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I
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should I don't even think Arabs make up
20% of Muslims.
So, you know, there's not even as many
Arabs, I think, in the whole world as
there is Indonesian. So, I mean, Islam's
for everyone. And if you just look at
the map of the world, it's every color,
every creed, every nationality. I went
through a period of about five or six
years my life where
basically if you to look at me, you'd
say he's a scum of the earth. And that's
the way I was treated and that's what I
was. And it was from my own
hand. Uh, I destroyed my family. I
destroyed myself. I destroyed anything
that I ever care about.
And I kept on going down and down and
further and further down in life until I
was at the bottom of the barrel. I was
pretty much the worst people, the worst
people.
And you know, certain things happened to
me that, you know, I don't want to
elaborate on too much further here, you
know, because as a Muslim, a Muslim is
meant to conceal his sins. And I'm not
too proud of how I used to be.
But there come a point where I asked God
to save me from what was going to happen
to me. I was either going to get killed
or certain things and I said to myself,
I'm going to become I have to do it now,
man. There's no turning back, Muhammad.
You know, you've come to this point in
your life where
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you know, Allah has God Almighty shown
you.
I must admit I did have um a lot of the
the believed in a lot of the negative
stereotypes about Islam such as sort of
the irrational the terrorist um
misogynist type
um attitude of Muslims and when I found
this was was not the case um that it it
it spurned more interest and well what
else don't I know and the Muslims
actually that I met like the first time
I actually had that human contact with
Islam. And Muslims, they were actually
some of the the finest human beings that
I'd met. And it was it was quite
shocking to me actually.
I was listening to a um ABC news radio
and they
said they said that a Queensland company
had uh just marketed a special honey um
a medicinal honey because uh honey has a
lot of antibacterial properties. Okay.
Two days before that, I'd been given my
first Quran. All right. That afternoon,
um I thought to myself, "Oh, that's
interesting about the honey." That
afternoon, I went home and I said, "Oh,
let's have a look at this Quran." And I
opened it up to surah the bee and I
apologize, I don't remember the verse,
but the very thing I read when I got
home was
And that that that blew me away. I mean,
wow. Um, if I ever find I need to
cleanse my heart or, you know, soothe my
senses, I just read the Quran.
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before I came to
Islam, you know, what you see on the
news and and what you hear, it's it's
it's the same thing that someone who's
ignorant of the religion and doesn't
really pick up a book and start reading
about the religion would have like those
same ideas, you know, terrorists, Arabs
and so forth, blah blah blah. So, it
wasn't too good of a view, but the fact
that I I knew some
Muslims kind of balanced that out. There
was a time when I was just doing some
vacation employment at uni and
um you know there was no nowhere else to
pray so I just got up and said I kind of
need to pray and I just prayed you know
right on the side there and after when I
finished praying they started asking
about Islam and it's an opportunity I
guess to to tell them more about Islam.
Um initially they'll be like you know
they don't know how to take it like
because they don't want to say anything
wrong but it's a matter of saying ste
being steadfast and making yourself
known as a Muslim so people would ask
you because I think a lot of people are
curious just exactly what Islam is and
if they find out you're a Muslim then
they'll tend to have so far personally
my my experience have all been positive
so they all been like you know oh just
what is Islam why do you pray etc etc
interest.
Uh, Islam began in Indonesia through
tradesmen.
The honesty of these tradesmen in their
business dealings and their manners sort
of made them stand out in that society.
And so when
the message of Islam came, it was easy
for them to accept.
Uh, previously Indonesians worshiped
idols which meant when Islam came to
them, it made sense to
them and that they realized
that that gods cannot just be carved out
of stone or wood and that God is much
greater than that.
Um, Islam is one and that's what I
really love about Islam. it, you know,
it doesn't matter what color you are,
doesn't matter what religion you come
from. Um, it invites everybody in and
it's very different to what um the
Jewish people teach you as well. So, um,
that was another reason why I actually
came here because um, in like a sense it
it sort of makes sense because it starts
from Adam and it goes all the way to the
last prophet and that involves everyone.
It involves all religions that believe
in God.
One thing that really stood out was when
um they got somebody in and it was like
a young boy and he was he was actually
reading the Quran in Arabic and started
to I started to feel it in my heart when
he was reading it in Arabic. Um and to
me like I don't even understand it. I
was like I was actually like wanting to
cry. I was actually thinking stop, stop
it because I'm going to cry in a second.
So like that's when I knew well
definitely I feel it in my heart if I
can if I can feel this. Yeah.
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A lot of people don't like
change. But if Islam
was if Muslims lived the way the prophet
sallallaihi wasallam lived, how could
anyone not accept Islam? And this is the
most important thing that
Muslims hold the torch and they must,
you know, show the rest of the world
that, you know, this is how Muslims are.
