allah is for the jews and gentiles.doc

8/12/2019 Allah is for the Jews and gentiles.doc

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/allah-is-for-the-jews-and-gentilesdoc 1/27

Believing in Allah: Accepting the Unity of Allah

1. Allah is for the Jews and gentiles

2. Allah in the Jewish Bible

3. Did Msli!s rebild the "e!ple Mont #

$. %as &od re!oved the 'rse of Babylon #

(. )s a Jewish 'onvert to )sla! an apostate #

*. +hy are Jewish wo!en converting to )sla! #,. -D//0 "- )/AM

1 Allah is for the Jews and gentiles

Allah has sent glad tidings and gidance to Jews in the 4inal "esta!ent5 the %oly6ran5 Moses is !entioned !ore than any other 7rophet5 8ede!ption of the Jews

is in )sla!:

[2:40]

O Children of Israel, remember My favor, which I bestowed

uon you, and fulfill your art of the covenant, that I

fulfill My art of the covenant, and reverence Me!

[2:4"]

#ou shall believe in what I have revealed herein,

confirmin$ what you have% do not be the first to re&ect

it! 'o not trade away My revelations for a chea rice,

and observe Me!

[2:42]

http://jews-for-allah.org/Why-Believe-in-Allah/Jews-inthe-Quran/moses.htm

http://jews-for-allah.org/Why-Believe-in-Allah/Jews-inthe-Quran/moses.htm



'o not confound the truth with falsehood, nor shall you

conceal the truth, (nowin$ly!

[2:4)]

#ou shall observe the Contact *rayers +alat- and $ive

the obli$atory charity +.a(at-, and bow down with those

who bow down!

[2:44]

'o you e/hort the eole to be ri$hteous, while

for$ettin$ yourselves, thou$h you read the scriture 'o

you not understand

[2:41]

#ou shall see( hel throu$h steadfastness and the Contact*rayers +alat-! his is difficult indeed, but not so for

the reverent,

[2:43]

who believe that they will meet their ord% that to 5im

they ultimately return!

[2:46]

O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I bestoweduon you, and that I blessed you more than any other

eole!

[2:47]

8eware of the day when no soul can avail another soul, no

intercession will be acceted, no ransom can be aid, nor

can anyone be heled!

[2:49]

ecall that we saved you from *haraoh;s eole whoinflicted uon you the worst ersecution, slayin$ your

sons and sarin$ your dau$hters! hat was an e/actin$

test from your ord!

[2:10]

ecall that we arted the sea for you% we saved you and



drowned *haraoh;s eole before your eyes!

[2:1"]

#et, when we summoned Moses for forty ni$hts, you

worshied the calf in his absence, and turned wic(ed!

[2:12]

till, we ardoned you thereafter that you may be

areciative!

[2:1)]

ecall that we $ave Moses scriture and the statute boo(,

that you may be $uided!

[2:14]ecall that Moses said to his eole, <O my eole, you

have wron$ed your souls by worshiin$ the calf! #ou must

reent to your Creator! #ou shall (ill your e$os! his is

better for you in the si$ht of your Creator!< 5e did

redeem you! 5e is the edeemer, Most Merciful!

[2:11]

ecall that you said, <O Moses, we will not believe

unless we see =O', hysically!< Conse>uently, theli$htnin$ struc( you, as you loo(ed!

[2:13]

?e then revived you, after you had died, that you may be

areciative!

[2:16]

?e shaded you with clouds +in inai-, and sent down toyou manna and >uails: <@at from the $ood thin$s we

rovided for you!< hey did not hurt us +by rebellin$-%

they only hurt their own souls!

[2:17]

ecall that we said, <@nter this town, where you will



find as many rovisions as you li(e! Aust enter the $ate

humbly, and treat the eole nicely! ?e will then for$ive

your sins, and increase the reward for the ious!<

[2:19]

8ut the wic(ed amon$ them carried out commands other than

the commands $iven to them! Conse>uently, we sent down

uon the trans$ressors condemnation from the s(y, due to

their wic(edness!

[2:30]

ecall that Moses sou$ht water for his eole! ?e said,

<tri(e the roc( with your staff!< ?hereuon, twelve

srin$s $ushed out therefrom! he members of each tribe

(new their own water! @at and drin( from =O';srovisions, and do not roam the earth corrutin$ly!

[2:3"]

ecall that you said, <O Moses, we can no lon$er tolerate

one (ind of food! Call uon your ord to roduce for us

such earthly cros as beans, cucumbers, $arlic, lentils,

and onions!< 5e said, <'o you wish to substitute that

which is inferior for that which is $ood =o down to

@$yt, where you can find what you as(ed for!< hey haveincurred condemnation, humiliation, and dis$race, and

brou$ht uon themselves wrath from =O'! his is because

they re&ected =O';s revelations, and (illed the rohets

un&ustly! his is because they disobeyed and

trans$ressed!

[2:32]

urely, those who believe, those who are Aewish, the

Christians, and the converts% anyone who +"- believes in

=O', and +2- believes in the ast 'ay, and +)- leads ari$hteous life, will receive their recomense from their

ord! hey have nothin$ to fear, nor will they $rieve!

+2- Bllah in the Aewish 8ible



cleaned and bilt a %ose of 7rayers at the sothern end of the sanctary5 the

apparent hird emle 9 Masid;l;Asa9.

Masid;l;Asa was co!pleted by A!ir Abd l Mali< in *$, AD.

+ith these observations in !ind5 the estion is 5 has another sect of Jews co;orchestrated the Job of bilding the "hird "e!ple # IAews for BllahI . )t is well

doc!ented that )sraelis along side their ancestral brothers5 the Arabs5 participated

in the constrction of Masid;l;Asa.

4or e@a!ple5 Ha>ab al;Ahbar5 a e!enite Jew who converted to )sla! was a co;

engineer in the constrction. =Al;"abari5 "he %istory of al;"abari5 ol K))?

4rther!ore5 it wold have been i!possible to clean the area containing decades of

ByLantine litter and bild this %oly "e!ple in only 1F years no electricity5

withot the cooperation and assistance of the thosands of Jews in Jersale!.

"he inhabitants of )srael left the "e!ple of /olo!on a pile of rbble and garbage

for al!ost /i@ %ndred ears5 nearly 1F generations of )sraelis ,F AD ;to; *$,

AD5 ntil it was finally beatiflly restored by the nity of Jews and ancestral

brothers of Jews5 the Msli!s.

Msli!s do not clai! to worship a different &od than the Jewish &od5 in fact5 st

the opposite5 Msli!s declare they worship the &od of Abraha!5 hence the

Masid;l;Asa is in fact the restoration of the "e!ple Mont by direct

descendants of 7rophet Abraha!.

+hat>s !ore5 dring one of the 'rsades5 the 'rsaders thoght the Masid;l;

Asa was /olo!on>s te!ple and pt a cross on it )f they had <nown that it was a

Msli! te!ple5 they wold have torn it down5 bt it still stands.

4rther proof that Msli!s have rebilt the "e!ple Mont is that there are no idols

in the crrent place of worship5 there are no pictres5 the prayers are prefor!ed the

way Jews sed to pray5 and the prayers are !ade directly to the 'reator of

Abraha! with no intercessors.

