miss Manero Manero him alhamdulillah
European I mean Mary is a huge
inspiration not only to Muslims but also
to Catholics as well simply explained
that we're not worshiping the the statue
or even the being that that's that's in
that is the statue the way he presented
himself reminded me of my priests they
were very humble
this meal hundred assalamualaikum which
is the greeting of peace we're here in a
mosque and we are in Milwaukee and we
met our brother's side mmm
Dakota it's nice to meet you how are you
how are you Michael now you can set up
how's it going
now you weren't always Muslim nothing no
no how did you get that's the million
dollar question how did you get from
where you were what seven eight years
ago seven years ago seven years ago to
now sitting in what most people will be
very apprehensive to come into mosque
you're actually a Muslim now you're you
were in a mosque and because many people
they have all these crazy you know ideas
thinking that man
they got bombs in there the bomb-making
factory all sorts of crazy things I'll
cut your head off just crazy nonsensical
tea but how did you actually get to
where you're at with here us with us
here on the D show it's actually a
pretty long journey I actually grew up
as a Roman Catholic both my parents
actually weren't practicing at all they
still made me go to biblical classes
growing up mostly because of my
grandmother and my mother sides
influence and because of that influence
I actually became practicing Catholic
even though my parents were not I would
ride my bike to church every Sunday and
I was the altar boy confession box and
everything yep I didn't how does that go
what do you mean people I don't know
like confession box you confess your
sins for the confession box doesn't have
it can happen as frequently as you want
it to I use it's not always in a box it
can be in an open setting or it's more
just as long as it's some type of
privacy go confess your sins yes you go
confess your sins with a priest and then
they give you some type of repentance to
to do afterwards whether it's prayers or
charity or what Hail Marys or something
like that exactly they forgive your sins
exactly okay so then what happened and I
actually studied the Bible in Latin
English and German
and the the further I grew was in face
with my priest the more questions I had
because reading the Bible in three
languages you begin to see the the
contradictions in three languages and
some of the immediate you know surf just
the bare surface questions my priest was
able to answer and actually soon after
he was actually transferred local bishop
I'm not sure if that was a sign from
Allah or not because the the priest that
replaced him I started asking him the
deeper questions of the contradictions
of teachings and why certain teachings
changed and certain beliefs changed
throughout the Catholic Church
throughout time example what kind of
things change for example the the
Vatican two council in the believe it
was 1940s or 50s changed Mass from
actually being in Latin completely to
whatever language of the country that
was that you were in but also simple
things as women covering in church my
grandma for example I still have
pictures of her wearing what we would
call a hijab today I mean in German they
called it a babushka it's simply more
like a Turkish style scarf that she tied
under her chin but she had to wear that
as a little girl before she could enter
church and she had to cover everything
down to her ankles
she wouldn't cover she would still you
know have her face uncovered but
everything else was covered with loose
clothing and shoot either wear
loose-fitting pants or a dress or as a
skirt of some type to church and just
simple things like that and but all but
also so there's simple things like that
but also be you know being more lenient
even towards things such as
homosexuality especially today they're
in the news you can see constantly with
child molestation amongst priests
and especially since that is not more in
the open with the news media but they
still the Catholic Church doesn't allow
homosexual marriage but their their
attitude towards it is still much more
welcoming and even from boys you know
how they dress I've seen guys walk into
Church and I still have Catholic friends
and some of them will walk into a church
with shorts that are going well above
their knees and I'll just look and just
question how why your your being in the
presence of God why why would you show
so much skin even as a man it make sense
to you it didn't make sense to me see
some people might confuse because you
obviously I mean in any state that
you're in you could be coming from the
nightclub right and don't confuse that
with now you have an app you have a
moment like man you you just feel
horrible you feel guilty you feel then
you raise your hands up you stand you
fall down in your face of God please
guide me you know look guide me guide me
and you know you just but now you're
talking about in the house of worship
now you're talking about just standard
code you know the music this is what you
taught you just you're you're you're you
were questioning these kind of things
that they're just basically you know
just to get people in the door they're
changing the laws of God and and even as
it in a much deeper sense the concept of
the Trinity in a Catholic Church you're
you're taught that at least the way they
did I have found best explained to me by
by a priest the priest that was actually
my mentor before he was transferred is
that God is like a three leaf clover I
got three I haven't heard this one like
a three leaf like over like a three leaf
clover this is the one's telling you
this is the bridge the priest telling me
many deacons in my hometown still
actually explain it this way because
they explain the Trinity you know as the
mystery of faith
but how they explain it is God is like a
three leaf clover
and each leaf is each branch the Father
