and growing up in America uh you know
you get that uh perception that Muslim
terrorist I seen a Muslim brother coming
to myself C now this is where everything
changed for me I seen him praying and
when he started praying it was one of
the most beautiful things I've seen in
my
[Laughter]
[Music]
life I believe Jesus I wasn't I didn't
feel like he was God one evil thing or
disrespectful thing about Jesus you end
up in the Hellfire yeah facts around the
time when he showed me the first page of
elak ald
this is the
the this is
[Music]
the
the how you doing how you doing
alhamdulillah nice to meet you same to
you man this was not planned M I just
met you yesterday mhm and you ended up
here at the dean Center Salam brothers
and sisters we're at the dean Center and
we're working away alhamdulillah things
are coming along now now let me ask you
a question are you ready to invest with
Allah now did you know that the one who
spends in the path of Allah that Allah
will multiply his deeds up to 700 times
and more well the musjid and mega dawa
Center needs a new parking lot and this
is where you guys come in Imagine the
thousands of people that'll come through
here in their cars park in the parking
lot to come and pray or to learn about
Islam and you'll be getting in on all
the rewards helping to make that happen
so what are you waiting for click the
link below and donate right
[Music]
now yeah man yeah at our mid Jesus
Islamic Center you know that's what we
call the musard Jesus Islamic Center
yeah
yeah man so it's nice to meet you I was
uh just getting a little bit bits of
your story and I was intrigued and I was
like wow this is uh something more
people can um benefit from you come from
uh Atlantic Georgia yes yes and then
talk take us from there grew up uh there
raised there and now you're here in
Tampa huh yeah um so basically uh grew
up in Atlanta on the South Side Clayton
County um I was actually born here in
Florida though I was born in St Pete I
moved up there since I was uh three my
mom moved up there
um so basically Atlanta is a really all
I know
um kind of just uh when I moved up there
that's basically
uh where all my family stayed down here
I say yeah you know so my family stayed
down here I got a couple of cousins up
there but nothing too crazy so is is
Atlanta rough compared to Tampa Tampa's
More Chills Atlanta depending most
definitely man most definitely yeah yeah
yeah I feel like
um since I moved down here to uh Tempa
St Pete I've been down here like 6
months I'm still fresh fresh like water
yeah um it's been an amazing thing
because just like the people and the
energy and the uh the um the community
it's beautiful down here I love it now
you weren't always Muslim no take us a
little bit back in time were you
practicing any other religion your
parents uh usually people in in
America's Baptist uh Christian were you
a part of any church so um it's amazing
journey so back when I was younger um I
say
around 9 10 yes my mom used to take us
to the Kingdom Hall to the where to the
Kingdom Hall Kingdom Hall yeah so she
was actually a practicing Jehovah
Witness back when she stayed well back
when we stayed down here um in Florida
when I was real young and even when we
moved up to Georgia we used to kind of
go up there when I was younger but with
that
um after
that when I grew up and I started going
to school I was homeschooled back at
elementary school so back around like
Middle School I started going to like um
I started started kind of doing my own
thing and started kind of looking into
it because around that time we wasn't
really very uh we wasn't really
religious then yes so I kind of started
I dove into Christianity started kind of
to see what that was started going to
churches I still wasn't I say committed
but
um I say it was still interesting
because I was always close to God I
always felt like I had that good
relationship you know so after
Christianity it was kind of something
like um I kind of just let it go because
I I felt like it wasn't for me it wasn't
really calling me you feel me so around
that time is when I actually kind of
came into Islam yeah yeah so what was it
that you weren't feeling it or it wasn't
calling you when you say that because
now many people struggle with Trinity
God being a man Jesus peace be upon him
dying for your sins which one of these
components or all of them were you
struggling with I just interviewed a 6 7
yearold brother really yeah and he
actually kind of he came from a Baptist
background he went to the church active
in it growing up and then he went away
you know life started taking him in all
sorts of directions then he came try to
go back to the church and he was like
things didn't make sense at his time
when he was growing up in ' 67 uh back
in what is it uh 70s 80 long time ago uh
he's talking about how he goes into the
church and he's saying you know Jesus
white guy blond hair blue eyes now they
have a lot of churches they replace some
Churches I don't know if You' seen the
uh like a African-American Jesus right
yeah right then he met someone who said
