Emily, Ex-Christian, New Zealand

Rating:
Font size:
A- A A+

Description: A Christian girl who was very skeptical about religions felt connected to Islam right away.

  • By Emily
  • Published on 24 Aug 2009
  • Last modified on 13 Sep 2009
  • Printed: 359
  • Viewed: 25,366 (daily average: 5)
  • Rating: 3.6 out of 5
  • Rated by: 163
  • Emailed: 4
  • Commented on: 6
Poor Best

Growing up in New Zealand, I was raised as a Christian however my parents were not overly religious. As a young girl I went to Sunday school every week and attended church with my grandmother and went to Christian classes as part of the school curriculum. As I got older I stopped going to church as I never really felt passionate about Christianity. In my teenage years I made a few mistakes as I got involved with a group of friends that were a bad influence and my family decided to move to Australia at the beginning of 2006 when I was 15.

I attended high school in Australia and really began to excel at school and began a new life. I achieved the grades I needed to get into my University Course so I moved out of home (closer to the university) and into student accommodation. Up until this point I had no idea about Islam except from what I had heard in the media, I had never met a Muslim person before.

One of my housemates was a Muslim and he was very open minded and was the most genuine, kind hearted person I have ever met. I did not ask him much about his religion until I got to know him a bit more and when I did I was very intrigued. I was asking him questions everyday about everything from the Quran to Arabic words! I was always interested and excited by the answers.

I was usually very skeptical about religions but with Islam I felt connected right away. A year went by and I met a lot of Muslims and they were all very kind and peaceful people and they were always willing to answer my questions. I started doing my own research just before I turned 19 and I knew I wanted to convert to Islam before Ramadan 2009. The previous Ramadan I had fasted some days but I later learned that none of those counted unless I was Muslim.

After my 19th birthday I was eager to learn even more about Islam as I received the book called “Don’t Be Sad” which had a lot of referencing to the Quran and I realized a lot of it was my theory on life anyway. I then moved into a house by myself and I was very lonely and depressed all the time. Because I was always alone, whenever I said Bismillah (I begin with the name of God) I felt very relieved and safe. I knew I needed to convert to Islam but I didn’t want my Muslim friends to think I was doing it just because of them so I was very hesitant.

I was also hesitant because I did not realize how easy Islam would be for a 19 year old girl. I was just very concerned that people, even my friends, did not know much about Islam. Then one night I had a dream that I was in Saudi Arabia and I was Muslim and I was wearing a Hijab and it fell off in front of everyone, but nobody said anything to me. When I woke up I felt this was a sign that Islam was going to be easy for me. Many things happened to me over the course of the few weeks, all of which I knew were signs from Allah.

I was discussing my concerns with Zia and Samy from islamreligion.com and they said why wait? You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. It just made so much sense. I wanted to convert to Islam right away.

I was very nervous to tell my friend who had answered all my questions over the past year as I didn’t know what he would think. He was very happy for me and he said he would help me and the next day he brought me a compass as a gift so I could find the right direction to pray. I learnt the Shahada and that evening he helped me convert to Islam. I was so happy that evening, I cried out of joy. It was one of the happiest moments of my life and I was so glad my friend could be there with me to help me.

I have still not told some of my friends.  I am waiting, in the meantime I am still learning. All in all, I am loving my new life as a Muslim.  I hope everyday I can just learn more about Islam and I am very excited for my first Ramadan.

Poor Best
User Comments View comments

Add a comment

  • (Not shown to the public)

  • Your comment will be reviewed and should be published within 24 hours.

    Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.

Other Articles in the Same Category

Most Viewed

Daily
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
Total
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)

Editor’s Pick

(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)

List Contents

Since your last visit
This list is currently empty.
All by date
(Read more...)
(Read more...)

Most Popular

Highest rated
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
Most emailed
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
Most printed
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
Most commented on
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
(Read more...)

Your Favorites

Your favorites list is empty. You may add articles to this list using the article tools.

Your History

Your history list is empty.

Minimize chat