Reverts

The simplicity of Islam, the powerful appeal and 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.

The broad-minded tolerance of Islam for other religions recommends it to all lovers of liberty. Muhammad admonished his followers to treat well the believers in the Old and New Testament; and Abraham, Moses, Jesus are acknowledged as co-Prophets of the One God. Surely this is generous and far in advance of the attitude of other religions.

Moderation and temperance in all things, keynote of Islam, won my unqualified approbation.

Col. Donald S. Rockwell
U.S.
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Islam alone can satisfy the needs of every member of the human family

Christianity must go the way of all things, and henceforth perish and forever to make room for the True Religion God to mankind, and that is Islam, which is Truth, sincerity, toleration, looking to the interests of man and pointing him to the Right Way. Islam alone can satisfy the needs of every member of the human family, and Muslims are the only people among whom can be found the “True Book of Brotherhood” in reality and not mere “make-belief” as in Christianity.

Sir Jalaluddin Lauder Brunton
England
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Islam alone offers the solution of present-day problems

To the Western mind, the chief appeal of Islam must be its simplicity. Admittedly, there are one or two other faiths which are as easy of approach but they sadly lack the vitality of the Faith of the Prophet (may Allah bless him), and the spiritual and moral elevation which it offers.

Islam must also appeal by virtue of its tolerance… Strangely Christian intolerance awakened my first interest in Islam.The Churches are utterly incapable of grappling with present-day problems. Islam alone, offers the solution.

John Fisher
Newcastle
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Islam has always attracted me both by its simplicity and by the devotion of its followers

Since adopting Islam as my faith I feel that I have come to a turning point in my life, and to account for this, to give you some idea as to why I have become a Muslim. I have subjected myself to what I might call a self-psychological analysis.

Islam had always attracted me both by its simplicity and by the devotion of its followers … I was taught to regard all religions other than Christianity as blasphemous and their adherents as heathens.

Islam has given me a very practical method of breaking down the barrier of materialism in one of the Five Pillars of Faith, namely `Prayer.’ The Muslim prayer keeps me constantly aware of my duty to Allah, to my soul, and to my fellow creatures.

Khalid D’Larnger Remraf
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The purity and simplicity of the Islamic Faith and its obvious Truth made a special appeal to me!

The purity and simplicity of the Islamic Faith, its freedom from dogma and sacredotalism and its obvious Truth made a special appeal to me. The honesty and sincerity of the Muslims, too, are greater than anything I have seen in Christians.

Another beauty of Islam is its equality. It is only Islam that has real equality maintained between man and man and no other religion has anything like it. The Faith of Islam generates unity.

The Deen of Islam is also the cleanest religion in the world because Muslims have to wash the exposed parts of the body five times a day, a practice not found in any other religion of the world.

A. W.L. Van Kuylenburg (Known as M.A. Rahman)
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In Islam I have found the true Faith for which I had been seeking so long

I devoted a considerable amount of my spare time to a thorough study of an English translation of the Holy Qur’an, and as I read over and over again, certain of the words of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah exalt his mention), I could not help but see that here, at last, in Islam I had found the true faith for which I had been seeking so long.

I would like to say that I feel confident, that if only people in this and other Western countries can be brought to appreciate the full meaning of Islam, and what it stands for, the ranks of Islam will be daily swelled, only unfortunately there is a vast amount of misapprehension in the minds of many ‘Free Thinkers’ and others who still cling to their old creed simply because they require the moral courage to abandon a faith, with the principles of which they are, at variance, and to embrace Islam.

Walker H. Williams
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I have accepted Islam because it fits in so well with my own ideas

A man becomes a truer Christian or a Jew by way of Islam, than by any way advocated by the Christian or Jewish people to-day. In Islam, there is tolerance and an acknowledgement of universal brotherhood. So, I may say, that I have accepted Islam because it fits in so well with my own ideas about Allah and His beautiful plan. It is the only Faith I really can understand. Indeed, such is its simplicity and beauty that even a little child can understand it.

Amina Le Fleming
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Islam is the religion I have been seeking for.

Islam is the religion I have been seeking for since my school days. My mind was dissatisfied all along with the Christian teachings till I was old enough to have independence of thought to shake them off. I came in touch with the true religion of Islam. I became interested in Islam, whose keynote is simplicity – for instance, belief in the Unity (Unity is not the proper word to use, instead the word ‘Oneness’ describes Monotheism in real sense – Editor) of Allah. This is why it appeals to me. The religion of Islam has given me peace and happiness such as I never had before.