look God doesn't have no color no
nationality right uh and that made sense
that he's unseen you don't see God right
he's the creator of heavens and earth
you can't put him on a picture he
doesn't have a birthday and it took him
down to really looking into Islam so um
you now were you but those were the
things he was struggling Trinity also
didn't make sense God being a man what
were some of the things that that you
when you were that didn't fit didn't
make sense that you didn't have answers
to is there anything there yeah man uh
for certainly one thing that definitely
didn't really resonate with me was the
Bible like uh I used to always try and
read it you know um it just I didn't
never really get like a understanding of
I couldn't really connect to it you know
like I always felt like it was a void
yeah so
um like I said after the the Jehovah
Witness chapter I say when I started
actually going into uh the
church it was kind of sort of like a
situation where
is I was okay the people who I was
around it was like a teenage church
right yes so it wasn't really like a
Sunday thing um back on the on the
Southside
uh it's off of uh I I I can never forget
the street it's called Old Dixie and the
church there we used to go on like uh I
think it was when was it man I want to
say it's been so long ago maybe Tuesdays
or Thursdays but we used to go on like
the afternoon and we used to have like
uh the pastor used to talk you feel me
then we'll go in the back room we'll
talking then everybody go out uh no no
no no no now I remember now I remember
we used to go like kind of towards like
maybe 5 six used to go hoop and then
we'll go in so it was like a whole
little function before we actually sat
down and listen to the pastor so um
around that time I wasn't really
actually there for the church I was just
the people who I was around it was like
a thing in our neighborhood which now
when I think back to it is actually
amazing how Allah put me in that
situation to whereas it was like
um it was like he was surrounding me and
calling me to a certain extent but it
was almost like he was putting me like
allowing me to take my steps if that
makes sense mhm so so yeah one of the
main things is
um I can definitely say uh I I never
really could connect with the Bible yeah
if that was one of the main things yeah
a lot of people uh for the non-muslim
audience I mean we do believe there's
some of the word of God in there but you
also have word of the prophets there's
some history in there then there's
Anonymous books we just don't know who
they are and this is coming from Bible
scholars ourselves there's Anonymous
books so you have a whole hodg podge of
things in there and we never disrespect
anybody's religion purposefully but we
point out these things and most people
see that they see many of the things
that are going against human nature
right that are in there the disrespect
of many of the prophets of God I don't
know if uh you know about that you know
lot and lot and David and many of the
prophets and Islam Islam comes to clear
their names and to makes make uh their
mission known that it was calling people
to worship only one and only one God
this what people resonates with so many
people that pure absolute monotheist in
a book the Quran that's tamper free
tamper proof right unlike any other book
that's out there so so now when you get
at what point did you get introduced to
a Muslim to Islam how did that come up
so you go you you things are not making
sense over here how do you get to the
point because there's so many
misconceptions about Islam were you uh
affected by any of
those um Yes Man growing up in America
uh you know you get that uh perception
that Muslim terrorist you feel me um so
growing up I I wouldn't say that I
believe that they were terrorists but of
course what the media portray is kind of
what you have to go off of so it was
never something that I really show
interest in But to answer your question
um when I had okay
so back in my time back in my day we was
in the streets a lot you know gangs
violence um you know the whole little
situation so around the time I came into
the fold of Islam is when I was 19 um
beforehand I never forget I was praying
two weeks strong to God because I
honestly I didn't even know about his
name his correct name a lot this time so
at this time I'm praying to him two
weeks strong for him to just bring me
closer you know I could almost feel
myself kind of like just getting drawn
into the wrong thing even though at this
point in life I'm feeling like it's
natural this is what we do this really
all we know
so around that time I ended up getting
carcerated um for something slight
nothing too serious I did like 5 6
months in the county Clint County M
um around three months I was three
months into actually being in there and
I seen a Muslim brother coming to my
cell now this is where everything
changed for me I seen him praying and
when he started praying it was one of
the most beautiful things I've seen in
my life
[Laughter]
[Music]
guaranteed so uh I seen him praying and