"he Jews do not have to !orn or drop another tear5 the Modern "e!ple has also been rebilt to inclde inscriptions to conter the "rinity of 'hristianity fro! or

%oly /ite:

the ew "e!ple Mont was an answer to and a denial of the attractions of

'hristianity and its /criptres5 providing the 4aithfl with arg!ents to be sed

against 'hristian theology. "he inscriptions are seven hndred and thirty;for feet

long in all5 a!ongst the lengthiest inscriptions in the world.



"he inscriptions are as follows:

Inner ace: outh ?all! )n the na!e of &od the Mercifl the

'o!passionate. "here is no &od bt &od aloneN he has no co;partner. %e is

the Hingship and %is the praise. %e giveth life and %e caseth to die5 and %ehath power over everything.

outhE@ast ?all! erily &od and %is angels prononce blessing pon the

7rophet. - ye who have prononced blessings pon %i! and give %i! the

saltation of peace. -5 7eople of the Boo< i.e. the Jews and 'hristians5

always referred to as sch by the Msli!s ;0d. do not go beyond the

bonds in yor religion and do not say abot Allah anything bt the trth.

"he Messiah5 Jess5 son of Mary5 is a !essenger of &od and %is word which

he cast pon Mary5 and a spirit fro! %i!. /o believe only in &od and of his!essenger5 bt do not say 9"hree9 "rinity and it will be better for yo. &od

is only one &od. 4ar be it fro! %is glory that he shold have a son.

Forth ?all! "he Messiah will not deny to be in the service of &od nor will

the angels who stand in his presence. - &odN pray pon "hy !essenger 9the

servant Jess ; +FE? ?all- the son of Mary and peace be pon hi! the day

of his birth5 the day of his death and the day of his being raised alive.9 "hat

is Jess5 son of Mary ; a state!ent concerning which -U are in dobt. )t is

not for &od to ta<e for %i!self any offspring5 glory be to %i!.

?est ?all! &od bears witness that there is no &od bt %i!5 li<ewise the

angels and the people possessed of <nowledge /;+ +A ; Upholding

stice. "here is no &od bt %e5 the Al!ighty and All wise. erily5 the

religion in &od>s sight is )sla!.

Outer ace: ?est and ForthE?est ?alls! )n the na!e of &od the Mercifl

and 'o!passionate. "here is no &od bt &od alone. 7raise be to &od who

hath not ta<en to hi!self offspring. "o %i! there has never been any person

in the sovereignty. Moha!!ed is the !essenger of &od5 !ay &od pray pon%i! and accept his intercession.

7raise be &od who has not ta<en nto hi!self a son and who has no partner

in sovereignty nor has %e any protector on accont of wea<ness.

)sla! has a %istory of 8estoring ancient "e!ples and preserving crrent %oses of

+orship as taght in )sla!:



)n the ti!e of the caliph >U!ar5 certain Msli!s had srped a piece of land

belonging to a Jew5 and had constrcted a !ose on the site. earning the news5

the caliph ordered the de!olition of the !ose and the restoration of the land to

the Jews.

"here are crrently thosands of Jews and hndreds of /ynagoges in Msli!contries5 dating over a 15FFF years old and 7reserved in tact to this day5 inclding

the doLens of "e!ples <ept in tact in )srael for the past !illenni! and a half while

Msli!s were responsible for )srael5 if they were in rble as the 8o!ans had left

the "e!ple Mont5 the Msli!s wold have restored the! to hoses of worship as

was done to the "e!ple of /olo!on.

According to M / M /aifllah5 Another http:www.isla!ic;

awareness.org%istory<aaba.ht!l in history is one bilt by 7rophet Abraha!5 the

Ha>bah:

"hese are st two of "e!ples we observe to be restored5 we conclde that a frther

stdy needs to be set forth to discover other "e!ples of &od broght bac< to life

by the children of Abraha!5 Msli!s.

)n 'onclsion5 http:www.ersale!ites.orgcri!eCisla!C2.ht!l to destroy the

Masid l Asa to reOre;bild another %ose of +orship is not an act of &od5 bt

rather an act of pride5 egotis!5 and nationalis!5 and wold severely polariLe the

nearly 1.( Billion Msli!s with the other children of Abraha!. 8ather than

plotting against Masid l Asa5 Jews need to be than<fl to &od for sending or

ancestral brothers to restore the ancient "e!ples5 which laid in rins for centriesnder )sraeli control.

+4- 5as =od removed the Curse of 8abylon

+hile reading the Bible5 ) ca!e pon a story which /trengthened !y faith in )sla!

even !ore.

According to the Bible5 P &enesis 11:1Q h!ans all spo<e one langage at one

ti!e. "hese h!answere trying to bild a tower to see &od. &od +arned the! to cease bilding the

tower5 yet they disobeyed &od and contined to bild the "ower.

As a pnish!ent for their disobedience5 &od crsed the! by !a<ing the! all

spea<

http://www.islamic-awareness.org/History/kaaba.html


http://www.jerusalemites.org/crime_islam_2.html



http://www.jerusalemites.org/crime_islam_2.html



a different langage. "his tower is now called the 9"ower of Babylon.9 P&enesis

11:1EQ and that is where we get the word 9Babel9

"he %oly 6r>an is their forgiveness5 if the h!ans retrn to obeying &od5 then

they are again nited in a brotherhood and sisterhood of one /e!itic langage5

Arabic.

"his is astonishing since only 2,R of the Msli!s are Arabs and there are al!ost

1.( Billion Msli!s world wide5 all nited with one langage5

praying in nison5 re;nited5 this is also predicted in the BibleN

"For then will I turn to the !eo!le a !ure language , that the ma all #all u!on the

name o$ the %ord, to serve him with one #onsent." &e!haniah ()*+

)n the /trong>s Bible Dictionary5 the word 9langage saphah9 in this verse can

also !ean = side5 edge5 border?

"herefore5 Sephaniah 3:E can also be translated to read 9) will "U8 people to

-0 direction9 which we witness with Msli!s all facing ;0ast; to pray and also

spea<ing one langage in prayer5 a langage which non;Arabs describe as a 9pre

langage9

Below we now see the %!ans re;nited spea<ing one langage5 sholder to

sholder.

+orld wide5 over a billion people gather worshiping with one langage5 one

direction5 one boo<5 one &od.

8e;nited as brothers and sisters in towards the Habba which is believed to be

directly nder the "hrone of &od in %eaven.

"he rich with the poor5 the edcated with the n;edcated5 people fro! all parts of

the world re;nited -beying -ne &od5 /b!itting their will to &od which is the

!eaning of )sla!.

""And hold $ast, all toether, b the ro!e whi#h Allah stret#hes out $or ou, and

be not divided amon ourselves and remember with ratitude Allah's $avour on

ou $or e were enemies and /e 0oined our hearts in love, so that b /is 1ra#e, e be#ame brethren and e were on the brink o$ the !it o$ Fire, and /e saved ou

$rom it. 2hus doth Allah make /is Sins #lear to ou) 2hat e ma be uided."

&2ranslation o$ the /ol 3ur'an ()45(+



+1- Is a Aewish Convert to Islam an aostate

)n what way #

a Jew for Allah still follows the "en 'o!!and!ents

a Jew for Allah still believes the &od of )srael is -ne

a Jew for Allah still believes the "orah was sent by &od

a Jew for Allah still believes in all the previos 7rophets

a Jew for Allah still believes in eating Hosher foods

a Jew for Allah still believes in an After ife

a Jew for Allah still believes in the 0verlasting 'ovenant

therefore5 a Jew for Allah is not an apostate5 instead a Jew for Allah is a ew and

Advanced Jew who has fond that which was 7rophesied.

