My Muslim brothers and sisters frequently want to hear my testimony, to better enlighten them to what it is that inspires a Christian to leave that faith tradition to convert to Islam.
Here is my story:
Coming to Islam
From whence Islam cometh:
Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh (Arabic: ﷴ; Transliteration: Muḥammad; pronounced [mʊˈħæmmæd] (listen); also spelled Muhammed or Mohammed) (ca. 570/571 Mecca[مَكَةَ ]/[ مَكَهْ ] – June 8, 632), was the founder of the religion of Islam, and is regarded by Muslims as a messenger and prophet of God (Arabic: الله Allāh), the last law-bearer in a series of Islamic prophets, and, by most Muslims, the last prophet as taught by the Qur'an 33:40–40. Muslims thus consider him the restorer of an uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets. He was also active as a diplomat, merchant, philosopher, orator, legislator, reformer, military general, and, according to Muslim belief, an agent of divine action.
Born in 570 in the Arabian city of Mecca,[8] he was orphaned at an early age and brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25. Discontented with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic beliefs it was here, at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn)[n 6] acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as other Islamic prophets
From whom the story of Islam and its prophet were revealed to me:
Revalation the second:
Karen Armstrong FRSL (born 14 November 1944 in Wildmoor, Worcestershire) is a British author of numerous works on comparative religion, who first rose to prominence in 1993 with her highly successful A History of God. A former Roman Catholic nun, she asserts that, "All the great traditions are saying the same thing in much the same way, despite their surface differences." They each have in common, she says, an emphasis on the transcendent importance of compassion, as epitomized in the so-called Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
Awarded the $100,000 TED Prize in February 2008, she called for drawing up a Charter for Compassion in the spirit of the Golden Rule, to identify shared moral priorities across religious traditions, in order to foster global understanding.[1] It was unveiled in Washington, D.C. in November 2009. Signatories include Prince Hassan of Jordan, the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Sir Richard Branson
Revelation the first:
Leonard Shlain (August 28, 1937 – May 11, 2009)[1][2] was an American surgeon and writer; he authored three books.
Dr. Shlain was Chairman of Laparoscopic surgery at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and was an Associate Professor of Surgery at UCSF.
He was a speaker at such venues as the Smithsonian, Harvard University, Salk Institute, Los Alamos National Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center and the European Union's Ministers of Culture. In 1999, he was a contributor to Academic Press' Encyclopedia of Creativity, edited by Mark Runco and Steven Pritzker.[3]
The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image is a book by Leonard Shlain, published in 1999 by Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The Author theorizes pheontic alphabets transform the mind and influence the relationships between men and women. He further argues that while pre-literate and illiterate peoples venerate a Goddess, her associated images and her nurturing qualities, literate cultures venerate Gods and are characterized by patriarchy. Drawing on the history of the Israel, Egypt, Greece, Pagan and Christian Rome, The Far East, and Islam, the author examines history based his theory.
From whom the story of Islam and its prophet were revealed to me:
He who introduced me to the revealers
Mike Huston, professional bridge player and labor aritrater, former Professor of Englichs Literature, and the most well-read human being I know advised me of Karen Armstrong's writings. Mike also advised me the writings of and in particular, Leonard Shlain's The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image.
She who said, “Call my father.”
One evening I stopped into the only local gas station in town on the East side of Hough Street. I mentioned to the young high school woman that I was considering converting to Islam. She smiled, dropped what she was doing, picked up a pen, and wrote her telephone number. “Call my father,” she said. And I did.
So to the Mosque I went, where I did discuss my circumstances with one of the church elders; and then discussed further why it was at this time that I wished to convert with the Imam. They both agreed that my interest was serious, that my heart was filled with love, and that my converting to Islam in their Mosque would be both a holy thing, and a right thing to do.
Then I was presented to the congregation and made my declarations: first in Arabic (aided by the Imam) and then in English (aided by the Imam):
I affirm and attest, there is no God but Allah.
And I further affirm and attest, that Muhammed is His prophet
At which point, the congregation began applauding, brothers came to shake my hand end embrace me, welcoming into there world-wide community, and tears of joy began to run like rivers of forgiveness, streaming down my face.
And thus, you have heard my witness.
And the rest, well, the rest of it is being continually revealed.
