| Reverts to Islam "Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching." - Quran 16:125 Click on an Issue or Scroll down to browse -
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Practical resources for new Muslims Quran101.com
A site which enables non-Arabic speaking new Muslims to learn the short surahs of the Quran and other requirements for performing ritual worship (Salat). Each phrase slowly and clearly enunciated. Includes 17 surahs plus ayat al kursi (2:255), the Tasha-hud (Al-Taheyat), the Adhan and the Iqama. Requires RealPlayer The Encyclopaedia of the OrientCovers the Middle East and North Africa. Useful explanations of many Islamic terms and mini-biographies of figures from Muslim history and contemporary politics. The Right Way To PrayA 14-step guide with phrase-by-phrase pronunciation of the Arabic words. Requires RealPlayer. Islamic QuizSuperb interactive quiz. Hundreds of questions at different levels. Tells you the correct answers to questions you get wrong. Test Your Knowledge of Islam
What's behind one of the fastest growing religions in the U.S.? What do Muslims believe? Take this quiz to test your knowledge of Islam. Online Tests at Islam101Multiple choice tests on various aspects of Islam, arranged in order of difficulty by four levels. These tests can be taken online. After completing each test, you can submit your test for a grade. Answers to the the missed questions are provided online. First Steps in ArabicExcellent interactive game. Learn to read by matching the Arabic letters to their sounds. BABEL:arabic
A free online Arabic course in 18 units. Requires RealPlayer. Amir UniversityProviding certified, affordable courses on Islam and Arabic in a home-study environment. Accredited by the Abu Nour Institute of Damascus, an affiliate of Al-Azhar University of Cairo, Amir distance learning Islamic university is founded on Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jama`at [Sunni] teachings. The curriculum addresses contemporary issues with a moderate Islamic approach. Latino American Dawah Organizationa nonprofit organization founded in 1997 in New York City by a handful of converts to Islam. LADO's mission is to promote Islam among the Latino community of the United States and to provide education about the history and legacy of Islam in Spain and Latin America and provide free information about Islam. Articles of particular relevance to Converts From Drury Lane to Makka
Abdal-Hakim Murad recounts the tale of theatrical scene painter, Hedley Churchward, who in 1910 became the first confirmed British convert to Islam to make the Hajj pilgrimage. First Family Visit As a Muslim
Texas Muslim, Juan Galvan, shares his experience of explaining to his Mexican-American family about his conversion to Islam. Islam is wonderful, but I can't stand the Muslims
"Why should I try to convert my non-Muslim friends when I often prefer them to the Muslims that I know? How will being Muslim change their lives for the better if they already display more of the Islamic virtues than most of the Muslims they are likely to meet?"
By British convert to Islam, Michael A. Malik. The Status of Parents in IslamBy Syed Hasan Akhtar, M. D. Austin, Texas
"Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or more attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say, "my Lord! bestow on them Thy Mercy, even as they cherished me in childhood." (Quran 17: 23,24) The new face of Islam
The phenomenon of educated, white, middle class English converts to Islam.
by Nick Compton The Dual Purpose of the Quran"I believe the Quran was written for two peoples: 1) For the Muslims who have already dropped the ball. And 2) for the 'other, very different people' (many hadiths refer to them as 'strangers' or 'immigrants') who will take a fresh look at the Quran and understand it in new ways."
By Imam Tammam Adi PhD, Director of the Islamic Cultural Center of Eugene, Oregon. Frustrations of a Muslim Convert
Committed to Islam, vexed by Muslims
A cautionary tale. How for one theologically motivated convert to the pure monotheism of Islam, certain fellow Muslims have turned the Straight Path into something of a rocky road.
by Michael Young. -
Introduction
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Lack of Induction
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Internet - The good, the bad and the dangerous!
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Beware the Zealots!
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Must we proceed at the pace of the most prudish?
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"Muslim name" and attire
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Relationship with non-Muslim parents
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So-called "Islamic Causes"
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Final Thoughts
Understanding Conversion: Bridging the Two Selves
"Although conversion is a phenomenon that is completely unique to everyone, nevertheless, those who are serious about it will all undoubtedly undergo self-examination of some kind in order to embrace a new way of life and belief system." Three years on American, Abdul-Lateef Abdullah, reflects on conversion to Islam. British and Muslim?