+3- ?hy are so many ?omen convertin$ to Islam

According to 9"he Al!anac Boo< of 4acts95 the poplation increased 13,R within

the past decade5 'hristianity increased $*R5 while )sla! increased 23(R.

)n a recent poll in the U/5 1FF5FFF people per year in A!erica alone5 areconverting to )sla!. 4or every 1 !ale convert to )sla!5 $ fe!ales convert to )sla!5

+hy#

7erhaps they realiLe their /ol is worth the 4actal 8esearch.

1. "he Bible 'onvicts +o!en as the original

/inners5 ie. 0ve pic<ing fro! the forbidden

treeP&enesis 2:$;3:2$Q. "he Horan 'larifies it

was Ada! ot 0ve P6r>an ,:1E;2(Q

2. "he Bible says 9"he Birth of a Daghter is a

loss9 P0cclesiastics 22:3Q. "he 6r>an says both

are an 0al Blessing P 6r>an $2:$EQ

3. "he Bible 4orbids +o!en fro! /pea<ing in

chrch P) 'orinthians 1$:3$;3(Q. "he 6r>an says

+o!en 'an arge with the 7rophet P(G:1Q



$. )n the Bible5 divorced +o!en are abeled as

an Adlteress5 while !en are not PMatthew (:31;32Q. "he

Horan does ot have Biblical doble standards

P 6r>an 3F:21Q

(. )n "he Bible5 +idows and /isters do ot)nherit Any 7roperty or +ealth5 -nly !en

doP!bers 2,:1;11Q"he Horan Abolished this

!ale greediness P 6r>an $:22Q and &od 7rotects

All.

*. "he Bible Allows Mltiple +ivesP) Hings 11:3Q

)n "he Horan5 &od li!its the n!ber to $ only

nder certain sitations with the +ife>s

per!ission and 7refers yo Marry -nly -ne

+ifeP 6r>an $:3Q "he Horan gives the +o!anthe 8ight to 'hoose who to Marry.

,. 9)f a !an happens to !eet a virgin who is not

pledged to be !arried and rapes her and they are

discovered5 he shall pay the girl>s father fifty

she<els of silver. %e !st !arry the girl5 for he

has violated her. %e can never divorce her as long

as he lives9 PDeterono!y 22:2G;3FQ

-ne !st as< a si!ple estion here5 who isreally pnished5 the !an who raped the wo!an or

the wo!an who was raped# According to the

Bible5 yo have to spend the 8est of or ife

with the !an who 8aped o.

"he 7rophet Mha!!ad /ays Pol!e E5 Boo<

G*5 !ber 1F1Q arrated by Aisha:9 )t is

essential to have the consent of a virgin for the

!arriage9.

+old the Jewish !en 8eading this prefer the

+o!en they <now to Be a Jew or Msli!#

G. "he Bible also as<s +o!en to wear veils as in

)sla! P) 'orinthians 11:3;1FQ5 this lowers the



chance of rape5 &od 4orbid5 see statistic lin<

below.

E. +o!en were given rights to ote less than a

1FF years ago in the U/5 while the 6ran $2:3G gave

+o!en oting rights al!ost 15(FF years ago.

1F. )sla! has nconfined +o!en and has given the!

the h!an right to reach for the s<y. "here have been

Msli! +o!en 7residents throgh ot the centries5

bt to this date5 the oppressive !entality of the

!en in the +estern U./.A. has stopped any +o!en fro! beco!ing

7residents in predo!inately 'hristian contries5

while the Msli! contries have voted for and

elected 4e!ale 7residents.

%ere is a list of previos 4e!ale Msli! leaders:

Hhadia bint Hhwaylid

Aishah bint Ab Ba<r

4ati!ah bint Mha!!ad

Bara<ah

8a!lah bint Ab /fyan

8!aysa bint Milhan

U!! /ala!ah

As!a bint Ab Ba<r Saynab al;&haLali

Mary! Ja!eelah

"he co!parison goes on and on5 to hear fro! so!e of these 'onverts5 inclding

8abbis5 and Many 4a!os 7eople5 visit hereN

http:www.sc.eddeptM/Anew!sli!s

4or !ore infor!ation and /tatistics5 visit hereN http:www.annah.orgsisters

"his is Dedicated to 7ast5 7resent5 and 4tre Msli! /isters5 4a!ily and 4riends5to the Devil who prefers slander and hype over facts. 7eace and Blessings pon

All.

+6- O'#@# O IBM

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/newmuslims/

http://www.jannah.org/sisters/

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/newmuslims/

http://www.jannah.org/sisters/



By Dr. Mostafa Mold

An odyssey is a long5 wandering orney. "he word co!es fro! -dysses in

atin5 Ulysses a hero of the %o!eric epic poe!5 "he -dyssey. %is orney ho!e

too< ten years and was fraght with !any !ishaps5 detors5 dangers and

adventres. )n retrospect5 !y road to )sla! T !y orney ho!e; see!s li<e anodyssey. As ) loo< bac< over !y life5 fro! !y early childhood p ntil ) finally

!ade shahadah5 a orney of al!ost $F years5 it see!s that there were !any signs5

!any trning points5 !any incidents5 so!e significant5 so!e trivial5 that were all

preparing !e for and pointing the way to )sla!.

) grew p in Boston. )t was very !ch a 'atholic city5 !ostly )rish and )talian5

with s!all bt significant co!!nities of blac<s5 Jews5 'hinese5 &ree<s5

Ar!enians and 'hristians Arabs5 and in those days especially5 each grop had its

own neighborhood. "here were lots of &ree< and /yrian restarants5 and ) grew

p loving &ree< salad5 shish <ebob5 lah! !ishwi5 <ibbi5 grape leaves5 h!s5anything with la!b5 etc.

My fa!ily were !ostly wor<ing;class5 conservative Jews. My grandparents had

fled the anti;/e!itis! and pogro!s of cLarist 8ssia arond 1EF3. "hey and their

fa!ilies had fond wor< in the sweatshops of the gar!ent district5 a few were in

craft s<ills5 and they were ite active in their labor nions. ) was to beco!e the

first in !y fa!ily to get a niversity degree. -r ho!e was not strictly <osher5 bt

we wold never drea! of eating por<. All the holidays and fasts were observed5

and for years ) went to the synagoge every /atrday and holiday with !y father

and ncle.

"he synagoge we belonged to was conservative5 close to orthodo@ bt !odernist:

it was very traditional5 bt wo!en were not totally segregated. ) began 9

Madrasah9 %ebrew school at age si@. )t was 1E$G5 which saw the birth of the

state of )srael5 and Sionist propaganda filled the at!osphere5 as did conversations

and ser!ons abot the aLis and concentration ca!ps5 and there were !any recent

i!!igrant refgee srvivors.

At that ti!e there was still a lot of anti;/e!itis! in the U./.5 especially in the

/oth and the Midwest5 bt also in Boston. "he &ree<s5 /yrians and )talians werefine5 bt the Boston )rish were a big proble!5 dating bac< to !y parents

generation in ++) and the 1E2Fs. Dring !y childhood ) was often chased 5 spat

on5 inslted and beaten. "hey even held !e down and plled !y pants down ; in

addition to the h!iliation they wanted to see what a circ!cision loo<ed li<e.



