Salam Alaikum everyone,
I am Jack. My real name is actually Yaacov, but I prefer to go by the name Jack.
Here was my 1st post at introduction about 2 years ago:
http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4579
I converted to Islam recently and decided to share my story. I will try to keep it as short as possible:
I was born into a Jewish family. I trace my ancestors all the way to the Jewish community in Turkey under Ottoman Empire, who migrated to Canada around mid 20th century. Throughout my entire life I never followed any organized religion, and at times I was Atheist, while at other times I was a non-religious Jew struggling to believe in God. During my university life, I took a couple courses on comparative religion and that is when I learned the basics of Islam. After that, I started to have a favorable view of Islam partly because it was very similar to Judaism. Unfortunately, I never had a favorable view of Christianity, I considered it a rehashed Greco-Roman Paganism.
Since then, I started reading about Islam. Initially I considered Islam to be copied from Judaism (due to its similarity). As I learned more, I thought what if Islam wasn't copied from Judaism, what could be other possible explanations?. What if they both came from the same source (the Almighty God), hence the similarity. I studied not only just about Islamic faith, but also about Islamic history, about the great Rashidun Caliphs, Abbasid Caliphs, the Ottomans. I am a big fan of Harun Al Rashid (r.a). I have spent about 2 years studying Islam at a very slow rate. During this time, I attended several Islamic Seminars, talks etc. I went to my local mosque a few times. Finally, at one point I was convinced that IF there is a religion on Earth that I want to follow, it has to be Islam, but I wasn't yet ready to embrace Islam. I wanted to be fully prepared as a proper Muslim before embracing Islam. So, I gradually stopped drinking alcohol. I never consumed Pork, so, that wasn't an issue for me. I also started to consume strictly Kosher meats. My wife thought I was becoming a devout Jew from Atheism (lol)..
Then, one day, I told my wife that I would be embracing Islam (We got married 4 months ago). It was a shock for her, 'how could I join the terrorist' was her first reaction. Then after sometime when she realized that I am adamant about embracing Islam, she accepted it. Then, one day I went into my local Mosque at Fajr time to embrace Islam, prayed Salah and started the day with a new Identity..Alhamdulillah.. I asked my local Imam about relation with my wife, and he said I could continue having a marital relationship with her as she is Jewish (people of the Book). But, he recommended me to get married again in the proper Islamic way.
I embraced Islam about 10 days ago. So far, everything is Alhamdulillah fine.. I have met some fine Persian & Somali Muslim brothers who has helped me out a lot.. May Allah bless them. I have decided not to change my name.
Thanks,
Jack.
I am Jack. My real name is actually Yaacov, but I prefer to go by the name Jack.
Here was my 1st post at introduction about 2 years ago:
http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4579
I converted to Islam recently and decided to share my story. I will try to keep it as short as possible:
I was born into a Jewish family. I trace my ancestors all the way to the Jewish community in Turkey under Ottoman Empire, who migrated to Canada around mid 20th century. Throughout my entire life I never followed any organized religion, and at times I was Atheist, while at other times I was a non-religious Jew struggling to believe in God. During my university life, I took a couple courses on comparative religion and that is when I learned the basics of Islam. After that, I started to have a favorable view of Islam partly because it was very similar to Judaism. Unfortunately, I never had a favorable view of Christianity, I considered it a rehashed Greco-Roman Paganism.
Since then, I started reading about Islam. Initially I considered Islam to be copied from Judaism (due to its similarity). As I learned more, I thought what if Islam wasn't copied from Judaism, what could be other possible explanations?. What if they both came from the same source (the Almighty God), hence the similarity. I studied not only just about Islamic faith, but also about Islamic history, about the great Rashidun Caliphs, Abbasid Caliphs, the Ottomans. I am a big fan of Harun Al Rashid (r.a). I have spent about 2 years studying Islam at a very slow rate. During this time, I attended several Islamic Seminars, talks etc. I went to my local mosque a few times. Finally, at one point I was convinced that IF there is a religion on Earth that I want to follow, it has to be Islam, but I wasn't yet ready to embrace Islam. I wanted to be fully prepared as a proper Muslim before embracing Islam. So, I gradually stopped drinking alcohol. I never consumed Pork, so, that wasn't an issue for me. I also started to consume strictly Kosher meats. My wife thought I was becoming a devout Jew from Atheism (lol)..
Then, one day, I told my wife that I would be embracing Islam (We got married 4 months ago). It was a shock for her, 'how could I join the terrorist' was her first reaction. Then after sometime when she realized that I am adamant about embracing Islam, she accepted it. Then, one day I went into my local Mosque at Fajr time to embrace Islam, prayed Salah and started the day with a new Identity..Alhamdulillah.. I asked my local Imam about relation with my wife, and he said I could continue having a marital relationship with her as she is Jewish (people of the Book). But, he recommended me to get married again in the proper Islamic way.
I embraced Islam about 10 days ago. So far, everything is Alhamdulillah fine.. I have met some fine Persian & Somali Muslim brothers who has helped me out a lot.. May Allah bless them. I have decided not to change my name.
Thanks,
Jack.