Islam - The Only Choice!

Choice

PREFACE

I receive dozens of letters every week from allover the world written by different people of different nationalities, most of whom came across one of my books on Islam, Christianity, or comparative religion. Hundreds of those people, originally Christians, have told me that they have embraced Islam.

Each one of them has a story of his own. How did he inquire about Islam? What made him have doubts about Christianity? What made him step towards Islam? I thought that many readers would be interested in just knowing more about the experiences of such embracers.

I wrote back to every one of them asking for permission to publish the story of his or her embracement of Islam. Most of them gave me this permission, and many of them allowed me to mention the family name with the initials of the first and middle names, and some were reluctant about my mentioning their country.

I have omitted some stories if they are very similar to other stories. In most cases, I paraphrased and edited the whole thing for reasons of style and language correctness.

The outcome has been this book, a book about real experiences of real people struggling with man's main issue, i.e., the search for the truth, since the search for it is not easy among the wide jungle of falsehood. Nevertheless, millions of people have never stopped searching for the truth, and many lucky thousands often find it every day, enjoy it, and live under its blessing.

I would like to sincerely congratulate the new embracers of Islam on the right choice they have made. In fact, their choice of Islam is the only right choice.

Dr. Muhammad Ali Alkhuli

(1) FROM THE CROSS TO RESPONSIBILITY

My name is W.F. Hebb, 41 years. I noticed that Christianity could be summarized into a not very much convincing story, i. e., that God crucified his only son in order to save us and that if you believe in this crucifixion, you are saved. I could not see why God should kill His only son since killing is prohibited by God Himself. God orders us not to kill, but He Himself killed His own son. I could not either swallow the crucifixion of Jesus, assuming it happened, as a means to salvation because I could not figure out how crucifying an innocent person would lead to others' salvation.

I used to hear about Islam, and I was informed that Islam does negate Jesus' crucifixion and does not accept the theory of salvation through crucifixion. The Islamic principle that salvation is guaranteed only through faith and good deeds makes more sense to me.

(2) THE FOUR GOSPELS

My name is C.F. Guthrie, 47 years. I am a professor of physics. I used to read The New Testament with its four gospels: the Gospel of .t'Jatthew, the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Luke, and the Gospel of John. Very frequently, I noticed that there are many contradictions inside each gospel and many other contradictions among the gospels themselves. I began to doubt the holiness of The New Testament and wonder whether it is really God's word.

It kept on persisting in my mind that if The New Testament had been God's pure word, we should have -had one gospel only and not four different and inter-contradictory ones. I looked deeper into the matter and came to know that The Holy Quran of Islam is in a better position to be God's pure word because we actually have one version of The Holy Quran, not four, as is the case with the Gospel.

I obtained an English translation of The Holy Quran and began to read it. I find it full of spirituality, good ethics, convincing arguments, lofty contents, and practical legislations in a unique manner. I have come to the conclusion that Islam is the true religion of God and that The Holy Quran is the true and pure word of God.

(3) DEATH AND RESURRECTION

My name is G.W. Ferster, 35 years. I used to go to church every Sunday. On one of those Sundays, the pastor was talking about the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross, that he was buried for three days, and that he was raised alive from the dead, which is labeled as Jesus' resurrection.

I began to wonder about the whole matter right there and then. Jesus was dead. Then what? He was raised. Who raised him? Jesus could not raise himself simply because he was dead. Therefore, it follows that someone else did raise him. This raiser cannot be but God. So Jesus cannot be God because Jesus was dead. Jesus cannot be a raiser and a raised one at the same time. This proves that Jesus is not God, which contradicts what the church keeps on doing, i.e., addressing Jesus as God, as the Lord.

From that moment on, I suspected all the stories of Christianity and began to look for something more convincing. Fortunately, the search led me to Islam, where God is God and Messenger Muhammad is just God's messenger and servant. Thanks to God that He has guided me to Islam, the true religion of God.

(4) A HELPLESS GOD!

I am K.Z. Dollard, 25 years. The church always emphasizes that Jesus, who is God's son or God the son, was crucified.