Son and the Holy Spirit but the way they
practice that I mean on paper that looks
fine
but in a much deeper sense when you show
when you show how you practice that it
it doesn't make sense and it's not how
they show it so can you have in a
situation where you have three leaf
clover in one breaks and you got two if
one breaks off your true what do what
happens then
exactly and like you know with the egg
example you know what he's got two yolks
you know what just exactly and it's you
know and and then you bring in the
college of saints on top of that I mean
you have people I mean I I myself used
to do this as a Catholic you know after
after church every day there was a big
statue of Mary and in the back that I
was particularly fond of and I would go
and besides reciting Hail Marys and
because you know Mary is a huge
inspiration not only to Muslims but also
to Catholics as well so I drew a lot of
inspiration from her and I would just
simply pray in front of the statue
constantly and there was a statue of
Mary is it who's mother of Jesus and now
you're praying in front of the statue
and wasn't that violating like the first
commandment and in the Bible that thou
shalt have no other gods are the one God
not worship anything no graven images
statues this is like a clear commandment
is it exactly and when I asked when I
asked about that the priest simply
explained that we're not worshipping the
the statue or even to being that that's
that's in that is the statue you're
asking this the the Saint no matter
which think you're paying to to to pray
for you on your behalf to God and that
also didn't make sense to me because if
if faith is your relationship with God
that should be direct I shouldn't have
to go to a different saint of you know
to the saint of traveling or the saint
of your own city if you're familiar
you know huge Italians at the city you
know or in certain protections or the
saint of sickness
I shouldn't have to go to these certain
Saints and much less remember all of
them in order to achieve these things in
faith I should just be able to you know
get at my knees
ask God you know I have trouble in in
this scenario please help me the wreck
dial up just exactly it you know
everything is between you and God and
the the further I studied in into the
Catholic faith the more I I didn't see
into it just because it it it made sense
on the surface but the you know the
deeper you get into things the more I've
started to question and the more I
figured it wasn't for me and originally
I actually went to other Christian
denominations that were in my city there
I grew up with a couple Muslims because
we actually didn't have a mustard in my
city at all the nearest Masjid was about
40 minutes by car and I didn't even know
that at the time and I wasn't even
considering Islam yet I was just still
looking for the answers to faith and
other Christian denominations especially
the non-denominational Christians of the
United States they gave me even worse
answers then the captain the Catholic
priest said that the Catholic priests at
least they gave you you know a full
fledged answer usually like a miniature
lecture with your question other you
know smaller denominations they would
just simply say something along the
lines of well you just have to have
faith okay I have faith but like that's
not good enough
yeah like faith has to be logical it has
to make sense to you and I I stopped a
tent you know attending with these
pizzas or with these pastors as well
just because I wasn't getting the
answers that I sought not to say that
you know we're in charge of faith but
like I said before faith has to make
sense to you
religion has to make sense your
relationship with God has to be 100
percent logical in your own head and so
then I went further back in time with
faith and I went to the Jews and because
Jews don't believe in Jesus in any sense
religiously I knew I couldn't go that
way at all and so eventually in my
studies I I remember that I said I did
have Muslim friends line I always knew
the the bare basics of Muslim belief
just because if I went to their house
and all of a sudden there
start calling the Athan I knew it was
going on and I knew how to respect it
but then I eventually started asking my
friends like the the basic questions
first cuz we were we were in high school
at this point so they're not gonna know
you know extremely deep theological
questions or the answers to them so I
asked him like the basic things first
and then I was asking my priests on the
surface and they had the answers right
away the Muslims had the Muslims had the
answer Anna and I was just your
questions that the priests and all the
other denominations they didn't have the
answers they didn't have the didn't fit
they might have answers somebody just
didn't make sense that isn't exactly
who's fit they had they had the logical
answer and I said wow that's that seems
extremely logical that makes complete
sense and then eventually my question I
started making my questions a little bit
more difficult and because I wanted
deeper answers to certain questions so
then eventually just okay you have to
talk to my dad and then eventually their
their dad said well let's let's bring
you to a mustard that's have you talked
to any mom because of a lot because it
hit one of my friend's dad in particular
was very smart but he was academically a
doctor so he never went to school for
Sharia or Islamic studies or anything so
he brought me to a Masjid in Appleton
Wisconsin here and I talked to the mmm
ironically was during Ramadan they
brought me to an F dinner that that
mustard was having on the weekend with
their whole community and the men
immediately recognized me as not part of
the community at all I was the only
white person in the whole entire room it
was mostly a roomful of Pakistanis and
Arabs so he actually invited me to sit
right across from him and he said what's
