Peter Schütt, born in 1939, is a German journalist and author. He found his religious home in an Islamic Center in Hamburg, Germany. He is the author of several books and known as a political activist.
Searching for the True Religion
I spent more than half of my life searching for the true religion. I was born in a Lutheran family. When I was nineteen, I converted to Catholicism. I wanted to get away from the narrowness of my Lutheran home. I needed more spirituality.
Actually that was the only true conversion in my life. Because it really meant a rupture in my life. Thirty years later, I officially announced my conversion to Islam. But embracing Islam was not a rupture. Rather it was the final result of my search to gain spiritual insight and realization.
Observing the Islamic Ritual Prayer
Actually, I was fascinated with Islam from an early age. I grew up in a small village in post-war Germany. Our part of Germany belonged to the British occupation zone.
There were also soldiers from British India who were Muslims. They were very kind to us children. They gave us dates and figs. And we observed their prayers. I was intrigued by their prayer movements. This childhood memory of observing the Islamic ritual prayer stayed with me.
Stories about Pilgrimage
It was in an old, venerable church near my home village that I learned about well-known Germans who were interested in Islam. The pastor of the church told me about these famous Germans who studied about Islam. Carsten Niebuhr, for example, was called the first German Hajji by the famous German poet Goethe.
These stories filled my heart with excitement and curiosity. I wondered about this special place called Makkah. And why people traveled far and wide to reach there.
Theology of Liberation
During my studies at university as well, I came in contact with Islam. I especially focused on the art and culture of the exotic Orient. And in my student dorms, I lived door to door with Muslim students from Iran, Egypt, and Nigeria. We spent nights discussing religion and belief. And we organized inter-religious dialogue forums on campus.
During that time, I saw Islam as a theology of liberation for the people of the third world. My African-Muslim friends on campus were among those who inspired me to bring down the memorial monument of Hermann von Wissmann. He was a German colonial butcher in East Africa. I was politically active and took part in the student revolt.
My Mosque
It was in 1991 that I finally took my shahadah. The Islamic center near the Alster in Hamburg became my mosque. It was and still is a modern mosque. Not just a place for worship but a place for many different activities.
Inter-religious dialogue and discussions are important regular events. Interesting speakers from all over the world come to this center to talk about Islam. It was my teacher Mehdi Razvi who led me through my conversion.
Conversion Needs Patience
It took over half of my life for me to finally arrive. However, I don’t feel that I have arrived at the end point. I arrived in Islam. And this is a whole new journey altogether.
Of course you become Muslim once you speak the shahadah and means to accept Islam. But to become a true Muslim with all your heart and soul requires more than just speaking the profession of faith.
To become a true Muslim, it requires a life-long learning process. You have to start again every day. It needs patience and perseverance. It was in 1967 that my teacher started teaching the interpretation of the Quran in our Islamic center. His successor has still not finished the whole Quran. Understanding needs time.
I was not born a Muslim. And I was not pushed to become a Muslim. Neither did I become a Muslim over night. It was a long process of finding the truth. And inshaAllah, if God wills, I will continue to come closer to the truth with every day of my life spent.
A Convert or a Revert? How It Does Matter
It was not until I had been a Muslim for a few years that I came to know about the term “revert”.
Revert, a word used to describe someone like me, who was not born into a Muslim family, someone who came to Islam from another, or no other religion.
Calling Muslim converts “reverts” comes from the belief in Islam that all human beings are born upon a certain nature or fitra.
That basic human nature includes belief in God, His oneness, and knowing the difference between good and evil. And it is the family, their culture, and society that change the child to believe differently as they grow.
The term “revert” has been popularized in Muslim communities over the last couple decades and has been internalized by those Muslims who were not born into Muslim families.
For me, calling myself or being called a revert was not something that I was really crazy about.
Certainly, I believe that God has created us all with a basic nature, belief in God, and instinct to determine right from wrong. And the latest research has at least partially proven this belief. But I have problems with the terminology for a couple of reasons. The first of which being choice.
Choice
In order for one to revert, one must first convert to something else. And in order for one to convert, there must be a choice-a cognizant decision.
For me, and most people, there was no such conversion process. I had no choice in the matter. I was raised in the Catholic faith, practicing American culture, and was taught the beliefs that those around me held.
And for most people this is true. Our parents, culture, and society indoctrinate us into a faith, practices, culture, and beliefs that may be different than the true nature of the human being. Nowhere does the child have a choice- a crucial component to converting.
When I became an adult, with the ability to think for myself and examine the world around me, I left the faith I was raised in, and I examined the practices of my culture and the beliefs of those around me. I consider this my conversion.
I chose Islam for myself. I kept cultural practices and beliefs that suited me and did not contradict my faith and rid my life of those that I felt contradicted my nature. I did all of this once I was old enough to think critically and had the opportunity of choice.
Born Muslim
To me, each and every person needs to make the same choice, in order to consider him/herself a Muslim, or a member of any faith.
Once an adult, it is up to each and every person to examine what they have been taught to think. Each person must think, examine, and choose for him or herself.
