when I told my mother that I embrace
Islam she was in tears she was that she
was crying she was in tears so yes so no
born born-again christian baptized you
know anointed you know they were trying
to get me to speak in tongues you know
evidence speaking in tongues and all
that two years ameen I was comparing you
know reading the Bible in the Quran I
get a phone call at in the middle of the
night I don't know it was a middle night
I was sitting on the computer I get a
phone call from my cousin someone shot
shorty that's all I hear I humped the
phone I've got already short ears
assalamu alaikum
how you doing brother we are with yaqoob
or they come salawatullahi but our cats
so your name was Jakub when you were a
Christian and now you accepted Islam
still yaqoob but the only difference is
that you end up taking your Shahada you
end up accepting Islam and that's the
million dollar question that we're
asking how did you end up from your
previous way of life how did you end up
to where you're here today which we
invite so many people who are out there
with all the misconceptions about Islam
people are scared to come in to Masjid
the mosque we're in a mosque a house of
God house of worship but you're here is
a Muslim now I want to submitted his
will to God in Islam submission to the
will of God what happened like how did
you end up becoming a Muslim
alhamdulillah I mean it's me that hill
Rahman know him you know yeah my name
was Jacob which is Jakub in Arabic you
know which is the Quranic name for yaku
Jacob yeah it's from the from the Bible
and a similar story I mean we believe in
all the books you know so but anyway so
I mean I was raised here in Milwaukee
Wisconsin I was born and raised here and
I grew up on the north side of Milwaukee
and when I was about 14 we moved to Iowa
Tosa which is like a semi suburb of
Milwaukee and I went to why we chose the
West High School there
and I work really hard like my my cousin
her father was from Laos and so he was
immigrated he came to this country and
he worked really hard you know as he
worked at cops frozen custard which is
just you know custard staying here in
Milwaukee
and he taught me a lot of principles
like hard work ethic you know you know
always work hard never quit and he was
like a mentor of my life and he told me
how to breakdance
so you were breakdancing yeah I started
break dancing you know you know when I
was about 12 11 12 and then all the way
to you know high school you know I mean
I still break dance today I'm Tula
but so anyway um so yes so I mean I was
like chasing the dunya you know chasing
the worldly life I mean you know going
after the cars and money and things like
that and I'm just trying to acquire
materials success in this world and so I
didn't like school I was always bad at
school I hated school I mean how old
were you around there's at this time in
your life so so yes so this is my I mean
I always said it's cool but like my
senior year you know I was working
really hard I was working two jobs so
when I was 15 I got a job in 2001 at a
place called rocky Rococo spits ax yeah
which is the pizza place here and I was
only making $5.15 an hour as a busboy
and I worked there for five years worked
really hard that was the minimum wage
back then that was it back then 515 yeah
yeah you were you weren't really into it
I mean were you a practicing Christian
were you I wasn't I wasn't I was most
people they weren't into it let's say
their parents might be Christian but
just really the materialism just
partying as a young kid comes over you
just want to just get chase the things
that boys chase huh right yeah so I mean
my grandparents were devout Catholics
you know my my grandmother told me that
my great-grandfather's from you know
Yugoslavia former Yugoslavia yeah
you know northern Croatia and he came
here as a stowaway when he was 17
yeah so humped a lot but my my grandma
and grandpa they met in college
in Indiana so my grandmother was born
and raised in Kansas Kansas City when
was your first exposure to Islam and so
actually you know the first time I ever
met met like a Muslim was a friend of
the family so a woman here you know it
was my cousin that I was telling about
my mentor his sister actually she she
met a man Palestinian man and they got
married and they they you know ended up
moving to Las Vegas and he became a he
was a Salesman and now he's doing a lot
of you know beneficial things down there
in Orange County area but so he was
actually one of the first Muslims I ever
met and but I just kind of casually knew
him because it like I wasn't you know
trying to be religious at all you know
he just was a friend of the family and I
was just in the dunya so you know
chasing money yeah we mean stuff like it
so anyway so um then my sister she had a
boyfriend in high school and he was
Palestinian and so these were like my
two exposures to Islam yeah so obviously
I hear all these misconceptions like you
know Arab guys beat the women and stuff
like this and you know all the other
misconceptions like you know the
terrorists and this like this kind of
stuff so I kind of had this wall up and
so I really wasn't trying to interact
with him because I had these
misconceptions that the society has you
know put on me yeah you know as a youth
so you know after chasing the dunya you
know in high school I crashed and burned
because I was doing too much I was
working I was in a work-study program at
school you know so I was
going to school in the morning from 8:00
to noon then working second shift and
working third shift at UPS yeah so
