Stories of Muslim Reverts! - Post yours here!

I think Wallah A3lam he had always been a religious person... that is what I am told of him anyway..... so Jesus did save him after all sobhan Allah

Aminah Assilmi


A Girl On A Mission
It all started with a computer glitch. She was a Southern Baptist girl, a radical feminist, and a broadcast journalist. She was a girl with an unusual caliber, who excelled in school, received scholarships, ran her own business, and were competing with professionals and getting awards – all these while she was going to college. Then one day a computer error happened that made her take up a mission as a devout Christian. Eventually, however, it resulted into something opposite and changed her life completely around.

It was 1975 when for the first time computer was used to pre-register for a class in her college. She was working on her degree on Recreation. She pre-registered for a class and then went to Oklahoma City to take care of a business. Her return was delayed and she came back to college two weeks into the class. Making up the missed work was no problem for her, but she was surprised to find that the computer mistakenly registered her for a Theatre class, a class where students would be required to perform in front of others.

She was a very reticent girl and she was horrified to think about performing in front of others. She could not drop the class for it was too late

to do so. Failing the class was also not a choice, for she was receiving a scholarship that was paying for her tuition and receiving an ‘F’ would have jeopardized it.

Advised by her husband, she went to her teacher to work out some other alternative to performing, such as preparing costumes, etc. Assured by the teacher that he would try to help her, she went to the next class and was shocked by what she saw. The class was full of Arabs and “camel jockeys”. That was enough for her. She came back home and decided not to go back to the class anymore. It was not possible for her to be in the middle of Arabs. “There was no way I was going to sit in a room full of dirty heathens!”
Her husband was calm as usual. He pointed out to her that God has a reason for everything and that she should think about more before quitting. Besides, there was the scholarship that was paying her tuition. She went behind locked doors for 2 days to think about. When she came out, she decided to continue the class. She felt that God gave her a task to convert the Arabs into Christianity.

Thus she found herself with a mission to accomplish. Throughout the class, she would be discussing Christianity with her Arab classmates. “I proceeded to explain to them how they would burn in the fires of hell for all eternity, if they did not accept Jesus as their personal savior. They were very polite, but did not convert. Then, I explained how Jesus loved them and had died on the cross to save them from their sins. All they had to do was accept him into their hearts.” They still did not convert, and so she decided to do something else: “I decided to read their own book to show to them that Islam was a false religion and Mohammed was a false God”.

At her request, one student gave her a copy of the Qur’an and another book on Islam. With these two books she started on her research, which she was to continue for the next one and half years. She read the Qur’an fully and another fifteen books on Islam. Then she came back to the Qur’an and re-read it. During her research, she started taking notes that she found objectionable and which she would be able to use to prove that Islam was a false religion.

Unconsciously, however, she was changing from within which did not escape the attention of her husband. “I was changing, just in little ways but enough to bother him. We used to go to the bar every Friday and Saturday, or to a party, and I no longer wanted to go. I was quieter and more distant.” She stopped drinking and eating pork. Her husband suspected her of having an affair with another man, for “it was only for a man that a woman changes”. Ultimately, she was asked to leave, and she soon found herself living in a separate apartment.

Watching A Rose Open - Petal By Petal
Throughout these times, she continued studying Islam and although she was changing subtly from within, she remained a devout Christian. Then one day, there was a knock on her door. It was a man in traditional Muslim robe, who appeared to her as a “man in a long white night gown with a red and white checkered table cloth on his head”. His name was Abdul-Aziz Al-Sheik and he was accompanied by three other men in similar dress. She was very offended by Muslim men coming to her in nightgowns and pajamas. She was further shocked when Abdul-Aziz told her that he understood that she waited to be a Muslim. She replied that she was a Christian and she did not have any plan to become a Muslim. However, she had some questions to ask if they had the time.
At her invitation, they came inside. She now brought up the questions and objections that she noted down while she was researching. “I will never forget his name”, she said of Abdul-Aziz who proved to be a very patient and soft-mannered person. “He was very patient and discussed every question with me. He never made me feel silly or that a question was stupid.” Abdul-Aziz listened to every question and objection and explained it within the proper context. “He explained that Allah had told us to seek knowledge and questions were one of the ways to accomplish that. When he explained something, it was like watching a rose open – petal by petal, until it reached its full glory. When I told him that I did not agree with something and why, he always said I was correct up to a point. Then he would show me how to look deeper and from different directions to reach a fuller understanding.”

It would not be long before she would externally submit to what she had already been submitting to internally during the last one and half years. Later in that same day, this Southern Baptist girl would declare in front of Abdul-Aziz and his companions: “I bear witness that there is no god but God and Mohammed is His Messenger.” It was May 21, 1977.

