Why Did They Become Muslims

9
THOMAS IRVING
(Canadian)
To tell you why I became a Muslim, I have to explain what I felt
before and after embracing Islam, my first contact with Islam and
the faidh that it inspired into me. First of all, let me tell you that
thousands of Canadians and Americans think exactly as I used to
think before becoming a Muslim; they have the same feeling of
dissatisfaction; and they are awaiting the scholars of Ahl as-sunna
who will teach them the essence of Islam.
As I was a child, I held fast to my faith, Christianity, with both
hands. For I needed a religion to feed my soul. However, as I grew
older, I began to see a number of faults in Christianity. The stories
told about the life of Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ and his being the son of
God, –may Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us against saying so,– sounded
like superstitious tales to me. My personal logic would never
accept them. I began to ask myself questions, such as, “If
Christianity is the true religion, why are there so many non-
Christians in the World?” “Why do Jews and Christians share the
same basic religious book and differ in other respects?” “Why are
non-Christians doomed to perdition though they have no other
apparent faults?” “Why do many nations choose not to become
Christians?”
It was in those days when I met a missionary who had been
serving in India. He complained to me, “Muslims are very
obstinate. They insist that the true religion is Islam, and not
Christianity. So all my efforts to Christianize them end up in
failure.” These statements were at the same time the first
definition I had heard of Islam. A sensation of curiosity towards
Islam, seasoned with a high degree of admiration for Muslims
who had been so staunchly attached to their religion, began to
blossom in my heart. I felt that I should observe Islam more
closely, and began to attend lectures on ‘Oriental Literature’ in
the university. I saw that what the oriental people had been
rejecting in our belief was the doctrine of ‘trinity’, and that they
accepted the belief of ‘One God’, which was perfectly agreeable
with common sense. It was certain that Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ had
announced his religion as one based on belief in One God, and
himself as a mere born slave and Messenger of that One God. The
God he had mentioned should be a merciful God. Nevertheless,
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