To be at peace with one's self regarding God: this is, quite simply,
the idea behind this entire paper.
Many of us are content to go through life, accepting things ''as they
are"; we ignore those nagging little questions and doubts in our minds,
especially in matters regarding religion. In so doing we make it by,
yes, but we never quite achieve that state of peace within ourselves.
Others of us, however, are not content to take things at face value,
so to say, and we actively seek out answers to those questions which
come up during the course of our lives. We question the faith of our
fathers, not willing to settle for blind acceptance. This road is not
easily traveled by any means, but the rewards are well worth the effort.
I was raised as a Christian, brought up in a denomination of protestantism
known as the "Christian Reformed" faith. Despite a thorough religious
background -- church services twice on Sunday and on holidays, Sunday
school, church doctrine classes, Christian youth group, private Christian
education, summer Bible schools and Bible camps--I found myself with
questions concerning the very basics of my faith that no person nor
avenue of religious instruction cou1d answer. For thirty-seven years,
I wandered about in this haze of uncertainty regarding God and the right
way to pay homage to Him until, in 1991, I discovered Islam.
The "Desert Storm" conflict in the Middle East was at its height; alongside
the books on war strategy and weaponry at the local bookstore was a
thin paperback entitled Understanding Islam. I paged through it, having
that same sense of curiosity about this "mysterious" Middle-Eastern
religion that many others did at this time. Curiosity quickly turned
to amazement, however, when I learned through the pages of this book
that Islam offered me the answers to those questions which had plagued
me for all those years-- and I wasted no more time. I became a Muslim.
At long last, I had finally achieved that goal of being at peace within
myself regarding my relationship with God.
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