Lifestyle
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My Story
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Like many in the west, I was raised a Catholic Christian. I came from a fairly strong religious background, grew up loving my church and participating in Sunday School and the church choir. As a young girl growing up in the Catholic Church I had a lot of questions that could never seem to be answered regardless of who I asked, but I continued to believe because that’s what I was told to do. “Just have faith” seemed to be the answer of the day. Things like original sin, the tri-union and blood atonement were a complete mystery for me and yet the very basis of my faith necessitated the following of this doctrine. To add insult to injury God said, “I am not the author of confusion.” And yet, as I grew older, I was more confused than ever. I always loved and believed in God and never questioned His existence, but I began to reject the ideas taught in Christianity as I felt these were man-made and self-fulfilling. I continued on with life happy and content with my love and belief in God without following organized religion. The day came when the world was flooded with news stories of 9/11 and I, like most, was glued to the television for days watching the events unfold. All I remember hearing about the attack was Islam and Muslims. I had pre-conceived ideas about Islam and Muslims and they weren’t good, but still I couldn’t imagine any large religion like Islam, Judaism or Christianity, condoning this behavior. As an Atlantic Canadian we were bombarded with passengers whose flights had been diverted and I had gone to the shelters to bring a family home. When I arrived the only families left were Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs for the most part. None of them wanted to leave the safety of the shelter for fear of backlash. This idea was totally alien to me and I decided to learn more about this religion called Islam. As I had suspected, within 5 minutes of searching I realized Islam does not condone the killing of innocents and I continued my research. The more I read the more I realized that the teachings of Islam is what I had believed all along and now I wanted to know more from the followers of Islam. That brought me to MSN Chat and the Islam room. I met so many wonderful people there and to this day they have remained my friends. They spent countless hours teaching me and I spent countless hours trying to defend the faith I grew up with and wanting to show them I could not have been wrong all these years. I struggled, and often cried, at the thought that all I learned and practiced was wrong. I was angry, frustrated and confused. But, after three years of learning I finally accepted the fact that the teachings of Islam is what I had always believed and it wasn’t so far from what I was taught. I finally realized I had found the truth and it was time to embrace it and let go of any fears. I remember one fear was, “What if I’m wrong?” Well, I can’t be wrong. I only want to be closer to God and to worship only Him. That can never be wrong and that is exactly what Islam teaches. Alhamdulillah, I reverted in February, 2004, and I am still learning the basics and will continue to learn every day, Inshallah. Being the only Muslimah in my area, there are times I struggle and stumble, but I know I have the love and support of my Muslim brothers and sisters to help me. That is one of the beauties of Islam. You gain a large instant family of brothers and sisters within the folds of Islam. Regardless of race or color you are welcomed with open arms by Muslims all over the world. Alhamdulillah!
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