when he got done I I kind of started ask
him about it so when I asked him about
it he kind of started breaking it down
to me exactly what Islam was now let me
remind you again that at this time I
didn't know about Islam I just knew
about Muslims that's it and all you knew
was what you said earlier Islam Muslim
terrorist that's all you you know what
I'm saying yeah so at this point I'm
kind of ignorant to the to the actual
Dean so
um he kind of telling me about it and as
I'm listening it's consistently catching
my attention catching my attention
catching my attention and then he shows
me the
Quran the first page ofar that I read I
instantly knew then that I was going to
be Muslim that's the SE second chapter
of the Quran so you read through the
whole translation of Bak you knew you
were going to be honestly no it didn't
even take for me to read through the
whole thing like around the time he was
explaining to me because this is
something that I was praying for you
feel me like so at that time it was kind
of like I wanted to um I was always
looking I was almost looking for a sign
you know so around the time when he
showed me the first page of elak
[Music]
me
[Music]
[Laughter]
it was like I knew then it didn't really
take anything else because I was already
close to God around these times I used
to pray I used to uh uh uh uh I felt
like I always had a closer relationship
with him but at this specific time I
wasn't practiceing any religion it
wasn't Christian I was a Buddhist I was
a nothing I was just going through the
motions but I had Faith so this you
didn't even have to get through the
whole chapter of the Quran you realize
something clicked then cuz if we take it
back if you take it back you mentioned
when you were
um upon what your parents were you know
you were your
environment it just wasn't clicking it
wasn't calling you did you feel the call
now yes I felt the call I I felt
something in my spirit to whereas it was
like I acent I received now around this
time with me coming into uh Islam that
remind you like I felt like I was close
to God so at this point I believed in
Jesus I wasn't I didn't feel like he was
God particularly but I believe that I
believed in Jesus as we do too as
Muslims you
know so um but it was still like almost
embedded in me to believe that he was
some form of the Creator you know so
that was embedded in you from childhood
yes somehow connected to a part of God
like he's God yeah so when I first uh
came into the fold of Islam I went
through the whole situation to where I
felt like I was double crossing Jesus or
I felt like um I was turning my back on
what I was basically taught from the
times that um from Jehovah Witness into
basically my teenage years yeah so um
yeah man it was a beautiful situation
man it was it it it was definitely
interesting what would you say for those
people who now mainstream Christians who
say like you weren't even really a
Christian you were Jehovah Witness like
the Mormons they're like you know we
don't consider them Christians so you
didn't really experience Christianity
right right have you ever been told this
do you no I I never really been told
that but I can second at that though I I
feel like I never really uh dove into
the actual religion and practice it as
it should be because even now um I love
the Christians that's something I even
now I tell people like uh I love the
Christians I love the Muslims I love the
Jews but the thing is though and I feel
like um
this is what kind of made me also click
into Islam is that it's it's
very it's common sense right the dean is
simple now after I took my uh shahada it
was almost like everything that they
were telling me it was kind of like I
was already practicing it so it wasn't
really hard for it wasn't really uh a
big test for it to resonate with me so
that's another reason why I felt like it
was calling me you
know uh so this is a real important
point that you mentioned Jesus peace be
upon Him many people don't know that
when you accept Islam submission to the
Creator not the creation that's what
Islam is it's actually The Lord's Prayer
thy will be done that's submission to
the creator of the heavens and earth
it's a part of our teachings now it's a
part of the the teachings that we
believe that Jesus was a mighty
messenger he was a prophet of God just
like Moses and Abraham and ishma and
Isaac and the prophet Muhammad just
being the last and final messenger they
came with the same message so you're not
disconnected totally from Jesus now you
believe in him but you don't worship Him
of course you worship the god that Jesus
worshiped we as Muslims do that right
right so this is a great opening to talk
to many of our Christian friends and
neighbors and others to um kind of
highlight this point that we don't uh
like some people you know say some
disgusting or they don't accept him or
say bad things about him you say one
evil thing or disrespectful thing about
Jesus you end up in the Hellfire yeah
facts and that's what I I also love
about Islam is that we respect the the
