A JOURNEY TO FAITH - MY CONVERSION TO ISLAM

I became a true Muslim in 1999, an auspicious occasion.
Why did I become a Muslim? I guess all converts have a different answer to this question. Some change for marriage, friendship or power, others may have political reasons.

I became a Muslim because of the urge I had to seek truth and to worship my creator in the best possible way.

I grew up in a Catholic family; I attended some Bible classes as a small child and received the basic teachings of Catholic faith. I was baptised and confirmed. However I found no fulfilment in all this. Instead, the older I grew, the more questions I harboured in my mind about the Catholic faith.

The concept of the trinity puzzled me and I could not accept the idea of mystery and of faith without questioning.

I remember one day asking my parish priest to explain to me exactly what the meaning of the trinity and the mystery behind it meant. He was not happy with my query and told me that this was a sign of weak faith. Then I asked him why the church allowed the bowing to the statutes of Jesus and Mary yet this was clearly forbidden in the Old Testament (the Mosaic Law). To this he answered that this was the Old Testament and with the time of Jesus the New Testament came. He said that the bowing to images was just a sign of respect to Jesus and his mother. He then advised me to go for confession and seek absolution for doubting the Church's doctrine. This was the last time I attended that church; I decided to be praying at home in my own way.

After some time I joined the Pentecostal church. Here, I no longer had to bow to images or confess my sins to the priest. I was taught to always pray through Jesus' name, as he was "the only mediator between God and man." After this they requested me to get "saved" and accept Jesus as my "personal saviour." I tried this but deep down I did not get the assurance I needed that I was on the right path. I had the urge of communicating to my creator directly and find inner peace and conviction.

Then one Friday at lunch break I passed a mosque in town. I happened to see Muslims bowing and prostrating in prayers. This was my very first time ever to see Muslims pray. I was touched and felt a strange feeling pulling me to worship in the same manner.

As soon as I reached home, I found myself prostrating in this way and praying earnestly to God for guidance. I cried much and resolved from then on to study more about Islam.

I looked for Islamic texts and read them as well as a translation of the Qur'an. I realised that there were a lot of similarities between Islam and Christianity. This helped me to believe that I was not going astray. I still maintained belief in one God, the hereafter, angels, prophets and the holy books of God.

I am quite happy for God's guidance to Islam. I realise that the way outsiders view Islam is quite different from the way one views it as a Muslim. Islam simply calls us to submit to the will of our creator (Allah) and to follow his commands and leave all vices and sinful acts. Then and only then do we find inner peace.

As many have said before, when people want to know the truth about Islam, they should study it using the holy Qur'an and the prophetic sayings without looking at Muslims because only as a religion is Islam perfect, human beings are not. Only then will one appreciate Islam.

The Holy Qur'an (33:43) says,
"He (Allah) it is who sends blessings on you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of darkness into light. And He is full of mercy to the believers."

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A JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CONCERN
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