Miss Joan Fatima

Whether it fittingly opens in Mississippi, Pakistan, or New York–my story begins and ends with absolute unquestioning submission to Allah as His humble and undeserving servant.

I was born into this world an American Christian, a Southern Baptist in the deep heart of the mythical south: Mississippi. Always a sensitive child, given to prayer and Bible reading, I believed in what my elders taught me: that God was One and God was Three, that Christ Jesus was the Son of God yet also WAS God, that the Bible was the infallible word of God despite being written and compiled many years after the “crucifixion of Christ/God.” These things were paradoxical even to my childish mind–but few believers veer from the religious paths laid out for them by pious parents, so I prayed and studied and slowly wandered away from the faith of my ancestors during my early teenage years.

I became a modern American. Which is to say I believed in the media-driven Cult of Celebrity, the necessity of Consumerism (to ensure the continual growth of the American economy), paying lip-service to general Christian religious beliefs, and becoming as independent of my parents (and my extended Southern family) as quickly as possible.

After years of experimentation during my teens, twenties, and early thirties with Western and Eastern philosophical ideas, both benign & malignant forms of Paganism, power and lust, I was a shell of a human, an existential mess. Desperate to appeal to a higher power but helplessly unable to start, I was frozen into my seeming damnation. I had embraced Shaytan and damnation as inevitable (and therefore desirable).

It was the fall of 1999. My career and my luckless marriage were on the back burner. Searching for I knew not what, treading water, I had been reading the Qur’an after being intrigued by the music of Nusrat Fati Ali Khan. Not knowing what the lyrics meant (though I suspected they were religious in nature), I was curious as to the appeal and value of the Qur’an as one the world’s great writings of “wisdom literature.” Somehow Islam had eluded me. Maybe it had appeared too Old Testament or too irrational to my “enlightened mind”? I had studied in some detail Western Philosophy from Plato to Derrida while working on a Ph.D. in postmodern thought, so my worldview was twisted into a Gordian Knot.

After a weekend of typical Manhattan debauchery, I realized–or it was revealed to me–that I was near the end. No Exit. Either I found God or I committed suicide. No options. My best friend, a Muslim, had given me a prayer rug his father brought from Makkah. I took it from where it hung as decoration on my wall and placed it on the floor, fell to my knees. For three days I wept and beat my head against the ground: slept, cried, prayed, slept, cried, and prayed in a cycle of absolute repentance.

It seemed the universe opened up to me. I could see a light trillions of trillions light years distant. What that light was, was the mystery of mysteries to my natal mind. Nevertheless, I believed and knew it to be Allah, the One Unity revealed by the PROPHET MUHAMMAD (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). I begged this Unity to lead me along the straight path, to allow me to renounce my evil and rebellious ways.

My heart broke open like a ripe pomegranate and long-buried seeds of faith spilled forth among the stars of parturition–silent angels surrounding to shield my broken soul.

After three days, the sun rose and I left my home a changed man. There WAS a God, there WAS a meaning to Life, and there WAS a moral code to be followed in order to achieve Heaven and avoid Hell. This revelation, however, did not mean that immediately I understood the implications of what I had experienced that I appreciated fully the profundity of the Holy Quran, or that I gave up every one of my sinful ways. However, I was trying, and I was a better person than before. When one wanders along the crooked and thorny path toward Jahannum, when one revels in the desires offered by the modern world for years, one becomes crippled. Time is necessary to learn to walk strong and straight again. I believed in the Islamic Creed and in the Articles of Faith, but I was still paddling in the waters of Islam. Occasionally attending a mosque, fasting a few days during Ramadan, reading my Quran at times, studying the history of Islam, and praying (though not according to the strict rules of salat): these were my first steps toward the True Faith.

Knowing so little fiqh/Sunnah, I was unsure about the degree to which I was a Muslim already–a Muslim in rebellion, but a Muslim nevertheless. I had never taken Shahada.

Then in spring of 2001, I went to Pakistan with my best friend to visit his family. The trip was meant to be a tourist jaunt in a foreign land, but Allah had other plans. In Pakistan (throughout Sindh province), I met all the right persons. People who struggled against their nafs, who strove to make the human condition one of Islamic truth. While I was under no illusion regarding the human faults of Pakistan, my eyes seemed to be open only to its spiritual beauty.

