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In the Name of Allah, most
Compassionate, most Merciful
Becoming Muslim
Shariffa Carlo
The story of how I reverted to al Islam is a story of plans.
I made plans, the group I was with made plans, and Allah made
plans. And Allah is the Best of Planners. When I was a teenager,
I came to the attention of a group of people with a very
sinister agenda. They were and probably still are a loose
association of individuals who work in government positions but
have a special agenda - to destroy Islam. It is not a
governmental group that I am aware of, they simply use their
positions in the US government to advance their cause.
One member of this group approached me because he saw that I
was articulate, motivated and very much the women's rights
advocate. He told me that if I studied International Relations
with an emphasis in the Middle East, he would guarantee me a job
at the American Embassy in Egypt. He wanted me to eventually go
there to use my position in the country to talk to Muslim women
and encourage the fledgling women's rights movement. I thought
this was a great idea. I had seen the Muslim women on TV; I knew
they were a poor oppressed group, and I wanted to lead them to
the light of 20th century freedom.
With this intention, I went to college and began my
education. I studied Quraan, hadith and Islamic history. I also
studied the ways I could use this information. I learned how to
twist the words to say what I wanted them to say. It was a
valuable tool. Once I started learning, however, I began to be
intrigued by this message. It made sense. That was very scary.
Therefore, in order to counteract this effect, I began to take
classes in Christianity. I chose to take classes with this one
professor on campus because he had a good reputation and he had
a Ph.D. in Theology from Harvard University. I felt I was in
good hands. I was, but not for the reasons I thought. It turns
out that this professor was a Unitarian Christian. He did not
believe in the trinity or the divinity of Jesus. In actuality,
he believed that Jesus was a prophet.
He proceeded to prove this by taking the Bible from its
sources in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic and show where they were
changed. As he did this, he showed the historical events which
shaped and followed these changes. By the time I finished this
class, my deen had been destroyed, but I was still not ready to
accept Islam. As time went on, I continued to study, for myself
and for my future career. This took about three years. In this
time, I would question Muslims about their beliefs. One of the
individuals I questioned was a Muslim brother with the MSA.
Alhamdulillah, he saw my interest in the deen, and made it a
personal effort to educate me about Islam. May Allah increase
his reward. He would give me dawaa at every opportunity which
presented itself.
One day, this man contacts me, and he tells me about a group
of Muslims who were visiting in town. He wanted me to meet them.
I agreed. I went to meet with them after ishaa prayer. I was led
to a room with at least 20 men in it. They all made space for me
to sit, and I was placed face to face with an elderly Pakistani
gentleman. Mashallah, this brother was a very knowledgeable man
in matters of Christianity. He and I discussed and argued the
varying parts of the bible and the Quraan until the fajr. At
this point, after having listened to this wise man tell me what
I already knew, based on the class I had taken in Christianity,
he did what no other individual had ever done. He invited me to
become a Muslim. In the three years I had been searching and
researching, no one had ever invited me. I had been taught,
argued with and even insulted, but never invited. May Allah
guide us all. So when he invited me, it clicked. I realized this
was the time. I knew it was the truth, and I had to make a
decision. Alhamdulillah, Allah opened my heart, and I said,
"Yes. I want to be a Muslim." With that, the man led me in the
shahadah - in English and in Arabic. I swear by Allah that when
I took the shahadah, I felt the strangest sensation. I felt as
if a huge, physical weight had just been lifted off my chest; I
gasped for breath as if I were breathing for the first time in
my life. Alhamdulillah, Allah had given me a new life - a clean
slate - a chance for Jennah, and I pray that I live the rest of
my days and die as a Muslim. Ameen.
Shariffa A Carlo (Al Andalusia)
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