AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Renato, from Sergipe, Brazil, was a Christian priest who had recently converted to Islam. In an interview with AhlulBayt (a.s.) News Agency – ABNA, about how he converted to Islam and Shiism, he said, “At first, I was a priest and I accepted Islam with the knowledge and belief in the Bible. Then, a friend introduced some books to me that I learned about the Holy Prophet’s (a.s.) family by studying which. It was interesting to me that the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) chose a successor for himself. Because choosing successors has always been customary among past prophets, such as the prophets Moses and Jesus. The Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) chose Imam Ali (a.s.) as his successor to convey Islam to others and the whole world who do not know Islam.”
About the main reason for his inclination towards the AhlulBayt (a.s.) school and the challenges of this path, Renato said, “When I was a priest, I always tried to search for the truth and that’s how I found Islam. From this path, I reached the family of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) – AhlulBayt (a.s.). Today I am thrilled that I finally found the truth. Regarding the challenges of this path, I must say that I saw a lot of harassment. Because this is the nature of work. Were not the Prophet and his family oppressed and persecuted? But now that I have converted to Islam, it is sweet for me. We must get used to these things, come out of wars and trials proud, and wait for victory because the Quran says: “help from Allah and a victory near at hand”.”
Regarding the role of clerics, and Islamic missionaries and preachers in his introduction to Islam, he said, “To be honest, it was very prominent. First, when some Islamic missionaries came to our region, I tried to make friends with them and met with a positive and kind reaction. Even one day I invited them to deepen our friendship. I am happy that my friendship with Iranian Muslim brothers is maintained today after a long time, and I pray that God makes the path of religiosity easy for all of us, both for our Shiite and Sunni brothers.”
About the peaceful and friendly way of calling to
Islam and the Shiite school, away from any tension, the former Brazilian priest
said, “The bottom line is that Brazilians want to hear Islam from someone who
has a thorough knowledge of Christianity. A cleric or a preacher who preaches
Islam in Brazil, with no proper information about the Bible and Christianity,
makes the audience feel that they are dealing with a poorly educated person! Therefore,
considering that most of those who go to mosques in Brazil are immigrants, it
is necessary for dear missionaries to increase their knowledge about the
commonalities of Islam and Christianity, and to have appropriate answers to the
doubts raised by Christianity. This method, on the one hand, strengthens the
religious debates among immigrant Muslims, and on the other hand, paves the way
to invite more Brazilians to Islam.”
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