Problems faced by the New Muslims in India– The Reality!!!

[Abu Hamza Deccani]

Assalaamalaikum,
This is a heart wrenching article on the experiences and difficulties faced by Muslim reverts in India.

Problems faced by the New Muslims – The Reality!!!
by Abdullah Arun

Dont think this to be a copy pasted article... Unlike others, this is a real life experience of us (New Muslims)!!!!

Initial stage:

• People are very eager to do dawah. Some Muslims disappear once their objective is achieved. They forget to carry forward the help & assistance to the new Muslims that are most essential.

• A person comes to the truth and suddenly finds him standing in a battle field full of difficulties. At the initial stage itself, when the Faith is still not so strong he is left alone. some may fall even in the wrong hands and AlhamduliLLAH they come back to truth.

Learning & Following the deen:

• Then we keep struggling to find sources to teach us. Sometimes we are lucky but most of the times we are struggling. Some access to internet, some approach their friends here & there, some get help from some aapa’s or aunties/brothers, sheikhs who can teach (if they are lucky to come in their hands)

• Many times they wish to buy Islamic books and attend Islamic courses. They have great interest and passion to read & learn Islamic stuffs earnestly but they lack in finance. As they are hiding from their family and practicing ISLAM, a lot of them are just young lads studying in colleges, so they run out of pocket money.

Family Life (as Undercover & Open Muslim):

Most of the New Muslims in the initial stages hide & practice ISLAM. Because some are students, some are not settled, some are not married. And revealing can cause more troubles for them. They are living a life of dual personalities. This frustrates and breaks them the most.

We have to hide & pray:

• If you have a separate bedroom then you are lucky but most of us share rooms either with siblings or grandparents etc.
• In midst of our salah we hear nocks at the door and we have to break our prayer. Some times we even get caught while making wudu(ablution for prayer). It depends upon the facilities in one's house.
• We have to keep waiting till we find safe place at home.
• We loose the peace of our mind just waiting waiting and waiting
• Sometimes we are caught and we make the weirdest reasons.
• Its rare you get to offer prayer peacefully
• Sometimes standing soemtimes sitting sometimes sleeping, sometimes just with getsures
• Sometimes in store room, sometimes looking outside window, sometimes behind cupboards & pillars etc etc etc

We have to hide & fast:

• If you are working or can go out of home you are lucky.
• Those back home are testing the flavor of hardships
• Some of us we act/pretend bluff that we have eaten
• Sometimes we act as if holding the cup of tea in our hand as to we are drinking it.
• We sip it (not gulp it) and keep it held there until we can go n spit it out.
• We have to make constant reason of being unwell and not willing to eat.
• Dieting is good excuse but it doesn’t work always
• We cannot have suhoor always.
• The max we can have is a biscuit or chocolate and sometimes a glass of water is sufficient to work day long
• At work place/colleges ask us Questions : sometimes we are able to answer them but most of the times we bluff cz we cannot reveal we are muslims now
• We cannot make it evident that we are fasting and when it’s Ramadan everyone knows its Ramadan going on.
• While breaking fast we have to be content with a date until its dinner time.
• The month of mercy & ibadah is month of difficulties & questions for us
• Eid is Never like Eid.we never get the feel of celebration although we also fasted for whole month like you !!!

We Hide & wear hijab :

• Sisters use public toilets, train compartments, rickshaws etc to wear hijab and remove it before reaching home. Some times we feel very embarrassing to remove our hijab in front of other strangers.
• Sometimes people stare at us in trains as to what weird kind of people are we removing our abayas when we are out.
• We are unaware of how and where to find the hijab.
• We save money one by one from our pocket money and buy scarves and abaya as and when we can, so that we can cover our head and be chaste.
• Sometimes we find good friends who gift some to us but we are not always lucky.
• We have cousins, uncles, family friends who keep visiting us and during party time we are lost.
• They hug us, touch us its common for them. They don’t know we have changed.
• It hurts, by now we know who are mehrams and who are not but ofcourse our family doesnt understand the same.

Can’t read Qur'an- The book of ALLAH:

• Can’t keep Islamic books at home not even the blessed Quran.
• We don’t know to read Arabic. And we can’t go out to learn nor do we have so many funds to join Arabic classes.
• Sometimes people at home find us with the books/Quran and we had it that day.
• Initially We are unaware of what is authentic what is NOT.
• All Books are not so affordable.
• Sometimes we find good friends or organizations but we are not always lucky, sometimes we are scared & hesitant to ask. Other times we don’t know whom to ask help
• Its very difficult to hide Quran & other books.. everybody doesnt have acess to computer & internet, and they keep checking our mobiles too

Festival time:

• Eid is never like Eid: We never get the feel of celebration although we also fasted for whole month like you !!!

