A little bit about my background . . . my father was a Turkish Muslim, but my mother was an English Anglican. My father passed away when I was 4 months old, so I never knew him. I wasn't raised in Islam; in fact, I wasn't really raised with much religion at all. I think my mother tried her best to be neutral between her family and my father's family. My wife, who I have been married to for 17 years is also half Turkish and half English. In her case, her mother was Muslim, but she wasn't raised Muslim either. Nonetheless, both of us have always considered it to be a very important part of our identity. We have four sons together, aged 15, 13, 10 and 6.
I was always curious about Islam, but never really knew where to find out, what to do, what was expected, or whether I would be welcome or not. A lot of this was in the days before the internet. Put simply, I just didn't know what to do. My wife also had similar feelings, but time simply passed. It was only towards the end of 2009 that I decided to learn more about Islam, and I am still learning. Needless to say, I couldn't have been more impressed with the Muslims I met, who happily talked with me at length. It was wonderful.
Fast forward to present; and we are now a practising Muslim family. Last year changed everything for us.
That is not to say that we don't have more to learn and more to do, but the most significant changes have already happened. My wife and I, along with our two eldest boys, have said shahada and the younger two boys are now being raised Muslim too. All of the boys have now been circumcised, and I have as well. The boys are now mixing with a lot of other Muslim boys and learning and receiving encouragement from them, which I personally think is fantastic for them.
I'm not really sure what else to say about myself, but if you would like to know anything else then just ask!
I was always curious about Islam, but never really knew where to find out, what to do, what was expected, or whether I would be welcome or not. A lot of this was in the days before the internet. Put simply, I just didn't know what to do. My wife also had similar feelings, but time simply passed. It was only towards the end of 2009 that I decided to learn more about Islam, and I am still learning. Needless to say, I couldn't have been more impressed with the Muslims I met, who happily talked with me at length. It was wonderful.
Fast forward to present; and we are now a practising Muslim family. Last year changed everything for us.
That is not to say that we don't have more to learn and more to do, but the most significant changes have already happened. My wife and I, along with our two eldest boys, have said shahada and the younger two boys are now being raised Muslim too. All of the boys have now been circumcised, and I have as well. The boys are now mixing with a lot of other Muslim boys and learning and receiving encouragement from them, which I personally think is fantastic for them.
I'm not really sure what else to say about myself, but if you would like to know anything else then just ask!