I could not understand why God sent his beloved son to the cross or why a son so innocent was to be crucified in the first place. Nor could I understand why God did not defend His only son. Nor could I understand why God, being the Almighty, could not save people without torturing His only innocent son.

After all, I could not see why and how Christians are proud of such a god slain on the cross so defencelessly and helplessly. The Christian God, i.e., Jesus (!), is the weakest among all gods, yet, to my surprise, they are so proud of his weakness and defencelessness!

I have told myself that the true God must be different from that of Christianity. He should be the All-powerful, the All-just, and the AlI-merciful. These qualities are met by God, i. e.,Allah, the god taught by Islam.

(5) THE SAD FRIDAY

I am W.N. Berlyne, 44 years. The New Testament describes the hour of Jesus' death on the cross as a very sad hour with the sky weeping and the earth shaking. It was a horrible moment when Jesus died on the cross. This is what The New Testament says and what pastors preach. In fact, that day is called the Sad Friday. People were sad; so were the sky, mountains, and the whole universe.

In contrast, pastors often picture the crucifixion of Jesus as the moment of glory and joy because it was the golden unique moment of salvation. In fact, I could not compromise the two stories: one assumes that Jesus' crucifixion was the saddest moment ever and the other assumes that it was the most glorious and happiest moment ever.

If Jesus' crucifixion had been for salvation, why would it have been so sad? There is a clear contradiction between the moment of salvation with its glory and enjoyment and the moment of melancholy.

The whole church story cannot hold together. If the crucifixion story is so basic to Christianity, it should be very clear, which is not the case.

The Islamic way of dealing with such matters is devoid of mysteriousness or contradiction. I like the simplicity and clarity of Islam.

(6) SEPARATION OF MEN AND WOMEN

My name is A. E. Hull, 33 years. I am a chemist. My personal experience, first-haIid experience, has taught me that the Western way of life is not good and, in fact, very dangerous to both men and women alike.

In the West, men and women mix freely everywhere, anywhere, and at all times. The result is that most people are quite ready for easy seduction. There are many women in every man's heart and dreams, and there are many men in every woman's heart and dreams. Almost everybody in the West is ready for fornication or adultery .

I lived in Saudi Arabia for five years. There, as in most Islamic countries, the two sexes mingle only in a very limited scope according to the teachings of Islam, which discourages the free intermingling of the two sexes. The result, in Islamic societies, is less problems, less divorce, stronger marriages, and more enduring families.

Comparing our Western way to the Islamic way of living, I have come to the practical conclusion from practical premises that Islam is the best to organize human life and to lead man to a very stable social and psychological security.

(7) NO ALCOHOL

I am H. Q. Lawrence, 36 years. I have a Muslim friend, whom I used to invite to have a drink with me, i.e., to drink alcohol. He always refused to drink because Islam prohibits alcohol. I told him that Jesus turned water into alcohol, and that was Jesus' first miracle in public. I urged him to drink a little, just one glass or one sip. In spite of all my insistence, he strongly refused with no hesitation and said that one sip of alcohol, according to Islam, is as disallowed as a jug.

From that moment on, as a result of my friend's adherence to his religion and his absolute refrain from alcohol, I began to seriously think of that religion, i.e., Islam, which cares so much for the health of its followers. It must be God's true religion. I have declared my Islam since then.

(8) MAKING A DIFFERENCE

I am P. L. Mowrer, 29 years. To be a Christian makes no difference since Christians eat, drink, and behave like non-Christians where as if you are a Muslim, it makes a difference with regard to what you eat, what you drink, how you behave, how you think, and what you say or do. Islam is a complete code of behavior. Islam has its say on every basic matter of life. I noticed the positive influence of Islam on some of my Muslim friends at the company where I used to work. Their behavior was obviously positively different from others. This means that Islam is a turning point, a factor at work, not words said on Sundays and forgotten on Mondays.

Because Islam can be the most influential positive factor in a man's life, I have decided to be a Muslim.