working second shift at the at the pizza
place you know and working third shift
market so you're I mean you're really
working hard trying to stack my money
and then and then was it the release
comes on Friday like you would get the
paycheck yeah go now kick it on the
weekend weekend on the weekend yes hang
out and blow blow up all your money it's
right back at right back in the cycle
okay now you got to go through our
transition what had you because many
people just keep going through that
cycle and I bar I crashed and burned you
crashed and burned crash and burn I try
to do too much so I was like I said
first shift school second shift you know
working at rocky road Coco's third shift
unloading trucks at 3 in the morning
then you die and I died I mean literally
literally I mean well you're still with
us but many people they just keep going
through that they don't even think
beyond that but then they literally die
and that's their whole life I almost did
I got into seven car crashes oh okay I
totally almost did and I totaled three
cars you know it's upon alone this
happened at all at one time in within a
period of about the last few years in
the last few years of high school we
seven car accidents seven cars now you
hit seven cars in an accident I got
seven seven car accidents you know you
know how I explained that well my mentor
he said there's no such thing as a car
accident only a purpose ten right it's
just a joke but anyway so yes so I mean
just carelessness listening to music on
the radio dancing around in the car so
these are six seven separate incidents
incidents right and I kick total three
cars you know and you still didn't wake
up after my second I literally fell
asleep at the wheel and when the last
one finally wake you up not really no I
was still you were unscathed I mean you
walked out did you spend some time in
the hospital
no I I smacked my face on the steering
wheel and just I mean I totaled the car
like I broke it an entire light pole so
was that a delightful so what happens
like that you finally started taking
life seriously you want to know the
purpose of light why am I here what
happens when I die these crucial
questions that people should be asking
my mentor my cousin's father he passed
away so I in 2005 you know the summer I
had to stay extra six months in school
so this summer he actually it was
reported I get a phone call at in the
middle of the night I don't know it was
is the middle night I was sitting on the
computer I get a phone call from my
cousin someone shot shorty right someone
shot shorty that's all I hear I humped
the phone I've got already shorty is my
cousin's father your cousin's father
yeah that wasn't it his name was known
by shorty or Vaughn beat sheet play funk
so what's his full name
who shot him why did I shoot him well
this is what happened I drove a guy
hopped in the car I blew through all the
lights got to his house they had tape
around the arm tape around you know
caution tape around the house and we
were standing out there for hours for
hours hours finally they bring his body
out and they say he committed suicide
that was the final you know yeah
final uh you know consensus among the
you know authorities yes so that was it
so we we you know he was Buddhist so I
was like I went to his family and I said
hey you know can I participate you know
in Miss India ceremony
you know Buddhist ceremony you know what
whatever you do is there anything I can
do so I stay with them in in their home
for seven days you know mourn with them
and I did what's called boy which is a
traditional Laotian Buddhist serum
ceremony and I shave my head bald
che my eyebrows put on the orange girl
garb and I went into the Buddhist temple
and you know they're like abstain from
thinking about women extent abstain from
food so I got this idea of kind of
spiritualism so this was kind of like my
first
awaking you know to like to really like
taking life seriously because because he
was a big part of my life and he passed
away yeah
so what was it finally that had you end
up coming to where you are today your
exposure to Islam and what did it what
was it about Islam that had you finally
accepted
well so when he passed away you know I
quit quit both my jobs
I actually I injured myself doing work
at UPS and I just couldn't do it anymore
and I just stopped showing up I was just
burned out ended up quitting my job at
Rocky's so I was that rock by spinning
all my money that summer everything gone
I had nothing left you know so and I I
was in a relationship with the time in
high school and you know my girlfriend
had a lot of problems and we kind of
separated so I was just at this low
point in my life everything was gone I
didn't have anything and I I have
nowhere else to turn except the creator
of the heavens and earth yeah that's it
so you were brought to your knees now -
all the calamity yeah I'm the friend I'm
on my back on my bad girl ask for
guidance now am i back on the bed what
are you saying and I'm just I'm just
like just thinking and contemplating on
my life what's the purpose of my life
why am I here and what's the brownest I
remember praying to our Father I just
remember coming on my mouth because I
learned it in the Lord's Prayer the
Lord's Prayer because I learned in a
Catholic class soon notice the Lord's
Prayer is like you're not praying to
Jesus aren't you're praying how Jesus
prayed directly to the Father the
Creator to God
yeah I thought yeah it's a God Almighty
yeah so now the Lord's Prayer that's I
mean we I usually tell people I said man
this is this is my keep today just
