Islam reinforces to keep yourself on the right path

I am a new Muslim and I just recently finished reading the book The Sun is Rising in the West.  The following is my response from the questionnaire at the end of this book:

1. When and how did you come to Islam?

I came to Islam two years ago when I married my husband. We met online which I know sounds crazy. I am usually not one of those people who meets people online, but by the grace of Allah I happened to talk to him online that night. Over the weeks we became good friends. I was living in Vegas at the time with my aunt and she thought it would be nice if we met him somewhere. He lived just four hours away so we made arrangements to meet him. We became good friends but we started wanting to be more than friends. He was Muslim so he told me that we should get married to make things right. We talked about marriage and about Islam. I decided that he was right so we got married a week later and that same day I converted.

2. What were the factors that brought you to Islam?

At first I was just doing it because I knew that it was what my husband wanted and I wanted to make him happy. I know that is a bad start but it was a start that ended up leading me down the right path.

3. What difficulties did you have on the way?

At first it was very tough because I grew up the average American wearing shorts and eating pork. Hijab was some kind of crazy thing to me that I rationalized in my own mind as a way for men to control women. I had a hard time understanding things and I felt alone at times. Things scared me because its always hard to leave something that you grew up with, especially when everyone you looked up to told you it was right. Since I made that first step though, Allah just kept working with me and pulling me by the hand and little by little things started to take shape.

4. What is the response of your family and friends?

Most of my friends were the wrong type of people to hang out with so of course when I stopped drinking and going to parties I just stopped talking to them altogether. My family, alhumdalillah, has been accepting they don't really like it because they are all Christians but they accept that it is the path I have chose and they love me just the same. In fact they adore my husband because of the values he has and the way he respects older people. They are very happy that I married him because they know that because of his faith he knows how to take care of me and keep me safe.

5. How can Islam change and improve one's life?

Well if you take me for example it improved my life in many ways. It reinforced those things in me I already knew but as a Christian I didn't think I needed to follow. I stopped drinking, I don't eat pork, I dress properly so as not to degrade myself in front of men. All these things are improvements in my life. They keep me safer, healthier and in a better frame of mind. Islam gave me boundaries and rules to follow for the good of myself and those around me.

6. How can Islam change and improve America?

Islam can improve America in many ways. If everyone in America lived by Islam then their wouldn't be any killings, rapes, theft; sexual diseases would disappear; babies would know who their fathers were; women wouldn't have abortions; children wouldn't be giving birth to children; women would have more respect for themselves; men would have more respect for women. You could go on forever probably talking about the bad things that you see in America because people have lost their sense of morals. Islam reinforces those lost morals and gives you easy ways to keep yourself on the right path. With Islam I have found a new happier more fulfilling way of life that also, insha'Allah, will lead me to an even better hereafter.

7. Do you have any advice for the Muslims of America?

Well I am one of them but my advice would have to be, stay strong and make sure you surround yourself with a big group of Muslims so that you can keep each other on the right path. It is always easier to stay strong when their are more of you. It is easy to take people out one at a time when they are divided but when you put them all together and they strive for the same cause and keep each other strong there is nothing that can break it especially if they are striving in Allah's cause.