leading to me joining the EDL I went I
used to go to the I was quite regular in
a local pub then I started seeing videos
of Indians honor killings sgm and stuff
like that so I thought this was the
Muslim community this is an Islamic
practice I'll be honest I never wanted
to be a Muslim hundred percent didn't
want to be a Muslim so I said to him now
you're that Islam the terrorists so and
he put his hand on my shoulder and he
smiled at me so I was a wat walked out
the taxi I was baffled I was I was like
why would somebody smile at me if I've
just called him a terrorist you get what
I'm saying
Oh learning curve is the people around
you yeah so I was listening to people
around me he said she said she wanted
opinions or when I was say if I was
speaking to if I were in the sports were
Muslim I'd say I just repeat what I told
myself I think if they many of them if
they were really exposed to true
teachings of Islam many of these EDL
probably would accept Islam what are you
three percent we're lazy
we don't read and what we do yeah when
we read save see if there was an Ed line
we just read the title and then we go
from the title of what actually happened
we never read the full article and it's
one thing I've learned if you can't do
anything about it really it's not really
a choice unless you lied to yourself for
the rest of your life and that's what
you'll do al hamdulillah you see this is
the problem this is the problem where
where I went wrong I was going to the
wrong people when I came to the right
people and I got these context and I got
this and I was like wow reading a
Christian or a Jewish or atheist
perspective of Islam because you don't
go if you need some plumbing done in you
now she don't get a bricklayer to do it
for you you got that
assalamualaikum guys how you doing
guess what I got a former member of the
e DL that's English Defence League but
he's here with us we're in a masjid
Chris Salam aleikum walekum Salam how
are you brother hamdulillah so tell us
what's this video English Defence League
was formed on the rebound of atom
charger and the Alma drew drew and I
think the cold when there was burn in
the poppies and spin of the army so we
it kind of kicked off then there was a
group of people who got together and
when went against the the Muslims er was
different defaming the country yeah now
you went through a journey you joined
the EDL but then you end up accepting
Islam you made some connection with
Muslims and you actually are we're here
in Manchester you're in a Masjid tell us
is to reverse before you join the EDL
you're also your practicing Christian
yes also Christians also yeah I left the
church is about 17 years old so
basically I was in the I was in a
between Cowboys Brigade which is a
Christian organization boys were grade
boys brigade yeah boys were great but
great yeah so we you know we did a
little bit of the Bible a little
campaign of over activities you know I
wouldn't class myself as a Christian but
she said something interesting that you
went to the higher up there was a dirt
the priest yeah and then you asked him
some questions and what happened from
there well basically I was reading the
Bible but what they were saying in the
church was not going going with the
Bible so I asked questions about the
Trinity and because I didn't get a
logical answer I kind of walked away
from the church yeah I was very saddened
by the answer
and I didn't just ask one person I asked
another and it was the same answer that
this is a mystery it's a miracle are you
know this is this regarding the Trinity
yeah regarding the Trinity yeah many
people they they get confused when it
comes to this and then go I interview a
lot of people in a st. it's the same
thing I see a pattern this Trinity some
people they just turn their brain after
this and then just move forward with it
now thinking about it but the
intellectuals people who really dig
deeper they want to know it just doesn't
fit with the heart the mind so it
doesn't connect so this is the question
that you're asking so when I read the
Bible I didn't see any that Jesus was
God I didn't I didn't imply that Jesus
was son of God so when I was in the
church I was believed in a career yeah
separate to Jesus and Jesus was a
messenger or someone who brought brought
this this book yes
so basically when when when when other
people are telling you different but you
are getting that from a logical
reasoning perspective from the Bible and
that's what it kind of doesn't it
doesn't go well in in in your brain as a
young guy who just wants to understand
these creer yeah so I always believed in
a creator since was a kid okay so one
thing that we try to encourage people is
to really really think how did you end
up here why are you here where are you
going when you die purpose of life at
what point were you thinking were you
contemplating like you know why am I
