Today I thought I’d shut up for a while and give the mic to someone else! Our post today is a conversion story by Congregation member Sundus Michele, and how she converted/reverted to a Muslim.

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I was raised in a Christian home. My life as a very young child revolved around the church. My father, grandfather and uncle were all ministers. When my parents divorced (I was 7yrs old) my mother, a daughter of a holiness minister, continued to practice the teachings she was taught in the home, although she strayed away from the church. Such teachings as: modesty, truthfulness, kindness to people and animals, thankfulness to God and striving to do good.

Throughout my life I will always be thankful for the way she raised me. To try to be an overall good human being. I attended various christian schools ranging from very strict to fairly lax. I used to regularly attend all the services at the church, many times without my mother. As a teen I was a part of the door to door witnessing program. I enjoyed this greatly because I just wanted to share the joy of God with others. I spent much time in pondering my existence, fasting and reading.

SubhanAllah, I always felt that something was missing…that I was on a search for the true meaning of my existence in this world. I had many valid questions as a teenager about Christianity. And those questions led me to search for answers, since my local pastor told me we are not supposed to question God. Eventually, I left the church and started ‘making my own’ faith.
When I was 18 years old I met and married a man from Palestine. He was born into a Muslim family…but did not practice the religion. I studied some about Islam, but found from the books that I read….that it seemed to be only a religion to benefit man…and offered nothing to women. At times I would also get confused over the difference between culture and religion, which is also heavily misconstrued by today’s media. Shortly after beginning my studies, I ended them due to the fact that the material I was reading did not interest me…later on I learned that much of the information available in the University Library was FALSE and the majority of the material was written by NON-MUSLIMS.
About 5 years later, I met an American Muslim convert. She was one of my co-workers. She carried herself in such a way that I really looked up to her. She also cast a light from her countenance that drew me to her. Her whole self…the way she dressed, acted and the way she treated others…was something that I admired and made me curious. 
I introduced myself to her and when she told me she was Muslim, I was shocked. This lady with such self-confidence, excellent manners and pride…was a Muslim? I wanted to know more about her and her views on Islam. We used to talk for hours about the way that Islam LIBERATES the woman….the opposite from what I believed to be true of Islam. I became intrigued in this new enlightenment and began reading everything I could get my hands on(written by Muslims this time!). Islam was not what I had thought it to be several years before. It was beautiful!
Surely it was from God Himself and not man made. When I read the Holy Quran I felt that it was a message directly from God to me and touched me deeply, so deeply that I would often cry after reading it.
A few months later, I was ready to make the decision to leave a small part of my family’s beliefs and become Muslim. I sat outside of the mosque and pondered on my life and where it had led me. I began to pray to the Almighty and asked Him “please lead me to that which is best for me.” My prayer was answered by a bright beam of sunlight that shone on my face and warmed my inner soul (which by the way, was a very cloudy and rainy day). This light comforted me and reassured me that I was following Gods plan for me. I felt that Islam was what I needed all my life. That this was the piece missing in my life…the lost puzzle piece.

As I incorporated Islam in my life…I found that everything fit perfectly into place. Islam, I found is a guide to life. And I, the ‘weary traveler’ found it and will be lost no more!
Al hamdulillah(Thanks be to God). I have been Muslim now for 19 years and thru-out my various trials in life, even losing my dear mother to renal failure, that my faith has been the one thing I could always count on. That I had the close relationship to God that I always wanted and will always cherish.

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Thanks Sister Sundus! I’d like you to take a moment and notice a few things about her journey toward Islam. First, she questioned her old faith. This does not have to be a negative, or performed with conversion as the motivation, but I think confronting our faiths with reasonable questions is a good way to help our faith in fact grow. On the other hand, if your religion cannot stand up against such questions, then you have some things to consider.

The next thing Sundus did was read about Islam. She didn’t depend on what she was told, but instead attempted confirmation herself. Then she recognized that she needed to go a step further: She found a Mentor! She went to the source. Want to know about Islam? Ask a Muslim (or several!). Want to know about Hinduism? Ask a Hindu (be sure to ask several). That’s what I’m doing with Project Conversion! Going to the source to learn what I need.