so I'll make them guys from Boca Raton
sunny Florida some more exciting special
guests and Rashida's no exception here
former Christian Sunday school teacher
on the D show Bearcats ooh I'm Alicia
rashida Shaheen and my journey to Islam
started when I when I was a teenager
basically I lost my mother at the age of
12 which led me on a journey to kind of
like spend time with the elderly so that
I can kind of reminisce on my mother's
poundcake because they knew they knew
how to cook it back in Georgia because
that's where I was born and because I
went on a Sunday and I will go and help
them they end up taking me to church
with them so I will go to church with
them and I was sitting in Sunday school
and I would ask all kinds of questions
out why God took my mother
well quite naturally when you ice those
kind of questions you know you're going
to sound like wow this is a 13-point
year 14 year old child acts on these
in-depth questions so they thought you
had knowledge well anyway I went from
the Sunday School room asking questions
to the pulpit delivering you know
lectures or preaching as they say in the
Pentecostal church and I did that for a
while
I did for maybe a year and the church
congregation grew and I only narrated
stories that I like stories that you
know I felt comforted me and but one day
when I was up there on that particular
pulpit God took the words in the name of
Jesus out of my mouth I could not out of
those words I didn't know what was
happening to me but I tried as hard as I
could to say those words but they would
not come out and so when I finished a
lecture that day I
to the elders of the church and I said
to them I said something happened today
I cannot say the words in the name of
Jesus I don't know I hadn't even write
it for them I said I can't say these
words anymore I had to write it and so
they said well they laid hands on me you
know as you know in that particular
religion and they pray for me like
thirty days and I still could not say it
it still didn't change things so they
said I had back slid and I said oh no I
did not I believe there's a god I know
there's a god don't tell me that there
is no God because I know it and I said
if you can't give me an answer then I
will go and find it myself so I went on
a search and I went to the Church of
Christ of course and Reverend Williams
he was there and you know God leads us
and he touches us in ways that we have
no no knowledge of but you know by the
grace of God this minister was patient
he's sat me down and he taught me the
beginning of creation all the way up to
the birth of Jesus he gave me that
background knowledge I need in order to
accept Islam whenever it came into my
life and I stayed with him for a couple
of years and I worship with him and then
I while I was in college I decided to
relocate to Florida and he he contacted
Reverend Williams another Reverend
Williams in Fort Lauderdale where I went
to went to that particular church but it
was nothing like Reverend Williams
Reverend William was he was educated he
had his ministry in theology and he was
awesome but when I came to Fort
Lauderdale I had a more of a personal I
mean you know personal dis minister or
whatever he I don't know where he got
his knowledge from but he was night
night and day with the my Reverend
William he wore the pink suits and he
had his ere process and you know
flirtatious with the women
and I it just turned me off so I kind of
like didn't go to church anymore I just
said I have to wait and so I just went
on to college continuing my education
still still debated with religion I love
debating religion defending you know God
and well one day while I was at work and
I think I debated with one of my
co-workers for a year I said you know
you he was Muslim and I said give me
that Quran used to keep speaking up let
me see that book so on a Friday he wrote
out for me how to make wudu how to do
ablution and he gave me the you know the
direction and he said before you read my
book this book I'm giving you you have
to make you have to promise me that
you're gonna do evolution you have to
make the solution and then then you read
it and then you tell me what you think
and it was on a Friday and so I I was so
excited I took the book and I was just
ready to go home
well lo and behold I have my first test
with that book I wrote home with the
Jehovah Witness every Friday you know
every day she gave me a ride home but
that day I had the book and I'm skipping
I'm ready I'm so excited she tells me
she said
Leisha you can't get in that name my car
with that boat I said excuse me what did
you say she said you look that Eric gave
you you can't get in my car with that
book I said well I'm walking today
because honey I'm around taking this
book home and I'm reading this book so I
got out of her car and I started walking
and Eric came by he saw me walking he
said why are you walking
I said well Mary said I can't get her
covered up mom your book and I'm right
I'm walking home I'm gonna read this
book so that was my first test I didn't
know it at the time but I was being
tested I took that book home I went home
I had my dinner I um after my dinner I
made the evolution like he said it was
about seven or eight
and then I began to compare I got the
Bible put it on the bed I got the Quran
and put it on the bed and I I will read
the beginning of the maybe the first
verses of the Bible and then I will read
the first verses of the Quran and then I
got up to surah Baqarah to the part
where it says o you who believe
it says the one audhu billahi min
ash-shaytaan-i'r rajeem is me later
daddy Kalki tabulator a bevy who they're
little bitty little adeana
you know it goes on and it says in this
book there is truth there is no doubt
for those who believe and I'm thinking
oh no doubt no doubt but those who
believe and then it goes on to say you
know how God gave that booklet anyway
after I got to the 9th verse I passed
out I went completely to sleep I don't
know what hit me is like a drug came