here in this world you know you probably
you mentioned that you K you didn't get
the answers to your questions so you
went to the pub yes and many people to
get stuck in the pub come out become
alcoholics but you know what's
interesting even in the Alcoholics
Anonymous meeting people who will end up
you know turning towards alcohol and
substance abuse even when now they
realize they want to get out of this
they're in the second chapter second
point in their curriculum what they have
to try to empower you is that you have
to rely on a higher force yes it's in
the Alcoholics Anonymous and their
second point I believe that you have to
rely on a higher power so back to the
question what was it that you had you
thinking like that ultimate question
that people don't ask what's the purpose
of life why am I here I always ask this
question you always always I always ask
myself this question
even when I went to the pub and did what
I did I always knew it wasn't right for
me this it wasn't I didn't knew it were
bad
I knew it's a bad thing to do and a lot
of people just I'd that feeling but I
knew my conscience told me that this is
going to the pub drinking alcohol it's
not good for you yeah without anybody
telling me so when when I went searching
for mapper my purpose it kind of stalled
when I was 17 and then I went to the pub
and then I just kind of put it - back of
my mind yeah people keep numbing
themselves and on myself with alcohol
and abusing drugs and alcohol because I
was so upset because I believed in this
creator but there was no I couldn't
believe logical reason I couldn't
believe that human was my career off
myself because I I believe that humans
make mistakes yeah also linking back to
Jesus being a human yeah okay so this
didn't they just didn't fit with my
logical reasoning okay so now you you
left did you pretty much you were so so
Christian well happy I went to one of
them Christians if I wasn't problem
somebody asked me about my religion I
said Christian yeah but I wouldn't be
able to I would have even be able to
really so now how do you make a shift
now to being in this group that's known
to be
I mean you tell us because you're in it
they're anti Islam anti-muslim basically
when I was growing up on school in that
I went to a school that was a Pakistani
half why few Bengali yeah
black people and I went through a lot of
bad bad sitcom bad things with the
Pakistani community
mm-hm because the Pakistani community
and the whites are fighting in my school
yes tried to stay away from it but
because knowing about the opposite side
when I've laughs gone from school and
stuff like that that you know you'd get
jumped and stuff and I lived in the
Pakistani area so it's this give me a
really bad image of what this Islam was
and at that time I thought so and then
I'm a Christian I don't believe in that
so and all that what comes in your mind
and I fought the prophets allah wa
sallam was a was a pakistan
you know you thought did you hear that
guys he thought the last night final
messenger said to mankind Prophet
Muhammad peace and must be upon him who
was sent for all of mankind as a mercy
to the world you thought that he was a
Pakistani yes so when when when leading
to me John in the EDL I went I used to
go to the I was quite regular in a local
pub and I met a guy who went for the
same situation is what I went through
with the Pakistani community in the same
way so I related to him so we had the
relation so we got to know each other
really well you and the Pakistani Mossad
no no another guy in the book another
guy in the pub round random and this is
how it started to join the idea because
I met a guy just went for the same
relation of me yeah we related and when
you relate to someone that's it you've
got someone to talk about so where you
build enough love or here will build
enough love love for ya or you guys for
the the problems that we had with a love
for the problems but that that love for
their problems obviously now there's a
hate that's resonating now there is
towards the Pakistani community but
those two in the pub we was how does
love in the love in the relation that we
are towards how does this slab fit in
this well is Islam at that time didn't
it was the the thing that we said that
we it but you didn't know anything about
so when I met this guy in the pub we we
spent time together which talk about it
then we eventually met another guy who
was speaking about group meetings yeah
he didn't say it was the EDL so we ended
up say no and then a few weeks later
yesterday gains want to come to his
group me in because we all had the same
problem and this is where it all started
when started I went to this group
meeting it was just a group of people
talking about at that time I didn't know
it was the EDL yes so we did it for a
few weeks and then the style asking me
I've wanted to go on these marches
either and I ended up going on the