A Sacrifice For Faith & Conviction
Conversion to Islam, or to any other religion for that matter, is not always a simple thing to do. Except for a few fortunate ones, a new Muslim usually face consequences. The convert may face isolation from family and friends, if not pressure to go back to the family faith. Sometimes, a convert may even face sever economic hardship, as in the case of those who are asked to leave the house because of converting to Islam. Some converts are fortunate to continue to be well respected by family and friends, but most of them face minor to severe hardship especially during the first few years after the conversion.
But the difficulty that Aminah Assilimi had to go through and the sacrifice that she had to make for the sake of her conviction and faith is almost unheard of. There are few who could rely so much on Allah as she did, standing firm and meeting the challenges, making sacrifices, and yet maintaining a positive posture and influencing people around with the beauty of what she found and believed in.

She lost most of her friends, for she was “no fun anymore”.

Her mother did not accept her becoming a Muslim and hoped that it was a temporary zeal and that she would soon grow out of it.

Her “mental health expert” sister thought that she lost her mind. She attempted to put her in a mental health institution.

Her father was a calm and wise man. People would come to him for advice and he could comfort anyone in distress. But when he heard that his daughter became a Muslim, he loaded his double-barrel shotgun and started on his way to kill her. “It is better that she be dead rather than suffering in the deepest of Hell”, he said.

She was now without friends and without family.

She soon started wearing hijab. The day she put it on, she was denied her job. She was now without family, friends, and job. But her greatest sacrifice was yet to come.

She and her husband both loved each other very much. But while she was studying Islam, her husband misunderstood her for her apparent changes. She became quieter and stopped going to the bar. Her changes were visible to him and he suspected her of having affair with another man, for whom she must have been changing. She could not explain to him what was happening. “There was no way to make him understand what was changing me because I did not know.” Eventually he asked her to leave and she started living separately.

After she openly accepted Islam, it went worse. A divorce was now inevitable. This was a time when Islam was little known, much less understood for what it is. She had two little children whom she loved dearly and whose custody should have rightfully be given to her. But in a grave violation of justice, she was denied their custody just because she became a Muslim. Before giving the formal verdict, the judge offered her a harsh choice: either renounce Islam and get custody of the children, or keep Islam and leave the children. She was given 20 minutes to make a decision.

She loved her children very dearly. It is perhaps the worst nightmare that a mother can have: asked to willfully leave her child - not for one day, month, or year, but forever. On the other hand, how could she keep the Truth away from her children and live as a hypocrite? “It was the most painful 20 minutes in my life”, she said in an interview. Those of us who are mothers and fathers, especially of young children, little imagination is needed to feel the pain and torment that she must have passed every second in those 20 minutes. What added further to her pain was that according to doctors, she could never bear another child because of certain complications. “I prayed like I had never done before … I knew that there was no safer place for my children to be than in the hands of Allah. If I denied Him, there would be no way in the future to show my children the wonders of being with Allah.”

She decided to retain Islam. Her two dear children – one little boy and one little girl – were taken away from her and given to her ex-husband.

For a mother, is there a sacrifice greater than this – a sacrifice that is done for no material reason but only for faith and conviction?

“I left the court knowing that life without my babies would be very difficult. My heart bled, even though I knew, inside, I had done the right thing” . She found comfort in the following verse of the Qur'an:

Allah! there is no god
But He – the Living,
The Self-subsisting, Eternal.
No slumber can seize Him
Nor sleep. His are all things
In the heavens and on earth.
Who is there can intercede
In His presence except
As He permitteth? He knoweth
What (appeareth to his creatures
As) Before or After
Or Behind them.
Nor shall they compass
Aught of His knowledge
Except as He willeth.
His throne doth extend
Over the heavens
And the earth, and He feeleth
No fatigue in guarding
And preserving them
For He is the Most High,
the Supreme (in glory).

(Quran 2: 255)

Help of Allah Is Always Near!
Or do ye think
That ye shall enter
The Garden (of Bliss)
Without such (trials)
As came to those
Who passed away
Before you?
They encountered
Suffering and adversity,
And were so shaken in spirit
That even the Messenger
And those of faith
Who were with him
Cried: "When (will come)
The help of Allah?"

Ah! Verily the help of Allah
Is (always) near!

(Quran 2: 214)

Perhaps the air of Colorado was too thin for justice. Or perhaps there was a plan in Allah’s greater scheme of affairs. Aminah Assilimi later fought back and took her case to the media. Although she did not get custody of her children again, a change was made in the Colorado law that one cannot be denied child custody on the basis of his or her religion.

Indeed Allah’s love and mercy engulfed her so much that, as if, she has been granted the touchstone of Islam. Wherever she goes, people are touched by her beautiful words and Islamic manners and become Muslim.