over me I just went to sleep and I woke
up that say that morning at 2:30 a.m. in
the morning with the worst nightmare
ever all I remember and I still remember
it as vivid as today all these things
coming out of my head the more I pull
the more I you know it was there I was
so frightened it was like Medusa the
more I thought it was so real to me and
I I became so frightened I thought
somebody had put something in my you
know I'm in college in my dorm I thought
somebody put something in my food or in
my dream I go and I dialed 9-1-1 and I
told the operator I said someone you
need to send someone over somebody put
something in my food I don't know what
happened I don't drink I don't smoke I
never use drugs something is wrong I had
this horrible thing coming out of my
head
it's like I'm a hallucinating please
send someone and then the person on the
phone said slow down what happened tell
me what tell me what what you were doing
before you went to sleep and I said well
I was my friend gave me a book his Quran
and I had my Bible and I was comparing
it to books and then I fell asleep and
he said he saw us laugh and he said it's
gonna be okay
I said is he said yes he said that's
just God's Way of purifying you he's
taking all those bad concepts out of
your head and he is you're gonna be
Muslim and I said I am he said yes he's
just clearer than you you're gonna be
Muslim I said I am know who's talking he
was telling you this this is the 9-1-1
call the 911 operators telling you
they're telling me this and then i said
really he said yes he said he said all
you have to do is know that there is a
god I said no there's God I always
believed it is a god he said well then
you have to also not just believe that
there's a one God but you have to accept
that Muhammad is the Messenger of God
I said really and then he said I said
well I know that God exists and if
Muhammad is the last prophet or
messenger of god and god truly centium I
can accept whatever God's in it because
I'm that kind of person and I said so if
that's what it takes to be a Muslim and
that's what gonna stop these things from
coming out of my head I'll be Muslim
right now if that's what God want me to
do so the 911 operator was Muslim
himself well let me finish the story
okay
and so he said well if you sure that you
want to be Muslim then you know he asked
me to take the shadow right there in
there
I took a shadow and he had me repeat
after him and I thought took the shot at
us and let I had a little of muhammad
rasool allah and he said that there is
no god but one god whose proper name is
Allah and that Muhammad SAW Allah Allah
is his last messenger of allah and he
helped me say that and he said now you
are Muslim I said I am he's I said
that's it he said yes he said that's all
it takes and all you have to do now is
believe that and practice the read the
Quran followed the laws of God and you
know be a good person could you know and
that's it that's that's the Islamic life
you are a Muslim and I said really he
said yes and then he said how did you
get my number
he said I'm our imam Rashid at the
sunrise mess you I said what do you mean
how did I get your number i down 9-1-1
and he said so upon Allah because I woke
up with that dream and I dialed 9-1-1
and brother what Allah he this is my
life story I don't tell it often because
to me it is so profound and so bizarre
but this is how Allah subhana WA Ta'ala
brought me into the religion of Islam
and it was in the middle of the night
and then he exchanged my his number with
me he said well I'm the imam of the
masjid and this is my number he gave me
a small number and i took his phone
number and he gave me the name of a
sister who can communicate with me and
helped me through the process of my my
new life as a muslim and then he asked
me who gave me the book and he said and
I told him a brother by the name of Eric
Shaheed and he said oh okay I'll tell
brother Shaheed that you are your now
Muslim I'll call him let him know in the
morning and I said okay thank you and
he's and
that was it and I was went off the
following brother and I went back to
sleep
and my dream changed totally after that
that same night
God gave me he made me Muslim and he
also gave my calling because my dream
went from me with all those things
coming out of my head to be teaching
groves and hills and hills of people
dressed in white and I've been teaching
ever since so I couldn't get away from
teaching so so kind of like that yeah
that is my life in Islam I first started
out teaching myself because Allah showed
me the birds where he said if you read
learn one I yet the first week that I
accepted Islam you learn one I yet you
teach it to another so for some strange
reason I got along with the Quran my
brother Shahi gave me a book with the
transliteration and for the Arabic so I
taught myself a fact ahead so when I
went to the Masjid the first time the
email he said I want you to observe
today because you know we are learning
we're new in this religion too and we're
learning the Quran and so everybody's
learning in fact ahead so at first I
didn't know what he was talking about
but when he recited the effect hair and
whatnot it was so for me I said wait a
minute I know this he said no you don't
know this I say yes I know this I
learned this this week you said you just
been a Muslim for 5-7 ages but I just
learned this and I said let me recite it
for you see if I'm saying it correctly
and I recited in fact they had to him in
Arabic and he says so pen Allah this
sister is an example for all of us
because we've been Muslim for 10 15
years and we have not learned that there
in Arabic we know it in English but we
don't know it in Arabic and here she
just recited it to us in Arabic so she
is an example so masha'Allah that's my
initial in Islam I've been teacher in
Islam principle of them in weekend
school right now I do to revert class
I'm a teacher in the public schools Girl
Scout leader and that's
life I have dedicated my life to doing
good for whomever come into my life and