There, I was exposed to the ugliness of deprivation and the comeliness of a true Muslim soul-worker, my friend’s uncle, a saint of a man. Though I felt ashamed in his presence and believed he saw into the evil of my past, my friend informed me that his uncle “saw a light in my face.” Shaken by guilt as I pondered and prayed over the manner in which I’d wasted my youth, I made a “devil’s deal” with The Almighty (a great blasphemy): in exchange for my absolute devotion to Islam, it’s Rasool SAW and it’s Ummah, I needed a strong sign of Allah SW’s presence and power. I asked to be struck deaf, blind, dumb, lame, or dead as proof of his final reality. Praying, sobbing for hours, I suddenly arose to a cold world beneath an enormous flowering pink tree in a courtyard. Since I felt more alive than ever I believed possible, I “forgave” Allah SW for His inability or unwillingness to prove Himself to me. Friends hovered around me to see what was wrong. I exclaimed, “It’s very bright and cold under this tree…” Suddenly, I fell to the ground in a faint. The tree also was struck to the ground.

I faced my Death Abyss for 12 hours. A raging fever that would not subside took hold of my brain; friends were worried that I was dying as my temperature rose past 106 degrees despite the ice water being poured onto me. I screamed and raved that needles of ice and fire were piercing me. In the depths of my torture, I repented for my blasphemy and begged Allah SW not to let me die before being allowed to serve Him in this world. My wish was granted. I slept for a day and awoke a True Muslim.

Upon returning to New York, I took Shahada at Al Falah Masjid in Queens. Each morning I praise The Creator for the day’s light within which to serve Him. May Allah SW bestow His mercy upon us all and grant us Janna.

Zain Muhammad

Madame Fatima Mik Davidson is the Minister of State for Social Development and Local Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. In an interview given by her to the renowned Arabic Magazine Men-bar-al-Islam of Cairo, Madame Fatima Mik Davidson (formerly Mrs. Model Donafamik Davidson) talked about the beginning of her encounter with Islam and how she ultimately turned Muslim. She said:

“I totally deny the idea that I accepted Islam in 1975 by renouncing Christianity. Really I am quite unable to understand and explain what the matter was with me. Let me take you back to the 9th March, 1950, the day that was fixed for me to enter Christian Monastery, When I woke up in the morning of that day, I felt that voice – Allaahu-Akbar, Allahu-Akbar) was ringing in my ears and it was thrilling my entire inner self. Lo! I had come back to Islam.

‘I did not quite know what it was, but the monastery I refused to enter. After that I passed many years, seeking Allah’s guidance, until at last I was able to come across a copy of the translation of the Holy Qur’an. Then I readily put faith in it. I happened to meet a Muslim scholar, Maulana Siddiq from Pakistan and an Indian scholar Shaikh Ansari. I had detailed talks with them about nature and what I felt about it in my heart, so much so that these great scholars exclaimed to me: Thank Allah you are a Muslim! You are now a Muslim Lady. Read what you like, enter the Mosques and pray. We are prepared to welcome you, whenever you feel disposed to learn anything.”

Iman Is Bliss

“I felt happy. Ever since that day I have been feeling that my heart is overflowing with the bliss of iman (Faith) and with love and high esteem for the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam). Although the date of my formally embracing Islam is sometime in the year 1975, I have been a Muslim for the last 33 years, ever since the day I heard the great mysterious voice and I refused to enter the monastery. My heart proclaimed: Allahu Akbar: God is the Greatest).

“I was the first coloured girl to enter the Mosque, This encouraged many Muslim girls to enter Mosques for prayer, particularly the Mosque of the Anjuman Jami` Sanatal which was founded by the great scholar Dr. Shaikh Ansari in the city of Francis in Trinidad. Its present Chairman is| Al-Hajj Shafiq Muhammad.

“Prior to this, the residents over there thought that Islam was the religion of the Indians who followed so many shades of religious tenets and paths. They thought Qadianism and Ahmadism being more important.

“Later on a large number of the islanders, mostly of African origin, embraced Islam, until the ratio of the Muslims rose to 13 percent of the total population of the Republic, as against 31 percent Catholics, 27 percent Protestants, 6 percent Hindus, and 23 percent others.’

Effect on her Duties

About the effect of her embracing Islam on her work in a state where Muslims are not in the majority, she said:

“Islam demands of us efficient and sincere application to duty and I practice the teachings of the Faith (Islam) with sincerity. I do not tell Lies either in my (official) work or in my (personal) life. To the best of my ability and with strong consciousness of my heart I shun everything that is repugnant to Islam. As regard the impact of my conversion upon my work, it was nothing but all blessing and good. Our former Prime Minister advised me to visit Egypt, because it is the land of the renowned Jami’ah Al-Azhar and the source of civilization. He used to talk a great deal about Islam.

