salamualikum' guys were here in Mostar
I'm with the former nickname god oh but
it's Hadas
he's a resident here must iron he's got
an incredible story to share family was
primarily atheist communists and he was
just you know in the world of confusion
and then we want to find out what
happens from there was he had now in his
life really incredible story this is all
right this is how it is coming up here
on the - oh don't worry
[Music]
alright guys welcome back continuing our
tour in Bosnia meeting some wonderful
people and no exception here we have had
it so I'll make them hottest I'm gonna
cut may the peace mercy of the Almighty
be upon you and all those watching
hottest you came is very interesting you
came from and it's kind of common right
out here where people they're like
Muslim but they their parents aren't
quite practicing Muslims they're
actually atheist right from a communist
background that's the background you
came from can you fill us in yeah it
comes from from the period of a
communistic regime which in a way you
know making people only concentrating on
materialism materialism at basic things
and annihilating the existence of God
and the most important thing was that
what was that what what were they
proclaiming was that you know like
Brotherhood and equality and those
things that they should kind of wipe out
the differences between religion and
nationality and so and so but in reality
it showed later that mostly bushnell
people they embrace that kind of
philosophy while the other nations
nationalities I mean like Serbs and
Croats they they kind of kept it as as
their own kind of stamp as identity
question you know Bosh knocks mostly
gave their children names like karate
and Bosh and Serbs do
everything was in this kind of term to
come to closer to them and and and and
really show that they embrace that
philosophy of Brotherhood and which was
later a really a very expensive thing to
pay through the war in Bosnia it showed
that this was the only case in motion
people so you yourself you pretty much
were a man of no religion was there any
Islam there at all
nothing really nobody cared about
religion religion were kind of reserved
to to all the people what I remember
from that time
I barely remember any Elan that I'd
heard any alone in that period I used to
live here for thirty years before I left
this country in 89 and what I remember
is that old people like grandfathers you
know they they used to circle around
mosque with this French Black Caps on
their head and it was like you know the
religion was for all people and if you
were talking about these things like you
know okay that's something which you
kind of keep for later on when you get
older nothing for young people nothing
for you know that you should ponder
about or think about it no it was
nothing to talk about really you even
told me it was interesting there were
marches masks that were built during the
time of the Ottoman rule was that right
but what were they turned into con yin
is they they turned it into if they had
a need for a storage or like a stale how
would you say first of all styles
different kind of things
or even just closed it down or even
carry down or as there many cases now we
rebuild those the messages from that
time because they were really
doing everything they could to to kind
of turn down the the enthusiasm and and
the religion in this in these people so
now we talked a little bit about your
family
atheist communists and yourself now what
kind of life what were you at that
moment your life growing up you were
pretty much let me guess just going
along you know bows and money parties
girls I mean what was the kind of things
that you were you know involved in
before and where was the turning court
when you were like oh I finally came to
a point that you know racking up money
or wealth or all these things that you
found out they they didn't fill that
void in your heart or is the turning
point yeah you're quite right that's
that's the exactly the the way I was
living my life and when I turn thirty
something happened with me that I just
exactly like this just like I woke up
one morning I took two suitcases from
from the cupboard and put my clothes my
parents were like what's going on I just
went on the train strike two Zagreb from
Zagreb I took a bus and I went to
Holland to visit a friend of mine who
invited me half a year earlier and I
stayed there for humans
I met the same year somebody Ana coast
of Croatia found me she was from North
Norway invited me over there so I went
to Norway after all I married her I got
two kids the war in Bosnia started my
mother was killed my father came over
there and suddenly my life was really
completely in case I couldn't I couldn't
cope with the fact that I was living
there and the war was here and the
relationship with my wife was 96 I
divorced and after that I decided to
change my life completely and I started
think of what can I do so I said okay
I'm gonna study something so I decided
to study something like artistic and
social event into being a graphic
designer after all I went to England and
was studying there for two years and
then in that journey when I came over
there I met another world I met lots of
different kind of people young people
from different countries and it wasn't
easy for me to be there cuz I left two
kids behind and all those students were
much much younger than me so it was very
hard to be there so one one day like I
felt like depression and I was laying in
my room and just looking in a ceiling
and suddenly I don't know how it came
out of me like Allah helped me and I was
like wow what did I say but it was like
like a button you know like it was on
you know something happened to me just a
few days later I met a Muslim guy from
Manchester was man he was Pakistani and
he asked me first time somebody in my
life asked me are you Muslim I was like
yes Oh would we just going to imagine to
pray via video so let's go pray so I was
like I can't okay
I don't know how no problem and just be
innocent so I was like like walking with
them and then came over there and it was
my first time first fella without
knowing anything just like robot you
know and then after that I was meeting
these guys often and we talked about it
and he came to my room and only Islam
Islam Islam Islam and then suddenly you