• Diwali / Christmas/ holi/ rakhi etc etc are a must to participate in
• We cant have the prashad we are caught very badly
• But we are helpless and ALLAH knows best what is in the heart.

All those things which are actually considered to be Rights of every Muslim in our country, we get to do them in bits & pieces. When we hide & practice we have to be careful they don’t catch us or trace us but when we reveal it to them !!!!!!!!!

Consequences when our reversion(conversion) gets disclosed:

When we reveal it to them openly: first they feel we are joking; when they realize we are NOT, we had it then.

• We are locked home arrest we can’t go out, we can’t meet. Talk, chat to anyone
• We are beaten
• Our mobile is snatched
• We get no food/water/basics
• We cry alone, it sounds easy – its NOT
• We cant offer salah
• We are forced to leave studies
• We are forced to marry non muslim (the sisters face this more severely)
• We are emotionally broken because of our family members and close friends too
• They attack us physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically
• We Don’t know what are we being punished for!
• If a child commits zina(fornication) parents forgive in this modern world, but if a child wants to become truthful and righteous, parents want to outcast and disown us. What a world is this????

If we manage to escape all this torture:

• We don’t have money
• We don’t have a shelter
• We don’t have sources
• We don’t have contacts
• We are left alone
• When we go to Muslims they doubt our faith and genuineness
• Non Muslims hate us and are ready to attack us (the political parties)
• We must be born in rich families but suddenly we find ourselves like beggars
• Ideally we are on ALLAH’s mercy but here we are on people’s mercy
• We are searching for jobs, house, and support.
• If we get jobs then We stay on rented houses but we are not always lucky
• Friends help us for a day or two, the sisters suffer the worst here
• We are scared our family will find us
• Lot of Emotional BLACK MAILS like suicide etc from our families, when they come to know about us following ISLAM...

Marriage:

• We don’t have parental support and guidance in such major decision
• We don’t know much Muslims
• We also need companionship but all Muslims don’t want to welcome us
• People doubt our faith & genuineness
• We don’t have references
• There is family pressure at back of our minds
• We don’t know how to get a suitable spouse
• If we are lucky and we find the right one then,
• We lack funds, our marriages are not like marriages
• We don’t have much people attending it, we miss our parents on such important day they are NOT with us.

Marriage of two reverts:

• We loose support from both sides of the families
• We don’t get love and acceptance, our dream marriage is a REALITY now
• Our husband was disowned by his rich businessman father and presently he is jobless
• So When we conceive a baby sometimes we skip our medicines for a month
• We don’t have money for sonography and doctor checkups

Marrying a Muslim by birth:

• Sometimes we find our dream home but we are not lucky always
• We are always on their terms as we don’t have any other back up or support of our parents
• We are not accepted as it would be otherwise
• We are differentiated
• We didn’t carry along a bag full of good clothes / jewelry or gifts for our in-laws


We loose our parents forever : Life here & hereafter

• We miss our parents/ siblings & families alots. The pain of seeing them running towards hell fire is worse than pain of loosing them

• This life will end one day but how will we see our very own father & mother in the fire of jahhannam on Qiyamah?? The same mother who was holding our hands for every little step we took & the same father who was protecting us always.

After accepting Islam we came to the Truth Alhamdulillah and the truth is that we have-

" An innocent dream…A long journey…destination focused…ways locked... But our hope continues"



Will you sacrifice a little to help us (New Muslims)?

We "DONT" need your sympathy!!!!


Rather we need your REAL HELP...

We know ALLAH is our HELPER, but it is the duty of the Muslims by Birth to completely provide all the necessary help for the New Muslims...

Have you not seen the support given for New Muslims during the times of our Prophet Muhammad (Peace, Mercy and Blessings of ALLAH be upon him)'s time?????

How many of you are really ready to fund and provide financial help to the New Muslims who are in need,viz yearly funding a New Muslim who is thrown from house or wat ever????

How many of you are ready to marry the New Muslim sisters & brothers(in case of brothers- u may have to leave ur Muslim families and go to their Non Muslim houses)... How many of you can provide legal help & support to us???

What help can u solely provide for us??????? AND HOW CAN U ?????

Will you yourself individually step forward to provide us real help?

