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Islam Is For Everyone
By Yahiye Adam Gadahn
My first seventeen years have been a bit different than the youth experienced by
most Americans. I grew up on an extremely rural goat ranch in Western Riverside
County, California, where my family raises on average 150 to 200 animals for
milk, cheese, and meat. My father is a halal butcher [a butcher who slaughters
in an Islamic manner -ed.] and supplies to an Islamic Food Mart a few blocks
from the Islamic Center in downtown Los Angeles.
My father was raised agnostic or atheist, but he became a believer in One God
when he picked up a Bible left on the beach. He once had a number of Muslim
friends, but they've all moved out of California now. My mother was raised
Catholic, so she leans towards Christianity (although she, like my father,
disregards the Trinity). I and my siblings were/are home-schooled, and as you
may know, most home-school families are Christian. In the last 8 or so years, we
have been involved with some home-schooling support groups, thus acquainting me
with fundamentalist Christianity. It was an eye-opening experience. Setting
aside the blind dogmatism and charismatic wackiness, it was quite a shock to me
when I realized that these people, in their prayers, were actually praying TO
JESUS. You see, I had always believed that Jesus (pbuh) was, at the very most,
the Son of God (since that is what the Bible mistranslates "Servant of God" as).
As I learned that belief in the Trinity, something I find absolutely ridiculous,
is considered by most Christians to be a prerequisite for salvation, I gradually
realized I could not be a Christian.
In the meantime, I had become obsessed with demonic Heavy Metal music, something
the rest of my family (as I now realize, rightfully so) was not happy with. My
entire life was focused on expanding my music collection. I eschewed personal
cleanliness and let my room reach an unbelievable state of disarray. My
relationship with my parents became strained, although only intermittently so. I
am sorry even as I write this.
Earlier this year, I began to listen to the apocalyptic ramblings of Christian
radio's "prophecy experts." Their paranoid espousal of various conspiracy
theories, rabid support of Israel and religious Zionism, and fiery preaching
about the "Islamic Threat" held for me a strange fascination. Why? Well, I
suppose it was simply the need I was feeling to fill that void I had created for
myself. In any case, I soon found that the beliefs these evangelists held, such
as Original Sin and the Infallibility of "God's Word", were not in agreement
with my theological ideas (not to mention the Bible) and I began to look for
something else to hold onto.
The turning point, perhaps, was when I moved in with my grandparents here in
Santa Ana, the county seat of Orange, California. My grandmother, a computer
whiz, is hooked up to America Online and I have been scooting the information
superhighway since January. But when I moved in, with the intent of finding a
job (easier said than done), I begin to visit the religion folders on AOL and
the Usenet newsgroups, where I found discussions on Islam to be the most
intriguing. You see, I discovered that the beliefs and practices of this
religion fit my personal theology and intellect as well as basic human logic.
Islam presents God not as an anthropomorphic being but as an entity beyond human
comprehension, transcendent of man, independent and undivided. Islam has a holy
book that is comprehensible to a layman, and there is no papacy or priesthood
that is considered infallible in matters of interpretation: all Muslims are free
to reflect and interpret the book given a sufficient education. Islam does not
believe that all men are doomed to Hell unless they simply accept that God
(apparently unable to forgive otherwise) magnanimously allowed Himself to be
tortured on a cross to enable Him to forgive all human beings who just believe
that He allowed Himself to be tortured on a cross... Islam does not believe in a
Chosen Race. And on and on...
As I began reading English translations of the Qur'an, I became more and more
convinced of the truth and authenticity of Allah's teachings contained in those
114 chapters. Having been around Muslims in my formative years, I knew well that
they were not the bloodthirsty, barbaric terrorists that the news media and the
televangelists paint them to be. Perhaps this knowledge led me to continue my
personal research further than another person would have. I can't say when I
actually decided that Islam was for me. It was really a natural progression. In
any case, last week [November 1995 -ed.]I went to the Islamic Society of Orange
County in Garden Grove and told the brother in charge of the library I wanted to
be a Muslim. He gave me some excellent reading material, and last Friday I took
Shahada [accepted the creed of Islam -ed.] in front of a packed masjid. I have
spent this week learning to perform Salat and reflecting on the greatness of
Allah. It feels great to be a Muslim! Subhaana rabbiyal 'azeem!
My Journey to Islam
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