I attended an AA conference many years ago in Baltimore, pre 9-11 with my husband where the one of the speakers was raised as a Muslim. He was born in Saudi Arabia and was a member of the extended Saudi Royal family; a very wealthy family. He came to the US to get an education but found “drink, drugs, sex and rock and roll” instead.
He shared his story and it was a very powerful story and he was rather funny, i.e. humorous about his journey into sobriety. I remember him saying that in his culture and religion that he was raised in; that drinking was not only a “mortal sin” but that it could, in his home country get one executed - beheaded. But he also shared that once he took his very first drink, even the fear of death and being ostracized and cut off from the all the money and privileges he once enjoyed was not enough to stop him.
He even joked about being one of the very few Muslims in AA but that he was very grateful that AA accepted him, that AA saved his life. I seem to recall that he was no longer a highly devout and certainly not a radicalized Muslim but that he still considered Allah as his “higher power” but that ironically his first AA sponsor was a Jew.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing that.