asking the one God the way Jesus did you
know directly not praying to Jesus
Mohammed nobody but to the Creator times
on earth the main guys I don't I didn't
know what to do but it just came out of
my mouth yeah and I just felt
comfortable you know that I can even
really recognize what I was saying the
same our Father who Artin have that's
see if you changed from up from from in
Arabic you have AB father say Rob Rob
our Lord because they Chad of these
things got changed right I've been Robin
yes
so the Lord the Creator that heavens an
earth you're saying hallowed be thy name
all praise is a hum doodle eyes all
praises to the crater that happens there
this is I kingdom come thy kingdom come
this is your kingdom this is your earth
this is all yours to dine it's the
kingdom and then the next one is
actually die
we'll be done that I will be done - slaw
yeah I'm submitting your will to the
creator of the Hemisphere and then what
happened next
so I mean I just slowly just slowly
slowly just started picking myself up
sort of opening up that Bible everyday
you know started going to church with my
mother you know HMDA law and you know
just started I mean I was saved and born
again you know I became a born-again
Christian born-again Christian yeah in
2000
yeah 2006 you know got my job back a
rocky road Coco's just started moving
forward with my life one of so you're
officially this is what it's called a
born-again Christian Christian I mean we
were raised Catholic yeah I'm not what
she was always spiritual and like
nondenominational yeah you know she
wasn't too religious like we went on
holidays and things like that but so yes
so know born born-again christian
baptised you know anointed you know they
were trying to get me to speak in
tongues you know evidence speaking in
tongues and all that and you know as a
Pentecostal church yeah so you know
anointed my head with oil all the the
born-again Christians so how long did
that how long was that for so I I did
that that was 2006 here's the thing when
I got my job back at Rocky's I met a guy
there and his name was Saul Lawrence
Walton and Lawrence he introduced me to
this to this company called prepaid
legal services so you know prepaid legal
they market like legal expense plants
you know they help you on unlimited
number of matters you know like in all
26 areas of law you know you get like
phone consultation advice stuff like
that so I mean I was never like a
Salesman you know I was always quiet you
know I just liked expressing myself
through through movement you know the
breakdancing yeah that's what I what I
love to do so I wasn't really too into
being a Salesman but I just was inspired
to just you know keep checking this
thing out so one of the things in the
company that they that they taught was
personal development yeah you know like
read 10 pages of a good book a day
listen to 15 minutes of audio now I
hated school I failed in school I was in
a work-study program you know I was only
going to school first
shift and I got extra credit for going
to school or for going to work after
school so so I started doing it I
started reading ten pages of a good book
every day so I listen to audio programs
trying to improve myself trying to
better myself educate myself and then um
one time we had this training with the
company we watched this movie called the
secret it's about the like the law of
attraction so so after the training one
of the guys like we may dream boards and
all that stuff you know trying to
attract what we want what we want as far
as success in our life right so after
the movie I was really inspired and I
and I was talking to one of the leaders
in the company his name's Nazir and
Mujahid and Nazir he actually I was this
Nazir now he's uh he Muslim he's a
Muslim guy but this is but you're born
of again Christian so this is this is
for the company this is not for the
Christian Right okay so he so this
company I am he's a leader in the
company and he gave some of the
presentation and I was just talking to
him afterwards okay so you got to
connect with him like what do you have
to say yeah I mean and I was inspired I
just had sparked it in general about
this movie that I seen you know just
about attracting positive things in your
life so I was like hey by the way do you
got any information about your religion
he was like that's the interesting thing
about the secret he said I happen to
have this book booklet with me and he
gave me this book it's published by our
Salaam it's a brief Illustrated
introduction to Islam oh yeah now why
are you asking about Islam if you're
watching Christian now and I just was
inspired about this law of attraction
business you know I was just like you
know trying to attract everything you
know so like I was just like hey you got
it I just was inspired you know hey you
got anything about your religion I
didn't know anything about it one of the
learns yeah I mean I thought you were
open-minded yeah I was just being
open-minded trying to acquire
information you know and trying to learn
and increase my knowledge because like I
said I didn't I didn't have a education
I didn't have an education in school
yes I failed I was barely making it
through I barely graduated I had to stay
six months later just to walk across the
stage with the rest of the class of the
following year yeah like I was supposed
to graduate 2004 but I graduated 2005
so so yes so I was talking with Nazir he
gave me the book and I started reading
it a little bit it's talking about the
scientific miracles in the Quran you
know talking about the stages in a
