My Journey To Islam: Part 1

This article was written by SFC Guest Contributor, FreeMuslimah. 

My journey to Islam was not an  easy one. I had to overcome so many obstacles that at some point I felt like giving up on my religion.
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Life for me before Islam was extremely difficult. I was a very shy, quiet and reserved as a  teenager. I didn’t go to nightclubs, bars or drink alcohol. I was neither interested in boys or participating in  any of the typical western activities that was expected of a girl at my age.  I was considered an outsider and weird because I didn’t conform to the west’s ‘cool kid’ ideology. I certainly felt like I didn’t belong in a community which encouraged and accepted ‘boyfriends’,’ loud/brash behaviour’ and consumption of alcohol. Believe me, I tried to fit in but every time I did something which was considered ‘normal teenage behaviour’, such as  clubbing, I felt a huge dark cloud descending down on me. It just didn’t feel right,. Needless to say, me trying to fit in didn’t last long so I remained the weird girl. I knew I needed something more in life but I just didn’t know what that was…..until I found Islam.
 

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I discovered Islam shortly after September  11th. I read some literature about the religion. I particularly focussed on the ‘role of the woman’ in Islam. The way these religious website described the Muslimiah’s nature was like looking in a mirror. It reflected my thinking, behaviour and intentions, that is when I knew Islam is what I had been searching  for all along. I felt a connection with Allah, the prophets and the culture that emanated from Islam. The first time I heard Quran, I cried, it was so beautiful and although I didn’t understand the language,  my heart ached for the beautiful words.

The first obstacle I had to tackle was my parents. I knew they would not be happy with me changing my religion, so for the first four years I kept my conversion a secret. I am ashamed to admit this but when someone mocked  and ridiculed Muslims, I joined in. I didn’t want anyone knowing I was Muslim as I was scared of people’s negative reaction, so I remained for a long time in their eyes Atheist and a 'Muslim hater' .

A few years passed and I decided that enough was enough. I needed to change as I was sick of leading a double life. I was a Muslim and I needed to lead a life  that i would have the freedom to practise my religion openly. I thought deeply about it and decided that a quick marriage might be the only solution to help me to gain this freedom…so I joined a Muslim marriage site.
When I joined the website, I naively thought that the men on that website were only looking for marriage-. I discovered that this wasn’t the case. There were a all sorts criminals, play boys and visa hunters etc.. So after weeding through all these undesirable men, I eventually found my husband , at last my prince charming!
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We have grew both spiritually and religiously together, travelled the world, worked hard and created a beautiful life for our family. I am truly blessed and I thank Allah for protecting me and giving me so much fantastic opportunities and gifts in this life. So I did eventually have a fairy tale ending all thanks to my determination to become ( and remain)  a Muslim, Allah and my husband .
Stay Tuned for Part 2...

About "FreeMuslimah":  I am a wife, a mother and a teacher. I enjoy reading both fiction and non fiction. I also enjoy  family time, cooking, learning about other cultures, travelling, learning new skills  and meeting new people. I have a few ambitions study for  a Master’s degree,  set up my own business and write a children’s book.