By accepting Islam, she became a changed person, and a much better person. So much so that her family, relatives, and people around her started appreciating her mannerism and the faith that brought about such changes in her. Despite her family’s initial reaction, she remained in touch with them and addressed them with respect and humility, just as the Qur’an enjoins the Muslims to do. She would send cards to her parents on different occasions, but she would always write down a verse from the Qur’an or the Hadith without mentioning the source of such beautiful words of wisdom. It was not long before she started making a positive influence among her family members.

The first to become Muslim was her grand mother. She was over 100 years old. Soon after accepting Islam, she died. “The day she pronounced Shahada, all her misdeeds had been erased, while her good deeds were preserved. She died so soon after accepting Islam that I knew her “book” was bound to be heavy on the good side. It fills me with such a joy!”

Next to become Muslim was her father, the one who wanted to kill her after she became Muslim. Thus he brought alive the story of Umar ibn Khattab. Umar was a companion of the Prophet who persecuted the early Muslims before he converted to Islam. When he heard one day that his sister became a Muslim, he went out with an open sword to kill her. But upon hearing some of the verses from the Qur’an that his sister was reciting, he recognized the truth and went straight to the Prophet and accepted Islam.

Two years after she (Assilmi) accepted Islam, her mother called and said that she appreciated her faith and hoped that she would keep it. Couple of years later, she called again and asked her about what one would need to do to become a Muslim. Assilmi replied that one had to believe that there is only One God and Muhammad was his Messenger. “Any fool knows that. But what do you have to do?”, she asked again. She replied that if that is what she believed, then she was already a Muslim! At this, her mother said, “Well … OK. But let’s not tell your father just yet”.

She was not aware that her husband (Assilmi’s step father) had had the same conversation with her a few weeks earlier. Thus the two lived together as Muslims for years in secret without knowing that the other was also a Muslim.

Her sister who wanted to put her in mental institution accepted Islam as well. She must have realized that becoming Muslim is indeed the most healthy and sound thing to do.

Her son, upon becoming adult, accepted Islam. When he turned 21, he called her and said that he wanted to become a Muslim.

Sixteen years after the divorce, her ex-husband also accepted Islam. He said that he had been watching her for sixteen years and wanted his daughter to have the same religion that she had. He came to her and apologized for what he had done. He was a very nice gentlemen and Assilimi had forgiven him long ago.

Perhaps the greatest reward for her was yet to come. Assilmi later married another person, and despite the doctors’ verdict that she could never conceive another child, Allah blessed her with a beautiful boy. If Allah (swt) makes a gift to someone, who can prevent Him? It was truly a wonderful blessing from Allah (swt), and so she named him “Barakah”.

Radiating With Allah's Love
it was for me to share the truth of Islam with
The sacrifice that Assilmi made for the sake of Allah (swt) was tremendous. And so Allah (swt) turned in mercy to her and rewarded her with enormous blessings. Her family discarded her after she accepted Islam, and now by Allah’s mercy, most of them are Muslim. She lost her friends because of Islam, and now she is being loved by so many. “Friends who loved came out of nowhere”, she said. Allah’s blessings came upon her so much that wherever she goes people are touched by the beauty of Islam and accept the Truth. Both Muslims and non-Muslims now come to her for advice and counseling.

She lost her job because of wearing hijab, and now she is the President of the International Union of Muslim Women. She delivers lectures nationwide and is on high demand. It was her organization that successfully lobbied for the “Eid Stamp” and had it approved by the United States Postal Service, but it took many years of work. She is now working on making the Eid Day as a national holiday.

She has tremendous trust on Allah’s love and mercy and she never looses faith on Him. She was once diagnosed with cancer some years ago. Doctors said that it was in an advanced stage and that she would live for another year. But her faith in Allah (swt) remained strong. “We must all die. I was confident that the pain I was experiencing contained blessings.” As a brilliant example of how much one can love Allah, she mentions about a friend of her named Kareem Al-Misawi who died of cancer when he was in his 20’s:

"Shortly before he died, he told me that Allah was truly Merciful. This man was in unbelievable anguish and was radiating with Allah’s love. He said: “Allah intends that I should enter heaven with a clean book.” His death experience gave me something to think about. He taught me of Allah’s love and mercy."

All praise is due to Allah, she continues to live in good health. She now thinks that having cancer was the greatest blessing that she ever had.

Assilmi’s is a story of faith and conviction. It is a story of test and tribulation and success. It is a story of triumphant victory of faith. It is a story of inspiration for the rest of us, and it is a story of confidence and reliance on Allah. It is story of Allah’s love and mercy, and it is a story of Allah’s promise come true. “True, Allah has tested me as was promised, and rewarded me far beyond what I could ever hoped for”.

