For the reverts - what were your reasons?

[Peakur]

Hello, I have been reading reverts' stories here and there and as I am coming closer to conversion myself and feeling more and more confident about my decision I began to wonder what were other reverts' reasons for joining Islam.

For me it seems like everything "clicks", but I wonder what different reasons people might have.

[Basil al-Mamluk]

Was born Christian. Got pretty active then got to college. Met some guys from Pakistan. Didn't convert right away but knowing muslims kinda opened the door. Anyway, got into a lot of foolishness and it caused me to re-evaluate things. I decided to "get right with God". I thought this meant becoming a more strict Christian but the more I read (this time, I shed any preconceived bias towards Christianity), the more I saw inconsistencies.

Ethnically, I am Ashkenaz (German/Polish Jew). Although my family isn't Jewish, someone a few generations ago converted away from it, the best we can figure. My family isn't big on keeping track of out lineage (probably because of the Jewish thing and were I was born). At any rate, the more I read into Judaism, the more I saw it as a tribalist, racist, gutter religion.

I read briefly into Sikhism and other "eastern religions" but saw those as nothing more than cute ways to live. I was a Nihilist type person for a while and then I stumbled upon some lectures by brother Gary Miller talking about Islam. The more I listened, the more I became intrigued. I read more and more and now I'm a muslim.

[amandamarielynn]

I was a seemingly normal girl when I was a small child. At least to the outside world. But what happened behind the closed doors of my home sometimes would give nightmares to more sensitive people. Even through years of domestic violence, religion played a fairly important role in my life. Both of my parents were raised Christian, with several members of my mother's side of the family being Southern Baptist ministers. So I knew that it was important to pray, to repent, to do good. When I got to be 11, my faith started to dramatically dip due to very poor health. i had to have surgeries (all through from when I was 12 to my most recent in March 2010 for more than one condition) and my family life went down the tubes. Despite that, I still went through confirmation classes and was Baptised into the Lutheran Church. At 17, my mother and I left the Midwest with only ourselves and a couple things of ours and headed for the Southwest. Because we had run from domestic violence, we had nothing. I spent my 18th birthday in between shelters and had to homeschool myself for my senior year of high school. Needless to say, I "didn't have time" for religion.

Since the family ministers (literally blood family) are also Masons, it's a long standing belief in my family that Islam and Christianity were once one religion and they somehow split paths. How is no one's place to judge, but it's believed to have happened (and this is the view of the Christians in the family too). I was a staunch Christian, however, and disagreed with Islam because of what I'd heard in the media. At the same time, I believed in a person's right to believe what they want. When a now ex-friend decided to diss one of my now closest friends for being Muslim, I defended the Muslim friend. I said that I disagreed, but he can believe what he wants without ridicule. The friend then asked me if I'd read for myself and knew about Islam rather than just following everyone else. I was shamed into starting to learn. This later fit in (like a puzzle.. definitely Allah's handywork, lol) when my mother would be upset over something and feel empty by what was in the Bible. We would talk things out and, since I had been researching different things in Islam and had developed many friendships with Muslims through Facebook, I would say "Well, I know in Islam...." And it would bring her a peace she hadn't felt in a long time. She was afraid she wouldn't do things right, so I found a local Mosque and went with her for her first meeting with an Imam and then later she reverted (we took our official Shahada together, but she believed before I did). I, however, was the stubborn one. I refuse to believe anything even if it's in my heart until I have absolute proof because I've been burned on it SO many times. Finally, one day I was in so much pain from my conditions that I begged that if there was a God all I asked was for relief from the pain long enough I could do my chores. Nothing happened. Then I prayed that I would follow Islam if I could just do my chores. In 30 seconds, I went from being in so much pain all I could do was curl in on myself on the floor and cry, unable to sit or stand up, to having NO pain at all. That was all the answer I needed. And the relief lasted long enough for me to do chores and when it DID come back, it wasn't so bad.

I still live in excruciating pain most of the time, but with Allah I know that I am not abandoned and I am not alone.

[seifalhaqq]

To put a long story into a short one, Islam was the only religion that could sum up all of by beliefs about god and the nature of reality into one school of thought and one religious text.

[Aspirer]

I read a translation of the Qur'an (a Pickthal, to be precise) and it spoke to me to such an extent that the only sensible thing to do was submit myself before the One who sent it down. Prior to this, I was an atheist communist Jew (not kidding).

I have a great sorrow for those who read it and come away with the wrong idea, but then again, Allah guides whomsoever he wills,

[MustafaMc]

During college I had a room mate from Iran. After a year, I read in his Yusuf Ali translation of the Quran during the winter break about God, Jesus and Mary and saw that it was more logical than the Christian faith I had grown up in.

[kite runner]

I found that the bible wasn't Gods word and after reading the Quran I found that it had a more logic and was without doubt the truth. Also the story of jesus was more realistic than in christianity

[Melbourne]

assalamu alaikum,
My birth name is Leigh & my family came to Australia from a small soviet country called Estonia, my islamic name is Emin. My father is prodiston & mother is catholic so didn't have any religion when growing up. By the time I was 19 I had an interest in religion, so first thing was to learn about Catholics alot wrong with the religion. I had a good Muslim friend who started educating me, went to some seminars etc, after this there was no doubt in my mind about islam and the more I read the more it made sense. Then married a Turkish Muslim girl & am very happy with my decision.
At first my family where not happy about it, but now have learned to respect my decision & even feed my children with halal food out of respect.
My friends where half Muslim & halfe catholic and none had a problem with it at all.

[Muhammad_786]

I come from a judeo/christian back ground and it was all vey confusing stuff:Trinity vs. tribal monothism etc. Muslim friend gave me a translated copy of Qur'an and it all made sense. That was 11 years ago, never looked back.

[dr76]

Ajeeb stories.. looking at u fortunate people.. dunno with what face i shall stand before Allah May He keep us all steadfast on deen and our last breath pass away on Iman.. Ameen

request for duas..

wa assalam..