Why Did They Become Muslims

last we arrived in Istanbul. The first impression we had of Istanbul was
its graceful scenery, which had an emollient effect on us. The real
astonishment, however, came with the Muslims that we contacted for
the first time. They were extremely polite, ultimately decorous, and
utterly civilized people. As we strolled along the crowded streets of
Istanbul, visited mosques, observed the Byzantine works of art
forsaken in remote places, no thought of fear or danger occurred to us.
All the people we met were extremely friendly towards us. They
always offered us facility. That we were of another religion, let alone
arousing antagonistic feelings, did not even make any difference to
them. They showed the other religions the same respect as they did to
their own religion. As I saw these, I felt burning indignation towards
those who had given us that wrong information and education. Quite
contrary to the fallacies with which we had been schooled, they did not
hate Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’, but they believed in him as another Prophet.
They did not interfere with or make fun of our religious rites. They
respected us as human beings. In contrast to our looking on Muslims
as Godless followers of the devil, they did not utter even a slightly
unpleasant word about our religion.
“The axiom, ‘Civilizations cannot be brought together with
Islam,’ which had been inculcated to us, should have been an
excessively inflated form of a tiny seed of truth. That seed of truth
is that Muslims are staunchly adherent to their customs and
traditions and therefore reject some dirty customs that run counter
to their conventions and which western people cherish in the name
of civilization. However, it takes only a little more discerning to
realize that these things are mere trivialities that have nothing to do
with civilization.
“The Turks are extremely staunch to their conventions and to
Islam’s beautiful ethical principles. They always observe these values
in arranging their daily lives. As far as I am concerned, the Turks are
the best Muslims. When I compare them with those Muslims that I
met in Iran and in Arabia, I see that they have the merit of true
Muslims much more than the others do. It gives you a great pleasure
to see the heartfelt sincerity with which the Turks perform their
Islamic duties, and consequently you feel yourself closer to them,
have deeper sympathy and respect for them. In the streets, in the
fields, gardens and orchards, in market places and shops, you can see
people of all classes and professions, soldiers, porters and beggars
alike, kneeling down and prostrating themselves, or saying their
prayers with their hands extended. All these performances are never
intended for ostentation. A Muslim with true belief returns to his
work as soon as he gets through with his prayer, which takes quite a
short time. Muslims hold fast to the ethical principles written in the
Qur’ân al-kerîm. One thing we should never forget is that these
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