An Icelandic woman writes... In 1994, I travelled to Israel for three weeks and found it very interesting. The next year, I went again, but this time, my curiosity was awakened as regards the troubles between the Israelis and Palestinians. I was also confused about the 1967 and 1973 wars Israel had with its neighbours. On my return to Iceland, my oldest son asked me if I could find him a job in Israel and I did. He got work at a hotel in Eilat. Around nine months later, I visited him and found him with a very good job and a nice salary. But he was not happy. He told me he was very angry at the Israelis. I was very surprised because at this time I really thought they were the good guys, but then my son told me about the differences Israelis make between Jews and the others, i.e. the Arabs, Muslim or Christian. He explained to me, for example, that he, as a foreign young man, a European, was after a very short time put in a job with a lot of power, and at the same time, Arabs that had been working there for years were treated as slaves, as subhuman. He had been told that he needed to be hard on Arabs, treat them like slaves, because, as the Israelis put it, they were lazy. But he had found his Arab friends to be very nice, polite, extremely generous and good, hard workers. In the end, he moved from his comfortable flat in the hotel to their housing, which consisted of just tents and shacks! Their place was far from as nice as what he had been used to, but he wanted to be with them because there, he had found real friends.
This was a turning point in my life. I have not been to Israel again. And I refuse to go there until it is Palestine. But I have been able to visit, live and study various Muslim countries. At forty, after raising four sons, I finished my studies, my baccalaureate, so I would be able to go to university. I wanted to study Middle East studies and Islam. Before I went to Denmark to study at Copenhagen University, I tried very hard here in Iceland to find any book about these issues. But I did not succeed. No Qur'ân, nothing at all. But when I had my birthday, I was asked what I wanted for a present. I answered: the Qur'ân. It was nearly impossible to find. But finally an antique bookshop found it for me so the next step was to start to read. This was the year 1989. I had got "The Book." This was the greatest gift I have ever received. In 1991, I went to Copenhagen and everyone said that I was crazy. What was a woman over forty doing, leaving her home to study Arabic and Islam? And still today I hear this! Some of my friends left me because of this. Not because I was trying to tell them about Islam, but because I was not normal in their minds. But nothing could stop me. After two years studying in Denmark, I went to Cairo, to learn better Arabic and to study Islam. I was very lucky to find a professor from the Al-Azhar University. Starting in 1993, he taught me all about the Qur'ân, from the beginning to the end. Soon after we began, I told him that I wanted to change my religion and he always said, "you don't need to do that because we have enough Muslims." After nearly two years of study, he suddenly asked me if I still wanted to convert. I said yes, I did. He then said I was ready. In fact, I was already a Muslim. He found time in the Al-Azhar University and I became Muslim on 30 January 1995. It was, and still remains, the happiest day in my life. Only Muslims know this feeling. Then I returned to Iceland, where the situation today is not at all as it should be. Over the last ten years, many Muslims have moved to Iceland and live here today with a family. Many have married Icelandic women, who in some cases have become Muslims. They are often not Arabic speaking, so the children have problems with the Arabic language. I see this is very sad, because the basis of their religion, Islam, is in Arabic: the Qur'ân. I believe there should be free education available for these children and even their parents. Of course, there should also be teaching in the Qur'ân and in Islam. I also miss the possibility of listening to a teacher explain the Qur'ân and the Hadith. If we live in an Arabic country, we can turn on the television, go to the mosque, or go to any cultural centre, ask questions, get answers, and learn. We need a teacher, an Imam, or an Imama. I want to mention the Icelandic people. They are open about things that they already know, but when it comes to things like Islam, I find them in fear. They know Islam is a religion and the God is called Allah, but they believe Allah is another God, a Muslim God. And they know the men can marry four wives. That's about it. The fear is clear when they meet somebody like me. When I say that I am a Muslim, they ask me if I am in the Osama Bin Laden group. They ask me how, as a woman, I can dream of having this religion where women have no rights, and no power. But the saddest thing is that they don't want to listen or hear anything, because all they know is from films on the television about terrorists, fundamentalists, extremists, etc. all the negative things. In my case, I have learned to be patient with other people and I have chosen in many cases not to mention that I am a Muslim. If we had an active group of Muslims here, a network working for Islam, we would be able to empower ourselves, make plans to inform Icelanders with the right information and in the right way. Here in Iceland, we have Allah's power everywhere, more than in many places in the world. We have icebergs, very old, creeping down from the glaciers, geysers, volcanoes, strong rivers, big waterfalls, earthquakes and strikingly beautiful nature. When I travel around my country, I often say, without realising it, Subhân Allah. Here, on a daily basis, we can see very clearly Allah's great work. It is very difficult to be a Muslim in Iceland as it is right now. As a single Muslim woman, I have really no place to go to meet other Muslims. Not even a shop. In Denmark, there are shops of all kinds, mosques, etc. Even to be able to go to the butcher, speaking a mix of Arabic-Danish makes you feel relaxed. Not to mention the bookshops! Somehow these things give you a feeling for Islam. Because I feel lonely in my religion, I find it very important to pray and read the Qur'ân. Not because I wouldn't do it otherwise, just that it becomes more important. It is too easy to forget when you live in such a different country, and you feel you are alone. I sometimes think about the young Muslims, coming here for work or whatever. Not all of them were raised in religious families in their homelands and then it is easy for them to forget or get careless. The negative atmosphere about Islam has a big influence on young people. I think it is easier for me as a grown up woman and a recent convert to remember my duties in my religion. If I say I don't eat pork, I am asked why and it depends on the situation which answer I most prefer: whether I tell them that I am a Muslim. I don't mind anymore about the responses, but if I have the feeling there could come very negative comments, I don't say I'm a Muslim. Sometimes the comments are very hurting, because they will not listen to any explanations and I feel very sad hearing this about my religion. It is as if somebody says very bad things about your family, which you know are untrue, only the lies said about Islam hurt even more. I once heard a story about a man, living on a small island. He had met some Muslims and they told him about Allah and the Qur'ân. He got very impressed and became a Muslim. Years passed and he continued to be alone on his island, praying every day, five times. But as the years went by, he forgot the exact words in the prayer. Still he prayed as always until finally, the only thing he could remember was Allah. Sometimes I find I have something in common with this man. Even though I know the prayers, I find myself alone as he was. Reykjavc, June 2004 http://thetruereligion.org/modules/xfsection/article.php?articleid=376