[1234]

• People are very eager to do dawah. Some Muslims disappear once their objective is achieved. They forget to carry forward the help & assistance to the new Muslims that are most essential.

that is so true

[Abu_Uzair]

assalamu alaikum
if any conveted muslim wants any type of help haz.mo.kalim siddiqi sb's is always ready for it,he has office in delhi and other place.his main office is in phulat,near muzaffar nagar,U.P

[Abu_Tamim]

assalamu alaikum
if any conveted muslim wants any type of help haz.mo.kalim siddiqi sb's is always ready for it,he has office in delhi and other place.his main office is in phulat,near muzaffar nagar,U.P

Very true. Mawlana Kalim Siddiqui is one of our greatest living buzurgs. May Allah bless him.
The article is very thought provoking and very true. We are very remiss in our duties. I have had the misfortune of seeing people convert back to their original religion because of family pressure and other reasons and can't help but think that maybe there was something that we could have done. In such cases Mawlana Badruddin Ajmal al Qasimi of Ajmal perfumes is very helpful also. As a matter of fact, the head of Markaz al Ma'arif is a revert, Muhammad 'Umar Gautam. He has retained the 'Gautam' in the end for da'wa. If someone in this thread comes across a revert in India in trouble who needs some kind of help then he can take my email from the mods. Our resources and connections are very wide by the grace of Allah. WS.

[Abu Hamza Deccani]

Asslaam,
Jazakallah khair for the replies brothers. This is a letter forwarded to me by some one, so I dont know the writer. I think this was written to mainly create awareness about their plight.
I know of a salafi brother in Hyderabad who works fulltime on salary basis for a (salafi) Kuwaiti Dawah organisation, who goes around whole day giving dawah to nonmuslims in Hyderabad. He told me that he has converted many youth and after that he sends them to Tablighi Jamaat for 40 days for tarbiyah as his group doesnt have any setup for the tarbiyah of new muslims.
Also I know of some Jamaat Islami guys who sent converts to the Tabligh for tarbiyah.
But regarding financial and legal support, there's no proper and easily approachable setup or organisation. Those groups you have mentioned above should be widely publicised and know to even common muslims and local Imams every where.

[London786]

Yes its difficult for converts in India. I mean they say that India is the largest democracy in the world and gives freedom etc but it's all a joke.....

[shoeb.momin]

Very true. Mawlana Kalim Siddiqui is one of our greatest living buzurgs. May Allah bless him.
The article is very thought provoking and very true. We are very remiss in our duties. I have had the misfortune of seeing people convert back to their original religion because of family pressure and other reasons and can't help but think that maybe there was something that we could have done. In such cases Mawlana Badruddin Ajmal al Qasimi of Ajmal perfumes is very helpful also. As a matter of fact, the head of Markaz al Ma'arif is a revert, Muhammad 'Umar Gautam. He has retained the 'Gautam' in the end for da'wa. If someone in this thread comes across a revert in India in trouble who needs some kind of help then he can take my email from the mods. Our resources and connections are very wide by the grace of Allah. WS.

Abu Tamim bhaijan,
Reliable place for learning basics about islam for revert single/married sister in Mumbai.
I woild like to know more about Mawlana Kalim Siddiqui.

[Abu_Tamim]

Abu Tamim bhaijan,
Reliable place for learning basics about islam for revert single/married sister in Mumbai.
I woild like to know more about Mawlana Kalim Siddiqui.

brother Shoeb.
I think that you want to know whether there is a reliable place for a revert sister to learn the basics in Mumbai. That will depend on where the sister is located, whether her reversion is public or not and whether she can give sometime daily or maybe twice or thrice a week. If she is on our side of town(Mahim onwards till say Jogeshwari) then I am sure that my blessed mother will be able to teach her in her own (free)Qur'anic classes in Andheri. Otherwise my younger sister who is a Hafiz of the Qur'an and a student of Ustad A Ghafur Parekh will take out sometime and teach her Inshallah in one of our places. You can take my mail from the mods in the comments and suggestions section and we can communicate further if there is truly a deserving case. WS.

[Abu_Tamim]

Abu Tamim bhaijan,
Reliable place for learning basics about islam for revert single/married sister in Mumbai.
I woild like to know more about Mawlana Kalim Siddiqui.

He is truly a Dai il Allah with akhlaq that can melt hearts of stone. He is also very close to our Akabirin. This story will help you understand better. Its taken from monthly crescent.

"There we sat with Omar Bhai, discussing our doubts over tea and other food items. He confirmed to us the news of his and Amir’s Islam. They were among the frontiers in the rath yatra. I could not help but tell him about the haunting fear, every sixth of December. What should we do now? I asked helplessly…….