Outstanding article by Abdal-Hakim Murad
A very thoughtful insight into the British Muslim community, especially converts. An absolute "must read"! Building a Better Dawah ProgramMuslims have perhaps the least organized community in the world, yet we are gaining converts faster than anyone else. But what if we were more organized? American convert Yahiya Emerick sets out a strategy to utilize our resources and build up the size and strength of the Muslim community. My First Year As A Muslim
An open letter from Jeremiah D. McAuliffe, Jr., Ph.D. to the Pittsburgh Muslim community one year after he embraced Islam. Moving Beyond TheoryAmong Muslims in the West, American convert to Islam Yahiya Emerick finds too much empty theorizing and not enough practical application of Islam to the realities of everyday living in an environment non-conducive to the faith. How Did You Accept Islam?As enthralling as many present-day conversion stories may be, it is to the first converts to Islam, the Sahaba, that we should look for inspiration, writes American convert, Yahiya Emerick. The personal testimonies of Reverts to Islam How We Came To Embrace Islam
American, Khadija Evans, who experimented with umpteen Christian denominations, atheism and even Wicca tells how her post-September 11 investigations of Islam led first herself then her husband to their final spiritual home. Becoming Muslim - by Nuh Ha Mim Keller"I studied philosophy at the university and it taught me to ask two things of whoever claimed to have the truth: What do you mean, and how do you know? When I asked these questions of my own religious tradition, I found no answers, and realized that Christianity had slipped from my hands."
The story of American former Catholic, Nuh Ha Mim Keller, who in the 25 years since his conversion has gone on to become one of the leading contemporary scholars of Islam. 
European Union temporary agent for research Candice Vancraenenbroek pauses before speaking during an International Women's Day Conference at the EU Charlemagne building in Brussels, Friday, March 8, 2002. Vancraenenbroek, born into a Belgian Catholic family, converted to Islam at an early age and has co-founded a group to help those women who also wish to convert. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) Karla's conversion to Islam
"How could you, an educated American woman convert to Islam - a religion that oppresses women?" - Blonde-haired blue-eyed, former Christian, Karla, explains how her theological dissatisfaction with the doctrine of Jesus as God and her discovery of the rights given to women in Islam led her to become a Muslim. 
New convert to Islam since September 11,
US Navy petty officer, Heather Ramaha.More in Hawai'i turn to IslamLess than three weeks after terrorists struck New York City and Washington, US Navy petty officer Heather Ramaha stood among a group of women at the mosque in Manoa and converted to Islam
By Mary Kaye Ritz, Honolulu Advertiser, November 11, 2001. Why I am a Muslim
Ibrahim, a Pennsylvania teenager, explains how difficulties with church teaching about Jesus as God led him from Catholicism to Islam. The conversion to Islam of Karima Burns
This Iowa student of Arabic became a Muslim in her heart when she started reading the Quran in order do to her university homework and couldn't put it down. Yusuf Estes, US Federal Prison ChaplainThe amazing tale of how an American former "born again" Christian and his father, both ordained ministers, plus their friend, a Catholic priest, all became convinced of the truth of Islam. Oum Abdul-Aziz
An American former "born again" Christian explains how her in-depth theological studies led her to reject the Christian doctrines of Trinity, the Divinity of Jesus and Original Sin and to embrace pure monotheism in Islam. Contains detailed references from the Bible and Quran. Amina's storyIrish lady recounts her long and slow spiritual journey culminating in her conversion from Catholicism to Islam during the summer of 2001. Michael Wolfe"I did not want to 'trade in' my culture. I wanted access to new meanings." - How an American writer born of a Jewish father and a Christian mother found spiritual fulfillment in Islam. 'My Dream Came True'Detroit-based African American journalist and PR woman, Angelene McLaren, has been a Muslim for six years. Upon conversion she took the new name Sumayyah bint Joan. Here she records her encounter with Islam. Steven BarbozaThis African American former Catholic found spiritual peace and fulfillment in orthodox Islam having investigated and rejected the racist ideology of the Nation of Islam. Dr. Moustafa MouldAfter a spiritual journey of almost 40 years, a Boston Jewish linguist finds Islam in Africa. My personal decision for God and IslamThe conversion story of Anja from Germany
"I was quite amused by the thought, that actually there are still people around, who follow a law from the Middle Ages." But over a period of two and a half years, this university student grew to take Islam very seriously. Walter 'Abdul-Walee' Gomez"I could smell the mercy and the sweetness of heaven, felt the presence of God in my torn, sick heart." Latino immigrant finds peace in Islam after an adolescence of clubs, drinking, drugs, promiscuity and gangland violence in Washington DC. How I Came to Islam by Yahya M
Italian-American man who became a Muslim when a graduate student in 1984 recalls the milestones on his journey to Islam - years of academic study, the influence of pious but non-preachy Pakistani friends and the autobiography of Malcolm X. Aminah Assilmi - Part 1This American lady, a former radical feminist and Southern Baptist from Oklahoma, studied the Quran, Sahih Muslim and fifteen other books on Islam in an attempt to convert the Arabs in her college class to Christianity and "save those poor ignorant heathens from the fires of hell." But guess what happened! Why I embraced Islamby Maryum Jameelah (formerly Margaret Marcus),
an American Jew who converted to Islam in the late 1950's. MonicaA former Catholic from Ecuador now living in the United States who was attracted to Islam by the peacefulness of Muslim prayer and the practical guidance Islam provides for living daily life. Joanne RichardsHow a Californian woman with a "fast and loose" lifestyle gradually found her way to Islam. Ibrahim Khalil M.A. (Princeton)A former Egyptian Coptic priest who studied Islam in order to find fault with it.
