(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Interviewer: Let me begin by a question I’m sure you get asked a lot:
Why did you embrace Islam?
Isa: I do get asked this question a lot, and I can say that the most convincing reason for me was Islam’s logical nature.
I had a lot of questions, and I found that Islam really quenched the thirst that I had.
I felt that everywhere I looked in the observational world that I could see everything had a perfect code of conduct, everything had a set of rules that it followed; the plants, the animals, and even evolution, everything had a really refined course that it was taking, except for humans.
Humans have this ability to really make their own choices. For me it was very subjective, in terms of moral questions, social questions, economic question and political questions, it is so subjective. When I look at the world I see that everything is one way and it couldn’t have been another way, at least in the context that it was created.
So, for me my biggest question was: Is there also a set of rules and a course that I’m supposed to be taking? It cannot be a subjective opinion, or is it something that is universal or for the common good.
Similarities Between Christianity and Islam
When I started looking into Islam, and I looked into a lot of religions. I grew up as a Christian, and I started to find a lot of similarities between Christianity and Islam in terms of their code of conduct; the moral code of conduct. I looked at a lot of other religions, and found out that really the major point in all religions is to be a good person.
So, my question at that point was OK; how do I become a good person?
If there’s only One in the entire world that would know, it would have to be God. So, I asked God how could I achieve the pinnacle of my humanity?
When I started looking into Islam, I found that even though there were things that seemed a little contradictory to what I believed, or they gave me a little bit of a challenge because I had notions already that I had conceived myself, I thought OK, despite that, maybe I could be wrong, as everybody has a different opinion.
When I looked at it closely and analyzed it, I realized that we can take these arguments, and let’s take them in a very objective rational way devoid of emotion, bring everybody’s argumentz to the table. And Islam I can honestly say that I’m completely convinced it will not lose.
Interviewer: Excellent, that’s some very profound words. But let me ask you a question in closing:
Was there som ething that you read in particular that kind of really set out a clear path towards Islam? Was it the Qur’an, maybe Hadith, maybe some advice or someone you talked to? Because it’s always good to know what really caused you to take that way, because a lot of times everybody does research, but a lot of times research is inconclusive until you read something that motivates you to really take that leap of faith; what was that in your case?
Isa: In my case I would have to say there were two things.
The Bible is really where I started, and I started doing a lot of comparisons between the Bible and the Qur’an, and I was finding that they are really not so different. In terms of prophecies it’s something very remarkable the similarities you find.
Also, within the Qur’an one of the most fascinating aspects to me was the scientific advancements in this book written fourteen hundred years ago, and giving insight towards things we are just coming to know within the last twenty years.
Interviewer: Excellent, you make some great points. Just to kind of build on some of his points, a lot of times when we start looking at things from a third party perspectives is the only way you actually find the truth.
So, when brother Isa was following Christianity, then he laid all the facts on the table, he saw that there was a more rational way to live his life and to practice his religion. And when he is talking about code of conduct that makes perfect sense. So we as Muslims have to look at ourselves and see are we following that code of conduct that we should, that the Prophet, peace be upon him, and Muslims lived by.
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