May Almighty Allah continue to shower His love, mercy, and blessings on this wonderful Muslima. May Allah grant her long life and enable her to do more and more work for Islam. May Allah benefit more and more people by her story and example, and turn their hearts to the Message of Truth, and to His love and mercy.

Bibliography
Aminah Assilmi, Choosing Islam (The Introduction and Decision)
Scripps Howard News Service: Former Baptist Explains why she is now a Muslim, Nov 1, 1997
The Post (Ohio Univ Student Newspaper), Veil is Not Oppressive, Oct 25, 1995
Aminah Assilmi, Getting to Know Allah Through Nature (video)
Welcome Back, a radio interview of Aminah Assilmi by Islamic Foundation of America, August, 2001



_______________________

i got this from http://www.4newmuslims.org/e/women/story2.htm.
her story...is so much like bro woodrow's daughter's story...

erm..is so inspiring....and sad too and happy too

MashAllah, beautiful story. I dont i have read one story which was not good

dat was sooo nyccc!!

^ that is very recent...and the story is amazing although it does not include much detail but its still nice

Asallam alaikum warahmatullaahi wabarakatuh


SubhanAllaah

All the Tawfeeq is truly from Allaah subhana wataala


http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...&q=islam&hl=en

wa-salam-alaikum

SubhanAllah - i know a brother thats compiling a book on new converts i want to reccomend your narration to him , can i have permission to do so and if so i will get him to contact you. wasalams

format_quote Originally Posted by Khattab

Alhamdulillah what an inspirational story.


Brother gavin have you heard of Shiek Yusuf Estes, his website is http://www.islamtomorrow.com/ he is a former preacher and priest, his family where preists and preachers before as well as his friend who was a catholic priest before they entered into Islam, inshallah you may find his site of use.

He gives a great lecture on it here, check out the video, I didn't see the whole thing myself.

http://kalamullah.com/yusuf-estes.html

Also, Abdur-raheem Green's conversion story is a great one, check it out right here

http://kalamullah.com/Abdur-Raheem%2...To%20Islam.mp3

European SCIENTIST Converts To ISLAM

Video: http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?...78863&hl=en-GB

By Muhammad Asad

In 1922 I left my native country, Austria, to travel through Africa and Asia as a Special Correspondent to some of the leading Continental newspapers, and spent from that year onward nearly the whole of my time in the Islamic East. My interest in the nations with which I came into contact was in the beginning that of an outsider only. I saw before me a social order and an outlook on life fundamentally different from the European; and from the very first there grew in me a sympathy for the more tranquil— I should rather say: more mechanized mode of living in Europe. This sympathy gradually led me to an investigation of the reasons for such a difference, and I became interested in the religious teachings of the Muslims. At the time in question, that interest was not strong enough to draw me into the fold of Islam, but it opened to me a new vista of a progressive human society, of real brotherly feeling. The reality, however, of present day Muslim life appeared to be very far from the ideal possibilities given in the religious teachings of Islam. Whatever, in Islam, had been progress and movement, had turned, among the Muslims, into indolence and stagnation; whatever there had been of generosity and readiness for self-sacrifice, had become, among the present-day Muslims, perverted into narrow-mindedness and love of an easy life.

Prompted by this discovery and puzzled by the obvious incongruence between Once and Now, I tried to approach the problem before me from a more intimate point of view: that is, I tried to imagine myself as being within the circle of Islam. It was a purely intellectual experiment; and it revealed to me, within a very short time, the right solution. I realized that the one and only reason for the social and cultural decay of the Muslims consisted in the fact that they had gradually ceased to follow the teachings of Islam in spirit. Islam was still there; but it was a body without soul. The very element which once had stood for the strength of the Muslim world was now responsible for its weakness: Islamic society had been built, from the very outset, on religious foundations alone, and the weakening of the foundations has necessarily weakened the cultural structure— and possibly might cause its ultimate disappearance.

The more I understood how concrete and how immensely practical the teachings of Islam are, the more eager became my questioning as to why the Muslims had abandoned their full application to real life. I discussed this problem with many thinking Muslims in almost all the countries between the Libyan Desert and the Pamirs, between the Bosphorus and the Arabian Sea. It almost became an obsession which ultimately overshadowed all my other intellectual interests in the world of Islam. The questioning steadily grew in emphasis— until I, a non-Muslim, talked to Muslims as if I were to defend Islam from their negligence and indolence. The progress was imperceptible to me, until one day— it was in autumn 1925, in the mountains of Afghanistan— a young provincial Governor said to me: "But you are a Muslim, only you don't know it yourself." I was struck by these words and remained silent. But when I came back to Europe once again, in 1926, I saw that the only logical consequence of my attitude was to embrace Islam.

