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An Exclusive Interview of a Revert to Islam, Katie, from New Zealand

One day I decided to buy the Quran and read it myself. I knew when I first started reading it that it was the truth. But it took sometime to feel ready to convert.

According to rahyafte (the missionaries and converts website):

An Exclusive Interview of a Revert to Islam, Katie, from New Zealand, By Bentolhoda Mofakhami

 

Rahyafte team (related to Edoardo Agnelli Islamic Association) invites you on a special journey into the life of our sister Katie. She is 27 years old from New Zealand and converted to Islam one year ago.

 

Thank you Katie for accepting the interview. Please tell about your religion before converting to Islam.
Prior to converting to Islam, I was agnostic. I did not believe in any religion and found them all complicated and conflicting. I was also raised in a community which believed that religion was the main cause of problems in the world today. When I was younger I would occasionally go to the church with my neighbour, but didn’t find it resonated with me.

 

How did you get familiar with Islam?
I went to Saudi Arabia for a 2 year working contract, I am a nurse. I went to Saudi for the opportunities that were offered, like tax free salary, work experience and opportunity to easily travel the world. I didn’t go to learn about Islam. I wasn’t interested in converting to another religion and was happy within myself. After a year working in Saudi I was regularly encouraged to learn about Islam and that I was already a good Muslim, I just needed to believe in Allah and worship Him. Initially, I was defensive and really didn’t want to know about it. But slowly I kept getting encouraged to at least read the Quran and learn about Islam and then decide if it was for me or not.

 

What drove you to convert to Islam? What specifically attracted you to Islam?
After being encouraged to learn about Islam I decided to watch some videos on YouTube to learn more about Islam.
I found the more I learnt, the more I couldn’t stop. One day I decided to buy the Quran and read it myself. I knew when I first started reading it that it was the truth. But it took sometime to feel ready to convert. I spent a year learning more about Islam and learning about the experiences from converts before I felt comfortable. I was in contact with a sheikh but I was feeling to hesitant to say Shahada. Once I finished my contract and moved back home to New Zealand, I came up with the courage to finally convert alhamdullilah.
The sense of being in a community and having people around you supporting you and working together for your akhirah.

 

What was your family’s reaction after you became a Muslim? Did you have any problem with people who knew you?
I had big problems with my family after I converted, especially with my mother. She cried in deep disappointment after I told her I had converted. I told her before I converted that I wanted to do it, she did everything she could to convince me not to do it.
After I told her I had converted we had lots of clashes and multiple times she threatened to kick me out of the house. She forbid me from wearing hijab around the house and around family friends. And she didn’t want me announcing my conversion to anyone. A year later she is still not happy I am Muslim but is dealing with my decision and is slowly getting used to it.

How do you see the spread of Islam in your country?
New Zealand is a small country and Islam is slowly spreading but nothing like U.K. Or USA. In my hometown, I only know a handful of Muslims. But in bigger cities like Auckland, there are a lot more Muslims and they are incredibly humbled, generous and the most welcoming people ever. But there is still a lot of work to spread the word of Allah out there. Most people are ignorant about Islam, and believe what they see in the media.

 

What is the most beautiful Ayah of the Quran in your opinion? And why?
I don’t have a favourite Ayah. All Ayat affects me differently, depending on what I am going through in life.

 

What’ your opinion about hijab? Did wearing hijab have any effect on your private life? Do you think it is only dedicated to women?
I do not wear Hijab full time yet. As I mentioned above, I have had a lot of problems with my family regarding hijab. Because I still live at home I choose not to wear hijab because it caused too much stress within the family. My intention is to wear hijab one day, and I do wear it when I’m traveling overseas or whenever I am with other Muslims, but I’m not at the stage of wearing hijab full time yet.
Allah has commanded us to love and honour your mother and to not break ties with your family. If I wore hijab and forced the issue then I would have broken ties with my family and would have been kicked out of the house. I think it’s better to keep the peace in the family but still have the right intentions of one day being able to wear hijab full time. I believe if you have the right intentions, Allah will make a way for you.
For me, hijab is about being modest. Not only the way you dress but with your actions as well. Being able to dress modestly is something I cherish more than I expected. I now feel at peace knowing that I am no longer sexualised and judged upon about the way I look. That is freedom for me.

