Dear family, friends and acquaintances,
I feel compelled to speak out because of anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic speech and crimes occurring throughout the world, because of the proliferation of anti-Muslim sentiment among the posts and likes of my family members, because of the deplorable misrepresentation of Islam in North American media.... I feel compelled to make it abundantly clear to any of you who are unaware of this change in my life – I converted to Islam three years ago.
Before converting to Islam I read teachings based on the Holy Qur’an and the sayings of Muhammad, blessings and peace upon him, for seven years. I did not convert to Islam until 1) through a process of multiple readings and spiritual growth, I began to glimpse some of the meaning of the symbolic/allegorical language of the Qur’an, and 2) I believed I could commit wholeheartedly to follow its precepts.[1]
What my heart longs for you to know is that Islam for me has been an ever-increasing experience of connection to God and an ever-increasing experience of Divine Love. When I did not know whether God existed or whether He had rejected me, it was a Palestinian Muslim Shaykh who held my hand and would not let it go, literally, while he kept repeating to me, “You are Habīb,” i.e., you are the beloved, the one who carries the deep love of God, the love for God, the love that is from God and to God. It is through Islam that my belief in God was renewed. Is it through the teachings of Islam that I gained faith, and through faith, the strength to face my mistakes and begin the process of transformation through God’s grace. It is through Islam that I left the secular lifestyle that I had been living. It is the teachings of Islam that brought me peace after the death of my mother, when the grief of her death piled on the grief of my father’s death and brother’s suicide. It was through Islam that I began to experience healing of the childhood misconceptions about myself and God. It is through Islam that I have learned that God is always with me. It is through Islam that I have learned that God is always guiding me and caring for me in mercy and compassion. It is through Islam that I now know, without wavering, without hesitancy, without doubt, that God is always holding me in the hand of His Love.
Accordingly, I invite you to consider what you may not know. I invite you to question anything you hear or read about another religion that is said or written by someone who is not someone you know to be a pious practitioner of that religion. Are you aware that there is an industry in the U.S. devoted to spreading misinformation about Islam and Muhammad, blessings and peace upon him? Did you know that when Muhammad, blessings and peace upon him, first received revelation, he went with his wife Khadijah to consult her cousin Waraqa ibn Nawfal, a learned Christian? That it was a Syrian Christian who told him when he was only a child that he was going to be the seal of the prophetic line, that when a group of Christians from Najran came to meet him they prayed in his mosque, that the Christian king of Nejus sheltered the Muslim immigrants? That while the Qur’an contains verses that criticize some Christians and Jews, it also contains verses that praise some Christians and Jews? That Islam is seen as a continuation of the same message of Judaism and Christianity, that these religions have in common a belief in the unity of God, the oneness of God, and in doing good deeds? That the ethical character taught by these religions is essentially the same – don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, do follow the golden rule? That they hold a common belief in the immortality of the soul, that we will be held accountable for our human actions, that ultimate judgment belongs to God alone? That a common belief is in the reflection of God’s wisdom in the cosmos, i.e., in natural phenomena (the Christian word for this is Vestige Dei)? That Muslims also believe in the virginity and sanctity of Mary (there are more verses in the Qur’an about Mary than in the New Testament)? That Muslims also believe that Jesus is a messenger of God and that he will return at the end of time? That Muslims also revere Jesus’ teachings of radical compassion; his teaching to approach all with openness, without discrimination, without prejudice based on faith or race or occupation or social status; his willingness to break through social conventions of the day? Did you know that many Muslims believe that being a muslim means to willingly surrender oneself to God through the path that He has chosen for you, so that a person who surrenders to God through Christianity is a muslim, just as a person who surrenders to God through Judaism is a muslim, just as a person who surrenders to God through Islam is a muslim?
I invite you to remember that there is historical precedent for peaceful coexistence, that conflict doesn’t have to be, that we can realize peaceful coexistence today. If you are going to explore differences, I invite you to do so with respect, with compassion, with humility, with kindness, with politeness. In fact, if you are going to honestly, earnestly, sincerely seek to understand differences, I invite you to first build trust – first pray together, first fast together, first know each other’s hearts. I also invite you to consider whether you might be willing to leave it to God to decide between us on our differences. I invite you to choose to focus on common ground rather than on areas of dissent. I invite you to remember that we are all sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, that we are all brothers and sisters. I invite you to consider that God created each of us, and He created our differences so that we might better know ourselves and each other, and thereby grow in knowledge and understanding of Him. I invite you to choose love. I invite you to give love.
May God’s peace be upon you. May He guide us all to unity. May He guide us all to mercy, justice, love, peace and freedom for all without separation.
With faith in and love for Him. With wishes of peace and love for you.
Habib
[1] Please bear in mind that two things are required for the interpretation of any verse: 1) understanding of the context, and 2) understanding of the spiritual principle that underlies the verse.