So much about the circumstances of my becoming a Muslim. Since then I was asked, time and again: "Why did you embrace Islam ? What was it that attracted you particularly?"— and I must confess: I don't know of any satisfactory answer. It was not any particular teaching that attracted me, but the whole wonderful, inexplicably coherent structure of moral teaching and practical life program. I could not say, even now, which aspect of it appeals to me more than any other. Islam appears to me like a perfect work of architecture. All its parts are harmoniously conceived to complement and support each other: nothing is superfluous and nothing lacking, with the result of an absolute balance and solid composure. Probably this feeling that everything in the teachings and postulates of Islam is "in its proper place," has created the strongest impression on me. There might have been, along with it, other impressions also which today it is difficult for me to analyze. After all, it was a matter of love; and love is composed of many things; of our desires and our loneliness, of our high aims and our shortcomings, of our strength and our weakness. So it was in my case. Islam came over me like a robber who enters a house by night; but, unlike a robber, it entered to remain for good.

Ever since then I endeavored to learn as much as I could about Islam. I studied the Qur'an and the Traditions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); I studied the language of Islam and its history, and a good deal of what has been written about it and against it. I spent over five years in the Hijaz and Najd, mostly in al-Madinah, so that I might experience something of the original surroundings in which this religion was preached by the Arabian Prophet. As the Hijaz is the meeting center of Muslims from many countries, I was able to compare most of the different religious and social views prevalent in the Islamic world in our days. Those studies and comparisons created in me the firm conviction that Islam, as a spiritual and social phenomenon, is still in spite of all the drawbacks caused by the deficiencies of the Muslims, by far the greatest driving force mankind has ever experienced; and all my interest became, since then, centered around the problem of its regeneration.

Source

Salaam/peace

format_quote Originally Posted by Pinkie

... my mind was labeled with "Muslims in China" for a long time. I don't know why I became so fixated on this particular subject. One day, I decided to conduct some research and I started learning about the Uygurs, a Turkic speaking group in the most western province of China called "Xinjiang" (which translates to New Territory). I learned more about their history, their opression under the Communist boot of China and their desire to have a country called East Turkistan. .......

Woow , sis Masha Allah. I don't know how many born Muslims know or care about opressed Muslims in various parts of the world. Even before embracing Islam , u thought about them ? May Allah reward u in this world & the life hereafter. Ameen.

salaam/peace;

For how long does one carry the label revert?............By labelling you create an unseen barrier between your brothers

----I m so jealous of my revert bro & sisters. Their past sins are not only forgiven but transferred as rewards......... unbelievable mercy of God Almighty .

How i wish , i could be a revert. Why u think , calling revert is an unseen barrier ?

Ex-Hindu Women reverts to Islam:

Experiences of a Recently Converted Hindu Woman
My Experiences and How I Find that Islam does not Oppress Women"
by Sister Noor, University of Essex


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I came from a purely Hindu family where we were always taught to regard ourselves (i.e. women) as beings who were eventually to be married off and have children and serve the husband-- whether he was kind or not. Other than this I found that there were a lot of things which really oppressed women, such as:


If a woman was widowed, she would always have to wear a white sari (costume), eat vegetarian meals, cut her hair short, and never re-marry.
The bride always had to pay the dowry (bridal money) to the husband's family.
And the husband could ask for anything, irrespective of whether the bride would have difficulty giving it.
Not only that, if after marriage she was not able to pay the full dowry she would be both emotionally and physically tortured, and could end up being a victim of "kitchen death" where the husband, or both the mother-in-law and the husband try to set fire to the wife while she is cooking or is in the kitchen, and try to make it look like an accidental death. More and more of these instances are taking place. The daughter of a friend of my own father's had the same fate last year!

In addition to all this, men in Hinduism are treated literally as among the gods. In one of the religious Hindu celebration, unmarried girls pray for and worship an idol representing a particular god (Shira) so that they may have husbands like him. Even my own mother had asked me to do this. This made me see that the Hindu religion which is based on superstitions and things that have no manifest proof (1), but were merely traditions which oppressed women could not be right.

Subsequently, when I came to England to study, I thought that at least this is a country which gives equal rights to men and women, and does not oppress them. We all have the freedom to do as we like, I thought. Well, as I started to meet people and make new friends, learn about this new society, and go to all the places my friends went to in order to "socialise" (bars, dance halls, ...etc.), I realised that this "equality" was not so true in practice as it was in theory.

