Are Americans converting to Islam?

Islamic America 

Arab press reports wave of interest in faith in U.S.

November 16, 2001

© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com

(I just wanted to point out some thing here. This article was printed on November 16 2001 that means it must have been written 2 months and some days after the 9/11 attacks. Now Compare this with what CAIRS's Chairman said "Nihad Awad told the Saudi paper 'Ukaz that "34,000 Americans have converted to Islam following the events of Sept. 11, and this is the highest rate reached in the U.S. since Islam arrived there." ) Subhan'Allah

Sheikh Raid Sallah, the head of the Islamic movement in Israel, called on President Bush to convert to Islam and thus solve all problems connected with the dramatic terrorist attacks on the United States.

At a rally in the Arab town of Tamra, he reiterated his call Oct. 26: "Oh, peoples of the West ... we say to you: We are the masters of the world and we are the repository of all good (in the world), because we are the 'the best people, delivered for mankind' (Koran, 3:111). We do not hesitate. Oh Bush and (British Prime Minister Tony) Blair: We invite you to Islam; enter Islam, you and your peoples."

Bush and Blair didn't bite, but, according to various reports in the Arab press, translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, a wave of Americans have converted to Islam since Sept. 11.

'Alaa Bayumi, director of Arab Affairs at the Council for American-Islamic Relations, wrote in the London daily Al-Hayat that "non-Muslim Americans are now interested in getting to know Islam. There are a number of signs. ... Libraries have run out of books on Islam and the Middle East... English translations of the Koran head the American best-seller list. ... The Americans are showing increasing willingness to convert to Islam since Sept. 11. ... Thousands of non-Muslim Americans have responded to invitations to visit mosques, resembling the waves of the sea (crashing on the shore) one after another. ... All this is happening in a political atmosphere that, at least verbally, encourages non-Muslim Americans' openness towards Muslims in America and in the Islamic world, as the American president has said many times in his speeches. ..."

CAIR Chairman Nihad Awad told the Saudi paper 'Ukaz that "34,000 Americans have converted to Islam following the events of Sept. 11, and this is the highest rate reached in the U.S. since Islam arrived there."

According to Dr. Walid A. Fatihi, instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston has recently become a center of Islamic proselytizing aimed at Christians. On Sept. 22, 2001, Al-Fatihi sent a letter to the Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram Al-Arabi, in which he described the unfolding of events since Sept. 11.

"On Saturday, Sept. 15, I went with my wife and children to the biggest church in Boston, (Trinity Church in) Copley Square, by official invitation of the Islamic Society of Boston, to represent Islam by special invitation of the senators of Boston," wrote Fatihi. "Present were the mayor of Boston, his wife and the heads of the universities. There were more than 1,000 people there, with media coverage by one of Boston's main television stations. We were received like ambassadors. I sat with my wife and children in the front row, next to the mayor's wife. In his sermon, the priest defended Islam as a monotheistic religion, telling the audience that I represented the Islamic Society of Boston. After the sermon was over, he stood at my side as I read an official statement issued by the leading Muslim clerics condemning the incident (i.e., the attacks). The statement explained Islam's stance and principles, and its sublime precepts. Afterwards, I read Koran verses translated into English. ... These were moments that I will never forget, because the entire church burst into tears upon hearing the passages of the words of Allah!!

"Emotion swept over us," Fatihi continued. "One said to me: 'I do not understand the Arabic language, but there is no doubt that the things you said are the words of Allah.' As she left the church weeping, a woman put a piece of paper in my hand; on the paper was written: 'Forgive us for our past and for our present. Keep proselytizing to us.' Another man stood at the entrance of the church, his eyes teary, and said, 'You are just like us; no, you are better than us.'"

Fatihi recounts the next day the Islamic Society of Boston issued an open invitation to the Islamic Center in Cambridge.

