Posted on 05/17/2015 8:32:26 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Musa, a Jew, was only 15 years of age when he developed interest in religion. He describes what he saw in Islam in relation to Judaism, which caught his interest and led him to accept it. He narrated his story sometime in 2007.
Prior to my conversion to Islam, I lived my life as a Jew. Although my family was not traditional, I learned Judaism from traditional Jews. I went to an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, and an Orthodox Jewish school. I lived, and continue to live, in a Jewish community in the United States where there is little diversity. And considering how much Judaism was involved in my life, I did not have any non-Jewish friends. But about a year ago, I began to chat online quite often and my e-mail list slowly began to fill with more and more Muslims. I developed a strong interest for studying other religions as well as my own. I paid special attention to Islam, for I knew it was a religion not much different than Judaism. We share many similar prophets (peace be upon them all), morals, values, and most importantly, we worship the same God — Allah. Although I knew much about Islam and knew it was a peaceful religion, I cannot say I did not have stereotypes. I was lucky because I knew many Muslims online, one of which was my girlfriend who I consider to be my guide to Islam. She led me to the doors of Islam, and Allah took me through the rest…
I decided to look deeper into the faith. By doing so I discovered flaws in my own religion. According to the Old Testament, the great Prophet Aaron committed the worse sin possible. Due to pressure put upon him by the people while waiting for Moses to return with the Torah from Mount Sinai, he built an idol.
How could a great prophet possibly commit one of the three sins that are so great that one should prefer death before committing them? In the Qur’an, Prophet Moses comes down and sees the Jews worshiping the Golden Calf. At first he thinks it is the creation of Aaron and is angry at him; later he finds it was other Hebrews who had created this idol. A lot can be learned from this story.
Would a nation of people led by God really be forgiven for such a sin? My view on this story matches the Islamic view that the Old Testament has changed over the years. In the past, there have been many Cohaneem (religious leaders at the Holy Temple) who were corrupt. Couldn't it easily be possible for them to have changed Judaism to make it easier to observe and less time-consuming in order to make more money with their profession?
Another astonishing factor that led me to Islam is the scientific truth written in the Qur’an. The Qur’an mentions the human embryonic development long before it was discovered by science.
“And certainly We created man of an extract of clay, Then We made him a small seed in a firm resting-place, Then We made the seed a clot, then We made the clot a lump of flesh, then We made (in) the lump of flesh bones, then We clothed the bones with flesh, then We caused it to grow into another creation, so blessed be Allah, the best of the creators.”
The Qur’an also mentions how mountains are formed and talks about the layers of the atmosphere! These are just a few of so many scientific discoveries mentioned in the Qur’an 1,400 years before discovered by science.
Here is one of the key factors that led me to explore my heart to find the truth of life. In Arabic, the word Islam comes from salama which means "to submit"; "purity" and "peace" come from the same root. The person submits to the One, the Merciful, and the Most Beneficent Allah; whereas other religions are named after people: Judaism comes from the tribe of Judea, Christianity from Jesus Christ, etc. Islam is a word derived from a verb; anyone who submits to Allah and believes in all the prophets is a true Muslim. Many of the great prophets mentioned in the Old Testament lived prior to Judaism and Judea; they submitted to God, and therefore they were all Muslims. And we shall live as the prophets lived, for they were great human beings.
Considering my situation of being very young and living in an all-Jewish area, it would be difficult to have my beliefs accepted. My parents and relatives are very respectful, but I am unsure how they would react if it is their own son who reverts to Islam. So for now, I am unable to live out an Islamic life to the fullest, but thanks to Allah, I am able to pray five times a day, I am able to study Islam online, and at least I am openly able to believe in one God and express those feelings. In some ways it can be very difficult. I become more emotional than most people would when I debate something involving Muslims, for example the Middle East. When I talk about Israel, my whole family supports Israel and doesn't know the truth of what goes on to Palestinians, but I think they should have proper treatment for the Palestinians. And when they talk about this situation, I become easily offended, especially if they bring up the idea that it is "the Jewish Holy Land" and "Promised Land." Because I have not yet told my parents of my reversion to Islam, I am unable to attend prayers at a mosque. As I stated before, my area has little diversity and all the mosques are far away. I have never had the opportunity to do Shahadah in front of witnesses although I have said Shahadah for the best witness of all — Allah. When I am 16 in about one year, I will be able to drive to the mosque, insha' Allah (Allah willing). The most important thing is to improve the person I am. I try to avoid my friends who do drugs, watch porn, drink alcohol, and steal. It is not always easy to avoid close friends, but I try my best for the sake of Allah. And I hope over time my personality will meet what Allah wishes to see from us all.
When studying Qur’an, my advice to you is to read it for yourself. Looking at biased websites, you are not able to see the full content of a verse. Through this whole experience I have discovered that I did not find Islam, I re-embraced Islam; nor did I convert, I reverted; and on my ride from darkness to light, it has only made me a stronger, more spiritual, and a better human being. May Allah guide us all to the truth that I was led to.
Ash-hadu an la ilaha illa Allah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammad rasulu Allah!
You can always trust the Arab News. /s
I am incapable of understanding the appeal.
More from a sense of want and the belonging to something. Most women who convert do so because they have low self esteem and are courted by a islamic male. In Islam it is okay for the males to seek out females of other religions in the hopes to convert them and also to become breeding members of their society. Islam is a “by the numbers” religion meaning there are n number of muslims in the world and consistently tout that figure even if it is exaggerated to some extent.