Outwardly, women were seen to be given equal rights in education, work, and so forth, but in reality women were still oppressed in a different, more subtle way. When I went with my friends to those places they hung out at, I found everybody interested to talk to me and I thought that was normal. But it was only later that I realised how naive I was, and recognised what these people were really looking for. I soon began to feel uncomfortable, as if I was not myself: I had to dress in a certain way so that people would like me, and had to talk in a certain way to please them. I soon found that I was feeling more and more uncomfortable, less and less myself, yet I could not get out. Everybody was saying they were enjoying themselves, but I don't call this enjoying.

I think women in this way of life are oppressed; they have to dress in a certain way in order to please and appear more appealing, and also talk in a certain way so people like them. During this time I had not thought about Islam, even though I had some Muslim acquaintances. But I felt I really had to do something, to find something that I would be happy and secure with, and would feel respected with. Something to believe in that is the right belief, because everybody has a belief that they live according to. If having fun by getting off with other people is someone's belief, they do this. If making money is someone's belief, they do everything to achieve this. If they believe drinking is one way to enjoy life then they do it. But I feel all this leads to nowhere; no one is truly satisfied, and the respect women are looking for is diminishing in this way.

In these days of so called "society of equal rights", you are expected to have a boyfriend (or you're weird!) and to not be a virgin. So this is a form of oppression even though some women do not realise it.(2) When I came to Islam, it was obvious that I had finally found permanent security. A religion, a belief that was so complete and clear in every aspect of life. Many people have a misconception that Islam is an oppressive religion, where women are covered from head to toe, and are not allowed any freedom or rights. In fact, women in Islam are given more rights, and have been for the past 1400 years, compared to the only-recently rights given to non-Muslim women in some western and some other societies. But there are, even now, societies where women are still oppressed, as I mentioned earlier in relation to Hindu women.

Muslim women have the right to inheritance. They have the right to run their own trade and business. They have the full right to ownership, property, disposal over their wealth to which the husband has no right. They have the right to education, a right to refuse marriage as long as this refusal is according to reasonable and justifiable grounds. The Quran itself, which is the word of Allah, contains many verses commanding men to be kind to their wives and stressing the rights of women. Islam gives the right set of rules, because they are NOT made by men, but made by Allah; hence it is a perfect religion.

Quite often Muslim women are asked why they are covered from head to toe, and are told that this is oppression--it is not. In Islam, marriage is an important part of life, the making of the society. Therefore, a woman should not go around showing herself to everybody, only for her husband. Even the man is not allowed to show certain parts of his body to none but his wife. In addition, Allah has commanded Muslim women to cover themselves for their modesty:

"O prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) over their bodies (when outdoors). That is most convenient that they could be known as such (i.e. decent and chaste) and not molested." (Quran 33:59)

If we look around at any other society, we find that in the majority of cases women are attacked and molested because of how they are dressed. Another point I'd like to comment on is that the rules and regulation laid down in Islam by Allah (God) do not apply just to women but to men also. There is no intermingling and free-running between men and women for the benefit of both. Whatever Allah commands is right, wholesome, pure and beneficial to mankind; there is no doubt about that. A verse in the Quran explains this concept clearly:

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and protect their private parts (i.e. from indecency, illegal sexual acts); that will make for greater purity for them. And Allah is well aware of what they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and protect their privaate parts (from indecency, illegal sexual intercourse); and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments...." (Quran, surah "Al-Nur" 24:31)

When I put on my hijaab (veil), I was really happy to do it. In fact, I really want to do it. When I put on the hijaab, I felt a great sense of satisfaction and happiness. Satisfied that I had obeyed Allah’s command. And happy with the good and blessings that come with it. I have felt secure and protected. In fact people respect me more for it. I could really see the difference in behaviour towards me.

Finally, I'd like to say that I had accepted Islam not blindly, or under any compulsion. In the Quran itself there is a verse which says "there is no compulsion in religion" (3). I accepted Islam with conviction. I have seen, been there, done that, and seen both sides of the story. I know and have experienced what the other side is like, and I know that I have done the right thing. Islam does not oppress women, but rather Islam liberates them and gives them the respect they deserve. Islam is the religion Allah has chosen for the whole of mankind. Those who accept it are truly liberated from the chains and shackles of mankind whose ruling and legislating necessitates nothing but the oppression of one group by another and the exploitation and oppression of one sex by the other. This is not the case of Islam which truly liberated women and gave them an individuality not given by any other authority.