But the whole premise of the “revert” philosophy leads one to believe that every Muslim born into a Muslim family is left to grow up on his or her natural state or “fitra”, and will arrive in adulthood still upon that true nature of the human being. Sadly, this is not always true.
The assumption is that only non-Muslim parents make their child depart from their natural state. There are without a doubt parents who call themselves Muslims who teach their children immoral and corrupt behavior, whether they attribute it to their faith, culture, or personal belief, it makes no difference.
The child born into a Muslim family is just as easily subjected to corrupt behavior and teachings as the child born into a non-Muslim family.
The choice is up to each person as they come into maturity to continue the traditions of their upbringing without examining whether they are good and just or to truly think for themselves and find the truth in the world- the truth that God has sent to us. This applies not only to those raised as non-Muslims but also those raised in Muslim families.
Knowledge
The philosophy that comes with the term “revert” also leads one to believe that if a child is born as a Muslim, that he or she will automatically grow to know how to behave as a Muslim.
In order to determine whether this is true or not, we must understand what the word “Muslim” means. Muslim: one who submits his or her will to the Will of God. Belief in God’s oneness and understanding right from wrong is one thing, but submitting one’s will to that of God is another.
One can believe in the oneness of God and right and wrong, and still go about doing whatever they want. This is not a submission of one’s will to God’s will. This belief is not enough to make one a Muslim.
There is a certain amount of knowledge one must pursue in order to call him/herself Muslim, to know what the Creator’s will is. Knowing how to pray, what to give in alms, or why and how to fast during Ramadan, etc. are not things we are born knowing, and still we must know them in order to please our creator-to be Muslims.
Converting to Islam, this knowledge does not all of the sudden become apparent. Nor is it innate to the child. Knowing exactly how one is to obey his or her creator comes with knowledge. Therefore it takes more than being born and left to that innate nature to be a Muslim.
So What Does It Matter?
Terminology only matters in as far as it is applied to treatment of others.
If you call someone who was not raised as a Muslim “a revert” and treat him or her as not REALLY Muslim because he or she does not come from a Muslim family, it is not OK.
But if one calls the same Muslim “a revert” with the best intentions and treats him or her as an equal, then it is done with good intentions and is perfectly fine.
My Love for Jesus Led Me to Islam
Islamist. Jihadist. ISIS. Terrorist. Women banned from driving in Saudi Arabia. Burqa. 9/11…
For a word that means ‘peaceful submission to God’, Islam is a religion that is connected to some pretty negative connotations and often seen in the media for all the wrong reasons. So, why would an educated, independent and well-traveled young Australian woman decide to convert to a religion widely considered ‘backwards’?
I get confused looks at my fair skin and light eyes. Some Australians ask what country I’m from, and get shocked to hear I’m Australian. Australian AND Muslim? The combination is unthinkable to some.
Converting to Islam hasn’t been easy. I’ve been called names, been scrutinized, rejected and fired from jobs, lost friends and had a really difficult time with my family accepting the changes in my life.
Despite the harsh and rude comments about my change in faith (including how some assume I converted for a man), I’ve also had people come up to me and ask me why. It’s a question I’m happy to answer. My conversion to Islam was down to three main factors. This is my story and the story of the journey that led me over the course of two years to where I am now.
Malaysia
Traveling to Malaysia was definitely the foundation for my conversion to Islam. I went there after deciding on a whim to go on student exchange, not imagining what a crazy adventure I had set myself up for. It got me out of my comfort zone and exposed to things I had never seen as a small town Australian girl from Gippsland.
Before Malaysia, I knew nothing about Islam. I had never met a Muslim (to my knowledge) and I always thought of Muslims as wearing heavy black garments somewhere in the Middle East, far, far away from ‘civilization’. I thought Muslim women were oppressed. That they couldn’t go anywhere without their husbands, that they couldn’t have careers, and had to wear black all the time.
My image of Islam was shattered when I went to Malaysia. I found myself becoming curious about the pretty South-East Asian Muslim girls with their colorful hijabs and clothes.
My eyes and mind were opened, when, as a journalism student, I did an article about Muslim women’s rights. That was the beginning of everything.
My mind was suddenly bursting with knowledge about Islam and the fact that women had many rights in Islam! Muslim women were legally given rights (including divorce, land rights, monetary rights, the right to choose who to marry, etc) in the Qur’an and Hadiths hundreds of years before Western women won the same rights.
The first time I stepped into a mosque in Malaysia, I felt an immediate sense of calm and peace. The strong yet humble cry of the call to prayer invoked feelings in me I never felt before. When I first bowed my head toward the Ka’bah, I felt home in my heart.
Christianity
I was a very staunch Christian before converting to Islam. My life as a Christian was a focal point of my faith journey; without it I would not be a Muslim and it was my love for Jesus (peace be upon him) that actually led me to Islam.
Christianity is actually the closest religion to Islam, not only theologically but also historically. There are many misconceptions about what Islam teaches about Christianity.
To begin, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) wrote a letter regarding how Muslims should treat Christians. We are to treat Christians with respect – even if a Muslim man is married to a Christian woman, she cannot be stopped from praying in her place of worship.
