RAMADAN – WELCOME, NEW MUSLIMS!

(i.e. asking you, readers, to welcome these new Muslims with your prayers). Either way, ma sha Allah and alhamdu lilLah for the hundreds, perhaps thousands, who voluntarily discover Islam every day here in Nigeria and especially in regions where the religion is least misunderstood – such as ‘the West’.Although multitudes come to Islam daily – […]

(i.e. asking you, readers, to welcome these new Muslims with your prayers). Either way, ma sha Allah and alhamdu lilLah for the hundreds, perhaps thousands, who voluntarily discover Islam every day here in Nigeria and especially in regions where the religion is least misunderstood – such as ‘the West’.
Although multitudes come to Islam daily – and it is a well-known cliché even in the Vatican that ‘Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world’ – every year during Ramadan the conversion drip-drip becomes a downpour, because this unique pillar of Islam is a magnet of particular attraction.
Here in Nigeria, at most of the major Tafsir Circles in the major cities and towns – especially those broadcast on national radio (such as Radio Nigeria Kaduna) and especially those by Shaikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi and Shaikh Ahmad Gummi (may Allah protect them and us), the Tafsirs narrations are stopped every few minutes of every day as many troop to accept Islam. Alhamdu lilLah.
But truly, it is in the so-called West, which is vehement in its war against Islam (witness what is happening today in Gaza), that the fast spread of this religion of ours is surprising even its born adherents. Alhamdu lilLah. Has not the Owner of the religion promised us He will make it sublime and transcendent? (…Li Yuzhirahu alad dini kullih…) Therefore, let us today welcome the many who have undertaken this leap of faith. Welcome!
In a story by Matt Payton in UK’s Metro newspaper (http://metro.co.uk) titled “Playboy Bunny converts to Islam” July 7th, it was reported that a former Playboy Bunny has become a Muslim. Felixia Yeap, 28, announced her official Islamic conversion to her 850,000 Facebook followers, narrating the long time she had spent looking for spirituality, including first converting to Catholicism and Buddhism. She had then spent seven months learning about the Islam, including adopting the Hijab before confirming her faith last week. Translated into English, her announcement said: “I hope everyone will pray that I will be steadfast and committed in my new journey. Only Allah can repay all those who prayed for my new life.” Amin, Felixia! (And if readers don’t know what a Playboy Bunny, please don’t ask your Columnist! Let us just say her former mode of dressing thereon was decidedly the direct opposite of Hijab!)
Over in Belgium, the headquarters of Europe, www.worldbulletin.net reports the story of Sister Veronique Cools, a 25-year-old Belgian convert to Islam who has continued to help over 1,000 people who have accepted Islam in the past eight years. Cools, who accepted Islam herself at a very young age after being influenced by her Muslim friends and researching into the religion, turned her home into an Islamic centre for Belgian Muslims seeking to learn more about their religion. Saying that she herself had to overcome many prejudices when looking into Islam, Cools then successfully helped her family overcome them too. Now her close family are also Muslims. “Prejudices stem from not being introduced to real Islam properly,” she said as she was preparing iftar food packets for visiting Muslims to break their Ramadan fasts. “As Muslims we need to explain ourselves to society a lot better.” The centre now has more than 1,000 members, most of them Belgian women, and is open for all of Belgium’s Muslims.
And now this: Dr. Adam Osborne, younger brother of one of Britain’s most powerful politicians, Chancellor George Osborne (No. 2 in the ruling Conservative Party who is seen as a future Prime Minister), had become a Muslim back in 2009. But this week, UK’s Mirror newspaper (www.mirror.co.uk) reports that the Internet search engine Google has banned any search about George Osborne’s ‘Muslim’ brother. Google says it was complying with a ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ ruling in the European Court of Justice last month which gave people the right to have “inadequate”, “irrelevant” or “no longer relevant” results about them erased from the internet. As the senior Osborne may one day be British leader, a Muslim brother may be a…liability? Meanwhile, the younger Adam “continues to study the Qur’an and pray five times a day, and is now known as Muhammad Osborne.” The ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ indeed!
And then this moving Blog Piece (carried this Thursday on the blogs section of www.huffingtonpost.com) titled “Learning The Art Of Fasting” by Sister Michelle Bangert, International Relations student at Harvard University: “As I was sitting under an old oak tree in Harvard Yard reading, the midday heat slowly crept up on me. I paused, put down my book, and observed the sunlight filtering through the green branches, causing tiny beads of sweat to form on my forehead. Coming from Europe, I had yet to get adjusted, not only to the intense heat, but also to the high demands of my educational endeavors, and life in the United States as a whole. In addition, having just recently embraced Islam as my religion of choice, I was still in the process of exploring my new faith. The summer semester was soon to begin, and so was my first Ramadan. It was hot – too hot – and I couldn’t imagine fasting for over 16 hours each day, while at the same time taking classes, conducting research and studying for exams. I was about to give up before I even started. Picking up my book once again, I sifted through pages of poetry, and found some well needed inspiration: ‘Stop eating bread. The sweet fast is here! You learned the art of eating. Now learn the art of fasting!’ Rumi’s call resonated. I too wanted to learn the art of fasting. Despite my concerns – and despite the heat – I was eager to find out the purpose and deeper meaning of Ramadan…” (Read full entry at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/27/ramadan-2014-liveblog_n_5537022.html#41_learning-the-art-of-fasting).
But Ramadan is not without challenges for these new Muslims. In a June 27 report on www.worldbulletin.net titled “Ramadan A Lonely Time for Muslim Converts”, it was reported that for the growing number of Muslim converts, Ramadan can be a very lonely time, as many of them live with their non-Muslim family members. Tiffany Jenkins, a young American convert says she usually feels quite lonely during Ramadan because her non-Muslim family get annoyed whenever she would wake up early and start cooking. Another convert called Natalia says that every Ramadan her non-Muslim family offers her food during the day. When she tells them she can’t eat it because she’s fasting, they respond by asking, “Oh, you’re still a Muslim?”
Yes, Natalia still is, alhamdu lilLah!
To counter this loneliness, www.ifoundislam.net is seeking to forge bonds of fraternity between converts and the wider Muslim community with their ‘Online Ramadan Iftar Project’ on Facebook to serve as a place for people who are alone, having no one to share Ramadan or Iftar with. Members can list themselves by time-zones and coordinate Skype or other methods with members to share iftar together over the web.
O the sweet taste of Islam! May Allah strengthen our feet in it forever. And we continue to seek more of your prayers concerning our trying times. May Muqallab al qulub guide us aright. Hasbunal Lahu wa ni’imal Wakil.
EPILOGUE: May Allah protect General Muhammadu Buhari and Shaikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi and all of us, and may He forgive those that lost their lives in Kaduna, Damboa and other places. May Allah protect Chibok girls – more than a hundred days since they were abducted. May Allah accept the martyrdom of the Palestinians of Gaza.
May we have witnessed Lailatul Qadr. Barka da Sallah!