My %ebrew teachers were two )sraeli brothers5 who were orthodo@5 and veterans

of the 1E$G war. 4ro! the! ) learned !odern %ebrew and absorbed a lot of Sionist

ideology along with the religios teachings. ) beca!e !ore religios and an avid

Sionist. ) believed that Jews needed their own contry in case of another %itler ;

those )rish <ids were doing nothing to allay !y fears and ) did not feel 9at ho!e9

in A!erica. ) decided ) wold go and spend !y life on a <ibbtL co!!nal

far!.

My father was a !sician and a cantor prayer leader. %e had a beatifl tenor

voice5 preferred the !ore traditional5 rather oriental5 !elodies5 and chanted the

prayers with lots of hLn sorrow when ) learned that word recently ) began to

wonder if it !ight be related to %ebrew haLan V Wcantor. )n or synagoge5 the

"orah reader sed a very oriental sonding tawid which ) loved listening to.

Believe it or not5 ) recently heard a friend reciting fro! the 6ran and it sondedal!ost identical.

-ne thing that stands ot clearly in !y !e!ory5 even now dring salah5 is that in

the Jewish prayers there are reglar references to prostration sd. )n fact5 it is a

csto! in the !ore orthodo@ synagoges that dring o! Hippr 5 the holiest fast

day and the eivalent of WAshrah 5 the cantor5 on behalf of the congregation5

actally !a<es sd5 while still chanting. "his is no !ean feat5 and !y father5

with his powerfl voice5 did it e@tre!ely well. ) re!e!ber thin<ing then that it

wold be really nice if we all actally did prostrate5 instead of st bowing as a

sy!bolic sd.

Arond the age of eight or nine5 ) chanced to discover a radio station that broadcast

progra!s of the local ethnic co!!nities. ) began to listen to the iddish5 &ree<

and Ar!enian ones5 and especially to the Arabic %or. ) fell in love with the !sic

and the sond of the langage. Using the %ebrew ) <new5 ) tried to nderstand the

news and figre ot the sond correspondencesN ) noticed the differences between

ha!Lah and Wayn5 <h and h5 < and 5 distinctions which !odern %ebrew has lost.

"his greatly i!proved !y %ebrew spelling and ) won priLes in %ebrew class. )

also re!e!ber helping !y friends cheat dring spelling tests by repeating the

words nder !y breath in an 9Arabic 9 accent.

By %igh /chool5 ) had discovered the Boston 7blic ibrary and its record section:

besides classical5 ) discovered ethnic fol< !sic fro! all over the world5 bt )

especially gravitated to the Middle 0astern: Arabic5 "r<ish5 7ersian5 then )ndian;

7a<istani. ) learned to identify varios regional styles5 instr!ents and rhyth!s. )

!ost loved the Wod5 and ) taght !yself to play the d!beg and acco!pany the



recordings. -nce5 a grop of e!eni Jews ca!e to Boston fro! )srael to perfor!

fol< songs and dances. ) was fascinated by their appearance5 cost!es and !sic.

"hey even prononced %ebrew li<e !e dring a spelling test.

) !ention all these little things becase there is an ndeniable cltral co!ponent

to )sla!: the langage5 the !elodies of adhan and 6ran5 social interactions andother featres5 which are really ite e@otic and strange to the average +esterner5

inclding westerniLed Jews5 bt which5 by the ti!e ) encontered the! years later

in a different conte@t5 were already very fa!iliar and pleasant to !e5 even to the

point of nostalgia5 and which helped !a<e )sla! easier for !e to accept and

follow. More on that later.

My best friend in high school was also a strong inflence on !e. %e read a lot of

philosophy5 poetry and religios literatre. ) didnt care !ch for the first two5 bt

) did read so!e of the religios writings5 %ind5 Bddhist5 "aoist T and the 6ran.

) noticed that its stories were ite si!ilar to the Bible stories5 bt ) felt it was anti;Jewish. ) was ite i!pressed5 thogh5 by its depiction of Jess as a prophet5 not

st a rabbi. ) accepted that5 and that beca!e !y answer to !y 'atholic class!ates

when they wold as< !e what ) believed abot Jess. "hey see!ed not too

displeased by that.

) also attended an advanced 9Madrasah95 stdying Jewish history5 %ebrew5 "orah5

and added Ara!aic and "al!d Jewish fihN the langages5 thogh were still !y

chief interest. Also arond that ti!e5 age fifteen5 ) lost !y faith5 !y belief in &od.

0arlier5 )d conclded that if &od co!!ands s to do certain things5 how can ) not

do the!N so ) tried to be !ore orthodo@. "hen5 one day ) fond !yself saying5 if

&od says to do all this ) !stN bt what if there is no &od# Do ) believe in &od# )

really dont <now5 !aybe not5 ) gess not. And if &od doesnt e@ist5 ) dont need to

be doing all this stff. And ) stopped. o can well i!agine how pset !y father

was.

Many people5 particlarly 8o!an 'atholics and fnda!entalist 7rotestants who

grow p in a harsh religios environ!ent5 fll of the threat of %ellfire and

da!nation5 beaten by the nns at school and !ade to feel gilty abot things that

are !erely a part of fitrah natre T li<e their bodies ; are happy to get ot of the

religion5 beco!e very anti;religion5 and feel freed as if fro! a prison. My feeling

was not li<e thatN ) felt sad5 !ore li<e )d sffered a loss5 bt there was nothing )

cold doN ) <new it wold be co!forting to believe5 bt ) coldnt. "hroghot the

*Fs and ,Fs ) occasionally got these gnawing feelings and yearnings.

As Jeffrey ang said in his boo< abot his conversion to )sla!5 there is an

e!ptiness and a loneliness that an atheist feels5 which people of faith cannot



nderstand. "he world is absrd5 an accident. /cience has5 or will have5 all the

answers5 bt life has no real !eaning or significance. Death is final. o can have

inflence and an i!pact on the world throgh yor childrenN yo can do well5 be

re!e!bered in the history boo<s for hndreds5 even thosands of yearsN when the

sn dies !an<ind !ay coloniLe other star syste!s5 !aybe even other gala@ies. Bt

lti!ately5 even if it ta<es 1( Billion years5 the niverse itself will die5 or collapse

into a blac< hole or whatever5 and the end is absolte nothingness5 the only thing

that is infinite is a void. ife5 then5 is !eaningless and death frightening. "rth and

!orality can beco!e relative5 which !ay lead to !oral confsion5 hedonis!5 and

worse. Bt instead of the conte!pt for religios people that !any atheists clai! to

feel5 ) respected the!5 and often envied the! the secrity5 the certainty5 the co!fort

they e@perienced.

) went overnight fro! al!ost orthodo@ to an atheist5 thogh ) still loved Jewish

langages5 cltre5 !sic5 food5 history. ) was an 9ethnic 9 Jew5 and still a Sionist.Sionis! was still largely a political philosophy5 not so !ch a religios one. )n

fact5 at that ti!e there was still significant opposition to Sionis! a!ong !any of

the orthodo@. "he crrent religios5 !essianic type Sionis! really didnt develop

ntil 1E*, T 1E,3 when )srael seiLed Jersale!. ) also decided ) wanted to be a

historical lingist specialiLing in /e!itic langagesN bt then the niversities )

chose didnt accept !e5 and the one that did didnt offer Arabic5 or even lingistics.