marches and I was like yeah then I
started seeing videos of Indians honor
killings FGM and stuff like that so I
thought this was the Muslim community
this is a Islamic practice so that there
and obvious
has nothing to do nothing to do Islam
yeah nothing you have some cultural
practice that creep in and how people
try to make that like connect that to a
chance there's no honor and killing I
mean that's murder
yeah there's nothing in the edebe so
that from the process on on a killing
our FGM but at that time because I
didn't read yeah so you're just look you
y'all learning curve is the people
around you yeah so I was listening to
people around me he said she says she's
an opinion so when I was say if I was
speaking to if I were in the sports
almost I might say I just repeat what I
told myself it wasn't from any knowledge
and if I was never I never knew how many
of you are out there there listening to
this are following the same recipe for
disaster just going and repeating the
same thing based on baseless accusations
and nonsense and go ahead yes so we so
then I start going on marches and aside
you know understanding yeah this is what
I went through and this is you know the
I had this so much inside my body then I
think that then it was like two years
into the EDL saw a way of way of living
I never really told in the threaten some
of my friends I didn't tell the some of
my family I never told them and then I
started asking why why is this Quran so
what is the Quran what why am I even
saying these things anymore oh so now
you're frightened okay now you're waking
up the light bulb was I was asking
questions for the people that was just
of why we're doing this it was and same
same as when I went to the church mm-hmm
so for a number two years yeah I kind I
was asking why I was asking why we're
not what what what can we do while we're
gonna all gonna push forward and rather
than doing these matches because I
didn't really think the matches was
doing any difference and so there was
largest woodlot what a lot of them
become these marches would lot of them
become violent they'll be clashes and
I'll be honest the most violent people I
ever saw that marches were called an
Tifa and Tifa there was the most violent
people I have
and emerges and that's the truth it
wasn't about violence it ma it was
Markham it was more companionship this
summer that we struggle with in a year
in Britain yeah as British people we
don't have companionship everyone's back
back in slandering yeah and the EDL was
like some sort of place where you went
with all your friends and you got
together and you had a good dream maybe
some of them out there searly genuinely
they have a love for their country but
many of them also believe in the Creator
right and I think if they many of them
if they were really exposed to the true
teachings of Islam many of these II do
probably would accept Islam what do you
think you're sent percent hundred
percent because what the thing is as a
community even myself we're lazy
we don't read and what we do yeah when
we read safe to say if there was an Ed
line we just read the title and then we
go from the title of what actually
happened we never read the full article
and it's one thing I have learned is to
read the full article to get the context
and this is what the Duke this is what I
used to do with the Quran so would read
one verse but we won't read the rest of
the verse is choppy commentaries they
call that the cut and paste yeah so what
is it finally that has you after you get
exposed to a Muslim Islam you make the
human connection what had you now accept
submission to because it's Islam
submission to the will of God Allah the
Creator worshiping the crater not the
creation Saint this is what Jesus upon
Jesus was a Muslim he submitted to the
will of God he followed his Salaam so
what was it about Islam now that told
you in and had you become a Muslim here
in a mosque right now so basically I was
in a bad car crash in 2014 which led me
to be in bed for a lot long time so I
you know our brother like really bad and
when I so when you're in bed and you're
not doing anything you're not doing
anything cover then laid in bed you
start to start to think again and I
start to think I need to go back to the
church and learn about Christianity
again so when I started to walk again
I went back to the church like for four
months and and
I still couldn't get any answers that
were looking for and I stumbled upon a
video which is a merciful servant about
Jesus in Islam and I didn't know why but
I watched it and I agreed with
everything it said you know about Jesus
come to the last saw the fit so and I'm
like this is what I believe in Jesus
this is what I was like I've been
looking for so I watched this channel
for like two months and I must have
watched every single video on there and
but cause I was not I don't know I was
