My first desire was to learn Arabic, but my soul awakened when I began to read the Quran. Maybe it was better because I began to read it in Arabic directly, while I was consulting a dictionary. I could realize that what the Quran says was the parts that were missing in the Bible...
The first time I actually heard about the Quran was in the big condo we were living in, where we were doing parties, and I was sitting in a chair with a Moroccan brother that he had brought in, who started reciting the Quran in Arabic and I started reacting to it very strongly… I started shaking.
As a police supervisor, I was constantly receiving warnings about perceived Islamic threats, and as an officer in the reserves I was around people who perceived Islam as a direct threat and Muslims as possible enemies. So, to my shame, I continued to wait and kept my studies...
There was a mosque near my synagogue, the town mosque. Sometimes my friends who were its parishioners would come to me - just to chat. I sometimes would come to the mosque myself, to see how the services were carried out. I was very interested. So we lived like good neighbors.
One day, I had a fight with my mother... so I had to find somewhere to go where the cops wouldn’t look for me so I went to the library... I picked up a book and it happened to be the Quran. I wasn’t reading it, it was reading me."
Ali was present at the birth of Islam. He knew what it was like to have a family divided over religion. His struggle to commit to the new religion in the face of enmity was real and no doubt he felt the same strong emotions that those who convert to Islam today feel...
I found the tone consistently serious and majestic but always simple and crystal clear. It all seemed rather practical and sensible. Religion was just not supposed to be like this. Could all this be thought up by an illiterate man 1,400 years ago? Well, maybe.
I became an event photographer in Dallas and most of my work was at night clubs. My job was very similar to that of a paparazzi, taking pictures of celebrities, athletes, and other famous people while they attend parties. It was a really crazy life style, having to be at parties...
Streich attempted to understand the Quran and Islamic teachings in order to argue against Muslims on tenets of their faith. In the course of his efforts he began to agree with and acknowledge the proclamations of the Quran...
I noticed that the teacher was neutral in teaching us about the other religions, but when it came to Islam she would become angry and showed us her hatred towards Islam. I wondered, why? I found the teachings of Islam very interesting.
I began correspondence with the KKK, and upon my release on parole, I was a full-fledged card carrying hate-monger. For the next 3-4 years, my activities were heavily involved in Klan cross-burnings, media appearances, night raids of beatings, property desecrations...
Having embraced Islam, I felt as if I were born again. I found in Islam the answers to those queries which I had failed to find in Christianity.
About Islam