At !y niversity in the early *Fs5 ) ca!e into contact with a wider variety of

people. 4or the first ti!e ) <new a large n!bers of 7rotestants5 !ore blac<s5 and

!ost of the few foreign stdents5 a cople of were !sli!. ) was no longerencontering anti;/e!itis!5 and ) was beginning to enoy and appreciate the

diversity of A!ericans and !y e@posre to the international stdents. By the end

of !y sopho!ore year ) was eating bacon and por< chopsN at the sa!e ti!e )

helped organiLe and was the president of the ca!ps chapter of the /tdent Sionist

-rganiLation. ) was ew 0ngland vice president in !y senior year.

Many of s were politically left;wing5 co!ing fro! wor<ing class fa!ilies whose

spectr! ranged fro! liberal de!ocrat to co!!nist. +e were pro;labor and the

A!erican 'ivil iberties Union5 anti;Mc'arty5 i@on5 the %ose Un;A!erican

Activities 'o!!ittee. +e revered 4ran<lin D. 8oosevelt5 %bert %!phrey andAdlai /tevenson. +e were into labor Sionis! and the <ibbtLi!. -ne thing )

want to e!phasiLe5 becase of the profond effect it had on !e years later: at that

ti!e !ost Jews were still socialists or liberal de!ocrats5 !any were still wor<ing

class5 not ite so sccessfl as now. ) clearly re!e!ber right;wing %ert party5

their e@pansionist ideology and terrorist activities in the $Fs. +e considered the!

fanatics and lnatics.



) too< a se!inar on the Middle 0ast. At nineteen ) thoght ) <new everyting. My

professor was /yrian5 and ) thin< a Msli!. ) was going to teach hi! a few things.

%e was re!ar<ably patient and tolerant with !e5 considering his obvios anti;

Lionist5 anti;israel position. %is criticis!s of !y papers were obective and !ild5

!ainly that they were too one sided. ) began to pay !ore attention to the other

side5 and ) realised how !ch propaganda )d absorbed and how !ch infor!ation

had been ignored5 if not hidden fro! s. ) didnt get a very good grade5 bt )

learned a great deal. 7rofessor %addad !ade !ch of the rest of !y life5 seclar

and religios5 possible.

At the sa!e ti!e5 ) was beco!ing !ore and !ore involved in the civil rights and

anti;ietna! war !ove!ents. ) oined the /tdent on;violent 'oordinating

'o!!ittee /'' and the AA'75 and participated in sit;ins at lnch conters. )

helped fond or ca!ps chapter of the then !ildly radical /tdents for a

De!ocratic /ociety /D/. ) !aored in govern!ent5 ta<ing several corses inconstittional law and international relations. ) went to +ashington5 D.'. in

Agst5 1E*35 in the March on +ashington and was standing abot *F feet fro!

Dr. Hing when he !ade that wonderfl speech.

)d lost !y faith at 1(N by 22 )d lost Sionis!. ) still had !y ethnic heritage5 thogh

)d begn to feel nco!fortable with the clannishness of !any Jews. ) felt li<e a

nor!al A!erican fighting for A!erican cases. ) prepared to be a social stdies

teacher5 bt the ob !ar<et was not good. After two years of sbstitting5 and a

te!porary position at !y old high school5 ) oined the 7eace 'orps5 for the

adventre and idealis! i!proved !y ob prospects later T and to avoid beingdrafted and sent to ietna!. ) was selected to go to Uganda5 0ast Africa.

) was e@tre!ely happy in that beatifl contry5 living where the ile flows ot of

a<e ictoria5 teaching stdents who wanted to learn in a society where teachers

were respected. ) was learning new langages and cltres. ) developed a taste for

African and )ndian;7a<istani cisine. /ince there wasnt !ch else to do in a

s!all5 p;contry town5 ) began going to )ndian !ovies. ) particlarly li<ed

Moha!!ed 8afi5 the fa!os playbac< singers5 especially his awalisN he re!inded

!e of !y fathers cantorial !sic. ) also enoyed the )sla!ic5 -!ani Arab

a!bience ) fond on the coast: Mo!basa5 Dar ess;/ala!5 SanLibar. )t was the firstti!e not in a %ollywood or Bo!bay !ovie that ) heard the adhan. 0ven in the

!ovies its plaintive !elodies always sent a thrill throgh !y body. ) was learning

two African langages5 /wahili and ganda. /wahili was a very easy one for !eN

over half its vocablary is fro! Arabic and practically the sa!e as %ebrew. Bt

/wahili is a Bant langage5 and ) was fascinated by the si!ilarities and

differences between /wahili and ganda. ) !ade p !y !ind: here was !y last#



chance to do what )d always wanted T lingistics T bt now with Bant instead of

/e!itic langages. ) applied to gradate school.

) retrned ho!e throgh throgh the Middle 0ast and 0rope T first stop )srael. )t

was 1E*E. ) was no longer a Lionist5 bt even so5 ) was srprised at how

disappointed ) was. ) <now that part of it was the cltre shoc< of leaving a s!all5p;contry African town5 people and a ob that ) lovedN still5 ) was srprised by the

brseness and arrogance of the )sraelis ) !et T !ch li<e the A!erican

stereotype of the 4rench. 4ro! an archaeological and historical perspective it was a

good e@perience5 bt ) coldnt get over how alienated ) felt fro! the cltre and

fro! what were spposed to be !y people.

) refsed on principle to visit the +est Ban< T that was before they started bilding

settle!ents T e@cept for 0ast Jersale!N ) coldnt resist that. /tanding at the wall

of /olo!ons te!ple5 the Do!e of the 8oc< and Al;Asa gave !e an intense

feeling ) cold not describe at the ti!e. ) can describe it now: ) was sensing afeeling of holinessN its no wonder the )sla!ic na!e is Al;6ds. Bt it pset !e a

great deal to see first;hand the discri!ination and second;class stats of the

7alestinians5 even the citiLens. ) had grown p in an A!erican sbcltre where

Jews had always been in the forefront of civil rights5 labor and civil liberties

strggles. "o !e5 what ) fond in )srael wasnt Jewish.

"he ne@t ten years5 *E ; ,E5 ) spent in os Angeles. ) had !issed 1E*G5 one of the

!ost i!portant and trblent years in !odern A!erican history. "hogh not

srprised5 ) was very disheartened pon !y retrn to the U./. Blac<s were

separating fro! +hites by choiceN /D/ had beco!e a bnch of raving Maoists5

free speech was degenerating into filthy speech. ) coldnt be political again5

e@cept for an occasional anti;war or anti;i@on de!onstration. ) was both attracted

to and repelled by the hedonis! of ,Fs 'alifornia. ) was te!pted to indlge and

half;heartedly did so5 bt ; than< &od for !y fitrah and !y good Jewish

pbringing T ) didnt go very farN ) !ostly grew !y hair and beard long. ) was too

absorbed in !y stdies5 getting !y doctorate5 teaching5 getting !arried then

divorced5 and loo<ing for a decent acade!ic position.

"wo things dring that decade are relevant to! this story. Briefly5 the i<d

govern!ent in )srael5 the bilding of settle!ents and the brtal treat!ent of the

7alestinians5 not to !ention its alliance with /oth Africa5 revolted and infriated

!e5 and trned !e fro! a non;Lionist to a vocal anti;Lionist. 0ven worse to !e

was the <nee;er< spport of the A!erican Jewish co!!nity5 which )d thogh

wold oppose i<d at least ietly. Didnt we all agree st a few years before

that Begin and his il< were lnatics#



Many of the settlers interviewed on the " news were obviosly A!erican Jews.

