Muslims (especially converts) do you have any advice?

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

(1) I swear by the early hours of the day,

(2) And the night when it covers with darkness.

(3) Your Lord has not forsaken you, nor has He become displeased,

(4) And surely what comes after is better for you than that which has gone before.

(5) And soon will your Lord give you so that you shall be well pleased.

(6) Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter?

(7) And find you lost (i.e. unrecognized by men) and guide (them to you)?

(8) And find you in want and make you to be free from want?

(9) Therefore, as for the orphan, do not oppress.

(10) And as for him who asks, do not chide,

(11) And as for the favor of your Lord, do announce (it).

I hope you feel better now sister, May ALLAH bless you, and don't worry for not having friends in where you live, we are not only your friends but your brothers and sisters too.

First of all do not be dismayed by all the attacks you see here against Islam. As you can see all such messages are filled with ignorance and assumptions which are baseless. I am an American who embraced Islam and the best advice I can give is to read up on the basics of Islam first. Be sure first & foremost that this is the decision you want to make. It should not be done for anyone's sake, but rather only to please Allah swt. It is vital for you to get networking with a group of sisters in your local area who can sit with you and discuss things. Many you will find will be from overseas, but many also will be born and raised in the UK and also British converts, so they will understand your point of view best. To actually convert all you have to do is say the declaration of faith, preferably at the mosque with witnesses. Then try and attend any classes they offer. You will find it all very new, even a bit confusing in the beginning, but thats perfectly normal. Dont try to be a "super-muslim" right away. If you choose to embrace Islam, nurture your new found faith by educating yourself and inshallah (God willing) it will grow. Best of luck.

Salaam sister,

I know it may be hard but don't let other peoples views on Islam bring u down. Alhumdulillah you know the truth about Islam, that's why you converted. You knew better, that Islam IS a good and peaceful religion and it is the right path to God and that Islam is totally against terrorism and killing innocent people. Unfortunately no matter how much any Muslim will try to explain to non Muslims the beauty of Islam, they will still choose to believe all the bad things they hear on the news.

You may find it helpful to ask advice from this site, u can chat to someone directly:

Live One-on-One Help through chat service at

http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/204/

It is online daily from 1pm-4pm Eastern Time (5pm-8pm Greenwich Time), as

well as many other times. I hope it helps.

Just keep praying to Allah and u will be guided InshaAllah. I will pray for u also. Good luck, I hope it all works out for u InshaAllah.

Salam, Sister. I understand what you are going through because my situation is very similar. I stand my ground with my family but at the same time very slowly introduce them to the REAL Islam and not the Islam they see in the media. They are very slowly coming around and listening to me. I will never get them to Morocco, where my husband and I live, and I know they will never visit a mosque or attempt in any way to meet Muslims so they can talk to them... but I do pray for that every day. Stay strong and dedicated to Islam, and always ask Allah for His help and guidance. Feel free to email me anytime you want. I am here for you.

Salam Sister,

Firstly, I am a convert to Islam.. I will tell you that what your parents seem like when your young sometimes turns into other things when your perspective changes. I would tell you keep your faith for you will be rewarded. Sometimes people are narrow minded about things they don't understand. What I would do is give my mother a book on the differences of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. She will not be able to deny it. It is good of you to respect and not cut ties with your family

.. try and remain patient.. try and just speak calmly with your family.. Wear your Hijab so you can show your serious

about your religion..

I really can't put myself in your position. My advice is respect them even if they seem to be insulting you. However I think the only way is debate with them, don't just defend and explain Islam on the backfoot.

Challenge them (respectfully), for example with your mother, challenge her on the subject of Trinity, why does the Bible say this etc, any intelligent person would then atleast would not insult Islam.

As for your father, remind him of when he went to a Muslim country, encourage him to travel to another Muslims country or even to an event at your local mosque.

If there is anything I can do for just email.

OK. I get what u are saying. Ill be honest with u. Each one of us even though we live in Muslims countries are asked WHY we wear hijab? Why we dont like to back bite. Why we dont talk to men as casually as the rest . Why we consider wearing a jilbab at any stage of our life. It seems like some of our surroundings have their own brand of Islam with such and such things not so illegal and completely OK to follow since OUR SOCIETY is doing so. ANd OF COURSE :

"WE have live with them! MArry one of them and so we must be like them"

I understand that u are facing alot of attacks but Im just saying that not everyone is egzempt from such attacks.

Ok, first of all we need to have a relationship with Allah.I say u tell ur parents (and others) that U ARE THE ONE WHO IS A MUSLIM < U KNOW WHAT ISLAM IS COZ U STUDIED IT> TELL THEM THAT THEY NEED TO DO SOME RESEARCH BEFORE THEY TALK ABOUT ISLAM .AND U WONT LISTEN TO ANYTHING NEGATIVE ANYMORE COZ ITS NOT A PHASE UR IN. U HAVE BECOME A MUSLIM. AND IT ONLY MAKES ME MORE respectful and humble that im not leaving u ppl although u guys are forcing me to.