“I paid special attention to Islam, for I knew it was a religion not much different than Judaism.”
Actually in the verse it is similar to a point. Here the Quranic text has all the major stories that the Bible has except for one distinct feature: all the endings to the stories have been changed to favor Islam. There might be one or two major Biblical stories left out but all are covered. For example, the Holy Trinity in the Bible is the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. According to the Quran, the Bible states the Holy Trinity as the Father, Son and Mother Mary. Most of those I have talked to whom have taken a Comparative Religion course are taught that Islam is the third offshoot of the Abraham religions. Indeed their prophet, while he lived in Mecca, plagiarized from what he heard from the Jews and Christians and then set out to form his own religion but was unsuccessful initially and was even run out of Mecca by his own family. He was mocked and laughed at and usually turned red when questioned. Thus led rise to the “no mocking policy” in Islam or you die.
No where in the Quran does it state that the Bible was ever changed however it does say the Torah was. When questioned about this the usual talking point from the muzzie is the Pen/Secretary verse in the Bible (I can’t remember it exactly right off hand). They point to this verse as showing that in the Bible it states it has been changed. This came much later in their cult as their prophet never mentioned this about the Bible.
In a peculiar way, you could say yes that Islam is like Judaism and Christianity as it steals the stories found within the books of these major religions but that is mainly where the similarities end. This has been a common talking point to converts for a very long time and a usual go to. Did the conversion of this Jew happen? Whose to say actually since the story cannot be corroborated in its entirety. Do Jews convert to other religions? Yes but its rarer than most people believe which is why most will not believe this story.
A bogus story if I ever read one. The holes in the narrative are big enough to jump a camel through.
And there it is. He "let the penis do the picking," as famous TV matchmaker Patty Stanger put it. How frequently have men been led to evil through their bedmates? Ted Olsen comes to mind, hooking up with the pro-gay liberal Democrat after Barabara's death, and now he is the principal legal force behind the LGBT movement.
20 Commandments of Mohammad the founder of Islam
1. Thou shall Rape, Marry, and Divorce Pre-pubescent Girls. Koran 65:4
2. Thou shall have Sex Slaves and Work Slaves. Koran 4:3, 4:24, 5:89, 33:50, 58:3, 70:30
3. Thou shall Beat Sex Slaves, Work Slaves, and Wives. Koran 4:34
4. Thou shall have 4 Muslim male witnesses to prove rape. Koran 24:13
5. Thou shall Kill those who insult Islam or Mohammed. Koran 33:57
6. Thou shall Crucify and Amputate non-Muslims. Koran 8:12, 47:4
7. Thou shall Kill non-Muslims to guarantee receiving 72 virgins in heaven. Koran 9:111
8. Thou shall Kill anyone who leaves Islam. Koran 2:217, 4:89
9. Thou shall Behead non-Muslims. Koran 8:12, 47:4
10. Thou shall Kill AND be Killed for Islamic Allah. Koran 9:5
11. Thou shall Terrorize non-Muslims. Koran 8:12, 8:60
12. Thou shall Steal and Rob from non-Muslims. Koran Chapter 8 (Booty/Spoils of War)
13. Thou shall Lie to Strengthen Islam. Koran 3:28, 16:106
14. Thou shall Fight non-Muslim even if you don’t want to. Koran 2:216
15. Thou shall not take non-Muslims as friends. Koran 5:51
16. Thou shall Call non-Muslims Pigs and Apes. Koran 5:60, 7:166, 16:106
17. Thou shall Treat non-Muslims as the vilest creatures deserving no mercy. Koran 98:6
18. Thou shall Treat non-Muslims as sworn enemies. Koran 4:101
19. Thou shall Kill non-Muslims for not converting to Islam. Koran 9:29
20. Thou shall Extort non-Muslims to keep Islam strong. Koran 9:29.
I just looked one of these up, at random. 4:34
You are correct. It does say beat them.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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Soon, you can change the title to: A Dead Jew’s journey to Islam
I simply grabbed this from another FReeper's post some time age...unfortunately I did not cite them. All credit to that FReeper for the original posting!
Allah and Yahweh are not the same God.
God still loves you, but he ain’t Allah!
He writes like an Arab (some of the ones I met in France, who came from very primitive societies) -- very simplistic, child-like. I question the authenticity of this.
He also shows gross ignorance of Judaism, where texts have many commentaries. He is the kind of guy who might have either gotten kicked out of yeshiva or placed in a special needs school.
Father forgive him for his ignorance.
He should write a book, the Complete Idiots Guide to Islam.
Conflicts? Mah pit’om? Just because he expects them to pay him jiziyah? He’ll tolerate them as people of the Book after that. What kind of problems? Are they—Gasp! Organ music!—Zionists?!
He’s not the first Jewish kid I’ve met who in his blind gropings laid hold of Islam. They do not let people go once they get hold of them. Hope he manages to get free when the time comes.
Somebody’s got to belie the stereotype of smart Jews. My mother-in-law can’t do it all by her lonesome.
“The Aryans. The Aryans. The Aryaryaryaryaaaryans, and we go marching by.”
Tomanian storm-trooper song from Great Dictator by Charlie Chaplin.
It’s hard to compete with a cult that promises earthly rewards, slaves, property, goats for killing non-cult members. I would imagine there is a great deal of peace of mind in submitting to the idea that you now have permission to loot, rape, engage in pedophila, and murder. Most normal people have a gut knowledge that it’s wrong, but hey, mo ham head sez it’s okay, so...
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