I try to be the best example best model
I'm not saying I'm perfect
I asked Allah to guide me to help me and
to give people what they need at the
time of their whatever they they seek
from me if it's good and help me to
deliver that from an Islamic perspective
and that's it because before Islam my
life was like a wandering fool I didn't
know anything who's like blind faith I
didn't even know what my life was going
to be or what I should be or how I
should live and Islam have taught me
that he gave me purpose
Wow it's very profound let's reverse a
little bit go back to the 911 call which
was actually elaborate on this just
amazing so you're you woke up from a
dream so you think a nightmare and you
thought you were calling 9-1-1 but you
received the number from imam can you
point clarify that again i woke up in a
dream and by the grace of God what Allah
he I dialed 9-1-1 because I did not know
of any matches or any Muslim
organization at the time and I actually
died 9-1-1 because I wanted emergency to
come and but I lost angels jinn whoever
they channeled that call to the Imam and
it went to him maybe the operator was
drunk that night who knows it went to
email yes you know in at first he
treated me like you know I guess he
thought I was just a follower or someone
calling him and he you know when I
narrated my story he just said you know
that's he I used to be I think found out
what I was doing that I was comparing
doing comparative study of the Quran and
my Bible he knew that I was searching
for Islam and he told me that I was
going to
Muslim you know so and that was that but
he didn't know I didn't have his number
at the time I mean he said that amazing
subhanAllah so you are preaching and
teaching as a Sunday school teacher tell
us the things that you would talk about
we know that the concept pretty much for
Christianity is pretty much the same
that Jesus is the Sun then you had to
follow their then you had the Holy Ghost
not three but one and the Trinity and
then the death and resurrection of Jesus
were these some of the things that you
give us like some of the things even now
I I like I'm like a story ologists I
love telling stories I would more or
less narrate a story some of my favorite
was prophet lute and you know and I told
the story in such a profound way that
and you know I like to give it dramatics
and you know but then I know that every
story has a moral to it and I would
always give my moral opinion of that
story at the end and in the story of
Prophet lute I would always say let us
not be like prophet lute family and the
followers and the people of the city of
Sodom and Gomorrah let us be obedient to
God let us be one that God would
reverence one that God would appreciate
so that's the way I would always in my
stories and people loved it so I I let
them know who made disobedient we will
end up like prophet Luke's wife because
when God said don't look back meaning
don't look back on things that you
errors that you made don't look back
if you look back at your history look at
it as a learning lesson don't look back
at it as a place you want to go back to
always appreciate the life that you live
and move forward and look at it as a
growth process you know and so that's
basically how I live my life now I feel
I believe that every heart
or every good is a step in the direction
of knowledge and wisdom it is a learning
process bringing us closer to God if we
are on the side of era then it's
bringing us away from God I truly
believe that and that's why I guess I
submerged myself with people say you
know why don't you focus on getting a
job when I didn't have a job why don't
you focus on giving a job and give up
your you're doing the Girl Scouts you're
doing the Reaver clubs you're doing all
of these things why don't you just put
your charity work aside and then I said
no because God in my life I need him in
my life and why would I put away God be
in order for me to help myself when God
is the one who's gonna help me in him in
the end anyway so I continue to do my
charity work even sometime I don't have
gas I said oh god I only have gas to get
to the class but he make it oh he make
it possible I've rolled here sometime
under my my light my gas light on and it
takes me here and it takes me back home
so pon Allah glory be to God so we don't
estimate the power of God I all believed
at the way I came into Islam I do not
underestimate the power of God he has
always been there for me I'm the mother
of seven children and he even with my
seven children I've gotten down to my
one can of corn or whatever or whatever
I needed to feed them and I said oh god
you said do not kill you all springs for
fear of poverty and you know my
situation better than me and subhanAllah
I get a knock on that door that night
and then I'm one of my Muslim brothers
so say you know my mother passed away
here is son Takata they gave me hun
eight hundred dollars they give me $400
they gave me say this is how I always
believed in a lost no dollar and
whenever I have to ask the person I lost
when Tyler says to me when he said the
birds he always give me a purse they
help me do the things I have to do he
said they are tests for you and you were
test for them so if I asked for charity
it is a test for that person I'm asking
and it is a test for me because you only
asked if you really
needed and the person who you're asking
it from it is because they either have
it or they don't and it's a test for
them to God to give so subhanAllah and
this is this is this is Islam this is
what Islam taught me that everything is
a purpose everything is a reason and it
is to make our lives better and stronger
just a couple more questions your
connection now to Jesus peace be upon
him many people they have this
misconception that and they don't know
this deep love that we have for Jesus
peace be upon them so what's your
connection to Jesus now cuz many people
here oh you know you love Christianity
you love Jesus you love God what do you