In continuation to stories of our two brothers who embraced Islam after leading the demolition squad of Babri Musjid (Crescent June & July 09), here is the story of Br. Omar’s three friends. This is an English rendition of Br Mohammad Ishaq’s interview to Ahmad Awwah of Monthly Armughan-i-Wali Ullah)

MY STORY
I was born in a village near Tanda-badli town of Rampur district, U.P in a Seeni family on 7th December, 1967. I was named Ashok Kumar. My father Mr. Pooran Singh was a farmer who had but very little education. I passed standard VIII from Junior High School and intermediate from Rampur. From Lucknow I did my diploma in Civil Engineering and got a job in a Private Construction Company. I was a very short tempered guy since my childhood. I had fought with the teachers many a times at school, college and now in the company, it became a routine almost. Tired of it all I left the job. I had two close friends – Yogesh Kumar and Yogendra Singh. We were distant relatives, had studied together. Other than school, we would hang out together for physical training and wrestling as well. When the feud over Ram Janam bhoomi- Babri Masjid started, we joined the Bajrang Dal. We were part of Advaniji’s Rath yatra in Gwalior and walked along for four days. Our family members were very happy with us. Yogesh’s father who was a school teacher gathered our families at his place. He had said to the three of us, “We devote you (brothers) in the way of don’t fear away from sacrificing your lives for the sake of Ram Mandir. You will become immortal.” He tied kerchiefs (angocha) on our foreheads that encouraged us and filled with zest. It was October 30, we joined Karseva. There were tensions in the Mulayam government then, firing took place somewhere and we were arrested before we could reach our destination. Our anger knew no limits, I beat up many constables but they only tried to calm us down saying, “This government is going to fall soon, when we come to power, do what you want.” In November, 1991, we reached Ayodhya to demolish the mosque; we were not carrying enough warm clothes and stayed in Ashrams, one after another. It quite surprised us that the sadhus (saints) tried to refrain us from attacking the mosque. They dissuaded us as if it were a sin. One of them had said to me, “To tell you the truth, if Ram Chandra ji was alive today, he would never ever let this happen.” We were very angry with such people who advised us to stay away. Finally, it was 6th December, mob had gathered around the mosque and our in-charge had asked us to get set ready, wait for his signal and attack. Uma Bharti shouted the slogan and we all started the assault. Yogesh fell down on the ground and many a men ran over him, when finally he managed to get up with someone’s help he had already fractured his ribs. However we were busy celebrating; we were overjoyed to carry one of the fallen bricks that we carried all the way to home. How they had congratulated us and felicitated us all these years!

STRANGE FEAR
We fulfilled our dreams but deep inside, not only me, but all three of us were very frightened. It was a strange fear that engulfed our whole beings, something very bad would happen to us, I would often get this feeling that a rock of fire is about to descend on us to crush us. And on every sixth of December, the fear would reach greater heights, the day wouldn’t pass by, we never stepped out of the homes on this date out of fear. Last year, I must tell you, it became unbearable as if the day of torment, I was relieved only when it was night and I had lived to see the dawn of December sixth, somehow. On December seventh, the three of us left our homes in the morning for Rampur where I had some important assignments to do. At the Rampur bus station we met one of our college mates, Raees Ahmad. He came up to us and said, jokingly, “Ashok, it’s your turn now, first you will fall mentally ill and then you will embrace Islam. I asked him to shut up but in turn he took out some copies of the newspaper and read to us – the news of newly revert to Islam, Mohammad Omar and Mohammad Amir. We were frightened and angry at the same time. “I don’t trust Urdu newspapers,” I retorted. He then took out some Hindi newspapers and showed us the two short news stories. I insisted for the details from the Urdu newspapers and hearing it again, we decided to leave for Phulat and inquire why the hell such baseless stories were being published? This can harm our people’s faith (dharma bhrashta), after all.

AFFECTIONATE MAULANA
We reached Phulat at the residence of Maulana Mohammad Kaleem Siddiqui at a time when he had gone to offer Namaz. We waited with rude questions up in our minds. The moment Maulana came, I began, “How can you send such stories to the papers?” The three of us were very harsh on him, I can recall and to our surprise we found him to be a man out-of-this-world! His replies were sweetened with love, “We are brothers bound by the ties of blood, plus you are my guests today, let us calm down and talk in a relaxed manner. Where have you come from, may I know?” “Rampur, Tanda Baadli” I replied. “All the way to Phulat, in this winter, you must be tired, sit down, have some tea and I will answer whatever you ask. We never sent the story for publishing however, but it is true.” Maulana had just finished the sentence that we again got up in anger, “you want to corrupt our faiths, such lies of Hindus converting to Islam, how can you?” Maulana was calm. He did not insist we believe in what he was saying but instead see it with our own eyes. Mohammad Omar was there in Phulat at that hour and that too with a jamaat of nine reverts – two from Gujarat, three from Haryana, four from U.P. and two of them were sadhus! Maulana sent for Omar and left after saying a few words to him.