(9) HOW TO SERVE

I am B. P. Premack, 37 years. Church sermons often emphasize the concept of Jesus entering our hearts. The pastor used to repeat and ask us to repeat after him, "Jesus, my Lord, enter my heart. Let me serve you”

After the sermon, I asked the pastor, "Is God our Lord or is Jesus our Lord?" Believe it or not, he said, "Look, my son, the whole thing is confusing even to me. In fact, I don't know. I feel that God, not Jesus, is our Lord."

Then I asked the pastor, "If we have been already saved by Jesus' crucifixion, why should we serve Jesus or even God?" He could not answer this question either. "Serve him" means "obey him". If we have to obey God in order to be saved, why was Jesus on the cross? We are always told by the church that Jesus was crucified so as to save us, but then we are told that we have to obey God in order to be saved. Then, the church has never made it clear to me or to any other Christian whether God and Jesus are one person or two. I have always felt that things are not clear even to churchmen themselves.

I could not take any more puzzling hints from the church. In Islam, Jesus is just God's messenger to the people of Israel , and Muhammad is God's messenger to all humans. I am quite satisfied with how Islam puts things.

(10) MORE DETAILS

I am C. E. Seward, 49 years. Once, I asked the priest if Jesus has left any teachings about how to distribute inheritance after the death of any person. He answered in the negative. I told him that everyone dies and leaves inheritance to be distributed among heirs. How could The New Testament leave such an important problem untouched?

I had a Muslim neighbor, and I asked him if his Holy Book, i.e. The Holy Quran, has anything to say about the subject. He told me that The Holy Quran, the word of God according to Muslims, gives detailed teachings on the matter of inheritance distribution.

I began to ponder and wonder which book is the real Holy Book: a book that ignores the essential matters of life or a book which never ignores such matters. I came to the obvious conclusion that The Holy Quran is the true and pure word of God, and Islam is His true religion.

(11) A DEAD GOD!

I am D. E. Spence, 44 years. I could not logically accept that Jesus can be God, as the church insists. Jesus has a birth date. He was hungry as The New Testament tells. He was a baby in the cradle. He was put to trial. He was crucified (as the church believes). He died for three days, according to the church.

To me, the Christian god is oddly unique among all gods. He was the only one to be born, the only one to be crucified, and the only one to be dead. No god can be dead and remain a god at the same time.

Through my readings, I learned that the God of Islam is the Eternal, has no beginning, has no end, has no equal, and has no son, no wife, and no daughter.

To me, the concept of God in Islam is much more logical and much more convincing.

(12) THE WORKING WOMAN

I am W. B. Underwood, 35 years. I had a wife, who insisted on working at a leading company as a secretary. She took the job against my will. She turned her back on me, on our home, and on our three kids. Our life became a kind of a hell. I did not know whether I was to play the father's role or the mother's role. Our children were almost lost. Our home was in a mess.

In the meantime, I had a Muslim colleague at my work. I discussed my family's crisis with him since it was continuously on my mind. To my surprise, he said, "In our religion, i.e., Islam, the wife cannot work outside her home unless her husband agrees. In Islam, the main job of the wife is home-making: to take care of home, husband, and kids. Anything else comes second."

The Islamic life pattern makes a lot of sense, indeed. According to Islam, everyone works but at the right place: women at home and men outside, and everything goes on so smoothly and harmoniously. We, in the West, work, but often in the wrong place, and home is left for maids and baby-sitters. Our women go in and out, early and late, night and day; nobody knows why or where; it is a complete chaos under the fatal pretext of man-woman equality.

As far as I am concerned, I see that the Islamic pattern of life is by far better for men, women, and all. Women, in Islam, work outside homes, but not all of them do and without showing the Western woman's work-mania. When they do, their work is conditioned by the husband's full consent and without sacrificing their essential roles as mothers, wives, and housewives.

(13) MAN-WOMAN EQUALITY

I am C. S. Verplanck, 26 years. In the West, I we are told by our church, media, and everybody that men and women are equal, so equal that men wanted to be women and women wanted to be men! We squeeze women everywhere to herald this parrot -repeated so-called equality. Women want to be whatever men are. They want to dress themselves as men do, to go wherever men go, to take the same jobs men take whether they can shoulder them or not. This equality mania is going too far and is becoming, in fact, rather ridiculous and funny, and sometimes tragic.