“When I requested my present Prime Minister to give me permission to visit Egypt in connection with my assignment as Minister of State for Social Development and Local Government, he agreed and also advised me to visit Al-Azhar and the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs about whose activities we heard so much during our visits to the US and the UK.

“I took part in the parliamentary elections many a time and came out successful in spite of being a Muslim. I have worked as Minister for Education and Culture and also as a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Cabinet, although I am a Muslim.

“I would like to tell something important. The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago allows official holidays on the occasions of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-uI-Azha festivals. The Muslims have freedom to celebrate the month of Ramadaan in their houses as well as in the mosques throughout the State.”

She further said:

“I make an appeal to the Islamic World to close their ranks because unity is strength, particularly under cover of the excellent religion of Islam which has brought equality to mankind and which regulates our relations and dealings. It is, therefore, imperative that the Islamic World should halt the wars raging among its certain states. It is possible to resolve all difficulties and disputes with mutual negotiations, consultation and understanding.

“Almighty Allah has guided me to Islam and I pray Him to guide the Muslims towards fraternity and peace so that they may in reality become in this present age the best community that has been raised up for mankind.”

Madame Fatima Mik Davidson
Minister of State for Social Development and Local Government,
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

“But Islam has a still further service to render to the cause of humanity. It stands after all nearer to the real East than Europe does, and it possesses a magnificent tradition of inter-racial understanding and cooperation. No other society has such a record of success uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity, and of endeavours so many and so various races of mankind . . . Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of East and West is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition. In its hands lies very largely the solution of the problem with which Europe is faced in its relation with East. If they unite, the hope of a peaceful issue is immeasurably enhanced. But if Europe, by rejecting the cooperation of Islam, throws it into the arms of its rivals, the issue can only be disastrous for both.” —H.A.R. Gibb, WHITHER ISLAM, London, 1932, p. 379.
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“It (Islam) replaced monkishness by manliness. It gives hope to the slave, brotherhood to mankind, and recognition of the fundamental facts of human nature.” — Canon Taylor, Paper read before the Church Congress at Walverhamton, Oct. 7, 1887; Quoted by Arnoud in THE PREACHING OF ISLAM, pp. 71-72.
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The founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammed. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he? ” Lamartine, Historie de la Turquie, Paris 1854, Vol. 11 pp. 276-2727
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“If a man like Muhammed were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness.” George Bernard Shaw
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“How, for instance, can any other appeal stand against that of the Moslem who, in approaching the pagan, says to him, however obscure or degraded he may be ‘Embrace the faith, and you are at once equal and a brother.’ Islam knows no color line.” (S. S. Leeder, VEILED MYSTERIES OF EGYPT)
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Professor William W. Hay is one of the best known marine scientists in the United States. Satellite photography and remote-sensing techniques. Professor Hay replied: I find it very interesting that this sort of information is in the ancient scripture of the Holy Qur’an, and I have no way of knowing where they would come from, but I think it is extremely interesting that they are there and that this work is going on to discover it, the meaning of some of the passages. Professor Hay: Well, I would think it must be the divine being!
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Professor Yushudi Kusan: Director of the Tokyo Observatory,

I can say, I am very mush impressed by finding true astronomical facts in the Qur’an.
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Professor Alfred Kroner who is one of the world’s most famous geologists

“Thinking about many of these questions and thinking where Muhammad came from, he was after all a Bedouin. I think it is almost impossible that he could have known about things like the common origin of the universe, because scientists have only found out within the last few years with very complicated and advanced technological methods that this is the case.
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Dr. T.V.N. Persaud is a Professor of Anatomy and Head of the Department of Anatomy, and a professor of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is the author or editor of 25 books, and has published over 181 scientific papers. In 1991, he received the most distinguished award presented in the field of anatomy in Canada. “It seems to me that Muhammad was a very ordinary man. He could not read or write. In fact, he was illiterate. We are talking about 1400 years ago. You have someone who was illiterate making profound pronouncement and statements and are amazingly accurate about scientific nature. I personally cannot see how this could be mere chance. There are too many accuracy and, like Dr. Moore, I have no difficulty in my mind in concerning that this is a divine inspiration or revelation which led him to these statements.”
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Joe Leigh Simpson, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the North Western University in Chicago in the United States of America. Professor Simpson said: It follows, I think, that not only is there no conflict between genetics and religion, but in fact religion can guide science by adding revelation to some traditional scientific approaches. That there exist statements in the Qur’an shown by science to be valid, which supports knowledge in the Qur’an having been derived from Allah.
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Professor Palmer a scientist from the U.S.