Christians and Jews are commonly referred to as ‘People of the Book’ in Islam, because we all have the same Abrahamic roots. Jesus’ (peace be upon him) name is actually mentioned more times in the Qur’an than the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him).
Muslims still believe in the virgin birth and places importance on Mary (may Allah be pleased with her). Jesus is an important figure and you cannot be a Muslim without believing in the life and work of Jesus.
I Announced “I’m Muslim!” on Facebook – Kaighla’s Story
At the age of 21, Kaighla Um Dayo was a bright-eyed, enthusiastic Evangelical Christian attending Bible college. She had big dreams of traveling the world spreading “the word” as a missionary post-graduation. But life doesn’t always turn out the way we plan.
On her first mission trip to India, the path Kaighla had meticulously and confidently plotted for herself fell apart. She explains:
“I was confronted for the first time with all the different possibilities in the world, and my worldview was forever altered. I came home completely broken up inside, unaware anymore of who I was or what I believed.”
Kaighla’s world opened up wide, but she felt the need to close the door with God. She says:
“I decided God and I would not be on speaking terms until I figured out how I saw Him truly.”
After that decision to walk away from a Deity she thought she no longer knew, Kaighla gave birth to a son, experienced serious physical trauma, and lost her dream job all in the span of a year. Kaighla plotted, but God planned.
Researching Islam
Kaighla admits that she missed God and started researching Islam, the only religion she had, to this point, not studied. A different path began to emerge. Needing to support herself and her infant son, she accepted a job as an English teacher at a Muslim boarding school and started reading everything in their library.
She remembers in Ramadan that year, she was in the Muslim school library, reading the English translation of the Quran and when she, “got to Surat At-Tawbah when Allah says Jesus will deny ever having told people to worship him, and I remembered all my Bible studies from college and agreed that, yes, Jesus was all about people praying to his Father in heaven; he wasn’t interested in claiming glory for himself. I decided to embrace Islam on the 8th of Ramadan, 2009”.
Family and Friends’ Reactions
When I asked Kaighla if she was afraid that her family would disown her or disapprove of your choice, she responded with a resounding Yes. She says:
“Yes, I was afraid. I have always been the black sheep of my family […] and my last several years’ worth of choices had left them shocked and bewildered.”
Kaighla feared the worst from friends and family in reaction to her conversion. She says:
“I thought my friends would likely say, ‘Welp, there’s Kaighla, being crazy again. Another phase!’
I thought they wouldn’t take it seriously. But then, I was afraid my more devout evangelical friends would disown me outright.”
Spilling the Beans
When I asked Kaighla how she approach the topic when she told her friends and family, she said bluntly that she was not gentle or wise. She explains:
“I announced my conversion on Facebook by changing my name to Khadijah and my religion to Islam, and making my profile picture me in hijab, filling my timeline with Quran verses and reminders. Like, overnight, 180-degree change, in public. In hindsight, pretty foolish.”
In reaction to what seemed to many in Kaighla’s life like a jarring, whip-lash change, many were bewildered. But she was surprised that their response was not as harsh as she expected.
There were champions of Kaighla’s cause through it all. She says:
“My little sister was a huge cheerleader for me and has been my biggest support from day one. She never questioned the inherent goodness of my heart, and my other little sister, as she grew, has joined the ranks. Now they both, along with my mom, defend me and work hard to re-educate their friends about Islam and Muslims.”
Kaighla says:
“My more devout Bible college friends did walk out on me. Some accused me of being blinded by a “false prophet’ a la Paul’s assertion in the New Testament. My less religious friends stuck by me, but it was definitely uncomfortable for them. My family was just very surprised and unsure how to move forward, but I think most of that was my choice of delivery.”
Read: Jessica Broke Down Barriers When She Came to Islam
The fallout from her Facebook pronouncements were hard especially on those closest to her. Kaighla explains:
“My mother didn’t really have a response but was definitely put off. The distance […] between us was entirely my fault, because (spurred on by the Muslims I knew then) I began to insist that everything she loved and wanted to take part in with me was haraam, and insisted she call me Khadijah instead of the name she painstakingly chose for me all those years ago.”
Kaighla says that, in hindsight, it wasn’t her conversion that caused friction or put distance between her and the ones she loved the most, but it was the extremes with which she approached Islam and her loved ones that was the root of strife.
After seven years in a toxic marriage in which she was taught extreme views, and a lot of perspective and understanding, Kaighla says:
I have worked on repairing these relationships the past several years, and most are doing much better now. I just had to be honest about what made me try to be so very different and well… foreign, overnight, and that it wasn’t God who expected that of me. When I explained and apologized, most of those people I hurt have chosen to forgive and move forward with a relationship.
Advice
Kaighla added that she would advise any new Muslim, to “be kind and gentle with your announcement. Don’t spring it on them, and don’t announce it via Facebook until you’ve actually talked to those closest to you first.”
She says:
“If you’re gentle and if your friends and family really and truly love you, they will support you in one way or another. If you really love them, you won’t shove Islam in their face and demand that they accept every little thing about your new lifestyle overnight. It’s a wonderful thing to get to see who your real friends are, and a thing like this reveals the hearts of the people you love.”
