Celebration Eid with new Muslims

Sheikh. Mohammed Bin Rashid ALHASHIMI celebrates Eid with Muslim converts in UK 2013

Lydia pinchen-boxall

London � 09.08.2013

It is the Honour of Sheikh. Mohammed Bin Rashid ALHASHIMI, Chairman of the Truth TV channel, to invite and welcome the new Muslims to the UK capital of London. They were blessed to enter Islam and should continue to learn and pursue knowledge in order to follow the pure rules of the Sunnah and of the Messenger of Allah peace be Upon Him.

We Welcomed those that have been enlightened by Islam and the following are the short speeches about their journey

Claudia�s story:

�Assalamu Alaikum, my name is Claudia; I�ve been a convertee for approximately two and a half years. But my interest in Islam was already there. It is a gradual process, and it�s something that required a lot of study from my side, in order to find out if it was something that I could fully engage in. It�s never failed so far, which I�m very happy for, Alhamdulillah. It�s something that has given me a lot of strength, even to surpass Ramadan which is difficult for any beginner into the faith. 

I�m of Portuguese origin, and Portugal is considered to be a strict Roman Catholic country. My grandmother in particular couldn�t understand that if you love God and Jesus, then why should you seek something else above Christianity? But the only thing that I could say to her which made her feel comfortable is that we still love Jesus, he�s still very important and is considered a prophet. We do not put him in a shadow of any sort, and that somehow made her much happier than thinking I�ve neglected everything all in one go.

First of all, if you are a new Muslim, be yourself and accept that you will not be perfect right from the start. Islam requires a lot of learning; but also learning about yourself. I had to learn about my past, my present and come to terms with that before embracing my new faith. I obviously had to stop a lot of my old habits, and it�s been a gradual process. So by accepting Islam, I've diminished a lot of possibility of falling into those traps. But everybody�s got a different timing and you should not be rushed into anything. If you can�t find the answers yourself, always refer to someone you can trust. Obviously maybe someone of an Imam status; someone that you know you are comfortable getting the answers from.� 

Karima�s Story:

�My journey to Islam has been very interesting, and it has been like a rollercoaster for me. It�s only been 3 months since I converted and I�ve been really happy since then. I started working in a Muslim environment with Muslim people. I had so many Muslim friends, I got attracted to the religion, the culture and the people who were so polite and humble. Thanks to Allah, as soon as I came out of the mosque, I was a really changed person. I was so happy. Since then, I�ve had this opportunity to meet people at these events. It�s been so lovely. I�m really going to miss Ramadan and I�m looking forward to Ramadan next year, to see everyone again.�

Muinat�s Story:

�My journey is a little different. I come from a Muslim family. However, I didn't actually grow up with my family from a young age. I wasn�t raised in an Islamic environment. I was living a western lifestyle, doing everything that goes along with that. But there was something inside that wasn�t completely fulfilled. I tried to go to church, and other different places; and I started to go to the mosque in Regent�s Park. Then eventually I would listen to the Sheikh,I went there more often, and I finally decided to take my Shahadah.�

�My family were so happy, obviously. I feel so much better now, relieved, being able to say I�m a Muslim woman. I don�t have all the frivolous things that I used to worry about in the past. Now, I�m just so much happier living my life as a Muslim woman.�

�To any new Muslims I would say: be true to yourself. If you have any problems, ask Allah. Don�t ask anyone around you. Keep your faith in Allah; and that would get you through.�

Camilla�s Story:

�Assalamu Alaikum. It�s not easy to talk about it but I think for me it�s always been something I was looking for. Even before I started to get to know Islam, I started university to study Religions. There was something really pushing me to find out, or discover something. Somehow I just came to know Islam. I came to something which gave me spiritual and intellectual appeal.�

�Once you convert you feel that you have got a really hard job to do. I can say that, for example, now at the end of Ramadan, I felt something yesterday. It was something beautiful, something that cleans you, makes you think about life in a different way.�

�To new Muslims I would say: Don�t give up, because it might be hard sometimes. Sometimes you go two steps forward but then you�ll go back. It�s not easy. Just go step by step. Don�t rush.�

Gene�s Story:

�A few years ago I was Catholic and I was working in Istanbul. It was really the first time that I had worked, or lived, in a Muslim country. I got some books and I did some reading and I was fascinated by it. In the same time that I was working in Istanbul I met my wife Banu. We became friends, a couple of years later we got married and I converted to Islam. It�s the best thing I�ve ever done. I realise that there is so much to learn about Islam. Everyday I�m learning more and more and I�m liking more and more.�

�I would say read as much as you can, go to your local mosque, go to any lectures on Islam, as I did. I can really recommend the Central London Mosque at Regents Park. I�ve attended quite a few lectures there. They were very, very useful.�

Ed�s Story:

�Basically I come from a strict Catholic background. I�m from the Philippines which is a major Catholic country. As I was growing up, I experienced a lot of inconsistencies in the religion. I had the belief in God, but you know, my previous religion didn�t give me the solid foundation to manifest my belief in God. At the same time when I started working in my previous job here in London, I met my best friend; who is a born Muslim guy. I was just observing his character and his behaviour. I was just thinking, what has this guy got that I don�t have? So I started researching and reading about Islam. I discovered a new way of life. The things I discovered about Islam were amazing. It made so much sense and contained so much logic. In addition to that, I was pleasantly surprised that there was the same belief in all the Prophets as Christianity, like Jesus and Moses. Also the angels, I never really knew that as well. That encouraged me to convert as well. It was quite easy for me. I�ve been Muslim now for about 7 months. It�s the best decision I�ve ever made. I�m really happy.�

�My advice to new Muslims, is just take things easy. Initially it�s not going to be an easy journey. As long as you�ve got the right intention and you pour your heart into it then God will make it easy for you. Keep attending lectures, go to your local mosque, attend Islamic circles where you can and make lots of new friends. The Muslim community is a really friendly and engaging community. I�m sure once you become Muslim, you will feel a part of a really solid and strong community and family.�

Villa�s View:

� I actually move two years ago to London. Then I was introduced to Islam, I started to meet a lot of Arabic people, I started to understand that the things I was told by the media were really not true. Then I realised I needed to do my own research and to learn about this religion. Fasting was one of the most interesting subjects to me as it seemed like it was impossible to do one month without food or drink. It seemed like something impossible, and then Ramadan was coming. I thought: Maybe I should try and see how the people who don�t have a lot to eat; how they feel. And for me it was so important to understand what does it mean to restrict yourselves from something that you aren�t grateful for having everyday on your table. I did my first Ramadan, even not being Muslim. It gave me a very clear mind. I made so many good decision in this month. It was much easier to live my everyday life. I actually went to the mosque and I didn�t know how to pray in Islam, I was just having that energy together with the people that were praying there. I�m very, very happy that I did this Ramadan.�

�This religion answers a lot of questions. Whatever I ask, I always get the answer. That�s the beautiful thing about it. I also get guidance about every aspect of your life. There are even parts of the Qur�an about food. What you should and shouldn�t be eating. And from a nutritionists point of view, the things that are discouraged in the Qur�an actually makes a lot of sense.�

�If you have tolerance, if you are willing to listen and learn. Then you can be surrounded by any kind of people. Have no judgement, we chose what is good for each of us. That�s why you need to accept and learn about the religion. Don�t judge based on other people. This can be so unreliable.