woman's stomach yeah you know the
embryonic stages in the miracle how I
talked about that 1,400 years ago in the
Quran before you know they recently
discovered this within the last 100
years
you know many scientific miracles yes
miracles of the Quran you know so that
kind of drew my attention and but I I
mean I still continue go to church you
know you start to invite me to events he
one time he invited me to eat Salaam
so hey come check out this this Eid
prayer so I went and this was
eye-opening for me like seeing like five
thousand Muslims praying I was like wow
it's upon Allah like this is like when
you saw the prayer the first time did
you connect that at all back to Jesus as
we see that being Illustrated in the
Bible that he felt on and in the Gospel
of Matthew it says and he went a little
further and he fell on his face and went
to God and now you're seeing 5,000
Muslims pray just like Jesus prayed did
you make that connection at all not at
that time because I still was not even
aware because I still haven't even
really dived into the Bible yeah like
this is my first time actually going
through the entire Bible this period
like 2006 to 2008
yeah 2008 I finally took my Shahada at
the the Dawa Center here yeah so you
read this book now so what happens from
there so I read the book and he invited
me to eat Salah I came I checked it out
seeing all these Muslims like wow we got
this many Muslims here there's like
5,000 people there you know right here
in Milwaukee at the State Fairgrounds
and then he just kept inviting me to a
hey come
Jummah prayer so I started going to zoom
out and then I was I'd sit in the back I
take notes and I listen I'd be like you
know trying to acquire as much
information as I could but anything make
sense I mean it all made sense like
where were some of the things that stood
out there's some of the teachings of
Islam that stood out that made sense and
connected with you
so what really made sense the most most
it just seemed like just a confirmation
in what was what I was reading from the
Bible let's talk about the same guys you
know Adam Abraham Isaac Jacob Moses you
know Jesus talking about all these same
people and it seemed like some of the
morality was similar as well you know
you know I mean basically you know I
noticed it says in the Old Testament
don't eat pork this is in the Quran
don't eat pork so they can have any
questionable water other was a question
well are the Christians the pork yeah
yeah but someone might say well that was
for though at that time now Jesus came
to abolish the law right right so
because of Jesus died for our sins now
you can go ahead and eat the pork do
whatever you yeah I hurt my neck today
bring a verse to you know support that
saying it's not what goes into the body
which defiles a man for that which comes
out of the body this defiles a man so I
actually I read this verse and I in it
and I got deeper into it and I realized
that you know Jesus in the Bible he was
talking about the condition of a
person's heart it wasn't necessarily
talking about you know what goes in your
body amazing what people will do the
philosophies people come up with to suit
their case and desires right yeah I mean
because if you look at the at the vs. is
the Pharisees and Sadducees you know who
were the you know like religious
authorities in the in the Bible at the
time you know at that time during Jesus
time they they came up in the question
and why don't your disciples wash their
hands you know why don't they wash their
hands before they eat you know because
according to the Old Testament there's I
mean there's so many rabbinical laws you
know in the Old Testament which is what
discover you know part of that was
washing the hands you know which I found
out actually exists in Islam - its
Sunnah traditional to wash your hands
before you eat and that's not an
obligation but it's it's tradition you
know so you know Jesus is talking about
you know it's not what goes and he's
talking about dirt right you know it's
not what goes into your body which
defiles a man talking about dirt you
know because the point is what don't
wash your hands right it's not what goes
into the body which defiles a man which
comes out of a man just defiles I mean
just talking about all the evil things
that a person thinks in as a mind you
know what was that what was the what was
the final thing that finally had you
convinced that okay this was the truth
and I need to accept it the Quran in
itself the miracle of the Quran that has
been around for the last fourteen
hundred years you know an adulterer you
know we have the same Quran we have
Whitman's Quran today same Quran for the
last fourteen hundred years sitting in
the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul Turkey
so I mean you go anywhere in the world
and pretty much you go to anywhere in
the world and people will recite a surah
from the Quran the same as any anywhere
anywhere else you know so this is what
the pride yep tell you were you gonna
say go ahead
so the Quran at the end reading it you
read through the Bible you started to
take notes you went to the Eid prayer
you read the book breathe Illustrated
guide to understanding Islam went to
tell some of their he started he brought
you to the he invited you to come every
Friday Muslims are it's an obligation
for them to go leave off work everything
go to the Friday Juma was called so you
went there you taking notes yeah and
then you read the Quran which is the
reading word of God you read that and
then what happens then well I mean I so
that was like a two-year period from
