[Fred Mertz]

I read someplace that he had been "introduced" to Islam by four Egyptian officers who were training at West Point.

From what I read late last night, I believe he attended the motor officer course at Fort Knox in 1991 and befriended several allied officers also attending the course.

I imagine that the love of his life, his wife, probably had a major influence on his interest and conversion.

[aristeides]

Do we know how and where he met his wife? If he met her in Syria (therefore after his conversion,) his is likely to be an arranged marriage.