I took three years to complete a two-year course, but also had to work and provide for myself and learn to live like a normal person and cook and clean, etc. I also learned that I had a love for chess and Bobby Fischer was my hero. The other students were still at home with their parents, so I had additional things to worry about, but life was pretty good. I started going back to church but not regularly. My pastor, Friar Kevin, was a great man and I respect him very much, but when I prayed, I could only feel that I pray to God, not Jesus.  I didn’t feel that Jesus could hear me, or that he was here on earth, although I had a huge respect for him.

I hated Islam, as I saw Muslims as “the enemy”, as do most English people that I know. I had met Muslims, and they were nice, but I thought that terrorism was evil and our forces were heroes trying to save the world.

I had forgiven my parents for the problems they had brought me and my Dad had also turned his life around. He lived on the streets in London for 7 years before being housed and started looking after himself properly and gave up drugs. He took me on holiday to Morocco, where I quickly found that Muslims were incredibly kind people. My whole life was turned on its head. I fell in love with Islam instantly!

Most people think I had some hate preachers “making” me become Muslim, but the truth is that I was the one asking all the questions. They were just nice people who looked after me. I got home and became more and more interested. I had loved the idea of God in Christianity, but never had a drive to learn or listen regarding the religion. I agreed that abortions were wrong, as Friar Kevin had put a compelling argument forward, but I could never listen to all the Bible stories. Sometimes when I sat down and started reading the Bible, I would read for hours, but I couldn’t get into the whole culture very well. But Islam seemed perfect. The banning of alcohol in Islam made sense and my early youth years is an evidence of it, the bane of my youth was said to be “haram” (unlawful).

Family values, something my early life lacked, were incredibly emphasized. I felt Islam had all the answers. It truly must have been the word of God. How else could the Qur'an revealed 1,400 years ago answer all the problems in my life?

I read all about the Prophet Muhammad (may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him) and I felt a huge respect for him. I wanted to follow in his footsteps. The Christian teachings had failed to really captivate me, but with Islam, I would hang off of every word.

I started learning about all of Allah’s Prophets (may the mercy and blessings of God be upon them) and started even looking back over my Bible to learn more about the amazing stories of prophets that I had neglected so much as a Christian. I couldn’t believe I had never read all this sooner.

I looked in my area for Muslims and found some. They were very nice people and it was the only Muslim world I could get connected with, so I started to meet up with them. I also traveled to other countries and I accepted Islam in Cyprus and took the name Dawood for myself. After I got home I was still hungry for more information about Islam and bought a copy of the translations of the meanings of the Qur'an in English, it also had a transliteration of the Arabic text. I began to pray twice a day. I didn’t know the words so I did the actions and after praying I would read a bit of the Qur'an.

I began to memorize a bit of the Fatihah, the opening chapter of the Qur'an each day. It took me a week to learn the English and Arabic as I felt you should know what you’re praying about. I then learned the Surah "Ihklas."

The blessed month of Ramadan came and each night we would pray taraweeh (night prayers) and break fast together, the food was amazing! They were mostly white converts with a few Indians, some Malaysians, and various other Muslims.

I was so happy with my religion that anytime I saw someone Asian-looking in the shop where I work I would say “Assalam Alaykum” in the hope that they would be Muslims.

Of course if they weren’t Muslims, it could end badly, but it never did, and I met a lady from Bangladesh who stopped and gave salaams. The next day she came in with her family and brought me some food for breaking fast and offered me to come and learn to read Arabic and learn how to pray properly.

I am now nearing the end of college. I am still working at being a better Muslim.  My area doesn’t have many Muslims but the lady from Bangladesh has really brought me leaps and bounds, and I can now pray on my own and I am close to being able to read the Qur'an in Arabic and have had a change of career plans.

I now hope to go to a Muslim community and study Islamic Studies and Arabic and be part of a community and have a Muslim family, by the will of God. I wanted before to study IT (information technology) but now, Islam rules my life. I wake up every day to serve Allah and to free myself more and more from any unlawful practices, and make a sincere effort to follow the example of Prophet Muhammad and in general to learn my religion. I feel very happy. My friends and family were all very surprised at first, but they have all grown to accept it, and I refuse to let anyone put me down for my religious beliefs, because it is my right as a human being to believe in Allah and celebrate this belief with my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters. There are many of obstacles ahead. I need to find a nice Muslim woman for marriage, and work out how to provide for her and a family if I am dropping my IT studies for Islam, but it is a good way for me to show Allah that I have trust in Him.

There is much to be learned, and my teacher tells me I am still a ‘baby’ in Islam, but, by the will of God, I will give Islam ‘my everything’.  I also hope to help other Muslims in Britain and somehow give back to the Muslim nation for all the nice things it has done for me.

There is no way I will ever be able to repay the debt I owe to Islam because I truly discovered something wonderful and it has done so many things for me. The most recent thing was that I cleared £9,000 worth of debts, and I am now saving, because Muslims must not pay interest, so I cleared my credit cards and loans. Another amazing message that is very clear in the Qur'an is that the troubles of society can be easily resolved by returning back to the path of God.

Islam just keeps giving me, and everything good can only come from Allah. I am thankful that Allah put me through some tests as a youth, as it brought me closer to Him and I am truly sorry for all my sins, may Allah forgive me for my weaknesses and make me a better person, by the will of God.

May Allah bless all our brothers and sisters who are suffering around the world, from Bosnia to Palestine, Somalia to Afghanistan, may Allah offer them comfort and bless them for their commitment to Allah no matter what they are tested with. Thanks for reading and you will all be in my prayers.

Courtesy: www.islamreligion.com