alhamdulillah was slapped with Lammas
hola you're watching Islam and Muslims
and we're very happy to have you with
our program today and we invite you to
share with us today because we're
talking on the subject of Islam being
the world's fastest-growing religion now
this is a phenomenon that we can't deny
we've had politicians in the media
confirm this to us that Islam in spite
of all the things that are going on all
the negative publicity so to speak and
all of the actions that are taking place
and what some people are doing in the
name of Islam yet Islam is still the
fastest growing religion we're trying to
account for how could that be we've
talked about it in general and we talked
about the miracles of the Quran we've
talked about the subject of what islam
teaches and then we've talked also about
some specific cases and talked about how
in our own family for instance how many
of us came to Islam and what's going on
subject you we're talking about right
now is the priests and preachers coming
to Islam
my father was an ordained minister and
worked very hard to help support
different denominations of the churches
and fundraising making money and keeping
them going I worked also in capacity of
music in the churches I was in the music
business and music minister and preacher
on the side
we had a Catholic priest friend of ours
who was a missionary in the Latin
countries for over 14 years
my wife was a born again Christian very
active and very much a believer in
Christianity yet all of us we came to
Islam at the same time and that's the
little story I want to share with you in
this segment right here called priests
and preachers entering Islam
I've already told you that I had met a
Muslim an Egyptian and that in trying to
convert him to Christianity he had told
me he would go to Christianity or any
religion if it was better than his but
he needed proof and when I said I
thought religion is based on faith not
proof
he said to me that in Islam we have wolf
we have proof and faith one of the
things we talked about earlier segments
was the miracle of the Quran and we
talked about how the Quran has been
preserved its original context original
language in the hearts and minds of
every single Muslim living today have a
certain portion of the Quran in their
mind and over nine million nine million
have totally memorized the Quran living
today right now and it's all exactly the
same word for word dartford ott no
difference
so this is one of the things but let me
tell you what happened to us
specifically now we were sitting around
the table night after night talking
about religion talking about the very
different versions of the Bible the
Catholic priest has his Bible which had
73 books in it we were Protestants we
only had 66 books and they don't exactly
match each other and there's different
versions of the various Protestant
Bibles
but there's no original extant anywhere
so when we turn to the Muslim and ask
him what about your book he said we only
have one and he began to show us what
the Quran was we became fascinated we
won't know more about it one day the
Catholic priest he asked the Muslim he
said can I go to your church with you
well the mosque or must it is they
caught in Arabic he said sure come on
and he went and we were all anticipating
some kind of explanation when he got
back so when he got back we took him
aside father Peter Jacobs was his name
we said Pete of course we didn't call
him father cuz we weren't you know
Catholics we said Pete what was it what
was it like
did they like slaughter animals or do
some weird stuff he said no no no he
said very nice quiet place a big chamber
where everybody gathered together they
lined up they prayed in they left and I
said what that's it they lined up prayed
and left that's all he said yeah that's
what they do that's what kind of music
did they have he said they didn't have
any music I said what how are you going
to worship God with no music he said
well they did it
hmm what we pondered about that thought
about it for a while you know then
another day the priest asked him again
can I go with you again and he went with
him again and he was gone all day and a
part of the night when they came in we
were worried why they were so late
getting in but when they got there we
kind of understood something because
when they got out of the car here was
the Muslim guy
American looking clothes you know no
beard anything like that but here's
somebody with him all of a sudden we
didn't see the priest here's this guy
wearing a long white gown and he had a
white
like pillbox cap on his head they call
it a khufia I looked at him I said Pete
is that you
did you become a Muslim he said yes i
entered it slammed today
and i was shocked and I got out my video
camera and I wanted to you know put him
on camera and talk to him about what was
his experience I
really thought about that now kept
talking about I was so amazed i went up
to bed that night we lived it all in the
same house my dad had big house out in
the country you know and I went upstairs
with my wife and I was talking to her
about it now all of a sudden she said
you know what I want a divorce I said
huh what's going on that's not my
subject well I'd be she all this talking
about religion what's going on with
religion and you know a Muslim can't be
married to a Christian and I said wait a
minute whoa whoa whoa did I say I want
to be a Muslim I didn't say that that
I'd say that I didn't want to be no
Muslim ok uh-uh I was telling you about
the Catholic priest ok not me all in the
subject lets you know change the subject
she said no a Muslim that can't be
married to a Christian I said know if
you heard what the man told us he said
that a Muslim woman couldn't be married
to a Christian man she said that's
exactly what I'm talking about I want to
be a Muslim and
you're a Christian
and I said wait whoa whoa whoa whoa
there's some good news here good news
good news is I didn't know how to tell
you this but now I will I too would like
to be a Muslim she said I don't believe
you
you're either a liar now or you were a
liar a few minutes ago you either a
Christian or you're a Muslim in either
way you're a liar and I don't need to be
married to a liar so get out so I left I
didn't know what to do and on the way
down the steps I went where am I going
this is my father's house so I went to
the Muslim I woke him up and I said we
gotta talk so what I did I asked them
Muslim to go for a walk phone with me it
was at night so we went for a little
walk and we
walk the neighborhood we lived out in
the country but there were some little
roads out there little neighborhood area
and as we went around talking talking I
talked about so many things he gave me
answers on so many issues
the Sun was coming up and I realized
that I told him you need to go pray your
prayer whatever you pray in the morning
and he did he went to pray and
then I
had a feeling I need to do something I
need to make a step here myself I need
to go out as a leap of faith and do
something and checked myself out so I
decided to kind of look at myself and
say who am i what am i doing and where
am I going I went out behind my father's
house out there in the country I found a
big old piece of plywood you know and
where nobody could see me I figured I'll
do this and I aimed myself toward the
east you know where the Muslims face to
pray and I said I'm going to do this
because I've read it in the Bible to
that the prophets used to fall on their
faces to prostrate to Almighty God let
me try that and i'm going to ask God
something and I put my head down on the
ground on that piece of plywood in the
same direction I'd seen that Muslim
praying and I said these words Oh God
if you're there
guide me
that's it and
I said it with all sincerity I open up
my heart and I was really saying Oh God
if you're there guide me
now when I raised my head up and I
looked around I didn't see any dancing
elves or fairies or angels I didn't hear
any music I didn't see any rainbows it
was just a cloudy day in Texas but
I could see something else
see inside of myself in a way and
realize that you know what the problem
is an outside the problem was inside I
need to do something about me to correct
some of the biases the prejudice some of
my attitudes toward other people and
through that I would be able
to get closer to the correct
understanding and that's why I had to
begin and in fact that's where all
people have to begin