Is it possible to draw close to God before you even begin praying, before even knowing about the deeds that please Him? That is a matter for those with deep knowledge of the Islamic faith to expound. And surely God can do as He Pleases with His creation.
Touring the UK and the US, I have met many imams, in regions where shahadas are becoming rapidly more common, that have heard similar stories from reverts.
I was a Christian in name only. While I did believe in God, I had not submitted Him as the maker and creator of my destiny. I felt that this was something I was better off handling rather than letting God decide my fate. Being raised in the West and subjected to the influences with which we are constantly bombarded, did not help the situation neither. In a word, you could say that I was living by my own set of rules.
So I was like a man without a religion. Fortunately I was not a man without a God. I even went back to the Catholic Church. I said I was born a Catholic, and I have been a Jehovah's Witness throughout all my life so I’m going back to the Catholic Church because maybe I missed something. I went back to the Catholic Church for about 3 months.
Before I converted, I didn’t really believe in God. I didn’t really have a religion. I didn’t really have a faith, I guess you could say. I kind of grew up with what my parents taught me, so I didn’t really believe in God. I didn’t believe in really any religion at all.
The simplicity of Islam, the powerful appeal and the compelling atmosphere of its mosques, the earnestness of its faithful adherents, the confidence inspiring realization of the millions throughout the world who answer the five daily calls to prayer - these factors attracted me from the first. But after I had determined to become a follower of Islam, I found many deeper reasons for confirming my decision.
Then it was Ramadan, something that I witnessed many times before in the Gulf, but something I just let it pass me by just as most westerners do. Just an annoyance, an inability to get a cup of tea during the day. In Turkey, I felt something different. I felt some sense of something else. Watch how this atheist converted to Islam.
I was born in London, specifically East London to a non strict Buddhist family.
My mum is a Buddhist whilst my two big brothers are atheists but follow that religion because of my mother.
The Islamic teaching of successive revelation implies, in my opinion, the following: The source from which all the great world religions sprang is one. The founders of these great paths, prepared for peace-seeking mankind, gave witness to one and the same basic divine teaching. Acceptance of one of these paths means search for Truth in Love
It was as if the Author was reading his mind. Every night he would make up certain questions and objections, but would find the answer in his next readings as he continued his readings in the accepted order. "The Qur'an was always way ahead of my thinking; it was erasing barriers I had built years ago and was addressing my queries."
Myriam Francois-Cerrah became popular when she was a child for acting in the 90's hit film 'Sense and Sensibility.' Now she is gaining more popularity for being one of a growing number of educated middle class female converts to Islam in Britain.
