ChebbaTan
Junior Member
I have no words to describe what I felt when I was reading your amazing and inspiring story. I'm trying to post an introduction thread, and I hope to succeed next time. Nonetheless, for those who don't know I'm still being considered at present moment one of the Jehovah's Witnesses and my personal story is being so similar to what you described before your official disconnection to the "Organization" that I am not able to express how touching was your story to me because I'm experiencing exactly the same dilemmas, the same inner peace for discovering this beautiful, coherent and pure religion - Islam. I hope you can meet my personal story too with more details if I succeed posting a new thread...
I am truly glad for you and I hope Allah will bless you more and more, congratulations for your brave and pure behaviour.
Right now I'm experiencing something that I can relate with this part of you story:
"Caught between two worlds, I felt the very foundation of my present lifestyle, friends and community coming to an abrupt change of direction, yet at the same time I was experiencing a sense of happiness, comfort, peace and most important to me, an inner strength stretching me to undertake a life changing journey. After many attempts to speak to my family and friends and urge them to open their heart to the message of the Quran I was making no progress and felt that I was simply not qualified to refute their deeply ingrained misconceptions about Islam, lest it negatively affect me in my faith.
Within my circle of Jehovah’s Witness friends it became more and more offensive for me to participate in their style of worship so I began to avoid attending religious meetings and events. It was not long before they suspected that I was “leaning away from the truth.” The elders were notified to call on me but I managed to avoid their counseling visits as well - Alhamdulil-laah. Soon friends that I had for many years began to take a position against me, turning away when they saw me, not extending any greeting. This was the beginning of a shunning process that the Jehovah’s Witnesses call disassociation which eventually leads to dis-fellowshiping. Members who are disassociated or dis-fellowshiped are thought to be danger to the rest of the congregation due to their different viewpoints that challenge the authority of the WatchTower Bible & Tract Societies presumptuously divinely directed guidance through what is known as the Governing Body. "
I am managing to avoid the elders' counselling visits too, because I know they will make as many questions as possible to try to have a reason for disfellowship me. My doubts about the JW society began a long time ago before I met Islam and during that period I had no inner peace and I was about to lose myself due to disappointment with religion. Fortunately, I'm finding in Islam the truly pure monotheist faith and although here in my country Muslims are less than 1%, the ones I met abroad impressed me so much with their correct lifestyle and peaceful attitude that later I became interested in learning about their religion. Since that, I'm changing so much in the inside for the better and I hope that I will develop an inner strength with the help of Allah so that I can take the big step of assuming to the outside the new faith I'm acquiring inshaAllah.
Although I didn't convert yet, I consider you my sister and you know better than anyone that to JW's is difficult to accept others to have a pious lifestyle, and despite not being a Muslim I felt at home between Muslims abroad on the one hand, and I just felt a fake brotherhood sensation from JW's abroad on the other hand. I wondered so much about why things were like that. Finally I realised I needed to educate myself about Islam, and I began to do that with the JW's book "Mankind's Search for God" in the chapter about what they call "Islamism". However I was not satisfied and I began to search online and alhamdullilah I'm having a wonderful learning and spiritual experience that I want to keep. Thanks God I found Muslim friends here in my country and I'm realising what type of friendship is worthwhile - those who contribute to make you a better person while you can share your chaste values with them. The most incredible is that I realise my values have always been matching the values of most Muslims rather than the personal values of JW's... who tend to be mechanic and insensitive, always charging on others instead of showing real love and interest...they just care about filling a month report with many hours of preaching, and what you do is never enough, and they make you feel guilty and they use that guilt to make you keep attending their 2 times a week meetings and their "field work" aka preaching door to door and on streets.
I truly believed once that the "Organization" would help me to become a better person and it was the closest thing to rectitude I met then, but later I realise how many doctrines they created and how many others change according to their will, that I became confused about it and their interpretation of Bible texts. They also have ways to control JW members’ lives, in a very effective way; they forbid you to search information about other beliefs in sources that are not theirs for instance, once they consider it apostasy. They work as a religion with the structure of a multinational company – cold and results’ oriented.
I wish you all here on TTI had a clearer idea of how challenging is being a part of the JW's and feel the weight of pressure from hypocrite "holier-than-thou" people there, and the challenges for naive people like me who never felt real acceptance there because I was considered "the holy one" by JW's themselves most of them having a double personality behaviour.
My indignation was so big that along with wrong doctrines I also put aside some right values I had (ex: I began to use swearwords next to my classmates, something I never did and I still fight today to avoid that one I became used to it).
Before I met Islam about 3 months ago, I lived a confused and rebel period in which I even questioned my values and God Himself (I truly regret that and I repent), and I acquired some wrong attitudes that I need to change, and I will inshaAllah.
I really admire you as a Muslim and as a woman and I wish sooner one day I will become a Muslim too, because I always admired women in Islam and I always could easily relate myself to them in terms of their simplicity, sincerity and kindness.