%ow cold they have grown p in this contry with these A!erican ; and Jewish ;

vales5 live throgh the civil rights revoltion5 and go do what they were doing

there# "here was !ore Jewish opposition in )srael than there was in the U./. ) felt

betrayed5 asha!ed5 disgsted. "here were5 of corse ; and are ; other Jews who felt

as ) did5 !ainly those on the left5 bt only a few spo<e ot. otable were ).4.

/tone5 a radical ornalist and one of !y heroes5 and oa! 'ho!s<i5 whose

political writings on the ietna! war and 7alestine were as revoltionary as his

theory of lingistics.

)n 1E,E5 recently divorced5 nable to land a tenre;trac< position5 and !issing

Africa5 ) retrned as an assistant professor of lingistics at the University of

airobi. My father has passed away st a cople of !onths before ) was to leave. )

beca!e friends with several faclty !e!bers5 particlarly !y depart!ent

chair!an and a history professor5 both Msli!s fro! Mo!basa5 and the Arabic professor5 !y /danese ne@t;door neighbor. ) often ate lnch in the faclty dining

roo! with the!5 and ot of respect for the!

and e!barrass!ent5 becase ) <new they <new ) was a Jew ) never ate por<

when ) was with the!. Before long ) stopped eating por< co!pletely. +e often

discssed the Middle 0ast5 )sla! and Jdais!5 and ) was pleasantly srprised to

see that they cold be anti;)srael withot being anti;JewishN they were srprised

that ) cold be a Jew and anti;)srael.

%aving !ore ti!e on !y hand than )d enoyed in a long ti!e5 ) decided to catch

p on !y

ever;growing reading list. ) re;read the Bible: the -ld "esta!ent to clarify so!e

confsion abot chronology in ancient history5 the ew "esta!ent becase ) never

had and ) thogh ) oght to.

) re;read the 6ran. ) <new nothing then of the early )sla!ic history. /irah or

%adith5 bt ) appreciated it !ore this ti!e. ) got that reaction again5 thoghN why

does it have to be so critical of the JewsN bt5 !y !e!ory recently refreshed5 )

recalled that the "orah itself and the rest of the -ld "esta!ent were eally critical5

if not !ore so5 than the 6ran. Bt didnt the Jews finally learn their lesson andtrly beco!e the 7eople of the Boo< when they were e@pelled fro! )srael and

Jersale! the second ti!e5 and when the rabbis5 synagoges and prayers replaced

the priests5 te!ple and sacrifices# +hat was it5 then5 abot the Jews of MadinahN

they were clearly reprehensible bt they sonded so different fro! s 0ropean

Jews5 even fro! the /ephardi Jews of the ti!e of the 'aliphsN had they5 li<e the



0thiopian and 'hinese Jews5 lac<ed the "al!d# )! still crios abot that.

Anyway5 that insight was later to prove to be a barrier re!oved.

/o!eone wise once said that if yor faith is wea<5 st pretend to have faith5 and

that will strengthen it. Africans5 whether 'hristian5 Msli! or 7agan5 are spirital

people. "o be an atheist is inco!prehensible and ridiclos to the!. Hnowing this5) never said ) was an atheist when estioned ; as ) constantly was;

Abot !y religion. ) wold reply that of corse ) believed in &od5 one &od5 bt not

in any particlar religion. ) was al!ost tre5 or at least what ) wanted to believe if )

cold. ) cannot say that ) had a sdden flash of inspiration5 li<e 7al on the road to

Da!ascs5 or a near;death e@perience ) did have two5 bt withot religios

effect. )t see!s to !e that5 st by saying it and pretending it5 it gradally ca!e

bac< to !e.

)d beco!e a deist5 li<e another hero of !ine5 "ho!as Jefferson. Maybe ) wold oin the Unitarian 'hrch5 a popilar grop5 especially in ew 0ngland5 which

accepts Jess as a prophet5 and which incldes !any socially conscios5 for!elly

Jewish and trinitarian 'hristian5 liberal intellectals.

Another contribting factor was !y oining at that ti!e the airobi sy!phony

orchestrachors. )t was an a!ater grop bt they were e@cellent. )d gone with

so!e friends to their 0aster concert to hear the! perfor! the MoLart 8eie! T

!sic for a fneral !ass. "hat !sic5 intensely religios5 was gorgeos5 sbli!e

awe;inspiring and inspirational. )t wasnt only the beaty of the !sic5 thogh it

was a !aor part5 bt the !essage T glorifyng &od5 spea<ing of death5 resrrection5the final Jdge!ent and eternal life T !oved !e to tears. "he ne@t day ) went and

signed p to sing in the chors.

4or the ne@t three years ) sang other !asterpieces: !asses5 reie!s5 oratorios T

Beethoven5 Brah!s5 Bach5 erdi. )t is all 'hristian5 and so!e of it of corse !a<es

reference to Jess as divine5 bt those words had no effect on ! eN ) was st

helping !a<e beatifl !sic. Bt the parts that spo<e of &od did toch !e deeply

and helped !e gradally regain !y faith and belief in %i!. -f corse today )

wold not sing sch things as 9 ) <now that !y redee!er liveth59 bt consider the

beaty and power of 9"he ord &od -!nipotent reigneth5 and he shall reignforever and ever. %allelah VAlha!dlillah.9

"hen ) fell in love. /he was /o!ali5 intelligent5 witty5 char!ing5 and a yong

widow with two handso!e yong sons. %er 0nglish was very li!ited then5 and !y

so!ali was non;e@istent5 bt we cold co!!nicate ite easily in /wahili. +e

discssed !arriage5 bt there were a few practical proble!s.



) <new ) cold not stay !ch longer at the niversity of airobiN they were trying

to africaniLe it as ic<ly a possible5 and to the! ) was st another white

foreigner. Before ) got !ch older ) needed a new ob5 probably a new career5

!aybe with the /tate Departe!ent or a non;profit agency. 4ro! her point of view

the obstacle was si!ply ) was a not a Msli!. ) had !ista<enly thogh that any

Msli! cold !arry one of the 7eople of the Boo<N she set !e straight on that very

ic<lyN !en yes5 wo!en5 no.

/he was telling !e abot )sla!5 and )5d learned so!e thinhs fro! !y colleages

and others. ) already believed in the -ne &od5. "he 'reator of the niverse and all

that is in itN ) already believed in the )sla!ic concepts of tawhid and shir< and

avoiding belief or trst in anything li<e astrology or pal!istryN )d long believed

that Jess was one of the prophets. ) believed thet ) believed that Mha!!ad

pbh was a prophet ands a !essenger5 and it had long ceased to be relevant to !ethat Mha!!ad pbh was not a Jewish prophet.

)d stopped eating por<N ) didnt ga!ble5 ) rarely dran< anything besides a glass of

wine with an occasional gor!et dinner. ) was5 since !y 7eace 'orps days5

already !ore co!fortable with African and )sla!ic notions of !odesty5 child

rearing5 etc. than with the 9se@al revoltion95 and the !e;is! and disintegrating

fa!ilies of the W,Fs and WGFs A!erica. "here didnt see! to be !ch to prevent !e

fro! beco!ing a Msli!. ) was so close5 so what5 in 1EG35 was the proble!#

)n fact there were two. 4irst5 there was the !atter of !y identity and !y heritage. )i!agine that it is not so trn!atic for a 'hristian to change fro! one religion to

another. )f a &er!an 'atholic beco!es a theran5 or even a Jew or Msli!5 he

re!ains a &er!an. ) certainly felt li<e an A!erican first and a Jew second T )

cold never consider !yself 8ssian. Bt in A!erica5 nation of i!!igrants5 even

the !ost accltrated attach so!e i!portance to their fa!iliesnational or ethnic

origins. 0ven thogh ) had no desire to deal with Jews as Jews or as a co!!nity5 )

was relctant to lose that identity.