"We did not expect more than 100 people, but to our surprise more than 1,000 people came, among them the neighbors, the university lecturers, members of the clergy, and even the leaders of the priests from the nearby churches, who invited us to speak on Islam," Fatihi wrote. "All expressed solidarity with Muslims. Many questions flowed to us. Everyone wanted to know about Islam and to understand its precepts. Of all the questions, not a single one attacked me; on the contrary, we saw (the people's) eyes filling with tears when they heard about Islam and its sublime principles. Many of them had never heard about Islam before. Well, they had heard about Islam only through the biased media. That same day, I was invited again to participate in a meeting in the church, and again I saw the same things. On Thursday, a delegation of 300 students and lecturers from Harvard visited the center of the Islamic Society of Boston, accompanied by the American Ambassador to Vienna. They sat on the floor of the mosque, which was filled to capacity. We explained to them the precepts of Islam, and defended it from any suspicions (promulgated in the media). I again read to them from the verses of Allah, and (their) eyes filled with tears. The audience was moved, and many asked to participate in the weekly lessons for non-Muslims held by the Islamic Center. ..."

Fatihi says on Sept. 21, the Muslims participated in a closed meeting with the governor of Massachusetts. They discussed introducing Islam into the school curriculum. He claims Gov. Jane Swift agreed to implement their plans.

"These are only some of the examples of what happened and is happening in the city of Boston, and in many other American cities, during these days," Fatihi continued. "Proselytizing in the name of Allah has not been undermined, and has not been set back 50 years, as we thought in the first days after Sept. 11. On the contrary, the 11 days that have passed are like 11 years in the history of proselytizing in the name of Allah. I write to you today with the absolute confidence that over the next few years, Islam will spread in America and in the entire world, Allah willing, much more quickly than it has spread in the past, because the entire world is asking, 'What is Islam?!'"



American Soldier Converts to Islam in Fallujah Mosque

At The Mosque of Mohammad's Presence in Fallujah, George Douglas, has become the fourth U.S. soldier said to have converted to Islam. Douglas changed his name to Mujahed Mohammad and declared Islam the best religion, 'for its teachings of forgiveness, nobleness, love, righteousness and courage.'

By Dr. Hamid Abdullah

Edited by Rob Gibran

June 28, 2005


After Battle, U.S. Troops Rest In Falujah Mosque 

Original Article (Arabic)

Baghdad: Eyewitnesses in the city of Fallujah reported that an American soldier publicly adopted the Muslim faith in one of the city’s mosques, with a crowd of people and clerics in attendance.
Dr. Ziad Al-Fahdawi, a witness to the event, said that the soldier, George Douglas, recited the two creeds [“There is no god but God, and Mohammad is His prophet”] in The Mosque of Mohammad’s Presence after asking the mosque’s imam to witness his conversion to Islam.

Douglas was reported as saying that he is certain that Islam is the best religion that a person could espouse, for its teachings of forgiveness, nobleness, love, righteousness and courage. When Douglas was finished with his declaration, the mosque attendants shouted “Allahou-Akbar” [God is Greater] and embraced and congratulated him.

The American soldier then changed his name, as of May 30th, from George Douglas to Mujahed Mohammad. He also explained that he was very moved by the courage of the people of Fallujah, their stance as Arabs and Muslims, and their readiness to defend their country and to die for the liberation of their land, no matter what pretexts the invaders give for their aggression.

Douglas is the 4th American soldier to embrace Islam in Iraq. Officer Patrick Bett [sp?] declared his conversion to Islam in civil affairs court in the Karakh district and then married Samar Ahmed, an Iraqi doctor who worked at the hospital where the American officer was on duty in August of 2003.

The American officer said that he did not convert to Islam for Dr. Samar, but because he was convinced that the Muslim faith is the best of all religions.

Two soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade, Sean Blackwell (27-years-old) and Brett Duggan (37-years-old) also converted to Islam following the U.S. officer’s conversion.

American forces have already mounted two attacks on Fallujah, the most violent and destructive of which came in November 2004. Fallujah was also a witness to some of the ugliest crimes committed by the American Army against the people of that city, including when an American soldier murdered an injured man near one of the mosques.

