Q & A for new muslimah

[Dan]

Bismillah


"I think Q&A format would be helpful, I really wouldn't know where to start." - newbeginning


"Ok Insh aAllah I will start developing a simple list and post it on another thread. So keep an eye." - Muslimah


As Salam alaikum


In another thread (http://islamsms.com/bb/index.php?showtopic=3858), our sister newbeginning


said that she would answers inquiries into her story of what lead her to Islam. Insha'Allah that invitation is still out there...


But that is the purpose of this thread. Posts that even <i>slightly</i> lead the discussion off track will be DELETED. Please respect this request and the purpose of the thread. If you are not newbeginning, then you are only posting questions. If you are Shaunee, then you may answer each question as completely or concisely as you wish. It's your thread!


Questions are to be posted one at a time in order to allow our guest the time to answer (she has a busy schedule) and will allow her to focus her responses.


Jazakum Allah Khair for everyone's cooperation on this new endevour!


<b>#1 Shaunee, what was your very first introduction to Islam?</b>


As Salam alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu

[NewBeginning]

:asalam:


Sorry for taking so long to get to this thread. :blush:

#1 Shaunee, what was your very first introduction to Islam?

The very first time I heard of Islam, was as a child, it was a very distorted offshoot of Islam, the NOI, or Nation of Islam... which then had another sect.. The Gods and Earths, or aka "Fiver Percenters" which eventually turned to a gang-type organization. I was raised on white people being the devil, (btw, I'm white) and black people are the true rulers of the world, etc. White's were not allowed to be Muslim, only blacks, because black was pure and white was dirty. That's all I knew.


Then, like most westerners, when 9/11 happened, everyone's interest was on Islam, and I heard of a very different Islam that I was raised with. I believe at that point is when Malcolm X popped into my head, and I finally understood what he was talking about when he described "whites and blacks praying together". I went on the internet and did research on the religion... and had some help from different people from different parts of the world. There was a whole other world out there that I never knew about. :hamdulila: I found it. :)

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


as salam alykom shaunee


No problem for being late to come here, most important is that u made is to the thread.


When u say:


very different Islam that I was raised with


does this mean u were raised as a Muslim?

[NewBeginning]

:asalam:


Not really; more so the environment I was in...... there were many people claiming to be Muslims, but it was more so a gang-type group... an offshoot of the Nation of Islam. My mother did, however, have a copy of the Quran... but I was never allowed to touch it. :(

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


sobhan Allah, so does this mean that your mother was looking into Islam?


Thus, what exactly were you raised to be?

[NewBeginning]

:assalam:


Yes, she did look into Islam, but never followed through with it. Most likely, it was the response of the Nation of Islam people, "no whites allowed". She was never happy or comfortable with any religion. We were bounced from one church to the other..... all different denominations. She stopped going eventually... about the time she had the Quran. I think she gave up on God after that altogether.

[Dan]

Bismillah


So what made you continue on a spiritual search when your mother had given up?

[NewBeginning]

I became so confused because all the different Christian churches taught so many different things. The rituals, the interpretation of the Bible, and even the Bible itself was totally different from church to church.


I was just curious as to which church was the right church. I read every book I could get my hands on that had to do with Christianity. Reading the Bible itself was the most discouraging. I would always immediately say to myself "you have got to be KIDDING me!" At times I couldn't even continue.


I sat down and thought about how my whole family has always been Catholic, aside from my mother's confusion... so I went to the Catholic Church and signed up for classes. Every time I threw a question at them regarding docrine of faith, catechism, etc. the answer was either "it's a mystery of the church", or "pray on it", or they quoted what some "church father" said. It just wasn't good enough for me, and after 3 years (I stuck it out a long time) the whole church just seemed to have a weaker and weaker foundation. Nothing added up and made sense. It always came down to "because so-and-so said so". But so-and-so was not GOD.

[Dan]

Bismillah


So what lead this search to Islam?

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


as salam alykom


I almost wanted to ask the same question.


Plus if u can sort of tell me where exactly did u stumble in Christianity?