Stories Of New Muslims
10. Mr. Yahiye
Adam Gadahn
My first seventeen years have been a bit different
than the youth experienced by most Americans. I grew up on an extremely rural
goat ranch in Western Riverside County, California, where my family raises on
average 150 to 200 animals for milk, cheese, and meat. My father is a halal
butcher [a butcher who slaughters in an Islamic manner -ed.] and supplies to an
Islamic Food Mart a few blocks from the Islamic Center in downtown Los Angeles.
My father was raised
agnostic or atheist, but he became a believer in One God when he picked up a
Bible left on the beach. He once had a number of Muslim friends, but they've
all moved out of California now. My mother was raised Catholic, so she leans
towards Christianity (although she, like my father, disregards the Trinity). I
and my siblings were/are home-schooled, and as you may know, most home-school
families are Christian. In the last 8 or so years, we have been involved with
some home-schooling support groups, thus acquainting me with fundamentalist
Christianity.
It was an eye-opening
experience. Setting aside the blind dogmatism and charismatic wackiness, it was
quite a shock to me when I realized that these people, in their prayers, were
actually praying TO JESUS. You see, I had always believed that Jesus (pbuh)
was, at the very most, the Son of God (since that is what the Bible
mistranslates "Servant of God"). As I learned that belief in the
Trinity, something I find absolutely ridiculous, is considered by most
Christians to be a prerequisite for salvation, I gradually realized I could not
be a Christian.
In the meantime, I had
become obsessed with demonic Heavy Metal music, something the rest of my family
(as I now realize, rightfully so) was not happy with. My entire life was focused
on expanding my music collection. I eschewed personal cleanliness and let my
room reach an unbelievable state of disarray. My relationship with my parents
became strained, although only intermittently so. I am sorry even as I write
this.
Earlier this year, I
began to listen to the apocalyptic ramblings of Christian radio's
"prophecy experts." Their paranoid espousal of various conspiracy
theories, rabid support of Israel and religious Zionism, and fiery preaching
about the "Islamic Threat" held for me a strange fascination. Why?
Well, I suppose it was simply the need I was feeling to fill that void I had
created for myself. In any case, I soon found that the beliefs these
evangelists held, such as Original Sin and the Infallibility of "God's
Word", were not in agreement with my theological ideas (not to mention the
Bible) and I began to look for something else to hold onto.
The turning point,
perhaps, was when I moved in with my grandparents here in Santa Ana, the county
seat of Orange, California. My grandmother, a computer whiz, is hooked up to
America Online and I have been scooting the information superhighway since
January. But when I moved in, with the intent of finding a job (easier said
than done), I begin to visit the religion folders on AOL and the Usenet
newsgroups, where I found discussions on Islam to be the most intriguing. You
see, I discovered that the beliefs and practices of this religion fit my
personal theology and intellect as well as basic human logic. Islam presents
God not as an anthropomorphic being but as an entity beyond human
comprehension, transcendent of man, independent and undivided.
Islam has a holy book
that is comprehensible to a layman, and there is no papacy or priesthood that
is considered infallible in matters of interpretation: all Muslims are free to
reflect and interpret the book given a sufficient education. Islam does not
believe that all men are doomed to Hell unless they simply accept that God
(apparently unable to forgive otherwise) magnanimously allowed Himself to be
tortured on a cross to enable Him to forgive all human beings who just believe
that He allowed Himself to be tortured on a cross... Islam does not believe in
a Chosen Race. And on and on...
As I began reading
English translations of the Qur'an, I became more and more convinced of the
truth and authenticity of Allah's teachings contained in those 114 chapters.
Having been around Muslims in my formative years, I knew well that they were
not the bloodthirsty, barbaric terrorists that the news media and the
televangelists paint them to be. Perhaps this knowledge led me to continue my
personal research further than another person would have. I can't say when I
actually decided that Islam was for me. It was really a natural progression. In
any case, last week [November 1995 -ed.] I went to the Islamic Society of
Orange County in Garden Grove and told the brother in charge of the library I
wanted to be a Muslim. He gave me some excellent reading material, and last
Friday I took Shahada
[accepted the creed of Islam -ed.] in front of a packed masjid. I have spent this week learning to
perform Salat and reflecting on the
greatness of Allah. It feels great to be a Muslim! Subhaana
rabbiyal 'azeem!