The result was, however, exactly the reverse. Twelve Hours OldCanadian convert Katherine Bullock marvels at becoming a Muslim. ZainabYoung American, Protestant Sunday School teacher and youth ministries activist who had great difficulty with the Christian doctrine of "justification through faith " [good or bad deeds are irrelevant to one's salvation]. She also found that her concept of Godly living regarding dating, alcohol, clubbing, etc. was shared by her Muslim acquaintances, not her Christian friends. Abdus Salam Clinton SipesThe amazing story of a violent, drunken, racist, cross-burning Klu Klux Klan member transformed into the "servant of peace". Khadijah 'Sue' WatsonA former Protestant fundamentalist pastor, missionary and Bible College lecturer with a Master's degree in Divinity. Her contact with a convert to Islam prompted her to seriously investigate Islam and to conclude that "many Christians are sincere, but they are sincerely wrong". PhreddieThe remarkable, powerful testimony, full on insights, of a black American Christian girl whose studies of the Bible and Church history studies left her shocked at the "hypocrisy, blasphemy, and human tampering with holy scriptures". Impressed by the respect Islam shows to women, she became a Muslim at the age of only 18. Abdul-Lateef Abdullah (Steven Krauss)White, middle-class, American Protestant graduate student, disillusioned with organised religion, introduced to Islam through his Malaysian martial arts teacher. Sakinah
When this Catholic lady's husband abruptly announced that he had become a Muslim, she left him... then later slowly found her own way to Islam. A remarkable story with a twist in the tail. Diana This Colorado member of the Campus Crusade for Christ, troubled by Christian teachings on Jesus, was impressed by the Muslim way of worship and the logic of Islam. Deanne
An Australian Protestant teenager, troubled by the concept of Trinity, who embraced Islam following a year at a Buddhist High school in Japan. Abdul HakimThis Frenchman, a supporter of the anti-immigrant Front National, who was twice beaten up by Algerians, was surprised to find himself drawn to Islam whilst attending university in England. Greg Noakes
Church-going American Protestant whose university studies of Middle East history and Arabic language eventually led him to Islam.
"What I found was a religion whose moral teachings closely resembled the values I had been taught by my parents: belief in God, respect for others, truthfulness, courtesy, charity and honor. What was new was the clarity and vibrance of Islam, and the fact that all of these values were integrated into a complete and seamless system. Islamic teachings were sublime, subtle and easy to understand." Jeremiah D. McAuliffe, Jr., Ph.D.Affluent Irish-American Catholic with a doctorate in Formative Spirituality who withdrew from training to enter the priesthood and became a Muslim after reading the Quran. Suleyman Ahmad
Born to Jewish Communist parents, this middle-aged American news reporter found in Islam the fulfillment of his personal quest. Karen's storyHow a devout American Catholic with nagging doubts came to Islam. Karima Slack Razi
The journey of an American feminist from secular humanism to Islam. SharonFrom confused Christian and teenage runaway to contented Muslima. Belief-O-Matic Quiz
Even if YOU don't know what faith you are, Belief-O-Matic knows. Answer 20 questions about your concept of God, the afterlife, human nature, and more, and Belief-O-Matic will tell you what religion (if any) you practice...or ought to consider practicing.
Profiles of prominent converts plus news reports Islam's Soul of the South
The improbable rise of a black Muslim politician in deepest Alabama.
By John Fleming, September 28, 2006 More US Hispanics drawn to Islam
Marriage, post-9/11 curiosity, and a shared interest in issues such as immigration are key reasons.
By Amy Green | September 28, 2006 The Personal Stories of Converts to Islam Submit your story of conversion to IslamIf you are a convert to Islam and would like to share your story, please email it to islamfortoday@yahoo.com. These questions may help to provide a structure for your article. -
When did you revert to Islam?
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How old were you?
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What was your educational or work background?
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What was your previous religion/philosophy?
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Why did you revert to Islam?
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What spiritual or practical problems have you overcome on the road to reverting and since?
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How have you benefited the Muslim community?
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and the early Muslims - except themselves.
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