say it have you had some experience
talking to some of your family members
who who are from the church who are
Christian I have it all the time because
all of my sisters and brothers believe
it or not except for my older brother he
he's not borderline atheist but he just
don't like Christianity and he haven't
decided where you want to go yet
but all of my other sisters and brothers
they are deep into church they go to
church all the time and you know what I
told them they asked me they said you
know Jesus Jesus is this and I said you
know why give why ask of Jesus but he
didn't ask of himself I said in your
scripture it says Jesus say my God my
God why have you forsaken me even he
prayed to the God that created him and
yet why do you pray to Jesus who pray to
the God who created him why not pray to
the one who created Jesus and you get
the most powerful powerful rendition of
living the true religion of God you know
and and then I said why not live the way
Jesus say live he said do not worship Me
why not worship the God who have sent me
this is the teachings of Jesus so to me
I love Jesus for the fact that he gave
an exemplary life of peace of patience
of love for his
his disciples and his followers and he
gave them the best knowledge and the
right knowledge that God had delivered
to him and I remind him all the time I
said look for the true story of Jesus
the true knowledge of Jesus researching
your religion has history studying
research find that knowledge that is
true and you'll find it in your heart he
will go back to the natural order in
which you would create it and that is
every human being was created to serve
God and God alone whether they a
Christian or Jew or atheist or whatever
every human being was created to serve
God and that's what my religion teach me
that I was created to serve God and no
one else thank you so much sister one
last piece of advice for people who are
struggling this climate of manufactured
fear Islamophobia people are scared of
Islam you're scared of Muslims they
haven't connected with us what advice do
you have for people who've been kind of
just warped their minds they feel like
okay Muslim terrorists all of these
misconceptions what advice do you have
for them they tune on there watching the
Deen show and they're listening to you
my advice to all God's creatures
whatever happened in this life is by a
loss leave there is nothing in this
world that happens without a loss for
dollars permission God's permission and
we have to be careful about being so
afraid of
our fellow men that we cause harm or
reject the people who surrounds us we
have to respect each and every human
being regardless of what they believe
and if something is going to happen to
you no human being is going to prevent
it whether is a terrorist like someone
from the east or the terrorists that
killed all those 500 shot up all those
500 people
was American white American I mean just
bizarre he's a sniper he's sitting there
shooting all those people and there was
nothing him they couldn't even get to me
for he reached shooting five hundred
people to me terrorists is a word that
was put there by Shaitaan by the devil
to strike fear in a human being but God
gives us strategies to refute Satan and
he says that he Satan the devil cannot
make you do anything without your leave
without your permission because he gave
us the power to refute Satan because
when Satan acts him the devil asked him
can I influence your followers when God
rejected him and you know what God told
him he said I give man free will did
right to choose between right and wrong
you have the right to be kind to an
individual or you have the right to be
mean or nasty to an individual but
remember if you choose the wrong
lifestyle by harming my creation being
and just being false being an adulteress
being whatever wrong that God has
labeled as wrong and that he refutes God
promised that he has a place for you
with Satan in the Hellfire and he has a
place for those who do good with him in
Jena and believe me in heaven you want
to be on that path so as far as the
terrorists out there they never fazed me
they don't strike fear in me because I
know God is all more power more powerful
than they are I am a watchful person I
stay on a watchful I look to see my
environment because that's what God
killed me to do to be watchful of those
around me but also he have given me my
faith my belief
in him and he also let me know that he
is my number one protector in this world
and that if any harm is going to come to
me it is because this is by his leave
and there's nothing I could do to change
that and and and so why should I
hinder or put inhibitors in my life and
my worship to God because of mankind I
don't give man that kind of power and I
don't think any human being should give
them that kind of power
we should stay steadfast we should stay
focused on the true one true God and we
should strive to seek knowledge to
understand the true power of that God
and how he has put in place factors that
protects us factors that guide us
factors that lead us in a life that is
good for us
and as long as we follow that guideline
that he is labour that map that life
mapped we are on the right path we are
living the good life we are living the
right life so even in death we should
not fear him as long as it is in a state
of worship and a state of submission to
the one true God and that's my that's my
spin on how we should look at terrorism
disbelief wrong doing or anything in
this life that's gonna take us away from
our true lifestyle that God had given us
and that is to serve Him and him alone
in this world thank you so much
may Allah guide me with the right words
and hopefully the right intentions and
to do the right thing say the right
thing to touch the hearts of the many
that he have created and and for the men
and women out there who serve Him and I
pray that I said the right words and I
did not leave anyone a straight and may
Allah give us all how mercy on us all
and guide us all - Allah