She didn’t realize that she was on the verge of a great blessing.

Kara chose Islam as a religion by her free choice.

Her marriage to a Muslim didn’t affect her choice, but the actions of her husband and children as good Muslim examples influenced her greatly, and led her to the straight path of the truth which created an inspiring story she is proud to tell.

My name is Kara Allouzi and I am 45 years old.

I am from America; born and raised an American. I became a Muslim in 1993.

Once we got married, I started learning about Islam, little bit by little bit; my husband was like a sort of a very good example of Islam, of a good Muslim. He never forced me or pushed me or anything like that.

Unfortunately, he got very ill and at the same time that he was in the hospital, there was an Islamic school that opened up; and some people came and told us about it and he said I want to put the children in the school.

And because he was sick, I agreed to that but I didn’t want to put them in the school, not because I didn’t want my children to be Muslim, but I was afraid that they would become Muslims and they would be this little unit, my husband and children as Muslims and I would be an outsider, but I agreed because he was sick.

Once I put them in the school, I came to believe how wonderful it was, and that school really showed me the beauty of the religion, not just the religious side of it but also the way of life.”

Searching for Guidance

Although Kara’s heart was filled with the morality of the Islamic belief, she still felt incomplete, so she went and searched for guidance that would fill the void.

It was as if her life was a completed puzzle with one missing piece, rejecting religious beliefs that discarded one another, she saw the Islamic belief as the best choice.

“My parents raised me as Christian, but at the same time they raised me like a Muslim. They used to always tell me: ‘don’t do this, don’t do that not because we say so but because Allah asks you not to do it’.

So I think my whole life I was a Muslim but I didn’t know how to find Islam.  My father was Catholic, my mother Protestant. When my father married my mother, they ex-communicated him from the Catholic Church, so he was very disappointed in the church.

So when I came along, they decided that they would let me find a religion that I felt the most comfortable with.

The problem with that, is every time I went to a different church, they would tell me: ‘if you don’t belong to this church, you’re going to Hell; if you don’t belong to this church you’re going to Hell; if you don’t belong to this church you’re going to Hell’. And I got really scared. I went to my dad and I said: ‘I am scared I picked the wrong one’.

Why can’t I have a direct line between me and God?”

Determination for Success

Kara seems to balance the importance of her physical and spiritual life, and has great ambitious and determination to succeed.

“I am the director for the American ESL Center in Amman, Jordan; we teach English to adults. It’s really actually a family affair, my husband helps me; he steps in and hints where my weaknesses are, he has the strength with dealing with people, dealing with the ministries, dealing with the Arabs in general.

My strength is in the academics, so we really work together as a family to promote our center, not only for teaching English but also teaching understanding, tolerance, and patience between the two cultures.

In the future, we hope to open up some other centers in the Middle East, in the Gulf area, in Syria and Lebanon inshaAllah (God willing).”

Established a New Life

Kara established a new life for herself with the creator’s gratification. In simple words, Kara would like to send the message to those who feel lost and are afraid of the unknown.

“What I would say to somebody who is not a Muslim, watching this program; I believe that you are watching this program for a reason, because you want to know about Islam and you want to know what happened to me.

This is a big question that we have when we non-Muslims become Muslims, so you can see Muslim women living completely normal lives and how much peace that we have, and the joy that we have inside.

Don’t think about what might happen to you, but know what is going to happen to you is going to be wonderful, and listen to your heart and don’t listen to others.”

Striving to be as pious as one can be and fighting against one’s own evil trades takes effort and is continuous, and never ending for a Muslim.