We hide our faith for fear of retaliation. When I’m at home praying, I have to constantly watch the door, so my mom or dad don’t catch me.
We hide our faith for fear of retaliation. When I’m at home praying, I have to constantly watch the door, so my mom or dad don’t catch me.
I was born and raised as a Hindu, but I never felt Hindu. I was simply going through the motions, and doing what my family was doing. Did I really believe in the religion? No. I was Hindu in name, but not in practice or spirituality. By the time I entered freshman year of college, I was going through depression. I spent my time with white boys who only talked about how jacked they were or how fast they could chug a beer. I had begun to drink to quench my hollowness inside. I needed to find a purpose in life.
I was always attracted to Islam. As an Indian, I frequently heard family members talk about Pakistani Muslims (I love my family to death, but unfortunately the environment they grew up in led to their misguided beliefs about Islam/Muslims) as violent, backwards, and all that jazz. All the hate I heard towards Islam from my family and the American media made me intrigued by the religion. Since Islam got so much hate, I actually thought it must be right in some form or another.
So, I did my research in the second half of freshman year. After a few months, I decided to convert on May 10, 2017. Everything about Islam was so beautiful to me. I went from being a Republican to a Democrat (not that being a Republican is bad, but I had beliefs of a bad Republican before Islam), and from believing homeless people deserved their sorrow to wanting to help them since the Prophet Muhammad would (PBUH) have done the same.
Islam changed me for the better.
Born Muslims came up to me and asked about how I converted and what my story is. They tell me I am a “gem of Islam” and that I inspire them. It’s flattering and I am grateful for their support.
But I am tired of born Muslims immediately asking me “what’s your story” when they meet me. I have friends who converted. Most of us are struggling with our families. We hide our faith for fear of retaliation. When I’m at home praying, I have to constantly watch the door, so my mom or dad don’t catch me. It’s tough for a lot of us.
When you ask converts what their story is, even if they are comfortable sharing, some of them relive trauma as a result of family situations or something else. When I tell my story, I remember how I was given an ultimatum to choose between my family or Islam when I told a family member about my conversion.
As with any sensitive topic, it would be greatly appreciated if born-Muslims prefaced the question with “if you’re comfortable sharing.” It shows that you genuinely care about a convert’s story.
I get that converts can inspire born-Muslims. But at the end of the day, we are not obligated to share how we came to Islam. Besides, Allah answers the question as to how converts came to Islam anyways:
“Say, ‘To Allah belongs the east and the west. He guides whom He wills to a straight path’” [Quran 2:142].