 

How do you analyze the family institution according to Christianity and Islam?
I thought family was important, until I saw how Arabs look after their families. I was so impressed that they take in their parents when they get old and care for them in their homes. It’s typical here in the west to put your parents into rest homes when they get old and their health deteriorates. I loved that they are so family orientated and this really made a big impact for me.

 

What was your feeling when you prayed for the first time? Wasn’t it hard for you to pray 5 times a day?
I found it so difficult learning how to pray. When I converted I was gifted a prayer mat from the mosque I did shahada with, it had the words and actions written on the mat so I could follow along with it when I got lost.
It was such an amazing feeling after praying for the first time, a feeling of peace and tranquillity I had never felt before. I found it very difficult praying 5 times a day and learning how to prioritise prayers around my day. Because I was met with difficulty from my conversion, I was made to pray in private. So I always prayed in private in my room, scared someone would walk in on me praying.

 

If you want to say some words about the beauty of Islam, the peace, the calmness you have found in this religion what do you say?
Islam is the most beautiful religion and I always say alhamdullilah I was guided to the straight path. Islam takes time to learn and understand. When you come across controversial statements made against Islam, make sure to really research more because you will find the truth amongst the hatred.
Islam is a religion of peace, surrounded by forgiveness, giving to charity and those in need, being patient at times of hardships and grateful at times of ease, and worshipping the one who created you and sustains you. SubhanAllah!

 

How do you analyze women’s right in Islam compared to what the West has propagated?
Women’s rights in Islam is completely not what people in the west say it is. It did take me time to learn about the rights of women within Islam and I was blown away by how honoured women are in Islam and that made Islam even more attractive to me.
When living in Saudi, I used to think that Muslim women were told what to do by their husbands and felt sorry for them that they were oppressed. I was surprised to learn that women choose to wear the hijab to please their Lord. I learnt that my beliefs were of ignorance. I now feel empowered as a woman.
I love the idea that your beauty should be protected and it’s not for everyone to see. You are not an object to be sexualised and treated to impress ones desires, you are more than that. The most valuable things in this life are covered and protected, and the women is the same.

 

Which feature in Islam attracted you?
Everyone is hunting for their purpose in life. Islam answered all my questions to life, like why we are here and where we are going, what happens are death, why we suffer from hardships etc. To be able to have answers to the bigger questions in life gives purpose and direction, this really attracted me to Islam, along with the sense of community to strive together.

 

Who/ what influenced your conversion to Islam?
The people I worked with in Islam greatly impacted my conversion to Islam. They were always pushing me to read the Quran and learn about Islam. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be Muslim. Also watching convert stories on YouTube helped greatly and inspired me a lot.

 

As a convert, what way of inviting to Islam you believe is more effective on non-Muslims?
Definitely seeing Muslims actively practicing Islam is more impactful and inspiring for me. Let your actions attract the people to Islam. Gently encourage people to learn about Islam and be there to answer any questions according to the Quran and Sunnah. Practice Islam and let people ask you questions if they are genuinely interested in learning about Islam. If people are not ready to learn about Islam then things will escalate and push them further away.

 

Thank you very much for your attention. May Allah bless you and keep you strong and firm on this true path.

 

By Bentolhoda Mofakhami

 

DUA: Allah please accept this from us. You are All-Hearing and All-Knowing. You are The Most Forgiving.You are The Most Relenting and repeatedly Merciful. Allah grant us The Taufiq to read all the 5 prayers with sincerity.
(Taken from: To Be Earnest In Prayers By Amina Elahi)
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