A SUMMARY OF HOW A PRACTISING ROMAN CATHOLIC FROM A STRONG  RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND ENTERED THE NATURAL RELIGION

HOW I CAME TO ISLAM

I came from a small Roman Catholic family; my mother having had a strong belief in the church since her early childhood; my father converted to Christianity much later. I also had strong faith in Christianity, and the teachings of the Catholic Church, but as I grew older, often found certain issues confusing and controversial. I spent quite some time comparing the belief of the many Christian denominations. However, my belief in Jesus (Esa Alayhis-Salaam) never altered, and I remained a Roman Catholic. At the age of 24, as a nurse, I met a work colleague who told me he was a Muslim. Being rather a strong character, his belief in Islam, and his insistence on praying, had some impression on me. I decided to get to the root of this religion, and prove, on Christian terms, where it went wrong! In fact, the more I learned about Islam the more I realised how marvellous the religion was. It spoke of every aspect of life, solving each problem, each `controversial' issue with such wisdom and authority. As a Christian my main questions were:
(1) Was the Qur'an a revelation from God or not?
(2) If Muhammad was not a Prophet, then who was he? These questions I put to many Christians, including several priests. I received various replies from those Christians who actually possessed some limited knowledge of Islam, but it was obvious that no one was able to give me a satisfactory answer. My own desire for the Truth grew, and by this time, my faith had been very much shaken. I was no longer at all sure whether Jesus (Esa Alayhis-Salaam) was `God' or a Holy Prophet of Islam! As a Christian, I now prayed only to the `father'. About 10 months after meeting my Muslim colleague, I began reading literature of Islam, which answered my questions one by one. The revelation was still alarming in many ways; the Catholic Church, the Pope, the Mass, Sacraments, Statues were so familiar to me, and becoming a Muslim would obviously mean many changes. But, Allah had been preparing me, and had gradually opened my eyes to the Truth. The path had been made very clear to me, and there were no further questions I could ask! I saw Christianity for what it really was and declared my belief in Islam.

By Karen Richard

http://www.inter-islam.org/ How I came into Islam

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