Sister Noor has been a muslim for over a year and a half and is currently in her second year of undergraduate study in the Department of Biology


Notes
(1) In Islaam, strong emphasis is placed on proof and evidence. Superstition, conjecture and following the ways of ones ancestors is heavily censured. Allaah says:

{Say : Bring your proof if indeed you are truthful} {Baqarah 2:111} {Inform me with knowledge if indeed you are truthful} [An’aam 6:143] {And they do not possess any knowledge regarding it. They do nothing but follow conjecture and conjecture avails nothing against the Truth} [Najm 53:28] {And when it is said to them: ‘Follow that which Allaah has sent down’, they say: ‘Nay! We shall follow that which we found our fathers following} [Baqarah 2:170]

If the scientists among the non-muslims were to follow this advice and research objectively many of the rulings regarding women in Islam they would find that they are in perfect harmony with the biological/psychological knowledge they have arrived at regarding the nature of women. It is the reaction of the feminist movement to western hypocrisy that has led to the debasement of ‘perceived’ female roles in Islam. That is why most of what is portrayed regarding women in Islaam is pure conjecture and distortion, not fact and truth.

(2) This is where muslims consider the fallacy of the freedom and non-oppression of women lies. Under the name of ‘freedom’ women are told that they have complete automonomy to do as they wish. However, ‘do as they wish’ means that they are encouraged to conform to the trends and fashions that are set for them and imposed upon them by means of the media machine and by means of the multi-billion dollar film industry which makes, fashions, and nurtures the ideas of people and their principles, morals and conduct. As a result they are made the objects of the fantasies of menwho harass them, oppress them and reduce them to nothing but a source of temporary joy and pleasure. Men themselves have been made to let loose the reins of their desires due to the high exposure to naked women they receive, day in day out. This results in provocation, frustration and eventually - a deserving punishment - desensitization. Impotence is a widespread ‘disease’ in the West! This is the position of women in the west. The mere mention of the words sexual harrasment, date-rape - which includes men deliberately getting women tipsy or drunk so that they can have their way with them - and slogans such as NO MEANS NO are sufficient as proof for this reality of the oppression of women in the west. These problems are unknown to the muslim world and are not issues in Islaam.

(3) {There is no complulsion in religion. The truth has been made clear from error} [Baqarah 2:256]


