icadams
Junior Member
Assalamu Alaikum,
My name is Ian Adams, I am a recent revert living in Riverside, California USA.
My journey to Islam has been a long, and often tortuous one, spanning nearly twenty years. I first became interested in Islam while serving in the US Army in the early 1990's. During the American excursion into Kuwait with operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm there was a huge anti-Muslim backlash in the American military. In an attempt to understand, to learn more about these people that were suddenly the new 'enemy', I began to read everything that I could about Islam. I had also been fortunate enough to meet and get to know several members of the Saudi Arabian military while I was at Fort Bliss, Texas, so I already knew that not all Muslims were 'evil'.
When I got out of the Army, I maintained my interest in Islam but purely as an academic pursuit. I eventually began to study Christian theology in a major evangelical, fundamental Christian seminary in order to become a minister. However, this proved to be fruitless since I was never able to completely convince myself of many of the essential beliefs of the Christian faith, particularly the divinity of Jesus and the trinity, and the doctrine of original sin. Unfortunately, I ended up in a place where I was extremely unsatisfied and made some brief forays into studying Buddhism. This, of course, did not last since I firmly believe in God.
Eventually, I finally made the commitment to follow what I have come to know is the full truth. Several weeks ago I said the shahada in front of the brothers in my local masjid and for the first time in my life, I feel like I am finally where I belong.
I look forward to participating in this online community and expanding the knowledge of my faith.
Peace,
Ian
My name is Ian Adams, I am a recent revert living in Riverside, California USA.
My journey to Islam has been a long, and often tortuous one, spanning nearly twenty years. I first became interested in Islam while serving in the US Army in the early 1990's. During the American excursion into Kuwait with operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm there was a huge anti-Muslim backlash in the American military. In an attempt to understand, to learn more about these people that were suddenly the new 'enemy', I began to read everything that I could about Islam. I had also been fortunate enough to meet and get to know several members of the Saudi Arabian military while I was at Fort Bliss, Texas, so I already knew that not all Muslims were 'evil'.
When I got out of the Army, I maintained my interest in Islam but purely as an academic pursuit. I eventually began to study Christian theology in a major evangelical, fundamental Christian seminary in order to become a minister. However, this proved to be fruitless since I was never able to completely convince myself of many of the essential beliefs of the Christian faith, particularly the divinity of Jesus and the trinity, and the doctrine of original sin. Unfortunately, I ended up in a place where I was extremely unsatisfied and made some brief forays into studying Buddhism. This, of course, did not last since I firmly believe in God.
Eventually, I finally made the commitment to follow what I have come to know is the full truth. Several weeks ago I said the shahada in front of the brothers in my local masjid and for the first time in my life, I feel like I am finally where I belong.
I look forward to participating in this online community and expanding the knowledge of my faith.
Peace,
Ian