"he second obstale was !y fa!ily. "hogh not orthodo@5 !ost were strongly

traditional5 all pro;)srael5 so!e were avid LionistsN !any considered Arabs asene!ies5 and ) e@pected they wold also consider Msli!s as ene!ies. ) feared

they wold disown !e as craLy5 even traitoros. +orst of all5 becase ) still loved

the!5 they wold be hrt. 4irst things first: ) left that proble! p in the air5 and

when !y contract e@pired ) did not renew it5 bt retrned to the /tates hoping to

find another ob5 preferably bac< in 0ast Africa.



)t was terribly hard. ) had no ho!e5 no inco!e5 not even an interview sit. )

invested in a wool sit5 three ties and a winter coat T it was !y first winter in

twenty years T got boo<s on how to write a res!e and a /41,15 and stayed with a

friend in +ashington5 trying all the govern!ent agencies5 conslting fir!s and

7-s that had anything to do with Africa5 ntil !y !any ran ot. ) had to retrn to

Boston and stay with !y sister5 where ) had food and shelter5 bt it was far fro!

where the obs !ight be. )n addition5 ) was going throgh a severe case of cltre

shoc<. /o there ) was: bro<e in 8eagano!ic A!erica5 in the winter5 in cltre

shoc< on top of a !id;life crisis5 in love T and on anti;depressants.

) can o<e now5 bt the pain and fear were nbearable then. 4or the first ti!e in !y

adlt life ) began to pray. ) prayed often and hard. ) vowed that5 if ) cold get bac<

to Africa and !arry !y beloved5 ) wold declare !y sb!ission to Allah and

beco!e a Msli!.

) got a really awfl te!porary ob in a warehose that at least paid for food5 bsfares and dry cleaning5 then a better5 bt e!barrassing one as a receptionist in the

conselling office at a local college. ) cold see that the for yppie psychologists

figred !e for so!e $2;year;old loser5 and ) pretty !ch agreed with the!. -t of

e!barrass!ent ) didnt tell anything abot !yself5 bt when the phone wasnt

ringing off the hoo< with stdents panic<ing over !id;ter!s5 ) was reading ob

notices and typing applications letters. ) fond that a govern!ent agency was

hiring 0/ teachers for 0gypt ; close enogh ; and ) applied i!!ediately. A wee<

later another agency )d applied to si@ !onths earlier invited !e to D.'. for

interviews.

As soon as ) got to +ashington ) called abot the 0/ obs to see if ) cold get an

interview5 9as long as )! in "own.9 "he obs were already filled 'an ) !eet yo

anyway5 in case so!ething co!es p later# -H5 for ocloc<# &reat. /he

apologised T !y res!e had been !isplaced T and wold definitely <eep !e in

!ind. "han< yo 5 delighted to !eet yo. As ) was leaving5 she said hesitantly5 9By

the way5 there is one position opening soon5 bt its in /o!alia.9

9/o!alia9 ) nearly shoted5 9 "hats wonderfl9

9)s it #9 she as<ed incredlosly.

9/re5 )d love to go there. )! already fa!iliar with the cltre and the religion59 )

said alod5 bt thin<ing to !yself how its only an hor fro! Mogadish to

airobi5 and how !aybe )d get to !eet !y ftre fa!ily in;laws. ) told her !y



references5 all of who! she <new personally. /he wold call the!5 and as far as

she was concerned if ) wanted the ob ) cold probably have it.

) finished p !y interviews at the other agency. "hey even showed !e the cbicle

in windowless office where ) wold probably be wor<ing5 and ) retrned to Boston5

elated. ) !ight even have a choice5 praise &od. Bt what a choice it was: a oneyear renewable contract at a hot5 dsty T bt African T hardship post on the )ndian

-cean5 or a career civil service ob with a pension plan in a windowless office in

northern irginia.

"wo wee<s later5 she called to offer !e the ob of 0nglish progra! director in

Mogadish5 wold ) ta<e it5 ) had $G hors to thin< it over. 0veryone said it was a

no;brainerN ) shold ta<e the career ob with pension in +ashington5 otherwise )d

be bac< t sare one in a year or two. ) arged that ) was an Africanist5 the

e@perience wold help !e and )d !a<e good contacts. ) accepted the ob and

starting getting !y shots. A cople of wee<s later the other agency sent !e a briefnote5 no e@planation5 infor!ing !e ) did not get the windowless ob.

Alha!dlillah5 Allah Wali!. ) cold so easily have ended p with neither5 bt

Allah had gided !e to the right decision. ) was e!ployed. ) was a person. ) !ight

even getting !arried. ) gave !y notice at the college5 and on the last day ) typed a

letter to the psychologists infor!ing the! that ) was leaving to ta<e p a position

as a proect direct at the United /tates 0!bassy in /o!alia5 signed M. Mold5

7h.D.

-f corse ) 9had to9 stop off in airobi for a few days on !y way to Mogadish.+e had a tearfl renion and tried to !a<e so!e ftre plans. )d been hired as a

single !an5 no chance of benefits or hosing for a fa!ily5 and ) had no idea what

/o!alia or !y ob wold be li<e or how long ) wold be there. 4or the ti!e being5

)d re!ain a single !an in airobi. Maybe ) cold visit often5 and there was

always the phone. Maybe she cold co!e and visit her fa!ily5 who! she hadnt

seen since childhood.

"he ob was interesting5 a little teaching5 bt !ostly ad!inistration and

!anage!ent5 and dealing with e!bassy officials. Most of !y own stdents were

senior govern!ent officilas and a few of the! beca!e good friends. -tside ofwor< was a whole different story. "he cltre and at!osphere in rban /o!alia is

!ore Middle 0astern than African. Dring !y seven years in Uganda and Henya )

<new the langages5 people were open and friendly5 and ) never had troble

adsting or getting arondN )d always felt co!pletely at ho!e. Mogadish gave

!e cltre shoc<. ) didnt <now the langage5 no one <new /wahili5 edcated

/o!alis <new )talian5 not 0nglish. All the signs were in /o!ali. "he worst thing



was co!!nications. %o!e phones were overcrowded5 sweltering post office.

-nly telegraph service was sally efficient. "he !ail was totally nreliable e@cept

for the diplo!atic poch. )t was i!possible to contact airobi.

Dont get !e wrong. ) was ite happy there5 enoying the sights and s!ells5 the

)talian and /o!ali food5 !y views of the ocean5 which was within wal<ingdistance of !y hose and !y office5 discovering a new cltre. ) was living

downtown5 in one of the older sections5 behind the )talian e!bassy5 and ) was

awa<ened early !orning by a beatifl adhan fro! the lodspea<er of a nearby

!ose. +e wor<ed a Msli! schedle: /nday T "hrsday5 , T 3. -n 4ridays )

wold wal< arond and often fond !yself otside a little !ose behind the

A!erican 0!bassy5 and while !yrrh and fran<incense drifted fro! the doorways

in the alleys ) wold stop and listen to the sonds of J!ah.