prophets you know um um the another
thing is that Islam is a religion of the
prophets we we pray like the prophets we
do the work of the prophets and that's
something that also is uh very enticing
to me because it puts me in a sense of
mind
that it really showed me how humanity is
supposed to be living and it shows me
how we are supposed to be moving as a
species and as a creation of the most
high so with
everything coming into as pieces with
the religion and with I was what I was
already taught through Jehovah Witness
and Christianity everything's fall it
just falls into place yes uh and this is
really important now I like what you
said that we are following the way of
all the prophets that God Almighty has
sent to guide humanity and there's a
verse in the
Bible and this is one of the verses that
we would say like this is actually
showing you that he's doing Islam Jesus
in Matthew 26:39 it says and he Jesus
went a little further and he fell on his
face and prayed to God if you watch
Muslims that's how we do we fall in our
face and we submit to the god that Jesus
submitted to Allah in Aramaic Allah in
Arabic Allah the Creator God Almighty
right only one only one that's it that's
the main message one God that's it yeah
man and I find that so beautiful that um
it is like that you know like uh there's
only one God and we're only supposed to
worship him not even Muhammad sahu alai
wasam and that's something that also
stood out to me is that everything we do
should be for the sincerity of Allah
yeah whether it's dawa whether it's
charity sodaka whether it's uh calling
people to the faith it's all supposed to
be for Allah and that's something that I
really do love because I felt like I was
always close to him and sincere with him
so something that really resonates
another thing Malcolm X said that if
people right would Embrace Islam that
this would end the the race problem that
we have in America right yes yes most
definitely me and you were praying just
yesterday just like Malcolm went to
Mecca and before when he was with the
nation left the nation came to True
Islam and he was like you know writing
letters he was saying I'm playing I'm
praying with the yellow the white the
you know the poor the king everybody all
together like we were standing yesterday
shoulder to shoulder and we praying to
the one God yeah and that's something I
also love about the dean is that I get
to meet so many other different type of
brothers and different type of cultures
and different type of people to where is
now I'm getting exposed to different
types of the world and that's the thing
that really resonates with me too
because Islam is actually what made me
want to go out and understand these
different cultures and see these
different backgrounds and travel more
you feel me to places that I never even
knew existed just because of the dean
and I find that so beautiful and amazing
I really do uh before we conclude I
usually uh encourage people to read the
Quran I ask some of the reverts converts
who come to Islam because there's people
out there who are struggling in life
they on the dope on the drugs or they
have all the money they're at the pub
drinking partying the soul is empty
they're trying to fill it with all of
the prescriptions and all that stuff is
just it's not working and there's a
beautiful prayer and one we recite every
day the Surah Al fa opening chapter and
you're not Arab I'm not Arab but this is
how the Quran has been oberved let them
hear from someone who now accepted Islam
the opening chapter of the Quran and now
we'll put these subtitles and this is
actually a prayer you say how can I get
guided he's going to go ahead and recite
something that you can go ahead and say
it in English directly to the crater and
God willing be guided okay
alhamdulillah so um it like you said the
first chapter is called and it goes like
this
[Music]
ald
[Music]
this is uh amazing now this is uh my
second interview of the day earlier I
had a 67y old who memorized the entire
Quran you're sharing some of the Quan
with us guys look out for this
incredible show coming out with our
brother here taking a journey from all
sorts of uh things in the past to the
dean beautiful man really really amazing
man really amazing uh story thank you
for sharing that with us I thank you man
yes thank you for having me thank you
and get your free copy of the Quran at
the Deen show.com and you have it here
look at that beautiful I mean all
praises to the creator of the heavens in
the Earth alhamdulillah the most
gracious the most merciful here's the
key you alone we worship you alone we
seek guidance from help from so asking
the Creator alone Guide Me Guide Me
Guide Me that's your homework right
there not through Muhammad not through
Moses not through Jesus not through the
money not through a dead person in the
ground but the one who created this
Earth everything in it seek guidance and
see what happens from there give us a
call 1800 662 Islam if you have any
other questions we'll see you next time
peace be with you asalam alikum