know things became much more clear for
me you know like
reading and started to practice and then
after all I got
practiced by how to say this you know as
a student they have exchange from
Holland a students comes to England and
I could get a chance to get a practice
my my studies my my my job as a graphic
designer
in it was a huge Bureau pro-forma in
Rotterdam so I went over there and then
it just kind of met other people and the
friend of mine came there from Paris and
he was already practicing Islam and just
took me
and I was just like okay and now in this
kind of wave okay I am coming
and I'm there and after all I really
felt like it's that's it that's that's
the the the kind of feeling I was really
really looking for that's something I
was searching my life because you know
earlier I used to read some books but it
was like okay whatever I came to it was
like all right can't be like this but it
doesn't need to be like this it can be
like this but it doesn't need to be like
this but when I came into it and started
reading Quran and and starting
practicing so this is really something
like you know it is straightforward it's
just you know you talk to to it to you
to your Creator there's nothing like you
she was she like stories and you know
like this and like that and and it was
really something that that embraced it
with my full heart and after after that
it just went one way
let's try it one way now before you
started really coming back to Islam
practicing Islam did you investigate and
look at many of the other religions that
were out there and what what how did
Aslam stand out from the other religions
that you started to look into and make a
comparison oh yeah that was I was
reading Bible because the lady I was
married with the religion lady her
father when I came to Norway the first
thing I've got from him as the president
was a book and it's ten instance on the
book good news for a modern man I didn't
know what was so I thought it's just a
book he he gave me the present so I took
a look it was blue book with this title
so I opened it I was a Bible okay I said
since I got it from my from
father-in-law I should I should read
some of it but then soon after that I
felt like okay it's not really what I
feel like like going into because many
of these things were kind of I don't
know it was difficult for me to believe
in these things somehow and I was also
reading some of I guess it's really a
known one horse he was unknown right in
these kind of terms a Deepak Chopra I
guess is Indian from India he got those
he was writing those books about how to
be successful and how to combine the
spiritual life material life and so it
was interesting but also something was
missing there I was reading I don't know
something about Zen and Buddhism and
Hinduism in high early days but also
that was you know nothing really kind of
where I could go to it and then and then
explore more something was missing there
that's that's how I felt but when I
started reading books Islamic books
there was you know the writer was not
using his opinion or his how to say
interpretation and so the books I was
reading was ayah from KO r and
translation and then hadith
you see and so on and so on and that was
combining those things and reading about
life of prophet s awesome and being
being into it I I discovered how these
things happen so so it was
really important whoever starts
exploring should read about history
about life of prophet saw some and and
then from start from there now did you
get an opportunity to go back to your
parents or atheist and what was the
result of that my mother was killed in
in in this war in Bosnia
she was just fetching some water from
from a kitchen and a grenade exploded
nearby and she got she was killed and
then my father he he came to Norway when
I was living in a time and I got the
opportunity to talk to him after all one
day my father came into the mosque he
was looking for me and since he as a
child he used to go to a mecca in the
neighborhood where he was living he
remembered the Arabic words which was
standing on the wall so he came into the
with you pronounced it you know I was by
reading it everything is younger because
he remembers the meaning of it was you
know in the time when he was kid they
had maktab day but then after all
communism came and tried to erase all
that yeah he was feeling it oh this is
really a present from Allah to me and I
could listen to my father pronounce this
this Shahada that's that's what I was
when I was really
having as a strong strong memory my
father died in Norway and he became more
and more religious after all not really
he wasn't practicing but but he used to
used to pray on his way
becoming a system atheist system try to
come in race and take out of the hearts
natural disposition to believe in God
but through all of that this is a
testament there's so many people who
even through that they still came out
and they profess their faith and many
who went away they came back and this is
just one of those examples and you're
continuing also now some wonderful work
you didn't just stop there where you
ended up going into different religions
you had a gift from your father-in-law
the Bible you looked at many world
religions and you talked about how Islam
was straightforward many people can you
talk about this for a second many people
they like what we call this pure
monotheism you know in Christianity for
instance you have the worship of Jesus
you have the worship of Catholicism
Saints and all this do you have any of
those strange superstitions or human
worship or prophet worship in Islam no
no there's nothing like that in Islam
Islam doesn't teach us anything like
that when we agreed and and then you can
really really really clear language
where the Creator Allah is saying that
the worst sin you can do in this life is
to join somebody beside Allah as a
creator if you pray to somebody else as
the the worst thing you can do so right
right now before you came we were doing
this on the street you know this Dawa
project and two ladies they
Catholics they came to me and then we
were talking about religion and what
they believe in and so they also confess
that they believe in one God but when I
asked them about Jesus in their religion
and and Mary Jesus mother how they
believe they said yes sometimes I prayed
