Khadija Watson's Journey of Faith
She is an American from California. Her card gives you some clue: "Khadija
Watson, ex-professor of theology." She has a BA and an MA in theology. She was
an ordained, licensed minister, a Christian missionary who spent seven years
preaching in the Philippines.
That was six years ago. Today she is a Muslim and a teacher at Al-Hamra
Islamic Education Foundation in Jeddah. When she first visited her children in
the United States in an "Abaya" and "Hijab," they screamed, "Oh Mom! You look
like a terrorist!"
Khadija never thought in her wildest dreams that she would become a Muslim. "I
had no inclination toward Islam. I had been taught that Islam was satanic and
demonic!" What changed her mind? When she studied church history and learned
that the idea of the trinity was introduced 325 years after Jesus Christ,
Khadija's professors could not give her satisfactory explanations. She was also
concerned that if what they taught was true, why was it making no difference to
society which was growing steadily worse?
While in the Philippines, where Khadija worked as a missionary and taught as a
professor in two colleges, she enrolled in a German language class. There she
met a Filipino, who impressed her because he was so kind and gentle. He always
carried a plastic bag from which he distributed coins to the beggars in the
street. He had been in Dubai and had converted to Islam. In the same classroom
was a Filipina, who had been in Saudi Arabia and had converted to Islam. She
was always covered.
Khadija said she was shocked! "I could not believe I had met two Christians in
one week, who had become Muslims. Especially, a woman! I was under the
impression, like so many Westerners, that Islam considered women second-class
citizens and that their husbands locked them up and beat them!"
The Filipina told Khadija about the beauty of Islam and how it was a liberator
of women and a protector of women's rights. Khadija realized that women were
actually more abused in the West. "In the United States, every four minutes a
woman is beaten by her spouse or partner so badly that she needs to go to the
emergency room. In the UK, the same thing happens every two minutes. These
statistics are based on reported cases only!"
Khadija felt a stirring in her heart. Could she have been wrong about Islam?
The Filipina suggested that Khadija visit the Islamic Center. "I prayed and
asked the Lord to show me if Islam was wrong. Then I went to the Islamic
Center. Their approach shocked me. As a missionary, I was familiar with many
evangelical strategies and methods. These Muslims used nothing. There was no
harassment, no psychological manipulation and no subliminal suggestion. They
simply gave me some books and told me they would answer any questions I had."
It was the first time Khadija had read books about Islam written by Muslims.
She was surprised to find Allah is One, the Sustainer, the Merciful, the
Ever-Present!
"There was no go-between, no priest. I went back to the Islamic Center the
very next day and guess what?" Khadija said, resorting to her wonderful sense
of humour. "They gave me more books!" After many hours of reading and over 15
discussions, Khadija was convinced of the authenticity of the Holy Qur'an. "The
Bible has more than 66 books, 40 authors and was written in several different
languages. The Holy Qur'an has not changed as the Bible has."
She became a Muslim and chose the name Khadija. "Because, like Khadija, I was
a widow. I embraced Islam at about the same age as she was when she converted.
I also have nine children as she had." Khadija lost all her friends and most of
her family after becoming a Muslim. "My in-laws, who were from the Philippines,
and had a very warm relationship with me even after my husband died, totally
shunned me. My children who were good Christians because I had worked hard on
them, had emergency meeting on how to bring mom back to her senses!"
Khadija's 18-year-old son, however, became a Muslim. "Something I could not
believe. He was into music and dating and was not ready for any kind of
religion. I used to leave books for him to read, but I found them untouched.
But I prayed a lot for him - and all my children - to become Muslim. Later,
when he converted to Islam, he confessed that he had read all the books and
kept me from knowing. He was the one who went to Makkah first. When he came
back, he told me excitedly, 'Mom, you will love Saudi Arabia. All the women
dress like you!"
By: Sameen Khan
[From: Muslim World League Journal]
Wednesday : 30/07/2008
PoEtEsS
"Prayer, wisdom, knowledge and faith are the best gifts that I have……"Zohra
Moosa (Deaf Poet)
------------------------------------
***************************************************************************
{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy
Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in
His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites
(men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I
am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if
Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of
camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever
calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who
follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended:
http://www.ikhwanweb.com
http://www.islamonline.net
http://www.islam-guide.com
http://www.prophetmuhammadforall.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in
any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved
otherwise.
If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily
digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your
mail delivery settings or email the moderators at
islamcity-ow...@yahoogroups.com with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo!
Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamcity/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamcity/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:islamcity-dig...@yahoogroups.com
mailto:islamcity-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
islamcity-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
