AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA):
Maria, a Danish woman who recently converted to Islam, stated, “Islamic hijab
is for giving such dignity and power to women which cannot be found in any
other religion. When a woman wearing hijab speaks, no one pays attention to her
body and beauty, rather, it is only her words that are noticed, and this is one
of the merits of hijab.”
Among the blessings of the Islamic Revolution of Iran is honoring the status of the family, something that is rarely seen in Western societies. From the Islamic point of view, the family is one of the main pillars of society. Because the ideal society consists of ideal families. In contrast to the baseless laws of the West, which have always been associated with superficial glamour and glitter, authentic Islamic standards regarding the family are so attractive that conquer the heart of every family-loving and honorable person.
On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Lady Fatima Masoumeh (a.s.) and Girls’ Day, an interview was conducted with a girl who spent her adolescence and youth in the darkness of astray, until the light of Islam shone on her heart, and the scent of guidance filled her mind in such a way that she turned into a revolutionary Shiite Muslim lady.
The following is the interview of Mrs. Azam Rabbani with this Danish lady:
Salam Alaykom. Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. First of all, please introduce yourself.
Wa Alaykom Assalam. My name is Maria from Denmark, and I am 35 years old. It’s been 19 years since I converted to Islam. It has been 10 years since I came to Iran, and now I am studying in the seminary of Qom.
Before you converted to Islam, what religion did you believe in, and what about your parents?
It may be interesting to you and your audience, that I was born in a diverse family. My father was an atheist, and my mother, although Christian, did not adhere to any Christian rituals, and she neither went to church nor did anything special. I was baptized by my parents as a child and therefore I was a Christian until I was 19.
What led you to convert to Islam?
My conversion to Islam has a long story. In Christianity, Children are Christians before the age of 13. Because they are baptized when they are babies. But when they reach the age of 13, they have the right to choose to remain a Christian or change their religion. If they want to remain, Christians, they should go to the church to confirm their religion. Well, I did the same according to the Christian tradition, although I didn’t know much about the existence of God Almighty. But I loved God and believed in Him. Therefore, I went to a church and confirmed that I want to remain a Christian.
In Western societies, it is usual that at the teenage age, school children start going to night parties, drinking alcohol, looking for a boyfriend or girlfriend, and generally going for such things. But I never liked these things, so I always felt a kind of loneliness.
In such a situation, God blessed me by sending me a good friend who was a Muslim girl from Turkey. I had a strange feeling for her, and it was an interesting experience. Because I had never been friends with a Muslim until then.
In school and on the way back home our friendship was strengthened, and I got to know her Islamic culture better. Most days after school, I went to their house, and sometimes she came to ours, and in this way, I also got to know their family culture. After some time, I told her, “I want to be a Muslim like you.”
“My Danish classmate who used to come to our house has decided to convert to Islam,” she told his father, after my statement.
One day she came and said, “My father has made an appointment in a Turkish mosque for you to come and convert to Islam.”
I was 16 years old back then. I was very afraid and nervous. I did not know how to inform my parents about my conversion. Because I was sure that they don’t like me to become a Muslim at all. Anyway, that day I took a risk, secretly went to the mosque, said the Shahadah, converted to Islam, and hid my faith from my family and relatives for about three years.
It must have been a difficult time for you. How did you finally inform your parents?
It is normal in our country, Denmark, that when children reach the age of 18-20, they separate from their families, and start living independently. I did the same when I turned 19. Because I wanted to practice my religion, Islam. For this, I had to first inform my parents that I had converted to Islam for several years, so that they would not be upset, and would not imagine that I had changed my religion immediately after becoming independent. Of course, this was very difficult for me, and it worried me.
For a long time, I used to cry in my room every day after school. Until one day my mother came back from work earlier than usual and saw me crying. “Why are you crying?” my mother asked. In that situation, I could not answer, and no matter how much my mother tried to understand why I was crying, I said nothing.
After asking questions for about half an hour, my mother raised the issue of Islam! Due to stress, I couldn’t answer, which made me cry even more. When my mother realized that her guess was correct, she first tried to calm me down. Right after I calmed down in my mother’s arms after a few minutes, she burst into tears. Now it was my turn to calm her down. When the mother calmed down, it was my turn to cry again! In short, we, the daughter and mother, had tears flowing from our eyes for an hour.