Just be straight forward about it and they will understand but do be polite plz! May Allah Bless You. Ok about the Muslim ppl. Maybe the Imams wife and daughters will be friends with u? or a team of female preachers might be.

Wow that is a lot of tests and trials youve got there sister.

Hold on.

If your mother refuses to accept the fact that Allah is the word of God in Arabic, that just shows that she is refusing to let go of her prejudices, because she is refusing to accept your religion and live with it.

She is living in her own disallusioned world and can be no further away from the truth that God guides those He wishes to guide.

Nothing is going to save us in the day of judgement from our own wrongdoings, not our money, not our diplomas, and definitely not the false idols we hold hoping they would come to our aid when in reality, all that we do, is by default, the only thing that can save us face infront of God.

If I was you, I wouldnt just pray for guidance, I would sit and have a reasonable discussion with my mother. Show her the common grounds that you both have now. Im sure she will understand when you tell her, that faith alone does not save people. That she must be good to others to be saved as well. Isnt that a teaching in Christianity? Im sure it is. Thus, invite her to maturity, invite her to a more wider perspective, and most of all, invite her to compassion.

Shes your mother, if she cant show you compassion and understanding, who will?

Tell her that. Be good to her no matter how bitter she is.

Were here whenever you need advice too :)

Salaams and best wishes.

Asalamualakum, sister,

Congratulations on your decision which people may never come eye-to-eye with or even try to. I can't put myself in your position because I was born a Muslim, from a respected Muslim family and I fully realized my faith right when I turned 14... the only helpful and effective advice I can give you is help yourself gain knowledge and don't try to change other because they know their faith and may not be prepared or never will be prepared to change their beliefs.

Jazak'Allah.

I understand too well what you are going through.

Growing up I could not understand some things that I was being taught in Sunday school.

My Mother is a Christian and my Dad is an Atheist. My mother would just tell me the same thing that the Sunday school teacher was saying. My Dad would tell me that I needed to find my own answers and told my Mom that if she was not going to help me by giving me an answer that I could understand instead of telling me the same thing without her to questioning the answer then I was not to go back to Sunday school. He told me that I needed to do my own research and find the truth on my own. This was when I was 10.

At this time I would spend my summers with my grandparents. My Grand father was a Deacon and my Grand Mother was a Sunday school teacher. They would try to guide me but when I would question they too could not give me the answers.

Then when I was 16 I was in a world religion class in high school. There I began to learn about Islam and I could finally have my answers. I was so excited when I went home. But my mother was totally against it. And I was told that none of the garbage was to come into her home. At this time Dad was out of town and did not hear what she was telling me. So I would study in secret.

Less than a year after I graduated from high school I was told that I was to get married or get out of my parents home (by my Mother). I married and my husband was anti anything that was not Christian. So again I studied in secret.

After 5 years of an abusive relationship (with him cheating, hitting and being mentally abusive) I got out. I started college and began to openly study Islam. My Mother tried to set me down and tell me how wrong I am but my Dad has been there beside me still telling me that I needed to find my own way.

My Mother tells my Dad she does not know where her daughter went, telling him that we use to be so close. But in reality we have never been close.

When I married my husband she told me that he would not be welcome in her home and did not even come to the wedding, although my Dad did. Finally when I stood up to her and told her that if my entire family was not welcome in her home then none of us would come over any more (including my children from my first marriage) after a month my Dad called and said that she would allow for all of us to come over. I was not asking for them to love my husband (although my Dad already did) but to respect him as a person. It has been 2 years now and things are much better.

But she still does not respect my choosing Islam. Going so far as to telling my youngest son if he became a Muslim he did not love her any more. He came home to me in tears and I again had to put my foot down and tell her that if she spoke of religion with him again he would not be back. She has kept her word so far and my Dad keeps her in check.

I reverted 2 years ago and have never been happier. I learn something new everyday. I am now married to a wonderful Muslim man that treats me with love and respect. I have some of the same friends that I had before I reverted and found new friends Muslim. There are not many reverts in my area so we all get together at least 2 times a month. My husband jokes and tells me that we have the Ya Ya Muslim Sisterhood

But I think that each person should take their own journey, even if they believe that their belief is the right one. In the least they will be able to see the world through some else's eyes

If you need someone to talk to you can email me at lil_lil_lady_bug@yahoo.com

These websites may be able to help

http://revertmuslims.com/

http://www.islamicvoice.com/february.99/zakir.htm

http://www.islamfortoday.com/index.htm

http://www.submission.org/women/

http://www.modernmuslima.com/hijabsource.htm

http://www.themuslimwoman.com/

http://www.islamicity.com/

http://www.freewebs.com/kymuslimah/index.htm