In love with Islam

[Stug88]

Hello everyone, new member here

I got some questions about islam but i have no clue where to ask or how to go about them, hopefully you can help. i'm a ethnic slav ( germanic ) living in the netherlands... i will be brutally honest even if it insults you.

I have tried many different religions and i don't like them all. I mean i do like some aspects of them but i don't feel connected to them. I do have alot of personal history contacting and living with muslims / islam ( i have grown up around muslims and immigrants since i was 12 years old ) but never went into islam. Even tho i had muslim friends ( both arab muslims but also ethnic european converts to islam ).. sometimes i would ask but never follow through but now i get older i started getting more interested lately. ( especially after being dissappointed with christianity )

Personally i am what one would consider ultra conservative.. far right conservative or maybe even paleoconservative, i've had contact with many right wing thinking groups even nazism ( maybe this offends you but i can relate to nazism ) .. personally i like all conservative/ right wing movements wether political, religious or cultural. I don't like alcohol, i don't like smoking and i don't like drugs in general. I think woman should live according to certain rules and i think men should be extremely disciplined and loyal to their family/tribe.

i came to multiple conclusions :
After spending time reading up on islam i realized that most of my values are similar to islam/koran. almost 100 % i also don't like gay people ( and don''t like drugs like a said above and so forth). Personally i have racist tendencies ( sorry if this offends you but its true) .. i like white people but alot of people i hang out with are arab as well. I even tried getting into a permanent relationship with my co-worker without even realizing i was doing it ( she was from iran and it was mutual, she liked me to ). To be honest i sometimes do racist talk with some nazi friends i have ( i also got different friends who aren't ) making racist remarks.

But in reality i'm very attracted to arab woman i like arab people in general and do not think bad about them. I'm also attracted to woman with head dress and certain types of nijab. I think it's very attractive if a woman does not dress around like a ----. In western europe we have alot of american culture and degeneracy.. i hate it when woman are arrogant and ----ty. I don't mind the social distancing in islam, i'm not the person who constantly touches people or want to sleep with them as fast as possible.. i have my own personal space which i expect people to respect it.

I would like having an arab wife or half arab kids.. after living a western lifestyle i'm tired of western woman and i'm tired of all degeneracy and spiritual emptiness. i also wouldn't mind teaching my kids islam or see my daughters walking around with head cover... its 10000 times better than western degeneracy anyway. Even tho i have racist tendencies i would love my wife and kids if they were arab / half arab

So basically my motives are first religious but also social/cultural or lifestyle.

How do i convert to islam ? I mean i already bought a koran ( and other related books on sharia, islamic history and culture ) .. there are some things i do not like about islam or other religions. i don't like mass gatherings in mosques or churches.. i go about my own way and pray.. is this allowed in islam ? i also do not like the call to prayer and that kind of stuff on the streets , i'm a grown man i can wake up on time myself and pray. What i'm saying is there are some elements i do not like.. would this be a problem ? I dislike the architecture of mosques .. i dislike islamic architecture in general its not something i like. i only like the religion.

The girl from iran whom i dated 10 years ago... i had to go to iran and convert to islam in order to marry her ( she was quitte progressive but her family is traditional muslim and they expected me to ). I was young at that time and didn't fully understand it and said no.. which i regret now i'm older. How do i even meet woman when i'm muslim ? ... i know you cannot marry non-muslims and i don't even want to ( i'm done with western woman especially non-muslim or non-religious woman) . I'm not the person who goes to mosques and meet people and i don't see myself dating woman ( done this for years both real life and internet ) i'm more into a serious commitment especially now when i'm older i want a wife and to start a family.

I read about arranged marriage... for most of my life it sounded extreme and disliked it.. but after witness an arranged wedding and now i'm older i think arranged marriage is not a bad thing especially when its a good match anyway. I'm a extremely loyal person anyway and go through great lengths to make my wife/family happy.

1. Are the objections i have an issue when i want to convert to islam ( alot of minor things such as not interested going into mosques and pray i rather do it at home or outside )
2. How do i meet people within islam
3. how do i date/ marry muslim woman

basically how do i change my life in such a way that it's islamic ( spiritually , emotionally , socially, culturally and so forth ) what are the basic steps that i need to take while being fully committed into doing so. Keep in mind that number one for me would be the religion itself which is most important.

hopefully you can point me to some directions

Kind regards

 

[*charisma*]

Hi Stug88,

Welcome to the forum.

There's a lot to address here, but I wanted to focus on a couple of things you mentioned which are racism and praying alone. Islam is strong on community and brotherhood, therefore nationalism, racism, and arrogance, are considered as some of the worst attributes anyone could have. Even though you will be judged by Allah as an individual, the people around you have rights over you. This means that upon becoming a Muslim, you now have an obligation to your family and community to represent the best version of Islam. You cannot do that if you believe that you are above others simply because of external appearances or culture. We are only judged by our deeds solely, and that is the ONLY way you can ever be above someone else. However, only Allah holds the knowledge of what is in people's hearts, their sins, and the deeds they have accumulated. Perhaps your upbringing or your experiences have led you to believe certain things about certain people, but you should look at the bigger picture and realize that your journey in Islam is seldom a journey that you walk alone. So when you have Muslim children one day Inshallah, you will want to bring them up in the mosque where the community is, and you should want to feel closeness to the people there regardless of what they look like or where they come from. You want to know that you have people there who support you and who you can support. If someone does something wrong you should have the courage and eloquence to correct them. You lead by example.

For men, congregational prayers in the mosque are obligatory. There are certain prayers that can be prayed at home, but the main ones should always be prayed at the mosque (unless there is a valid exception). I don't really understand how the architecture should affect you, you don't have to like it, but you do have to pray there. In fact, there are many plain mosques without Islamic architecture so design should not be an issue. The main concern is just following the religion properly.

Upon accepting Islam, you must accept it as a whole, even if there are rulings/beliefs which you don't like. You should seek to find understanding and logic behind certain rulings. Islam does not discourage questioning or inauthenticity. We don't sugarcoat our religion. It is there for you to discover and learn. Your line of thinking is not off too much, but as you gain more knowledge I think you will be able to see the correct path and leave behind the things which not in line with Islamic beliefs. Read the Quran and islamic books to gain a wider understanding, and of course if you have any questions you can always post here.

To meet more muslims, the mosque would be the first place I'd consider a good start.
To become a Muslim, the only requirement is to declare the shahada (testimony of faith), it is best to do this at the mosque among witnesses (community factor again).
Your previous sins are erased and you start on a completely new slate. Prayers are obligatory as mentioned previously. There's a hadith which states that the difference between a Muslim and a disbeliever are the prayers, so they are considered as one of the most important parts of our faith.

Dating in Islam is not allowed. The way you get to know a muslim woman properly is through her family and with their permission and presence (she cannot be alone with you at all). Of course some people try to get around this but it ends up screwing them over in the end because they do things dishonorably and get emotions involved, rather than taking things seriously. So keep that in mind. You want someone honorable, you do it the right way and ensure they do it the right way.

 

['abd al-hakeem]

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