About 70 percent of the city’s houses have been completely destroyed. This has forced large numbers of the city’s population to erect tent cities for shelter, where they have been dwelling in ever since.




Muslim Participation in American Society 

The american Muslim Perspective

The Muslim American Society (MAS)

Islam growing fast in America

In the US, where Muslims number over six million, the Islamic faith has in many estimates surpassed Judaism and is believed to be the second largest religion in America. Anayat Durrani profiles some new US converts to Islam

March 10, 2000

Islam, a religion that was for centuries believed to have been ‘spread by the sword’ is currently the fastest growing religion in the United States and in the world. Adherents to the Islamic faith number 1.2 billion worldwide. And growing… In the United States, where Muslims number over six million, the Islamic faith has in many estimates surpassed Judaism and is believed to be the second largest religion in America after Christianity. While part of the rise in the population of Muslims in the United States is due to immigration, the phenomenal growth of Islam in the past 10 years has come from an increasing number of Americans converting to Islam from other religions.

Muslim leaders estimate that half the number of American converts to Islam come from the African-American community. Twenty-two-year-old Leslie Jordan is a recent convert to Islam. "I decided that I wanted to convert to a religion whose beliefs were like mine and whose practices would compliment the life I wanted to lead and help to exemplify my beliefs." Jordan, who changed her name to Thanaa ("thankfulness"), studied Islam for seven months, often cross-referencing with the Talmud and Bible. She was convinced that Islam was the truth. "Conversion for me has not been too difficult as I have truth in the verses of the Holy Qur'an and in the Hadith."

Islam continues to draw followers at an estimated rate of 135,000 converts per year. During the Gulf War alone, it was reported that approximately 3,000 Americans converted to Islam.

American women make up the second largest group of converts to Islam. Dani Black converted to Islam in March of 1997. Originally a Catholic, Black studied one religion after another, from Buddhist to Pentecostal. She remained unsatisfied until her search led her on the path to Islam. "Finally, Allah (SWT) made a way for me to find the truth." Black, who now goes by the name of Khadijah, said her husband converted to Islam shortly after she did. "We both are very happy."

At the rate that Islam is spreading, demographers predict that by the year 2025 one out of four people in the world will be Muslim.

Forty-eight-year-old Everett Ferguson, now Luqman Abdullah-Wajid, was introduced to Islam at the age of 20. In his youth, Abdullah-Wajid did not follow any religion nor did he believe in God. "As I studied Islamic beliefs, I was struck by how they were in harmony with reason," he says. "Islam’s clarity, logic, and authenticity leave me feeling very grateful."

The increase in the number of American Muslims may be a result of the presence of more mosques and Islamic centers that are sprouting up in several cities across the United States. There are approximately 2,000 mosques, Islamic centers and schools in the country. Non-Muslims are often invited to mosques and Islamic centers where they are provided with information about Islam.

James was raised a Baptist and during his childhood attended Baptist, Lutheran and Methodist churches. While in law school, he accompanied a classmate and attended Catholic church. It wasn’t until his 30s that James says he began to study religion seriously. "I studied briefly with the Original Hebrew Israelites, before getting a copy of the Holy Qur’an," he says. "After reading it, I was touched in my soul and many of the questions that I had throughout my life were answered. I knew that I had to make a decision." At the age of 33, a Muslim co-worker took James for a visit to a local mosque. "I was so moved that I took my shahada right then and there."

Converting to a new faith is not always a smooth transition. The difficulties new Muslims face after conversion often arise from family and friends. For Thanaa, her conversion was not easily accepted. "The most difficult part for me has been trying to explain my choice to change to family and friends who are not familiar with what Islam is really about." Thanaa says that only her mother, sister and boyfriend have accepted her conversion. James also experienced similar difficulties when he became a Muslim. He says that his wife is the only one in his family with misgivings about his decision. "My wife, who is still Christian, still does not understand why I converted, and was upset. Inshallah, Allah will soften her heart."