With her tearful eyes, my mother stared into my eyes trying to dissuade me from converting to Islam. “If I give you one million Krone (Danish currency), will you stop being a Muslim?” she said when she saw that her attempt is futile.
“No, dear mother!” I responded with no hesitation, “My religion has no price to sell. I have made my decision, and I have chosen Islam as my religion.”
After some time, learning that I was determined to convert from Christianity to Islam, my parents were very upset and said, “At least don’t let your relatives know about your conversion to Islam, because it makes them very worried. Especially your grandfather, who is old, and hearing this would endanger his health.”
In a nutshell, this was a prelude to my separation from my relatives, especially my parents. For a while, I lived alone in Copenhagen, the Danish capital, and studied while working, until I got married and came to Iran.
Which behaviors of your Muslim friend and his family were interesting to you?
The culture of this Muslim family had features that did not exist in our home and family and most of our relatives. For example, their hospitality, mutual respect, warm and loving feelings, etc.
For example, my friend's mother was always at home and took care of the housework, and when my friend and I arrived home from school, there was always the smell of delicious food, implying that: lunch is ready! Something that was not usually the case in our house. In short, we ate and talked together, and it was really pleasant and lovely.
Against this culture was the culture of the Danish people, who, like my parents, were at work 24/7, and the education of the children was left to the school. When I used to go to my (Danish) friends’ house, we used to go to a room and practically had no communication and conversation with other family members. Even at mealtime, they ate by themselves and did not invite their guests to the dining table, and I had to wait for my friend to finish eating and come back again.
In such circumstances and seeing such behaviors, I used to say: “O Dear God! With this amount of difference in social culture between Islam and Christianity, I also want to be a Muslim.” This was while I did not know much about Islam. After a little research, I found that unfortunately there are no written sources about Islam in Danish, nor media sources.
When did you choose the hijab? Please tell us about the time you did not wear a hijab, and what problems did you encounter after converting to Islam?
To be honest, I didn’t care about the hijab when I didn’t have it. But when I met my Muslim friends, and they told me about Islam, it was only then that the hijab caught my attention. About three years after my conversion, I did not wear a hijab and I was very sad about it. Because I had to hide my faith from my family, and I was just practicing some Islamic rituals like Salah and so on without my parents finding out. But at that time, it was as if I felt a big void in my life, and it was nothing but the hijab!
I remember the day when I wanted to wear the hijab and become a Muslim, my parents found out that I had become a Muslim. Through various websites and news agencies that were active against Islam and Quran, they researched Islam.
“Islam, which you want to follow, wants to limit women’s freedom and does not allow women to study at all,” they told me, “If you convert this religion, you have actually wronged yourself.”
In short, they scared me to such an extent that I have not been able to establish any contact with my family and relatives for several years now.
Finally, after three years of being a Muslim in secret, I went to Copenhagen, and I was able to wear the hijab. I was very happy about this, although because of accepting Islam and wearing hijab, my father cut off his relationship with me and disinherited me.
After wearing hijab for several years, what is your opinion about hijab? How did you feel about the Islamic hijab?
In my opinion, the only religion that has addressed the issue of women's clothing very well is Islam. You know how women are viewed in other countries. They see the woman as a beautiful body that can be used. Well, the Islamic hijab is for giving such dignity and power to women which cannot be found in any other religion. In my opinion, when a woman wearing hijab speaks, no one pays attention to her body and beauty, rather, it is only her words that are noticed, and this is one of the merits of hijab.
Islam has no objection to the socialization of women. Today, women wearing hijab can appear with dignity in various scenes and jobs of society such as medicine, nursing, security agencies, police, education system, etc.
In my opinion, the hijab is a sign of a Muslim woman. Otherwise, no matter how much we pray, fast, and perform individual acts of worship, it is not clear that we are Muslims without wearing a hijab.
In my opinion, the hijab is real freedom for a woman who wants her life to be dignified and with human dignity. I even think that a woman who does not accept God, by wearing a hijab, will be protected from sexual problems and dangers, and the hijab will give her a social status.
In your opinion, to what extent the Islamic hijab can reduce crime, aggression, and rape in society?
To a great extent! Actually, this is the problem of many young people in today’s society. In fact, the hijab is a completely philosophical and logical issue.