THUS CAME THE MOMENT
There we sat with Omar Bhai, discussing our doubts over tea and other food items. He confirmed to us the news of his and Amir’s Islam. They were among the frontiers in the rath yatra. I could not help but tell him about the haunting fear, every sixth of December. What should we do now? I asked helplessly.

Omar said that these fears and torments were nothing in comparison to those of the Hereafter. The only safe haven is Islam. “Recite the Kalima and enter,” we were told. Three of us decided to move out of the room to consult but Omar Bhai asked us to keep sitting and he himself went out. We had made up our minds and unanimously decided to accept Islam. We called out to Omar Bhai and gave him the good news. “I was supplicating my Lord, the Creator of the universe to guide my brothers and Maulana is doing the same, I must tell him this now,” Omar said this to us and went inside. Maulana came and we recited the Kalma after him. And I don’t have words to describe what I went through while saying those words; as if the cloak of thorns was being taken off from our bodies, the fear was gone, we felt so safe, secure and comfortable in the fort of Islam. I was named Mohammad Ishaq, Yogesh Mohammad Yaqub and Yogender Mohammad Yusuf. The stories of these Prophets were also narrated to us. Maulana told us that when the news had appeared in the papers, many people had expressed their concern and fears. He however was sure that whatever Allah does is for the best. “Now we have three great gifts in your form, congratulations!” he said this and handed over copies of Apki amanat apki seva mein to each of us.

40 DAYS WITH JAMAT
We were admitted to the jama’at of reverts which had a Mufti Sb from Bulandshehar as the Ameer. There were two others teaching totaling upto 15 in number; we stayed in Meerut for a day where three of us got our certificates made. Then our jamaat turned towards Agra and Mathura, where we completed 40 days somehow, since we were new little conflicts with fellow men did occur. So, three of us decided to return back. Yusuf had a dream that night. He saw Maulana telling him, “Look! Consider the ways; your lord has guided you…. And now you are leaving the way that leads to him.” He shared his dream with us. We made our minds to complete 40 days with the jamaat; how else would we show our faces to Maulana then?

TROUBLED TIMES
Maulana enquired about my future plans and he suggested we should not leave for home right then. But I retorted saying, “religion is our personal choice and what else is right if not to accept what is right (haq). We have to go home and convince our families.” He tried to stop us but in vain.

Reaching our place we found out the conditions had been hit badly by communal tensions. About us it was famous that we had been murdered at the hands of Muslims. But we reached and revealed our Islam, a pall of gloom descended on the whole area. There were panchayati meetings organized again and again. People were coming in from neighboring villages, far off relatives started pouring in the home, newspaper reporters came but they were bribed and Our Islam did not make it to the papers, the way they wanted it on account of fears it would bring harm to the whole society.

Our families were pressurized that we revert our steps but Alhamdulillah, we didn’t move an inch, all this opposition had made us stronger Muslims and we were firm despite of all the hardships they were causing us to face. Our wives and kids were sent off to their families and eventually we had to leave our houses, three of us together left for Delhi since we were hesitant to face Maulana in Phulat for having ignored his words. We went to Patna and lived in troubled times, for some days we had to pull Rickshaws even but then everything was well, we saw Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in our dreams one by one and it gave us such peace of mind that every trouble was gone. It took us long to meet Maulana but today we did see him and it feels so good.

MY MESSAGE
I would say Islam is the need of each and every being. One should never judge a man on his actions, just see we were Bajrang Dalis and today we are the same men but (shudders) if we had died our deaths on the same (cries) how we would have been punished. Please don’t judge anyone. If someone is anti Islam, its only because he or she doesn’t know it, has misunderstandings and misconceptions regarding it. The day they are cleared, the clouds of doubt, light flows in. Be a lamp; guide those who are in darkness, that’s a duty and extremely important one."

[shoeb.momin]

Bhaijan,
The karguzari of the "kar sevak" was mindly blowing.
Moderat
or - pls gimme email ID of Abu Tamim bhai.
In the past I had came across instances where people had approached me for information regarding the basic tarbiyah of revert sister, I couldn't help them. But henceforth I will forward it thru you.
I know one person in our locality who had married a christian lady (no idea whether she has reverted or not). They have a 13yr old daughter. I will speak to that brother regarding basic teaching of islam for his wife and daughter and contact u.