From: "arah" 

The rising popularity of Islam in the West By Huda al-Kibsi
Mar 25, 2007, 12:16

 Islam is becoming the most popular religion in the world, said Hashem
al-Attas, a researcher at the Dar al-Mustafa for Traditional Islamic
Education. "Many mass media show that it is spreading faster than all
other religions," he said. To address this issue, the al-Ibda Cultural
Center for Studies and Heritage Services prepared in cooperation with
Sana'a University and the al-Mustafa Center for Islamic Studies a cultural
symposium on the spread of Islam in  the West.

The symposium was held last Monday, Mar 19, and was attended by Luke Martin
of Great Britain, who changed his name to Mos'ab after he became a Muslim
and Mr. Herman, a Namibian man who became Abdullah after he converted. 
They are both new Muslims and narrated their stories about their journey
toward Islam for those attending the symposium.  Both Mos'ab and Abdullah
said they came to Yemen to learn and know more about Islam in this country,
as they believed it to be a country of faith and wisdom.

The people of Yemen are mentioned hundreds of times in the generations of
the prophet Muhammad, said Mos'ab. "As it is mentioned in the Hadith,
faith is Yemen and wisdom is Yemen."  Their sole intention on coming
to Yemen was to learn the Arabic language and to know more about Islam,
said Abdullah. "I heard a lot of good things about Yemen and I decided
to come. I have been here for two years, and I can see that Sana'a is full
of beautiful views.

It is amazing in its structure."   Abdullah wanted to share his
experiences on his journey from darkness to light, and from spiritual
poverty to wealth, he said. "There were two things I was thinking of,
and that became my aims in life," said Abdullah. "Money and
freedom. I left my parents for these two things, after I was thinking of
having a good family like the one I grew up in.  "I got myself a job
and started running after money and worrying about how much money was in my
bank account.

I found myself in a situation where I was looking at my clothes, mobile
phone, and shoes and whether they were expensive enough and the latest
fashion. I was exhausted and through this exhaustion I escaped to stop one
day and questioned myself what is the reason of my existence?  "At
that time I was a Christian and I learned that one plus one plus one does
not equal one. This trinity was not only confusing me, but was confusing
other people around me as well. Another thing that was confusing me is the
prophet Lot in Christianity.

The prophet supposes to be the beloved of God, but Lot was said to have
been drinking alcohol and having unlawful integrate with his daughters.
"Prayer in Christianity is only on Sunday, once a week, while in Islam
there is this continual connection with Allah. In Islam, we pray every
single day of the week and for five times a day. Keeping up this practice
continues connection, so that there is no way that you may be forgotten by
your creator.

"I started thinking of Islam. I saw Islam as a bearded man who walks
around with weapons spreading violence wherever he goes and in the same
time abusing his wife.  "Before I become a Muslim, I was working at a
sport center. A strange man walked in with a strange beard. He was
requesting a private pool. I kept in contact with him in helping him find
one. As well, there was something about him that was attracting me, like
good characteristics he had.

I really wanted to spend more time with him. I was visiting him in his
house and I was amazed by the good hospitality, patience, and generosity he
showed toward me. These characteristics were rare in people of London where
I lived. Through my visits and by witnessing I learned more about Islam. He
was informing me about Islam. I got to the point when I accepted Islam to
be the truth, as you all know change is very hard.

"I wanted to clean myself first to meet my lord in a clean state. I
told him that I need more time to think about this, and I was also worried
about what my parents and friends are going to think. The response that
came from my friend was the question 'do you accept Islam to be the truth?'
He asked me if I had to die without having accepted the truth.  "This
question angered me and I expelled him from my house. He left, but the
question did not leave me.

I asked myself what will happen for me if I die in darkness. It was
Saturday night and lots of bad things in London happen on Saturday night. I
was picturing myself. All these things happen to me and obviously death in
particular could not be that far. I left my house and went to my friend. I
got to his house and he accepted me with a smile. There was not much to be
done after accepting Islam to be the truth.

I came to a point to take al-Shahadah (that is to proclaim that there is no
God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger) which means making the change.
I told myself that I could give it a test. In my head I thought that I
would say al-Shahadah and would try myself for a month-- by buying new
clothes or a mobile phone and if it does not work I can return it." 
Abdullah found later on that this friend was a foreigner like him, who came
from outside the UK and searched for similar things.

"I like to do like him and call people and encourage them to be
Muslims," he said.  Mos'ab also spoke about his experience. He also
mentioned why cultured people in the west liked Prophet Mohammed. "In
the west there are scholars of history and literature and one of the
striking things is that even before a number of years, when there was no
television or internet, there was knowledge of the prophet Mohammed in the
west," he said.

For example, the famous French poet Alphonse de La Martaine said in his
"Historie de La Turquie, Paris, 1954:   "If greatness of purpose,
smallness of means, and astonishing results are the three criteria of a
human genius, who could dare compare any great man in history with
Muhammad?...Philosopher, Orator, Apostle, Legislator, Conqueror of ideas,
Restorer of Rational beliefs... The founder of twenty terrestrial empires
and one of the spiritual empires that is Muhammad.

As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may
well as, is there any man greater than he?" A Christian Anglican
author, Barnaby Rogerson (in his "the prophet Muhammad: A
Biography") enthusiastically said about the prophet Muhammad:
"Even when viewed in an entirely secular respective, he remains a
super hero... only by marrying the best qualities of certain characters
from European civilization- a combination, say, of Alexander the Great, and
Aristotle, or the Emperor Constantine, St. Paul and St. Francis- can you
begin to understand the measure of the man."

There are likely many more in the west with stories like those of Abdullah
and Mos'ab people grow fed-up with the consumerism and materialism
prevalent in the west, they hunger for a life with a deeper spiritual
element. For many, Islam fills that role. Copyright 2002 - 2006 Yemen
Observer

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