According to my experience about Muslim societies in the Middle East and according to my knowledge about Islam, men and women are equal before law, before God, and in social dignity, but not equal, or necessarily so, in function. By her very nature, a woman is different from a man. I am not saying that she is superior or inferior to him. I am just saying that she is merely different. There are certain characteristics of either sex, and there are certainly some advantages of each sex over the other.

In my opinion, equality in function is unfair. There are areas where women are better and areas where men are better. Life is not a war between the two sexes; it is rather a cooperative scheme between them. This is how Islam looks at it and how Islam organizes the status of the two sexes. I see that the Islamic pattern is the right one and that Islam organizes the roles of both men and women in an ideal way.

(14) HOME-MAKING

I am A. J. Wychkoff, 31 years. I do not like the Western Christian life pattern, where husband- wife roles are so confused. The woman in the West wants to eat the cake and have it at the same time. She wants to be a home-maker, wife, mother, and employee, all together. How can she be at home and at the job at the same time? Is she going to care for her home and her children by remote control from her office?!

Islamic societies, by Islamic regulations, have solved this problem nicely and neatly. The husband wins the bread and the wife cares for home. In the West, both win the bread and both forget home! I personally prefer the Islamic pattern of life: I feel that it is nicer and neater, and brings more harmony to the family.

(15) GOD AND THE CROSS

I am N. B. Alexander, 30 years. I could not see how the Christian god is God and a Iamb on the cross at the same time. I could not reconcile the concept of the Almighty God with the concept of a crucified God. The church's god is the only god that ended that way: slain on a piece of wood and then buried.

God in Islam is different. He meets the requirements of a real god. He was not slain or buried. He is the Conqueror, the Able, and the Ever-living. This is the god I like to believe in.

(16) SON OF MAN

I am L. B. Allport, 43 years. It has shocked me to see how much contradiction there is between what Jesus says in The New Testament and what the church attributes to him. I used to read The New Testament, where everyone can see how often Jesus himself reiterates that he is the son of man. In fact, he said it about eighty times. In contrast, he has never said in The New Testament that he is God or God's son, not once. Nevertheless, to my great amazement, the church keeps ignoring what Jesus has emphasized and keeps emphasizing what he has never said.

It is quite unusual for the church to emphasize Jesus' sonship to God, which he never pronounced, and to ignore his sonship to man, which he repeated about eighty times in The New Testament. Today's Christianity is basically different from Jesus' Christianity. 

Upon reading The Holy Quran of Islam, I have found that Islam emphasizes Jesus' sonship to man, i.e., to Mary. Hence, I believe that The Holy Quran is telling the truth, the straight truth. I like my Holy Book to be clear, simple, straight, and comprehensive, which is fortunately the case with The Holy Quran, and not with other books. –

(17) DIVORCE

I am S. E. Anderson, 22 years. Jesus in The New Testament and Catholic Christianity disallow divorce except for adultery. But later, all Christian countries, including Catholic ones, have realized that it is impractical and dangerous to disallow divorce to a couple who cannot continue to live together as husband and wife. Hence, one can easily see that The New Testament regulation, in fact Jesus' regulation concerning divorce, is not valid any more; nor was it valid any time for actual human needs.

Christian teachings are often not in line with human nature, and the divorce issue is just an example. In contrast, Islam has been decisive on this issue since its beginning: divorce is allowed, yet it is most hated by God. Islam allows divorce and at the same time discourages it. This is a very balanced, practical, and acceptable legislation. I like the practicality and consistency of Islam.

Islam has unchangeable and clear basics, unlike Christianity, which keeps on changing.

(18) TWO-BOSS FAMILIES

I am T. M. Baker, 33 years. In Western families, the wife usually refuses the leadership of her husband, and he refuses to be Number Two in the family order. Thus, the Christian family ends up with two bosses. The empty misleading motto of man-woman equality has blown the heads of women and cut off the wings of poor men. The tragic result is manly women and womanly men.

Every institution in the west and the east has one boss except the Western family: it is destined to have two bosses. No ship can make it with two captains. With two captains, the ship is bound to sink, as it is always said. So does the Western family; with two bosses, it goes nowhere or in fact down to the bottom. The Western family is, unfortunately, a sinking ship.