"he first thing ) noticed was the !r!ring of !any voices as !en read fro! the

6ran while waiting for the i!a! to give the <htbah. ) was instantly transported bac< in !y !ind to !y old synagoge and the identical ssrrs of old !en

reading fro! the 7sal!s Sabr at the start of !orning prayers. )t gave !e a

co!fortable and co!forting feeling of nostalgia. A little while later5 wal<ing bac<

the other way5 ) wold hear the i!a! reciting a srah. )t sonded !ch li<e the

"orah readings )d enoyed on /atrday !ornings5 again co!forting and nostalgic.

ot that it !ade !e want to retrn to any synagogeN rather5 it !ade )sla! feel

!ore co!fortable and fa!iliar to !e.

)! a lingist5 and had been a specialist in field research. ) fond a boo< on

beginning )talian and5 there being no gra!!ar in 0nglish on /o!ali5 ) hired !yself

a ttor5 who was a better friend than a teacher. ) ic<ly learned the greetings5

co!!on nons5 and verbs5 <inship ter!s5 n!bers and telling ti!e. /o!e of the

vocablary5 borrowed fro! Arabic5 was st li<e /wahili and %ebrew. /o!ali is

also very distantly related to /e!itic langages. "he gra!!ar was so!ething else5

thogh5 really hard to figre ot5 and as ) got bsier and !ore tired at wor<5 or

lessons trned !ore to conversations abot cltre5 politics and religion. %e was

<nowledgeable enogh to distingish between genine )sla! and so!e prevalent

aspects of indigenos5 pre;)sla!ic cltre and sperstition that had bothered !e.

Before long5 he offered to bring a shai<h to !y ho!e so that ) cold !a<e the

shahada. Despite !y vow ) still felt hesitation5 thin<ing of !y fa!ily. Bt they

were ten thosand !iles away5 !y fiancee a few hndred5 and ) was living in5

being toched by and feeling co!fortable with this Msli! society. ) had good

friends and colleages5 and it was clear to !e that !ch of their goodness was de

to )sla!. ) as<ed hi! to bring the shai<h and he did. %e estioned !e abot !y



beliefs5 and ) told hi! )d been a Jew5 not a 'hristian no proble!s with the

trinity5 and that )d long ago given p por<5 alcohol5 ga!bling and Lina5 and after

he was convinced that ) nderstood what ) was abot to say and <new the five

pillars5 ) declared the shahadah. My fiancee had sggested the na!e Mstafa5

which ) li<ed very !ch.

After all the hesitation and procrastination ) felt enor!os relief5 and a restored

sense of belonging that )d !issed !ore than )d realised. All !y /o!ali friends

were of corse delighted and very spportive. "hey began calling !e seedi

Wbrother;in;law. As soon as ) cold get away ) boght so!e gold ewellery and

flew to airobi. "o get !arried ) had to go to the office of the chief adi and

declare the shahadah again5 with witnesses5 in order to get an official certificate of

conversion5 there being no sch thing in /o!alia.

+e went to the adi and !ade or ni<ah. A cople of days later ) had to fly bac< to

Mogadish and !y wor<. ess than a year later5 at $35 ) was overoyed and blessed by Allah to beco!e the father of a wonderfl Msli! baby boy. ) flew to airobi5

and after a brief discssion we agreed on !y wifes sggestion for a na!e. ow )

even had a <nyanic< na!eN ) was Ab Hhalid5 and he was na!ed after the great

'o!panion5 Hhalid )bn Al;+alid.

o are probably wondering if ) told !y fa!ily abot !y converting to lsla!5 and

the answer is5 not for ite so!e ti!e. -f corse ) told !y fa!ily abot !y

!arriage and they were neither srprised or pset.

)was a !iddle;aged !an who oght to <now what he was doing5 and they were!ainly happy for the sa<e of !y happiness. +hen Hhalid was born theyb were

positively delighted and were !ost eager to !eet hi! and his !other. +hen Hhalid

was a little over a year old5 ) went to Boston on !y vacation and broght !y wife

and son with !e. "he two boys5 Ali and sf5 were away at a Msli! boarding

school in north;eastern Henya.

"he reception was as war! and loving as anyone cold wish for and we haad a

great visit. "hers no estion that a baby5 especially a grandson5 has a !ost

saltary and beneficial effect on people. My wife had broght little gifts for !y

!other5 sister and ants5 and they all had little gifts for her. ) sppose they allass!ed5 as ) had once done5 that Msli! can !arry a Jew or 'hristian. "hey

<new !y wife and or sons were Msli!s5 that Hhalid was being raised as a

Msli!5 and they had no proble! with that. "hey <new ) hadnt been a practising

Jew for nearly thirty years5 and )d !arried a non;Jew before. )d decided that if

they as<ed ) woldnt lie5 and if they didnt )d st wait for a !ore opportne ti!e

T so!e other ti!e. A few years ago they finally as<ed !e and ) told the!. ) cannot



say they were pleased5 bt neither were they srprised5 angry or cold to !e5 and we

still have war!5 loving relationships.

Another year5 another contract went by5 and then ) lost !y ob. i<e the new

7haraoh 9who <new not Joseph95 a new director ca!e5 who saw no vale in the

0nglish progra!s and decided to end the!. ) <ind of saw it co!ing and hadapplied for a si!ilar ob in e!en5 so ) didnNt fight it very hard5 bt in the end the

ob in /ana fell throgh5 and5 as !y fa!ily had predicted5 ) was bac< to sare

one T well5 not ite.

)n 1EGG5 leaving !y fa!ily in airobi5 ) retrned to the /tates alone and obless. )t

was again vary togh winter5 too5 bt this ti!e ) had so!e savings5 new s<ills and

a stronger res!e5 ) <new better how to ob;hntN ) <new !y way arond

+ashington and had a few contacts. ) still had the sit. Best of all5 ) had !y faith

instead of anti;depressants. ) ic<ly got a cople of part;ti!e teaching obs and a

ob in a !ens store. "he teaching obs dried p5 so ) sold sits fll;ti!e for overthree years5 always loo<ing for a better ob5 bt finally T it too< two years T )

!anaged to bring !y fa!ily over and we did or best5 trsting in Allah.

"hen5 for years ago5 a Msli! neighbor told s abot a new )sla!ic institte that

had recently opened5 where they were loo<ing for an 0nglish teacher. )

i!!ediately called5 !ade an appoint!ent and !et the director. By the grace of

Allah ) was hired to teach so!e of the staff and do so!e editorial wor<. )ronically5

) a! now in a cbicle in a windowless office in northern irginia5 bt what a

difference ) a! in an )sla!ic environ!ent5 srronded and inspired by good

Msli! brothers5 !any of the! e@cellent scholars and all of who! ) love and

respect very !ch5 and who! ) learn fro! daily. And what is !y ob# "o read

boo<s on )sla!5 to edit !anscripts on )sla!5 to write abot what ) read. )n

essence5 ) a! being paid to stdy 6ran5 %adith5 Waidah5 4ih5 /irah5 )sla!ic

history and Arabic. ) than< and praise Allah every day for leading !e to )sla! and

for showering !e with all these blessings. Alha!dlillah5 ash;sh<rlillahi

8abbil;Wala!in.

allah is for the jews and gentiles.doc

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