I hope I can learn a lot from you as a Muslim and a former JW, but we all here on TTI can learn a lot from you and all of you here on TTI can teach us a lot, especially me - a girl who is just giving her first steps towards the right path of God ... :shymuslima1: ... and what a sublime path!!! :ma:
May Allah always bless you my dear:muslim_child:
I am truly glad for you and I hope Allah will bless you more and more, congratulations for your brave and pure behaviour.
Right now I'm experiencing something that I can relate with this part of you story:
"Caught between two worlds, I felt the very foundation of my present lifestyle, friends and community coming to an abrupt change of direction, yet at the same time I was experiencing a sense of happiness, comfort, peace and most important to me, an inner strength stretching me to undertake a life changing journey. After many attempts to speak to my family and friends and urge them to open their heart to the message of the Quran I was making no progress and felt that I was simply not qualified to refute their deeply ingrained misconceptions about Islam, lest it negatively affect me in my faith.
Within my circle of Jehovah’s Witness friends it became more and more offensive for me to participate in their style of worship so I began to avoid attending religious meetings and events. It was not long before they suspected that I was “leaning away from the truth.” The elders were notified to call on me but I managed to avoid their counseling visits as well - Alhamdulil-laah. Soon friends that I had for many years began to take a position against me, turning away when they saw me, not extending any greeting. This was the beginning of a shunning process that the Jehovah’s Witnesses call disassociation which eventually leads to dis-fellowshiping. Members who are disassociated or dis-fellowshiped are thought to be danger to the rest of the congregation due to their different viewpoints that challenge the authority of the WatchTower Bible & Tract Societies presumptuously divinely directed guidance through what is known as the Governing Body. "
I am managing to avoid the elders' counselling visits too, because I know they will make as many questions as possible to try to have a reason for disfellowship me. My doubts about the JW society began a long time ago before I met Islam and during that period I had no inner peace and I was about to lose myself due to disappointment with religion. Fortunately, I'm finding in Islam the truly pure monotheist faith and although here in my country Muslims are less than 1%, the ones I met abroad impressed me so much with their correct lifestyle and peaceful attitude that later I became interested in learning about their religion. Since that, I'm changing so much in the inside for the better and I hope that I will develop an inner strength with the help of Allah so that I can take the big step of assuming to the outside the new faith I'm acquiring inshaAllah.
Although I didn't convert yet, I consider you my sister and you know better than anyone that to JW's is difficult to accept others to have a pious lifestyle, and despite not being a Muslim I felt at home between Muslims abroad on the one hand, and I just felt a fake brotherhood sensation from JW's abroad on the other hand. I wondered so much about why things were like that. Finally I realised I needed to educate myself about Islam, and I began to do that with the JW's book "Mankind's Search for God" in the chapter about what they call "Islamism". However I was not satisfied and I began to search online and alhamdullilah I'm having a wonderful learning and spiritual experience that I want to keep. Thanks God I found Muslim friends here in my country and I'm realising what type of friendship is worthwhile - those who contribute to make you a better person while you can share your chaste values with them. The most incredible is that I realise my values have always been matching the values of most Muslims rather than the personal values of JW's... who tend to be mechanic and insensitive, always charging on others instead of showing real love and interest...they just care about filling a month report with many hours of preaching, and what you do is never enough, and they make you feel guilty and they use that guilt to make you keep attending their 2 times a week meetings and their "field work" aka preaching door to door and on streets.
I truly believed once that the "Organization" would help me to become a better person and it was the closest thing to rectitude I met then, but later I realise how many doctrines they created and how many others change according to their will, that I became confused about it and their interpretation of Bible texts. They also have ways to control JW members’ lives, in a very effective way; they forbid you to search information about other beliefs in sources that are not theirs for instance, once they consider it apostasy. They work as a religion with the structure of a multinational company – cold and results’ oriented.
I wish you all here on TTI had a clearer idea of how challenging is being a part of the JW's and feel the weight of pressure from hypocrite "holier-than-thou" people there, and the challenges for naive people like me who never felt real acceptance there because I was considered "the holy one" by JW's themselves most of them having a double personality behaviour.
My indignation was so big that along with wrong doctrines I also put aside some right values I had (ex: I began to use swearwords next to my classmates, something I never did and I still fight today to avoid that one I became used to it).
Before I met Islam about 3 months ago, I lived a confused and rebel period in which I even questioned my values and God Himself (I truly regret that and I repent), and I acquired some wrong attitudes that I need to change, and I will inshaAllah.
I really admire you as a Muslim and as a woman and I wish sooner one day I will become a Muslim too, because I always admired women in Islam and I always could easily relate myself to them in terms of their simplicity, sincerity and kindness.
I hope I can learn a lot from you as a Muslim and a former JW, but we all here on TTI can learn a lot from you and all of you here on TTI can teach us a lot, especially me - a girl who is just giving her first steps towards the right path of God ... :shymuslima1: ... and what a sublime path!!! :ma:
May Allah always bless you my dear:muslim_child: