An American Student's Journey

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One Step From Me, Two Steps From God

An American Student's Journey to Islam

Abdul-Rahman.JPG



Abdul-Rahman is a young American who converted to Islam at an early age.

He knew and was convinced of Islam at the age of twelve, and he became Muslim after reading the autobiography of Malcolm X.

This is his story which he narrates in this video:

Early Years

"I was born into a Christian family, but we weren't very practicing. We would go to church just a few times a year for Christmas, Easter and the holidays. God only existed on Sunday in Church for my family, not outside the church, and many American families are like this.

I've always been a logical thinker. When I was about eleven or twelve years old, I started thinking for myself. I asked myself, does God exist? This question, I felt, was pushed on me by a clash between science and religion, or rationality and religion in America; and I think that tradition goes back to the Christian Church in Europe, and there were always issues between the Catholic Church and science and advancement.


When I compared what I saw in the Bible, and what I knew of the trinity, and the other Christian beliefs, compared to science and evolution and evidence, I leaned to the side of science and I chose not to believe in God."

"My first exposure to Islam was when Michael Dan, my friend in high school, and my neighbor too, became Muslim. When Michael became Muslim, he changed a lot. Before Islam, he was doing many things that were messing his life up. He was really going down the wrong path.

He became Muslim when he was only 15 years old, and he left a lot of things he was doing and picked up good habits. I asked him "What made you change and become like this?"

He explained that he is Muslim now and by that time, this was before 9/11, people in America didn't really know about Islam, even today they don't know a lot.

Discovering Islam

I asked him what is Islam? Who are Muslims?

He explained to me. I was surprised that Islam was very close to Christianity and Judaism, and it made a lot of sense to me that there is One God who revealed His message to prophets and messengers, but none of the prophets has divinity. Rather, they were sent by God, they were humans like us. I didn't really want to become Muslim at that time, but it just made sense to me logically.

After a while I read a book called "The Autobiography of Malcolm X." In that book, I really appreciated the image that Malcolm X presented of Muslims, and I wanted to become Muslim after that because I saw in Islam a solution to racism and a lot of other problems in America, but I didn't believe in God.

However, I read a passage from Malcolm X who said, "if you take one step towards God, He takes two towards you. So, I left eating pork, and I left some of the things that are prohibited in Islam with the intention that God guides me.

I learned more and more about Islam, and I was surprised that the more I asked questions the more answers I found; and the answers always made sense to me. I read about the miracles of the Quran, scientific miracles of the Quran and they are many."...

"I would like to add that Islam is the most beautiful thing in my life. It is the source of all goodness. It is a message that every soul finds tranquility with, in the sense of purpose, fulfillment and true happiness.

I encourage everyone to take a step towards God and they will find that God will take two steps towards them, because this is a light from Allah, and in any way you look at the light it comes out to be true. So, if you ask questions and you prefer to look it up from science or from your soul or from people; go whichever way you want and I'm sure that you will find that this is the message you've always been looking for".

Jalal, Abdul-Rahman's Friend

Abdul-Rahman went to Jordan in a scholarship to study the Arabic language with a group of other students. Among them is Jalal who lives with Abdul-Rahman in the same apartment.

Jalal says, "I got to know Abdul-Rahman through a program funded by the State Department called curricular Language Scholarship in which we spend two months studying in an Arabic country, and it happens to be in Amman, Jordan."

He elaborates, "And so, this is where I got to know Abdul-Rahman. Actually, I first met him at an orientation we had in Washington DC. Several things that I really think are special about Abdul-Rahman: that he converted to Islam with the knowledge of Islam. He is not a convert who doesn't know anything about us.

He seriously studies Arabic and recites Quran on a regular basis. I always see him recite the Quran before class, usually in his free time he recites Quran. He focuses on how he pronounces the word.

Another thing I noticed is that a lot of American students are very interested in learning about Islam, and Abdul-Rahman is openly able to engage in conversation with them."
 
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