In the form of a simple example, I explain the necessity of chastity and hijab as follows: We all know that money is valuable everywhere in the world. But even though money has value, a person, for example, the head of the central bank, spends, for example, 10 million dollars for the bank’s security system, and no one complains or protests about his action. Because this action is actually a type of property insurance. Similarly, Hijab insures the woman against the risks. On the other hand, a woman who doesn’t wear hijab is usually subjected to harassment and sexual assault.
As a non-Iranian, what is your opinion about the Islamic Revolution and the Iranian people?
Before coming to Iran, I had very limited information about the Islamic Revolution. To be honest, I was not at all interested in finding out about this.
Regardless of the many characteristics that I know about Iran and Iranians, after the Islamic Revolution, Iran has played a significant role in realizing the rights of many people, and this was not only for Shiite Muslims but for Muslims all over the world. So far, wherever there has been an oppressed, the Islamic Revolution of Iran has supported him and stood against tyranny.
In my opinion, Iran is the only country worth working for. Of course, I agree that there are weaknesses. But by the grace of God, the potential to solve the problems is definitely there. Sympathizers of the Revolution should know that any weakening of this Revolution is a betrayal of Islam, and of course, it also provides the basis for abuse by the enemies.
Today, we have many Revolutionary Shiites around the world who are working diligently to hasten the Reappearance of Imam Mahdi (a.s.) and are proud of the Islamic Revolution of Iran and see Iran as exactly the command base that Imam Mahdi (a.s.) needs. In each of their regions, they are trying to spread Islam and the message of Imam Mahdi (a.s.) in their language.
Most of them are much more revolutionary than many Iranians. Our point is this and we believe that today Islamic Iran is not exclusive to Iranians but belongs to all faithful Muslims all over the world.
As a guided person, and a lady who has lived in both a Western and an Islamic society, what advice do you have for those who are infatuated by Western culture?
I don’t know exactly how people who are infatuated with the Western lifestyle think. But I am concerned that they are supporting something they have no knowledge and understanding of. When those who experienced freedom in Iran come to the West, they will understand how much restrictions are imposed on them.
Freedom is constantly talked about in the West, but those freedoms also have frameworks that are based on the Western worldview. This is a worldview that paves the way for an ideology, according to which children are prepared to make decisions about their sexual orientation from the age of 5!
The West is a place where everything becomes strangely demonic. It is a place where a woman is judged by her looks rather than her intelligence. The West is where media outlets, with their enormous power, dictate norms and values, where social pressure forces people to kneel and kill. Dear young people need to know that in Western societies, parents have the least influence on their children, and the requests made to women in these so-called modern and Western societies are incompatible with health, well-being, happiness, balance, peace, respect, dignity, etc.
I advise the youth to carefully examine the real life in the West, and not to be satisfied with the romantic narratives that retouched the West and present it to the people in a beautified and manipulated form.
Personally, after seeing the freedoms available in Denmark and comparing them with the values I adhere to, I chose Iran and moved here. Because for me, religious, general human, and foreign policy values are all crucial. I consider Iran to have the potential that can pave the way for the Reappearance of Imam Mahdi (a.s.) in the light of the Islamic government. I admit this system is not perfect yet, and it still has a long way to go, but the worldview that is the idea of this Islamic government is something that I support and will strive for.
I am very eager to know your opinion as a non-Iranian about the first figure of the Islamic Revolution of Iran and the Supreme Leader.
I must say that I wish I had read more about the great personality of Imam Khamenei. However, I know him as a man who has dedicated himself to serving Islam from his youth, middle age, and even old age, and he has served Islam for a lifetime.
I consider him a holy man, and I believe that he has repeatedly foiled the enemy’s plots to destroy the Islamic Revolution. If it wasn’t for him, the Islamic Revolution would have been destroyed by now. In my opinion, his insight and wisdom saved not only Iranians but the entire Ummah of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h). He is truly the deputy of Imam Mahdi (a.s.), and we are obliged to obey him. If I want to compare him with other world leaders, I must say that there is no leader like him in the world. In a nutshell, I must say, I am sure that he is the best leader in the world, and apart from the Infallibles (a.s.), he is unparalleled.
Thank you for this interview and for your time.
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