Source: http://www.usislam.org/latinos/converts/juan.htm
In high school, I received a jolt to my long-held belief when a Christian
friend told me that the Holy Trinity was not true and that Jesus was not God.
"He's wrong," I told myself. Jesus had to be God because God and humanity were
disconnected by the sin committed by Adam and Eve. God, I reasoned to myself,
had sent His only 'begotten' son to die because He loved us so much. And
because only God forgives, Jesus had to be God. I even had the Bible quotes to
prove it! Indeed, being a devout Roman Catholic, I had read almost the entire
Bible. In high school, I was a lecturer, usher, Eucharistic minister, Sunday
school teacher, and the godfather for a nephew and a niece. The idea that Jesus
was God made sense.
I am a Mexican-American who comes from a modest background. I spent my
adolescent and teenage years in such small Texas Panhandle towns as Quitaque,
Turkey, Lakeview, and Memphis. None of them has a mall, a movie theater, or a
McDonald's. Memphis, TX, population 2,300, proudly proclaims itself "The Cotton
Capital of the World." In Memphis, if you hear a fire truck or police car,
either your neighbor's house is on fire or your neighbor is being arrested.
Growing up in small communities gave me much appreciation for the simplicity in
God's creation.
I graduated from Memphis High School (1994), enrolled in Texas Tech University
in Lubbock, and graduated with a BA in management information systems from the
University of Texas at Austin (2001). Not bad for a kid who hoed cotton most of
his junior high and high school summers to buy clothes and school supplies! My
dad was a cotton ginner. Now, he is a custodian at a high school in Pampa, TX.
I had 8 siblings, but in 2000 my 17-year-old sister died in a car wreck.
I have always respected other religions. I often attended other Christian
churches and joined interfaith Bible study groups. While in one such group,
when I told my friend Chris that I was Catholic, he blatantly told me that it
was "a false doctrine." As you can imagine, I defended my religion. Chris
accused me of worshipping Mary, saints, and the Pope, and I argued that we only
revere them. Around this time, I happened to see a man praying. His knees,
hands, and forehead were touching the ground, and he was barefoot. After he
finished, I introduced myself to him. He said his name was Armando, and that he
was Muslim. I thought to myself: "OK, freaky, you're Muslim. You can't be
Muslim. What's this Hispanic guy doing praying to Allah?" He later told me that
Spain was Muslim for over 700 years and that thousands of Spanish words have
Arabic roots. The ruins of mosques with Qur'anic inscriptions have been found
in Cuba, Mexico, Texas, and Nevada. Most importantly, Armando told
me about Islam. I began to realize that my reverence for Mary and saints was
much more than mere reverence. Chris was right. However, we were both
worshipping Jesus! Armando said that Jesus was only a prophet and that no one
or thing is worthy of worship but Allah.
Many of my questions were answered! What is the purpose of life? How can the
Father be the Son? Why can't God just forgive anyone He wants? What happens to
babies who die before baptism? In Qur'an 5:83, Allah states: When they (who
call themselves Christian) listen to what has been sent down to the Messenger,
you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of the truth they have
recognized. They say: 'Our Lord! We believe; so write us down among the
witnesses.'"
Indeed, my eyes overflowed with tears as I read that verse. Yet I did not
embrace Islam until 3 years after meeting Armando, because I did not want to
change. A struggle occurs within everyone, everyday, and everywhere. We
struggle to attain what is most important for us. By embracing Islam, we tell
Allah that He is most important and that we are prepared to struggle to do what
is right and to avoid what is wrong.
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