Islam’s increasing numbers in recent years could be a sign that attempts at educating the American public about Islam by several American-based Muslim organizations have been working. For many years, Islam was not as well represented in the Judeo-Christian society of the United States. However, in recent years several organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and the American Muslim Council (AMC), among several others, have been successful in reaching the media and educating Americans about the real Islam.

The continued growth in the number of converts to Islam should finally put to rest the myth that Islam was ever ‘spread by the sword’. The great number of adherents to the Islamic faith is evidence enough of Islam’s powerful message.

"Becoming a Muslim is the best thing that has happened in my life," James says.

Anayat Durrani is a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles, Calif.


How I Came to Islam

From devoted Christian to devoted Muslim...

by Hayat Anne Collins Osman

I was raised in a religious Christian family. At that time, Americans were more religious than they are now—most families went to church every Sunday, for example. My parents were involved in the church community. We often had ministers (Protestant “priests”) in the house. My mother taught in Sunday school, and I helped her.

I must have been more religious than other children, although I don’t remember being so. For one birthday, my aunt gave me a Bible, and my sister a doll. Another time, I asked my parents for a prayer book, and I read it daily for many years.

When I was in junior high school (middle school), I attended a Bible study program for two years. Up to this point, I had read some parts of the Bible, but had not understood them very well. Now was my chance to learn.
Unfortunately, we studied many passages in the Old and New Testament that I found inexplicable, even bizarre.
For example, the Bible teaches an idea called Original Sin, which means that humans are all born sinful. I had a baby brother, and I knew that babies were not sinful.
The Bible has very strange and disturbing stories about Prophet Abraham and Prophet David, for example. I couldn’t understand how prophets could behave the way the Bible says they did.
There were many, many other things that puzzled me about the Bible, but I didn't ask questions. I was afraid to ask—I wanted to me known as a “good girl.”
Al-hamdulillah, there was a boy who asked, and kept asking.

The most critical matter was the notion of Trinity. I couldn’t get it. How could God have three parts, one of which was human? Having studied Greek and Roman mythology at school, I thought the idea of the Trinity and powerful human saints very similar to the Greek and Roman ideas of having different so-called “gods” that were in charge of different aspects of life. (Astaghfir-Ullah!)
The boy who asked, asked many questions about Trinity, received many answers, and was never satisfied. Neither was I. Finally, our teacher, a University of Michigan Professor of Theology, told him to pray for faith.

I prayed.

When I was in high school, I secretly wanted to be a nun. I was drawn to the pattern of offering devotions at set times of day, of a life devoted entirely to God, and of dressing in a way that declared my religious lifestyle.
An obstacle to this ambition, though, was that I wasn’t Catholic. I lived in a midwestern town where Catholics were a distinct, and unpopular minority! Furthermore, my protestant upbringing had instilled in me a distaste for religious statuary, and a healthy disbelief that dead saints had the ability to help me.

In college, I continued to think and pray. Students often talk and argue about religion, and I heard many different ideas. Like Yusuf Islam, I studied the Eastern so-called religions: Buddhism, Confucianism, and Hinduism. No help there.

I met a Muslim from Libya, who told me a little about Islam and the Holy Qur’an. He told me that Islam is the modern, most up-to-date form of revealed religion. Because I thought of Africa and the Middle East as backwards places, I couldn’t see Islam as modern.
My family took this Libyan brother to a Christmas church service. The service was breathtakingly beautiful, but at the end, he asked, “Who made up this procedure? Who taught you when to stand and bow and kneel? Who taught you how to pray?”
I told him about early Church history, but his question made me angry at first, and later made me think.
Had the people who designed the worship service really been qualified to do so? How had they known the form that worship should take? Had they had divine instruction?

I knew that I did not believe in many of the teachings of Christianity, but continued to attend church. When the congregation recited pieces I believed to be blasphemous, such as the Nicene Creed, I was silent—I didn’t recite them. I felt almost alien in church, almost a stranger. Continued