to marriage sometimes I play pray to
Jesus but I believe there is only one
God so it was really kind of you know
difficult for me to understand so I said
listen in that time when the creator
wanted to educate people about
monetarism and then the creative sent
was sending the Prophet was logical that
creator will confuse people people more
because they were in confusion before or
would it be logical the Creator would
send something that would be easier for
them to understand through the through
belief they say yeah of course it would
be it is logical that the Creator would
send something more easier and more
logical for two people so I said isn't
that what you say more complicated more
difficult that you prayed to one and
then this one is being mediator bringing
your message further why don't you pray
straight to the God yeah I do it
sometimes he said she said so we don't
believe in and that was those things
that we should pray to somebody else and
it will be kind of you know like
mediator for us should that this person
who died should bring a message further
to
so you haven't stopped there now you're
actually out there sharing the message
of Islam which is a responsibility for
every Muslim you know to share to help
educate any of the people that are out
there who give most education through
the the media what's one of the top
questions or people you get a lot of
Communists because this for Informer in
a communist country people asking you
questions maybe can you share what what
this is but one of those questions that
you get the press asked this most the
most common question is it comes from I
would say confusion and lack of
knowledge mostly the people ask how do
you know that there is another life a
life after this nobody came back from
this other life to tell us and we can't
believe this because we don't have any
proof that's the the the most common
reaction when you start talking to two
people trying to give them a guideline
for coming closer to believe how do you
answer that
you see I often tell them that they
should ask themselves their hearts what
is in their heart not what they trying
to kind of avoid by a rationale kind of
thinking through what they see around
them this world is as we know kind of
trap for for for anybody because it you
got trapped in this world and you
believe it's that's the only thing that
you related to so I said ask your heart
do you have love in your heart for for
somebody for for your mother for your
kids how can you describe Islam
is there anything you can touch you can
see you have dreams sometimes you get
dreams that you kind of be scared can be
scared of sometimes those dreams can be
really full of hope and love what about
these dreams where they come from where
where is everything comes from it must
be somebody who has created it must be
somebody who has a concept for us
otherwise this life would be so poor so
sad so depressing if we had only this
and nothing else
well how about justice how about all
those who criminals how about all those
who are causing such pain in the world
what about them are they just going to
be like that nothing with them now
justice for those who have lost their
homes refugees millions of those people
who have been tortured and so nothing
like that so they don't have they don't
have a really answers many of them they
say if there was a god they wouldn't
allow people doing those things so I
said he of course he doesn't allowed but
a Creator has given all the women being
free will so they can do whatever they
want that's the the challenge that's the
the choice you have to make are you are
you getting into a realm of being good
or bad that's that's a choice so now how
does tell us for people who are visiting
most are like I am
and let's say they want to learn more
about Islam you guys have a dollar booth
out here that you go ahead and you
disseminate the correct information you
know there's obviously a lot of
misconceptions and that's the
responsibility we have is to to share
this message how can people hook up with
you guys and if people want to support
you guys you know support your Dawa
center how can people do that well we
have we have both website we have also
printed material we can announce it
somewhere as we do but people mostly
should participate in let's say watching
the lectures which are on YouTube and on
our website and through this they can be
acquainted with the work we do also
there are information displayed over
there so they can contribute if they
feel for it we are in need let's say
lately we should be actually doing some
projects but cause of financial shortage
we we were not able to do to do those
things as people know the country is
still under kind of repair repairing the
damages from the war and system is not
really doing that well but we're trying
we are trying to do as good as we can
small-scale but we hope that
stronger and bigger so that's the way
this debate all right and you guys are I
heard making wells in Africa you're
feeding the poor people in the community
really giving back I mean along with
sharing the message you're also doing
humanitarian work right yeah that's
right we are trying to be about let's
say a helping hand to those in need
through the work as we do in how to say
the place we rent now both pupils can
come over there and get lectures for
free in physics and mathematics we are
also having courses in different
languages the course in touch we'd and
so all this stuff which is connected to
Dow and to work with for Islam and in
the same time we are collecting funds
from those who would probably from other
places from jaspera from other countries
professionals will help through us the
poor so that we receive we are receiving
from them found so we can distribute
further in
how did someone thank you thank you for
sharing your story so our audience and
everyone tuning it can benefit because
there's a lot of people who are born
into a communist atheist family and now
they get inspired and they can move
forward and really seek to know who
created me why am I here what's my
purpose and this might be a great start
for them and for others who tuned in to
watch your story thank you very much
thank you thank you guys continue to
tune in we're here in our beautiful
journey in Bosnia we'll see you next
time until that peace be with you
Islamic
you