does not, dwell in human or animal bodies, nor are there any incarnations of Him. He is not mixed up in His creation in any way.
He is not composed of persons, nor a trinity. There are no secondary, lesser, greater, equal, or multiple gods, no intermediaries, and no denying of God's existence either.
There are no sharers or associates or parts whatsoever in His exclusive Divinity. Simply, He is One, in every sense.

The proper name of God in Arabic is Allah. It has no grammatical derivations, so cannot be turned into gods, goddesses etc.

I'll leave it here for now, to save it getting protractedly long, but please don't hesitate to ask for any clarification or further questions.

Peace.

format_quote Originally Posted by Hulk

For example let's say we come across a snake with some interesting patterns on it's scales. Someone knowledgable would be able to tell that the snake is likely to be venomous while someone who's not knowledgable wouldn't think anything of it except maybe "Wow nice patterns."

Nice analogy. I always wonder about proof. Because in order to prove something you will need a standard to measure that "proof" against to see if it is indeed proof or not.
For example science says that Force is equal to mass multiplied by acceleration and the standard used to prove this is natural and experimental observations. But although you may be able to prove F=MA with that same standard how do you prove that that is the right standard?
Of cpurse the concept of reality dictates that it is the right standard and realistically natural observations are usually correct and this is proven by the invention of modern medicine and jet engines and TV's etc.
Its a hard question. If I knew how to prove which standard was the right standard then I could answer any question.

format_quote Originally Posted by Hulk

“Whoever travels a path in search of knowledge, Allah makes easy for him a path to Paradise.”

I like that quote. I also like another one (I cant remember the exact line or where I read it) but it essentially says that Allah alone knows the true meaning of the Quaran and he alone knows which parts are to be taken literally and which parts are allegorical which is nice as it stops people from construing the Quaran for their own purposes (well at least that is the theory as we all know people do construe the Quaran for their own purposes)

format_quote Originally Posted by Aprender

There was one point at which I saw some awful behavior by other Muslims

Would you say this is common?

format_quote Originally Posted by Aprender

I'm an American born and raised and I've never felt like I fit in anywhere else except by having Islam as my way of life. Islam is not just for people who don't live in "The West". It's complete submission to the Creator of everything but it really depends on you though. No one can make the decision for you as this is a personal journey that you're making for yourself. There are going to be some things that you're going to have to give up in following this religion but personally I'm much happier now that I've left them behind. It's really up to you. I pray that Allah guides you and you find everything that you're looking for and more.

I think you have answered my question much better than you realize.

format_quote Originally Posted by Insaanah

An increase in knowledge and education, and scientific discoveries, provide further evidence that Islam is the truth. It is the religion for the thinking person. Science is gradually confirming the statements made in the Qur'an 1400 years ago, on a variety of subjects, such as embryology, hydrology, geology, etc, that it would have been impossible for anyone to know then. Some of those are mentioned here:

This kind of goes back to what I was saying earlier about proof and standards.

format_quote Originally Posted by Insaanah

I have never doubted Islam,

Rather straight forward.

format_quote Originally Posted by Insaanah

There may be some things you have to give up, such as pork....

..Pork.............Pork............
NEVERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

format_quote Originally Posted by Mistrique

I like that quote. I also like another one (I cant remember the exact line or where I read it) but it essentially says that Allah alone knows the true meaning of the Quaran and he alone knows which parts are to be taken literally and which parts are allegorical which is nice as it stops people from construing the Quaran for their own purposes (well at least that is the theory as we all know people do construe the Quaran for their own purposes)

Ah you must be thinking about the verse that mentions the muhkamat and mutashabihat.

'He it is who has sent down to thee the Book: in it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the book: others are allegorical, that is those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except God and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the book; the whole of it is from our Lord;" and none will grasp the message except men of understanding' (Al-Qur'an 3: 7).