According to Islam, this matter has been already settled in a very clear and specific manner: the husband is the boss. This does not rule out wife-husband consultations over family matters, yet a boss is always needed at every institution, and the family is no exception. The husband in the Islamic family knows his role very well; the wife knows and accepts her own role and admits her husband's role, and all goes on quite smoothly and harmoniously. Islam gives more stability to the family than any other religion or creed.

(19) CRISSCROSS LINES

I am E. R. Bartlett, 31 years. Christianity does not organize man-woman relationships in the right way. Men and women mix together even in the church itself. They mix together at schools, offices, companies, streets, homes, parties, beaches, and everywhere. Although The New Testament says if your eye gazes at a woman, you must tear it out, our eyes do nothing but gaze at women simply because women are around men at all places and all times, often in seclusion and in seductive semi-nudeness, in most cases.

The New Testament disallowed gazing at women, but it said nothing about their clothes, nor about what parts of the female's body are to be covered; nor did it warn against seclusion, i.e., a man being alone with a woman.

In contrast, in Islam, free unnecessary mixing is disallowed. So is seclusion and so is women's semi-nudeness. Islam makes decency practically possible: no mixing, no seclusion, and no nudeness. Christianity makes decency impossible due to incomplete guidance.

I see that Islam makes the conditions of decency more available. Islam specifically orders the woman to cover all her body except the face, hands, and feet. Islam disallows man-woman seclusion. Islam disallows a man to visit a woman in her husband's absence. Islam closes the doors to adultery in a superb manner. For a clean society, I prefer Islam.

In the Christian society, we have crisscross lines. Eyes travel in all directions hunting female naked flesh exposed everywhere, and there are hence only two choices, no more: either the lust is actualized and adultery takes place or the lust is silenced. In both cases, individuals and the whole community suffer.

Islam saves us this dilemma by arranging for man-woman separation. No lust is given the chance to show its head in the first place.

(20) NO TEACHINGS

I am W. B. Beadle, 37 years. Christian preaching in the church focuses on the person of Jesus, his miracles, the cross, his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. We rarely hear anything about moral teachings. I understand that the most important thing that a person does need in every- day life is, in fact, to hear some teachings that guide him as to what is good or bad, and what is right or wrong; such guidance is surprisingly missing in church sermons.

Out of curiosity, I entered a mosque, the Islamic prayer place. I listened to the sermon, which a friend translated to me later. To my surprise, all the sermon was on codes of behavior, daily behavior. The prayer leader was repeatedly quoting The Holy Quran and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad.

If you are looking for a perfect and detailed code of daily behavior, Islam gives you this code. That is why I have decided to go to Islam, as a matter of fact.

(21) THE INTERCESSOR

I am L. J. Cox, 35 years. In Christianity, in order to repent, you have to go to the priest as an intercessor. In Islam, you can just say what you want to say directly to God without the intercession of anyone.

In Islam, there are no intercessors between man and God. I like the simplicity of Islam and the direct relationship between man and God.

(22) MORE COMPREHENSIVE

I am N. R. Mansfield, 42 years. Christianity tells you not to kill, steal, or commit adultery, but it does not tell about the punishment of possible transgressors. In contrast, Islam prohibits such crimes and at the same time sets a deterring penalty for each crime. I find Islam more comprehensive, more practical, and more related to the needs of life. Islam gives moral guidance and penal laws at the same time.

(23) GOD'S FAMILYI

I am S. B. Lecky, 51 years. The reason why I have embraced Islam is that I have heard many non-understandable and unacceptable things in Christianity. For example, it is said that God has a son. We know that Jesus' mother is Mary. If God is Jesus' father and Mary is Jesus' mother, it follows that Mary is God's wife. Thus, God has a family. I could not accept a god with a family. I accept this about humans, but not about God.

I asked about God in Islam and I was told that God according to Islam has no sons, no wife, was not beaten, did not beget, and has no partners and no equals. I find that the concept of God in Islam is very much more convincing than the concept