College student finds her faith
http://dca.durhamc.on.ca/chronicle/inc/get_image.php?i_id=131
CONVERSION OF FAITH: Theresa Carter, third-year Graphic Design student, made the choice to convert from Catholicism to Islam after studying different faiths.
“That’s when I started wearing the hijab. It was New Year’s Eve. This year. I guess you could say it was my resolution,” Theresa Carter said.
Sitting in the kitchen of her family home, Carter started to explain why she became Muslim.
She was born into a Catholic family. And she attended Catholic schools. Religion was a big part of her education, but the course focused mainly on Catholicism.
The first time Carter questioned her faith was at Grade 8 confirmation. It is the final step to becoming Catholic. A person has the option of staying with the religion.
She remembers being confused when people told her she had the choice.
“I didn’t know anything else. I just thought there was no other religion,” she said.
Carter is in her last year of Graphic Design at Durham College. In second year she became friends with a Muslim student. He suggested she should study all religions.
One difference she noticed was between her religion and his.
“The big issue was Muslims believe Jesus isn’t the Son of God. My whole life I was told he was,” she said.
After a year of study she embraced the religion by experiencing different rituals.
“My biggest feeling is when I started praying and taking time with my prayers. I feel really at peace.”
There are many changes occurring in Carter’s life since she converted.
“It seems I get more respect by covering up. There are no guys hitting on me. Or touching me,” she said. “I’m more natural now. People see me for who I am, not for what I look like.”
Wearing a blue hijab, a scarf wrapped around her head, Carter explains what it symbolizes.
“It is purity of the heart, honour of the religion. It means you are not focused on materialism.” Instead of doing her hair and makeup Carter prays in the morning.
“Being Muslim is about preparing yourself for the Day of Judgment,” she said. “It is about worshipping and thanking God. It is about giving, sacrificing. Recognizing that Mohammad is the last prophet.”
Although Carter stands by her decision confidently, her family has struggled to understand why she converted.
“It is hard to explain to people that what they see in news is wrong or biased,” she said. “9-11 for instance. But my parents just don’t know any other Muslims. So what they know is what other people tell them.”
Many people have stereotypical views believing Muslims are terrorists she said. In reality there is good and bad in every society. Some Muslims are criminals. But those who understand the religion know it’s basis is peace and practise it faithfully.
Carter said it is hard to face the negative people, but what matters most is being true to her heart.