dazed to sum up but I were watching it I
didn't realize you were Islam because
and they didn't even realize they were
saying Mohamed analysis support Allah so
I basically I asked the taxi driver what
what what I was watching and you know I
kind of said look I've been watching
this video about religion where the
believe Jesus is just a prophet and I
believe that and he said this is Islam
so I said to him now y'all that Islam
the terrorists so and he put his hand on
my shoulder and he smiled at me so I was
a wat walked out the taxi I was baffled
I was I was like why would somebody
smile at me if I've discarded materials
do you get what I'm saying
so then I come back I had a bit of
arrogance for like four weeks I said to
myself no I'm not I'm not I'm not
looking into Islam any mod never be a
Muslim and and then four weeks later you
know I started working at a place called
Broadway and Bradford and I met a good
brother called Bashir but I didn't know
you were Muslim he's an African brother
and he was speaking about stuff that was
relating to the merciful servant videos
and I'm like I've watched this and I've
seen this and and I just kept listening
to him and listening to him because he
was so good at what we're saying
I kind of kind of started going out for
food with him and stuff like that and he
didn't know that I was looking into it I
went back into looking into Islam at
that time and he didn't realize that I
was looking into Islam I never told him
and you know like two months before I
taught Machado I knew that I believed
that allah subhanho wa taala was warned
and that prophet muhammad's allah wa
sallam was the
the final prophet of all the prophets
and Allah and then bad word denying it
because I'll be honest I never want it
to be a Muslim hundred percent didn't
want to be a Muslim but when you
surrender you surrender when the truth
comes to you the truth comes to you and
you can't you can't do anything about it
really it's not really a choice unless
you lie to yourself for the rest of your
life and that's what you'll do
al hamdulillah and so I'm on the day of
the 6th of November 2015 I walk up and a
rang Basheer and asked him to take me to
the mosque and I took my Shahada what is
your advice for other people
II do members they call it like the far
extreme people in a particular group who
are fighting for what they believe is
just cause and but they have all these
crazy ideas about what Islam is Islam as
terrorism Islam's oppression you went to
all of that so they can learn from your
mistakes
what advice do you have for them they're
tuning into the Deen show what do you
want to tell them the best thing to do
is read the only way you'll get out with
this rare mind of thinking that Islam is
oppressive it's against women slavery is
to read what they said but they're
saying I'm sorry they say I'm reading a
newspaper I know you need to read from
the Islamic sources
there's no point reading a Christian or
a Jewish or atheist perspective of Islam
because you don't go if you need some
plumbing done in you now she don't get a
bricklayer to do it for you you got that
if you want some plumbing go don't go to
a bricklayer if you want to learn karate
you don't go judo guy yeah this is this
is the problem this is the problem of
where I went wrong I was going to the
wrong people when I came to the right
people
and I got these context and I got this
and I was like wow this is this is blow
my it blows your mind because all you
think is that he's so oppressive but
when you see it's just it's mercy the
laws behind everything in one man over
23 years could bring to a society
that's when you start to realize that
you know you've been following the wrong
wrong people beautiful and you're loved
obviously for Jesus has grown because
Chris went from Chris to Issa because
Jesus was in his name you know this
language didn't exist so you love Jesus
even more now as a mighty messenger and
that sinks and more what people who are
confused about Trinity Jesus being a god
no you just worship the Creator who
Jesus worship I want to thank you so
much for sharing with us
nice to meet you too brother inshallah
this could be a benefit to so many
people out there who are struggling like
that and they're having these common
kind of conversations at the pub we can
get them out and we get the go ahead
tell them my youtube yes go ahead
so my youtube has come to success
success I should talk about I've just
never really made it and we're gonna be
doing live shows on with some of my
friends over far right some of my
friends were far left and we're gonna
try counter the narrative of why the
belief that I'm rather believed left and
we're gonna try to speak to each other
for you know thank you guys thank you
for tuning in scribe if you haven't
already we'll see you next time
he's driving show taking a long time in
shelhah peace be with you salaam alaikum