Islam the Religion I once misunderstood

 

Islam, the religion I once feared. My view of a Muslim a year ago was someone who was a terrorist or just plain crazy. I thought Muslims wanted to commit martyrdom for the sake of Allah, to guarantee a place in paradise. I was not the least bit comfortable being close to anyone that even remotely looked like a Muslim.  Since the advent of September 11, 2001 tragedy, innocent lives were lost and the blame rested on Muslims.
 
IMAN has been exposed to vandalism to their bulletin board at least twice since the tragedy 9/11/2001. The second time I was actually in the Micro lab a few minutes after this occurred. The impact that it had on the IMAN club members were evident in the mood that was present. They seemed afraid and not sure what to do. Seeing this and being compassionate to my fellow human being, I came up with an idea that would probably save the bulletin board from future attacks.
 
The idea was to attach a flag that represented the diversity of what this great nation is about, which also depicted the pledge of allegiance, which was added by the then secretary of IMAN Mohsin Siddiqui. The idea worked, the bulletin board was left alone, this still did not make IMAN have a greater sense of security. A friend of mine, was so terrified that she felt unsure of whether the students in her class were either her friends as they were before September 11, 2001 or her enemy. She also professed fear to sleep with her window open as she did before. The sense of security that Muslims in this nation once had is now gone.
 
On being compassionate towards IMAN club, I was invited by the past president, Noaraney Sattar, to attend a meeting. I attended and had no idea of what to expect, I was greatly welcomed, the feeling that I was given is as if I was an immediate member of their family. Never before have I ever got such a welcome, not even from my family, this shocked me greatly. And of course what I am now aware of is the Muslim communities practice to eat as Mohsin Siddiqui said "eating is what Muslims do best", they had a nice array of food which I am now addicted to especially samosa's a famous Pakistani dish. Since the meeting my interest level rose and I did my own research as to what this religion is all about. I found out lots of information to reveal the similarities that existed with Christianity, Judaism and Islam. It is believed that Jesus is a prophet of God but not the son of God as is believed in Christianity that I was born into.
 
The month of Ramadan was upon us, it is considered the holiest month in Islam, where you refrain from worldly desires. This intrigued me, why would someone want to fast, much less fast from dawn to dusk. The idea behind this is to endure what your fellow human being who is less fortunate that you to have the luxuries that we often take advantage of (food). I decided to partake in this fast, never before have I went without food intentionally. There were doubts from my friends that I would be able to achieve it, but to my surprise I did. Being a bit miserable when it was 4:00pm and had about and hour or so to go, I was irritable and they would laugh when I took the first bite and my mood changed instantly. I greatly missed the month as it created a bond that I have never experienced before, knowing that people all over the world are fasting and breaking the fast at the same time. 

Partaking in the month of Ramadan gave me a completely different perspective on homeless and those that starve daily. I felt more compassion, and now I am eager to help them more than ever before, it made me realize what Islam is all  about. Peace, harmony and the betterment of its brothers and sisters whether they are Non-Muslim or Muslim. Prior to the end of Ramadan, actually the 27th night I said the Shahadah, which is professing that there in no God but Allah (God) and they are no other deities to be worshipped. It was quick and simple process, which I did at Nural-Islam mosque at Sterling road. In then presence of a few IMAN members, the club that I am now a member of. It totally change my life by converting to Islam, it has enlightened me on what the truth is as compared to what I had perceived in my ignorance. Now as a Muslim I shall try to live my life along the path toward righteousness and piety.

 

By Omar Fletcher