This is how Muslims should be. one of
those things where I'd left home early
and had, you know, I was had a good
upbringing and I knew right from wrong,
but I wanted to get a taste of life and,
you know, alhamdulill Allah saved me,
you know, at a young age rather than
going into the bad things in life.
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if I wouldn't have found Islam, I know
that I would have had a very hard life.
Um, I was going in the wrong direction.
So, Islam sort of uh uh it gives me a
peace. That's that's what I know. It
gives me peace. I know where I'm going.
I know what the future is. Like, you
know, where you going to go, heaven or
hell, you know. Um, and so I know it's
been a a stable part of my life.
And um I know I treat my parents well,
you know, alhamdulillah, I treat my
parents well. And I know that if maybe
if I hadn't found Islam, it wouldn't be
like that. Islam and Christianity,
there's not much difference. Like uh
like Christians have a strong a strong
um a strong feeling of um of doing
things right for God. Like they they're
very religious. Like I believed in God
before I was Muslim and you know, of
course I still believe in God and so do
my family. they they believe in God. And
so um just the con just the the thing
about Jesus being part of God that's
that's that's the only thing about it.
Otherwise Islam and Christianity they're
very very very similar. You know Islam
you're not allowed to have alcohol. So
of course that problem that big problem
in my country will be solved and um a
lot of men will dedicate more time to
their to their families.
Um and you know yeah there's a problems
with stealing as well you know stealing
is not allowed in Islam and I think that
would solve all the problems all around
the world the major problems and people
will start concentrating on themselves
and their families that have more time
to think cuz when they have a problem
they just start you know they drink
alcohol they do drugs they go out and
you know try and forget about their
problems but if you know you've you know
you've always got like you have time to
think about uh your problems yourself
and the meaning of life. More
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I was a practicing Christian. Um I had a
lot of questions however um a lot of
things didn't sit well with me and I had
a lot of questions that I had asked of
the priest and and I found that um there
weren't the answers there. So it was I
definitely found Islam to be um uh very
different from what I'd previously
believed. But I also found it to be um
um authentic
uh an authentic religion cuz I'm a very
analytical sort of person and and when I
um do something, I like to research and
and and ask all the questions. And I
found that with Islam, I could ask those
questions and they and they'd be
answered. Whereas previously as a
Christian, they they'd just be um
dismissed, you know, with a with a smile
or or or with a comment like, "Oh, you
don't need to know about that." or
things like that. I mean, actually,
Islam put humanity in my heart, you
know, it really did. Like, previously,
um I I didn't have that humanity that I
that I have now. And um it's something
that the world really needs because I
feel like the world at the moment is in
you know such turmoil that it's actually
searching for answers and searching for
um structure. People actually need need
um answers to the questions. You know
I've seen a lot of people who have had a
lot of money and um a lot of power and
they still don't have that fulfillment.
They're still their soul's still
searching for that for those answers
that they can't get. And Islam um offers
all those things you know it offers the
um guidance of God to
humankind and it puts that humanity in
the practicing Muslim's heart so that
the interaction between the different
races and uh cultures is a harmonious
one you know
And especially in South Africa where you
do get this the black and white mix and
that separation of black and white uh
which was wrong you you tend to see that
Islam bring can bring you together and
you know um nullify that corruption and
unify everyone. So Islam is generally
well I feel it's for everyone for sure a
universal message of was brought to
everyone by the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam and especially from
South Africa where you do have black
white colored multicultural like
Australia definitely for everyone and
unites everyone on that basis until you
learn Islam until you put it into your
life until you start practicing Islam as
a true Muslim should you you then see
what the real life is and what life is
all about and what your your aims and
objectives are and Islam has shown me
that and taken me away from all the
fitna that I was in. And alhamdulillah
with Islam on your side, it's a guard.
So you just keep to your religion, you
be firm, you keep regular attendance to
lessons and you just keep in that strong
environment with good good uh Muslim
people.
In
America, every year, 42,000 people
accept Islam every year before September
11th. In the UK, 13 15,000 people accept
Islam every year without no organized da
after September the 11th. In America,
78,000 people accepted
Islam. In the UK, 26,000 people accepted
Islam. What do you want? They are
accepting Islam even though we are being
cursed and slandered. The Quran is a
medicine. The Quran is a healing.
The Quran is the word and the scripture
from Almighty God revealed to his
messenger 1424 years ago.
6,626 verses retained and memorized by
millions of Muslims in the world
today. Every human being, every human
being needs to read the Quran and build
a relationship. It will open up a door
for you that you never saw before. You
have to show the world
cuz everything reflects on what you do.
Believe it and you will be free.
You got to believe in yourself.
Take a chance. You have to show the
world.
Let it cross. Everything reflects on
what you do. Believe it and you will be
free.