We need research into the history of early Middle Eastern oral traditions to know whether in fact such historical events have been reported. If there is no such record, it strengthens the belief that Allah transmitted through Muhammad bits of his knowledge that we have only discovered for ourselves in recent times. We look forward to a continuing dialogue on the topic of science in the Qur’an in the context of geology. Thank you very much.
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Professor Tagata Tagasone, formerly Head of the Department of Anatomy and Embryology at the University of Shiang Mai in Thailand. He is now the Dean of the College of the Medicine at the University. From my studies and from what I have learned throughout this conference, I believe that everything that has been recorded in the Qur’an 1400 years ago must be the truth, that can be proved by the scientific means. Since the Prophet Muhammad could neither read nor write, Muhammad must be a messenger who relayed this truth which was revealed to him as an enlightenment by the One Who is an eligible Creator. This Creator must be Allah, or Allah. Therefore, I think this is the time to say Laa ilaaha illallah, that there is no Allah to worship except Allah, Muhammad Rasool Allah, Muhammad is messenger of Allah…
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Professor Armstrong, Scientist works at NASA, I am impressed that how remarkably some of the ancient writings seem to correspond to modern and recent Astronomy. There may well have to be something beyond what we understand as ordinary human experience to account for the writings that we have seen.
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Professor Dorja Rao, It is difficult to imagine that this type of knowledge was existing at that time, around 1400 years back. May be some of the things they have simple idea about, but do describe those things in great detail is very difficult. So, this is definitely not a simple human knowledge.
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“My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level.” —Michael H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York: Hart Publishing Company, Inc., 1978, p. 33.
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“No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity and endeavour so many and so varied races of mankind. The great Muslim communities of Africa, India and Indonesia, perhaps also the small community in Japan, show that Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of the East and west is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition.” (H.A.R. Gibb, WHITHER ISLAM, p. 379)
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The nation’s claim to be a Christian country is about to meet its first challenge: the number of practicing Muslims is set to overtake Anglican Christians…. There has also been a number of high-profile conversions to Islam from Christianity. These include Mike Tyson, the former world champion boxer; Chris Eubank, the British middleweight boxing champion, who has changed his name to Hamdan; and Cat Stevens, the pop musician, who calls himself Yousef Islam…. Prince Charles once courted controversy when he reaffirmed his claim that when he succeeds the throne, he does not wish to be the defender of only the Christian faith. Rajeev Syal and Christopher Morgan Sunday Times (London, U.K.)
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“I have studied him – the wonderful man – and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ he must be called the saviour of humanity. ” George Bernard Shaw in “The Genuine Islam”
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“In little more than a year he was actually the spiritual, nominal and temporal rule of Medina, with his hands on the lever that was to shake the world.” John Austin, “Muhammad the Prophet of Allah,” in T.P. ‘s and Cassel’s Weekly for 24th September 1927.
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“Everything made so much sense. This is the beauty of the Qur’an; it asks you to reflect and reason….When I read the Qur’an further, it talked about prayer, kindness and charity. I was not a Muslim yet, but I felt the only answer for me was the Qur’an and God had sent it to me.” Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), former British pop star.
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“Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born at Mecca, in Arabia the man who, of all men exercised the greatest influence upon the human race . . . Mohammed . . . ” John William Draper, M.D., L.L.D., A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London 1875, Vol.1, pp.329-330
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“Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him.” Diwan Chand Sharma, The Prophets of the East, Calcutta 1935, p. l 22.
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“People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People like Gandhi and Confucius, on one hand, and Alexander, Caesar and Hitler on the other, are leaders in the second and perhaps the third sense. Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category alone. Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Mohammed, who combined all three functions. To a lesser degree, Moses did the same.” Professor Jules Masserman
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Ahmed Versi, editor of the weekly Muslim News, said the growth of Islam has been constant: “The younger generation of Muslims that I have encountered is becoming more aware of its Muslim identity and is therefore practicing its faith with vigour.”
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“The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue…” (A.J. Toynbee, CIVILIZATION ON TRIAL, New York, p. 205)
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“Sense of justice is one of the most wonderful ideals of Islam, because as I read in the Qur’an I find those dynamic principles of life, not mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world.” –Lectures on “The Ideals of Islam;” see SPEECHES AND WRITINGS OF SAROJINI NAIDU, Madras, 1918, p. 167.
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