I feel compelled to speak out because of anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic speech and crimes occurring throughout the world, because of the proliferation of anti-Muslim sentiment among the posts and likes of my family members, because of the deplorable misrepresentation of Islam in North American media.... I feel compelled to make it abundantly clear to any of you who are unaware of this change in my life – I converted to Islam three years ago.
Before converting to Islam I read teachings based on the Holy Qur’an and the sayings of Muhammad, blessings and peace upon him, for seven years. I did not convert to Islam until 1) through a process of multiple readings and spiritual growth, I began to glimpse some of the meaning of the symbolic/allegorical language of the Qur’an, and 2) I believed I could commit wholeheartedly to follow its precepts.[1]
What my heart longs for you to know is that Islam for me has been an ever-increasing experience of connection to God and an ever-increasing experience of Divine Love. When I did not know whether God existed or whether He had rejected me, it was a Palestinian Muslim Shaykh who held my hand and would not let it go, literally, while he kept repeating to me, “You are Habīb,” i.e., you are the beloved, the one who carries the deep love of God, the love for God, the love that is from God and to God. It is through Islam that my belief in God was renewed. Is it through the teachings of Islam that I gained faith, and through faith, the strength to face my mistakes and begin the process of transformation through God’s grace. It is through Islam that I left the secular lifestyle that I had been living. It is the teachings of Islam that brought me peace after the death of my mother, when the grief of her death piled on the grief of my father’s death and brother’s suicide. It was through Islam that I began to experience healing of the childhood misconceptions about myself and God. It is through Islam that I have learned that God is always with me. It is through Islam that I have learned that God is always guiding me and caring for me in mercy and compassion. It is through Islam that I now know, without wavering, without hesitancy, without doubt, that God is always holding me in the hand of His Love.
Accordingly, I invite you to consider what you may not know. I invite you to question anything you hear or read about another religion that is said or written by someone who is not someone you know to be a pious practitioner of that religion. Are you aware that there is an industry in the U.S. devoted to spreading misinformation about Islam and Muhammad, blessings and peace upon him? Did you know that when Muhammad, blessings and peace upon him, first received revelation, he went with his wife Khadijah to consult her cousin Waraqa ibn Nawfal, a learned Christian? That it was a Syrian Christian who told him when he was only a child that he was going to be the seal of the prophetic line, that when a group of Christians from Najran came to meet him they prayed in his mosque, that the Christian king of Nejus sheltered the Muslim immigrants? That while the Qur’an contains verses that criticize some Christians and Jews, it also contains verses that praise some Christians and Jews? That Islam is seen as a continuation of the same message of Judaism and Christianity, that these religions have in common a belief in the unity of God, the oneness of God, and in doing good deeds? That the ethical character taught by these religions is essentially the same – don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, do follow the golden rule? That they hold a common belief in the immortality of the soul, that we will be held accountable for our human actions, that ultimate judgment belongs to God alone? That a common belief is in the reflection of God’s wisdom in the cosmos, i.e., in natural phenomena (the Christian word for this is Vestige Dei)? That Muslims also believe in the virginity and sanctity of Mary (there are more verses in the Qur’an about Mary than in the New Testament)? That Muslims also believe that Jesus is a messenger of God and that he will return at the end of time? That Muslims also revere Jesus’ teachings of radical compassion; his teaching to approach all with openness, without discrimination, without prejudice based on faith or race or occupation or social status; his willingness to break through social conventions of the day? Did you know that many Muslims believe that being a muslim means to willingly surrender oneself to God through the path that He has chosen for you, so that a person who surrenders to God through Christianity is a muslim, just as a person who surrenders to God through Judaism is a muslim, just as a person who surrenders to God through Islam is a muslim?
I invite you to remember that there is historical precedent for peaceful coexistence, that conflict doesn’t have to be, that we can realize peaceful coexistence today. If you are going to explore differences, I invite you to do so with respect, with compassion, with humility, with kindness, with politeness. In fact, if you are going to honestly, earnestly, sincerely seek to understand differences, I invite you to first build trust – first pray together, first fast together, first know each other’s hearts. I also invite you to consider whether you might be willing to leave it to God to decide between us on our differences. I invite you to choose to focus on common ground rather than on areas of dissent. I invite you to remember that we are all sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, that we are all brothers and sisters. I invite you to consider that God created each of us, and He created our differences so that we might better know ourselves and each other, and thereby grow in knowledge and understanding of Him. I invite you to choose love. I invite you to give love.
May God’s peace be upon you. May He guide us all to unity. May He guide us all to mercy, justice, love, peace and freedom for all without separation.
With faith in and love for Him. With wishes of peace and love for you.
Habib
[1] Please bear in mind that two things are required for the interpretation of any verse: 1) understanding of the context, and 2) understanding of the spiritual principle that underlies the verse.
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