2006 this is not some overnight decision
yeah it took two years Oh two years
Ameen I was comparing you know reading
the Bible in the Quran well you know I
was like eh this is not like some you
know a lot of people when you asked
why they became let's say religious or
they turned to a certain religion it's
some kind of personal experience they
saw some dream day it's more emotional
it's just like right this is because you
know I really stressed this because
Islam really connects obviously we're
emotional beings but the intelligence
okay how much of it was more emotional
but it was really with your heart and
mind you're investigating this says a
lot two years you're just intellectual
yeah how much of it was that that just
stimulating you which your logic your
your mind here huh that's whatever
that's what it was because you know my
my mentor and the company prepare legal
he was saying when a student is ready
the teacher will appear right so I was
open to receiving information because I
was broken you know I was open to
receiving guidance in my life so so was
that it was at it then finally you were
you invited to someone say okay you
believe the six articles of faith the
five pillars and you're like okay come
to them now is it time to someone
invites you to take sure how that you
were it was a confirmation that this was
the truth
that's it because some people they'll
come to the realization that proofs will
be showed to him but now it's the
struggle am I going to submit to the
truth or what my parents are gonna say
what's my one of my friends gonna say
the societal pressures keep them away
now they become really scared what when
I run the opposite way why not when I
told my mother that I embrace Islam she
was in tears she was that she was crying
she was in tears your mother she your
mother was crying out of joy that you
can all just laugh she was she was
crying out of sadness she thought I did
something horrible you know what you
thought I went against Jesus in you know
the Bible and everything in that are
pestered and uh you know was telling us
she was crying as crying to accept but
obviously how was your relationship with
your mom today I mean I do my best to
keep a good relationship with my mother
because the cross you know advises to
yeah
advisers to I mean I'm not the greatest
like I mean every day I have challenges
I think more parents you know here it's
sad to say that it's a tragedy that you
have
people who are talking about how Islam
oppresses you know women impresses
people we have a people here you know
that our pressing their sisters their
aunts their grandmothers you know the
elderly you have like you know a
staggering number of elderly just that
are being oppressed physically
financially sexually because there is no
guidelines how to treat you know these
people so they are being cursed that
they're being abused yeah and nor they
taught the Quran it's there's clear
guidance exactly so now if you have
parents now and they see their children
except who maybe one day they were
saying the f-bombs to their parents
right they were showing no respect you
know you can go to the hell fire by
disrespecting your parents the elderly
right once now all those who doesn't
show mercy I want to be left to the
elderly to the young so now if they knew
actually the rights that Islam gives
them you know we don't have those old
folks homes that people dumped yeah the
elderly I mean that was one of the
things that attracted to me
attracted me to Islam yeah was this
compassion you know passion for our
elders right and now if they knew that
you've received people like racing
towards like getting their kids getting
people because of all these layers of
deception and all of these lies people
just naturally that's the knee-jerk
reaction to cry because they've just
been lied to right yeah well yeah I mean
there was something that was one of the
things because my mother was a single
mother yeah
a my father you know and my mother
separating when I was young so like and
my grandmother worked until she was 80
80 years old you know she was a nurse
yeah so this concept of like sticking my
grandparents in nursing home and she
worked in a nursing home you know so
this concept of sticking my grandparents
in a nursing home was just no Bominable
to me you know I seen this in a society
like how just people just you know go
about their lives and just leave leave
their parents and you know stick them
stick them in a nursing home or old
people home a group home or whatever and
and then you have no desire to take care
of you hear horror stories yeah you know
curse them
or I'll eat there's all sorts of you
know yeah this respect this is abuse
towards the elderly so this is a slump
this is a clear line this is a challenge
with our society yes Islam does you know
draw a clear line yeah well so what's
writing wrong exactly yeah so tell me
what happens now so now you are where
where does it happen finally invited to
do the Shahada which is to surrender to
one and only one God to declare there's
nothing worthy of worship except the God
that Jesus worship Abraham Moses and the
last and final mister problem Hamid
peace and mustn't be upon him this is
easy to digest easy to understand it's
common sense it's very straightforward
you didn't run from it you embraced it
where did you embrace it how did it
happen paint a picture now right so I
mean so I didn't when I read that book
remember and I started going to Juma and
started you know going to events and
things like that
[Applause]
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