Why I became a Muslim

If you were being interrogated by the Taleban as a suspected US spy, it might be hard to imagine a happy ending. But for journalist Yvonne Ridley, the ordeal in Afghanistan led her to convert to a religion she says is “the biggest and best family in the world”. The formerly hard-drinking Sunday school teacher became a Muslim after reading the Koran on her release. She now describes radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri as “quite sweet really” and says the…

Acknowledged by many players as the greatest basketball player of all time, voted six times the National Basketball Association’s most valuable player, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is also one of the most visible Muslims in the American public arena. The 7’ 2”native upper Harlem, born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, starred for UCLA before entering the National Basketball Association with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1969. Alcindor later went to the Los Angeles Lakers. He was so dominant in college basketball that “dunking,”at which he…

(part 1 of 2): Conversion Stories Having repeated been asked about how I became Muslim, and why, I have decided to tell the story one last time, but this time on paper. However, I feel conversion stories are worthless unless related with the lessons learned, and it is with those lessons that I intend to begin. No doubt, there is a certain fascination with conversion stories, and for good reason. Frequently they involve dramatic life-altering events, sufficient to shock the…

(part 1 of 2): From Zoroastrianism to Christianity   The blessed Companion of the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, Salman al-Farisi narrates[1] his journey to Islam as follows: “I was a Persian man from the people of Isfahaan[2] from a town known as Jayi. My father was the town chief. To him, I was the most beloved creature of God. His love for me reached the point to which he trusted me to…

Peter Sanders was born in London in 1946. His professional career in photography began during the mid-sixties where he photographed most of the major stars in the music business including Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, the Rolling Stones etc. Towards the end of the 1970’s, Sanders’ attention turned inward which set him on a spiritual search to India and then eventually to the Muslim world where the spiritual beauty of Islam left an indelible impression upon him….

I am an American woman who was born in the midst of America’s “Heartland”. I grew up, just like any other girl, being fixated with the glamour of life in “the big city”. Eventually, I moved to Florida and on to South Beach of Miami, a hotspot for those seeking the “glamorous life”. Naturally, I did what most average Western girls do. I focused on my appearance and appeal, basing my self-worth on how much attention I got from others….

I am an American journalist and author. In 1997, aged 49, after more than 30 years of research study, and life experience, I came into Islam. This decision reflected many issues in my life. I grew up in an environment that would be extremely strange for most Americans. My father was Jewish; my mother was the daughter of a famous Protestant fundamental minister. My father was a religious student, or Yeshiva-bocher, as a youth. My mother was raised in an…

My name is Jacian Fares. I come from the Al-Fares family of Hebron. My father was born in Lebanon, my mother is a Spaniard. I was the first generation born in America (Dearborn, Michigan in fact). My father took no stock in religion nor did he live it, although my grandparents are devout Muslims, I do imagine his choice and path in life had saddened their hearts. Needless to say my siblings and I were born without a specific religion….

The simplicity of Islam, the powerful appeal and the 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. But after I had determined to become a follower of Islam, I found many deeper reasons for confirming my decision. The mellow concept of life – the fruit of the Prophet’s combined course of…

(part 1 of 2) Ph.D (Law) Harvard. German Social Scientist and Diplomat. Embraced Islam in 1980. Dr. Hofmann, who accepted Islam in 1980, was born as a Catholic in Germany in 1931. He graduated from Union College in New York and completed his legal studies at Munich University where he received a doctorate in jurisprudence in 1957. He became a research assistant for the reform of federal civil procedure, and in 1960 received an LL.M. degree from Harvard Law School….