http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/F.../hinducon.html

Grateful for the Courage to Change
By Selma Cook

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Picture © Microsoft.com
This article is based upon an interview with Ayesha Starkey, an Australian revert to Islam.
I was brought up in the Church of England, but my family and I only went to church on Christmas and Easter. When I was a teenager, I used to go to church alone because I had this yearning to be close to God and I felt peaceful when I prayed. I was searching for something more than just me and my reality.
I never believed that Jesus was the son of God — I always thought he was a prophet. Even though I had been taught differently, it just did not seem logical that God would have a son. I used to pray to God the Creator, not Jesus.
I stopped going to church because I used to get annoyed when they kept asking for money. The Church of England is the biggest landowner in England. I thought the money should go for charity, not to fix the church's financial problems.
Also at that time, there was the problem in northern Ireland. Catholics and Protestants were fighting and killing each other while calling themselves Christians. Each side would say it's doing the right thing. I had this continual feeling that there were so many things wrong around me.
Learning About Islam
I used to work as a secretary for a Muslim doctor, and we used to discuss religion. He would read to me in Arabic and then translate the meanings. I wanted to argue with him, so I bought a copy of the Qur'an in English from a secondhand shop. I did not know I could get one for free. Another secretary at the same doctor's clinic had joined the Salvation Army, and we also would argue about religion.
As I was reading and searching for points I could argue, I read in Surat Al-An`am what can be translated as:
{Say: Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds.](Al-An`am 6:162)
When I read that verse, I sat and cried for about an hour. In these few words I had found the purpose of life. It sounded so nice, even in English. The more I read of the Qur'an, the more everything seemed so simple, so natural to understand.
He thought it was a phase I was going through and that I would come back to my "normal" self soon.
I went to the small local masjid but found it shut. There was a contact number posted for anyone who wanted information. I phoned the number and a Pakistani man answered. He wasn't a scholar, just someone involved in da`wah (inviting people to Islam).He sent me pamphlets about the pillars of Islam. I read them in only one day and found that I desperately wanted more information. I told him I wanted to be a Muslim, so he came with his wife and they told me about the message of Islam and the basic things expected of me. After that the doctor and I discussed Islam instead of arguing!
Family Life
At that time, I was divorced and had two small sons. The boys used to visit their father, who wasn't a Muslim, and at that point I didn't want him to know that I had reverted. I had to keep it all a secret for some time.
The brother who brought me books about Islam called one day and asked me if I'd like to officially become a Muslim. I went to the same masjid again on a Sunday where there were a lot of sisters having a lesson. There was a sheikh there and he told me the basics of Islam, and I became a Muslim in front of many witnesses. There was a woman there who taught me to read Qur'an, and she readily answered any questions I had.
They started teaching the boys as well. After I had been a Muslim for a few months, I decided I would wear hijab and that I would tell everyone. I told my parents and the boys' dad. He thought it was a phase I was going through and that I would come back to my "normal" self soon. He did not say anything at first. I thought he was taking it well.
However, time passed and he saw that I was not going back to my old ways, so he started giving the boys beer and feeding them bacon and eggs. I told him about the masjid where he could go to get more information about Islam if he had any questions, but he only became more anti-Muslim.
How then can someone, for example, wear hijab and look down on those who do not?
After some time, he got really angry and applied for sole custody. Thanks to Allah, he did not get it. Since the day he was denied sole custody by the courts, he has not seen the boys. At the family court counseling, he told the counselor, "The kids are Australian!" as if they cannot be both Muslim and Australian at the same time.
Muslim Community
When I accepted Islam I thought the Muslims were all united and that there was just one Islam. That had appealed to me. But as I started to mix with Muslims more, I found that they had broken up into sects. However, I found that beneath all that human interference, the authentic sources are still there and you can find the answers to any question. I really believe sheikhs and scholars should give their fatwa and the evidence and then respect each other's opinions.
Even before becoming a Muslim, I found it impossible that anyone could think another human being was infallible. When I came to know that even Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was not infallible, except for the revelation, it seemed right and normal, and in accordance with the fitrah (pure nature) of man.
My Personal Growth
I had always had the feeling that I was not good enough, and that left me with a huge vacuum inside. After I became a Muslim, I realized that it is normal to make mistakes and that Allah is forgiving, so I had hope to keep trying and improving.
I think it is really important that Muslims see one another as human beings who are fallible and on a journey of learning and growing. If we do not see each other like that, people might give up trying, especially if Muslims adopt a black-and-white approach to Islam and to life. This concept also applies to children: You need to give them hope that they can start a new page.
This is just one of the many beautiful things about Islam, but Muslims sometimes forget the humanness in one another and find it difficult to forgive. We should love people more than we hate the sin because people can change and Allah made us inclined to weakness. If we step away from people and do not interact with them, how can we help and advise them? Only Allah knows what we deserve.
I found that the more we learn about Islam, the more we realize how little we know and how little good we do. How then can someone, for example, wear hijab and look down on those who do not? Everyone is on a different level of understanding, and we do not know what good deeds Allah will accept from us because of our intentions.
Were they afraid of telling me what I have to do as a Muslim because they thought I would run away?
It is important not to lose sight of the reason why we do things. We should not judge people according to their outward appearance or outward manifestations of practicing Islam. I am very grateful that when I became a Muslim, people took me just for who I am.
One of the things I had to stop when I became a Muslim was drinking alcohol. Being a single parent and not having direction and meaning to my life led me to drink more and more alcohol. Also, before becoming a Muslim, the people I was mixing with used to drink a lot. It was normal to drink a couple of bottles of wine a night. When the time came for me to take Shahadah, I vowed I would never drink again, and I never did. Before that, I had been well on my way to becoming an alcoholic.
In the early days after I accepted Islam, even though friends sat with me coaxing me to drink, I refused. One time I was driving home with these friends from a journey. They had passed out in the car, but because I had not been drinking, I got to see a beautiful sunset. I remember thinking what a blessing it was. The others missed out on this blessing because they were drunk. I was so grateful to Allah that I had the courage to change my life for the better.
New Friends
I met new friends through the couple who had been teaching me and through the lessons I began attending. They took me to Tarawih Prayers and I started going to other classes.
The other women were wearing hijab, but no one told me I also had to wear it. I felt upset afterwards that people did not tell me everything that was expected of me as a Muslim. Were they afraid of telling me what I have to do as a Muslim because they thought I would run away? Sometimes people fail to understand that often new reverts want to do everything properly, so not telling them what is expected is a big drawback.
New Muslims are looking for something with structure and rules so they can change their life for the better. It is important to teach them and explain in a nice way without forcing and yet without neglecting the duty of telling them the truth.

Bringing Up My Boys in Islam
My boys were 4 and 6 years old when I became a Muslim. I honestly believe I have had things very easy. My boys have not caused me problems at all. No teenage rebellion, drugs, or any of the usual problems of being a teenager these days.
They grew up with guidelines and knowing about Allah the Almighty. I homeschooled them until they went to secondary school, and that gave them a good base. Islam became part of their character.
They did not have problems attending the local high school. They know who they are and have a strong sense of what is right and wrong. They do not mind being different. They prayed at school and they were part of a group that requested a prayer room. In Australia they give you what you ask for, but you won't get it if you do not ask.
Now after 15 years, they have a strong identity and so do I. Every good thing comes from Allah the Almighty.

Salaam/peace;

Maryam Noor - Finding Islam at the Age of 60!


http://www.lightuponlight.com/islam/...=index&lid=371

Beautiful story that will bring tears to your eyes. Also Brother Yusuf rediscovers the beauty in Islam as you will see half way through this video



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