what's brought you here today who's the
family that brought you here so I just
kind of gave him a brief explanation of
you know where I was so far in faith and
he actually had a minor degree in
Islamic studies at camera which country
but it was one of the Arab countries
overseas I'm not sure if it was Saudi or
not but he the way he presented himself
reminded me of my priests they were very
humble
and respectful with all my questions and
completely non-judgmental especially in
when you're in a situation like that
you're vulnerable you want someone who
is not judgmental at all but also
respectful and able to answer your
questions so I started asking him the
more deeper questions and he had the
answers right away and it made complete
sense and I walked out of that Masjid
with complete confidence that I need to
I need to look deeper into this religion
I you know I need to find more answers
to certain things and he set me off with
some basic you know pamphlets and small
booklets at first he said you know read
these and if you have further questions
here's my number and I read them and I
also just looked up online into it
obviously into reliable sources because
obviously on the internet you know
there's a lot of bad websites out there
as well so I looked into more reliable
sources and by the time I started my
senior of high school I I knew like this
this is what I believe I have to believe
in this this makes complete sense to me
and actually before I even took Shahada
in front of a community I taught myself
how to pray I read all exam votes online
as to how to pray what to say at certain
positions and everything praying like
Jesus prayed it's not the Prophet same
thing exactly and I I have I hadn't even
become Muslim yet and I know how I knew
how to recite al-fatiha yeah and
eventually after high school I went to
the Masjid in Green Bay Wisconsin that's
where I was studying part time for
school and the Imam there met with me
and he he was just astounded that I knew
how to recite al-fatiha before even
taking Shahada so he said you need you
he's like normally when people tell me
they want to convert to a stab I tell
them you know go home and think about it
for a week then come back because once
you once you make the decision it's firm
it's forever so he said I want to
normally I tell people I want to make
sure like this is what you believe
before you
before you profess to it but he says to
me you you or you already know how to
pray you need to set out there before
you leave my office today and he said
what what's the what is stopping you I
said my parents my my father at home did
I he was in the US Navy he in the 80s
his ship docked in a couple of Muslim
countries in Southeast Asia along with
the Philippines in South Korea one of
the countries was Indonesia before they
would dock for a week unloading military
supplies during the Cold War they'd get
like a small a small testimony of what
they're about to walk into for a week
the society they're gonna be a part of
and he had seen men with beers in
Indonesia and he had heard the event go
off in minarets and he he'd never been
inside of a muster but he knew the
difference between a practicing Muslim
and what Fox News was showing at the
time my mother did not have that
exposure
unfortunately so she only had the
exposure of Fox News and the couple
mothers of the Muslim friends that I had
growing up so she was a lot harder to
convince and on top of that I was just
deeply afraid of you know what what are
my parents gonna think you know Muslims
don't celebrate Christmas but what am I
gonna do you know what do I do in this
situation this situation and the Imam
literally went through every situation
that I could possibly think of some were
so far-fetched I laugh at them today he
was so patient with me he went through
this was probably a three-hour
conversation following what we had
already had and he just patiently went
with every single thing every situation
and he said here's how you react to this
here's how you how you reacted this and
then by the end of that meeting I had
full confidence and with one other
person in that office president I took
my shot at so late it later he had me
take it again in front of a whole
community to announce it to everyone but
my shadow was actually just done an
office with two people yeah for those
people who don't know what the shara is
as basically just declaring that there's
nothing worthy of worship but the
creator of the heavens
earth and an Arabic is Allah and Aramaic
the language Jesus books Aloha hello I
mean this is the because God people say
God but that you know sometime back
English didn't even exist or what you
call God
exactly so you just declared that
there's nothing worthy of words I'm not
gonna worship anything in creation
except the one who created me that just
connects with the human nature you know
its intrinsic nature we have to worship
the One God and you found that in Islam
and you're here with us today and I
thank you for sharing that
Thank You ver version of it tell us now
people were hearing this on Fatiha so
for the not yet Muslims and non-muslims
who are out there and they're listening
to us I want you to recite al-fatiha and
this is your homework now if you're
seeking the truth you're one of the
purpose of life
you got to earnestly seek it from the
one who created you and this is a great
prayer right now that you can do so I
will go ahead you'll recited in Arabic
and we'll put the subtitles and they can
start repeating themselves yes I am
alhamdulillah here appear an amine
rahmani raheem manikyam it in a canal
Budokan a strain you know senator most
of Misurata latina and ontology and
viral Noxubee are a hemorrhoid
Dean I mean that's your homework now
that's praising the creator of the
heavens and earth and seeking help
guidance and direction from the one up
above the one who created you thank you
very much it's okay I mean well yeah
please be with us hello League