Page 6 Page 7 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 16 the Shahada (declaration of faith), followed by his brother, and together they invited their sister to do the same, which she did. The Mother, listening to this conversation, became upset by what was happening and left the house.The brothers from SF then proceeded to their drivers house for a late lunch and Zuhur Salah along with the children of the dying man. It was the first salah for the children and they were instructed to make Dua (supplication to Allah) for their poor dying father who had been in a coma for three weeks. As the group prayed for the dying man with their hands raised to Allah, the phone rang ...the father had passed away...in peaceful repose. How thankful the brothers from San Francisco were that they had delayed Zuhur prayer and lunch for the sake of visiting the man who only had a short time left in this life. They all then returned to the elders home and started the process of an Islamic burial. The eldest brother, the first of the family to accept Islam, was able to perform a final service for his beloved father by Islamically washing and preparing him for the final internment with the help of the San Francisco brothers. The wife of the deceased man admitted that when she had left the house earlier, she had gone to her local priest and explained to him about this strange group of men who had arrived from nowhere and converted all her family and was in the process of burying her husband of many years Islamically. She explained to the priest what the brothers had been saying about Jesus and Islam. This priest agreed with the points the brothers had made and suggested that she submit to her husband’s wishes. During the burial, the son’s of Mukhtar were able to place him lovingly into his grave facing the Qiblah (Mecca) with their own hands and thus fulfilled their father’s dying wish...to be among Muslims as he died. The greatness of Allah allowed him to be buried as a Muslim, by Muslims, and with those Muslims being his own blood family. After the burial, the brothers from San Francisco stayed awhile and provided further Islamic information for the family. The family cleared their house of idols and crosses and made their big house into the ‘Mosque of Chinandega’. It was then that the mother, who was deeply touched by her husband’s funeral also accepted Islam before the brothers departed! There were other miraculous stories that came from the S.F. group visiting Nicaragua. Many stories such as these came from the San Francisco group to Nicaragua. Within the Islamic community of Managua there had been friction caused by business differences. The masjid was virtually empty during salah times when the group first arrived. Due to their efforts, a renewal of Islamic spirit and brotherhood ensued. The hearts of the Muslims of Managua were again united in brotherhood. As a result of their visit, many of the Islamic residents of Managua were again attending Fair and Isha prayer in congregation. The San Francisco brothers also provided a yearly prayer schedule which the Managuans hadn’t had previously, having to rely on a schedule which the Managuans hadn’t had previously, having to rely on a schedule they had received during Ramadan which they had not adjusted for the course of the year. These descendants of the early immigrants are hungry for information about Islam. Almost 60 people accepted Islam as a consequence of the group from San Francisco. Spanish Qur’ans and literature are continually in demand. It’s the responsibility of all of us to remember these Muslims far away. Please help if you can in our efforts to assist with Spanish language literature. There were many moving and some amusing stories of the San Francisco group as they continued on to El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala...watch future issues of The Islamic Bulletin for their adventures! One of the brothers of the San Francisco group visiting Central America was asked by his secretary to deliver some items to her mother, Mrs. Molina, then living in the little town of Granada, close to Managua, while on his dahwa trip. It seems that the brother’s secretary, a non-Muslim, had been getting some criticism from her mother and other members of her family for her Islamic leanings due to working for our friend. She was not eating pork anymore and she liked to read the Qur’an “because it made her feel good”. The mother had been accusing the good brother of ‘brainwashing’ her daughter. Well, the brother delivers the parcel to Mrs. Molina as promised and after a little friendly conversation, he realizes it is time for Maghreb prayer. He asks her permission to pray there, to which she accedes. After praying , our friend starts answering Mrs. Molina’s questions about Islam and before he knew it... she asked to become Muslim, made Shahada, and even asked him to speak to her neighbors and friends about Islam! A very enthusiastic convert! Well, needless to say...the brothers secretary no longer heard about ‘brainwashing’ from her mother, and was even a little surprised by this turn of events. Not too surprised, knowing this brother who is her boss! The problem though...now her mother is criticizing her again...wanting to know what is taking her daughter and son-in-law so long in accepting Islam too! AMIRAH’S STORY I have been asked many times for the story of how I learned about Islam and came to convert, so with the help of Allah (swt) I will make an attempt to share it. I was born to American Christian parents in the southern state of Arkansas in the United States and that is where I was raised. I am known as white-American to my Arab friends but Alhamdolilah, Islam knows no color, race, or nationality. I was raised in the country on a farm. My father worked on our farm and also preached in our local Baptist Church. Baptist is a sect of Christianity such as Catholics, Methodist, etc. They just have different doctrines. But basically they believe in the trinity and that Jesus (pbuh) was God’s son. My mother stayed at home as a homemaker. I am an only child. The town I was raised in was completely white-anglo and all Christian. There were no other religions or races within 200 miles of us for years, so I was never exposed to anything outside of our little town. I had always been taught that we were all created equal in the eyes of God. Later I found out that this was not really how my parents, family, or friends felt. But as long as these ‘other people’ didn’t bother them, then these were very easy words to speak. This would soon change. The first time I ever saw a Muslim was when I attended the University of Arkansas. I stared at the strange clothing the Muslim women wore and could not believe that they covered their hair. Being a curious person, I introduced myself to a Muslim girl in one of my classes the first chance I had. It was a meeting that would change the course of my life. I will never forget her. Her name was Yasmin and she was from Palestine. I would sit for hours and listen to her tell me about her country, culture, family and friends that she loved so much, but even more was the love that she had for her religion, Islam. Yasmin had an inner peace about her like no one I had ever met. She would tell me stories of the Prophets (pbut) and about the Oneness of Allah (swt). This was when I learned that they didn’t worship some other ‘God’, it was just that in Arabic, Allah meant God. Everything she told me made so much sense to me and was so pure. Even though I had never voiced this to any family or friends, I had never believed in the Christian concept of the trinity and why I had to pray to Jesus (pbuh) and not to God directly. Yasmin convinced me that Islam was the only true religion and also a way of life. The most important thing to her was not this life but the hereafter and that someday she and I would meet again in paradise. When she left to go back to Palestine we knew that we would probably never see each other again here on earth and she cried and begged me to continue to learn about Islam so we could meet again...in Paradise. I can still hear her words in my ears. Yasmin had called me Amirah the first time we met. Amirah means princess in Arabic. So when I embraced Islam, I chose this as my legal Muslim name in her honor. I am not a real princess, but Islam makes me feel as though I am. Two weeks after Yasmin returned to her country, she was killed by Israeli soldiers outside of her home. My soul mate was gone and I felt like a part of me had died. With Yasmin I had made friends with Muslims from all over the Middle East and I came to love the sound of Arabic. It was so beautiful, especially when I listened to them read the Holy Qur’an. I still love having someone read the Qur’an to me or listen to Quran tapes. Most of the time I have no idea what is being said, but in some way it still touches my heart and soul. I am learning to read Qur’an and write Arabic, and with time and practice I will, Insha’allah. After I left college and returned to my little community, I didn’t have the honor of being around Muslims any longer. But the thirst for Islam and the Arabic language never left my heart. This upset my family and friends greatly. Years later, Allah (swt) brought someone across my path that was a wonderful example of Islam and once again I began to ask questions and read everything I possibly could about it. For many months I read and prayed and finally on April 15th, 1996 I embraced Islam. It wasn’t one thing in particular that convinced me. It was everything about Islam that did and I will never give my Islam up. When my family and friends discovered that I was studying about Islam they became enraged and rarely spoke to me. But, when I embraced Islam (converted) they totally disowned me and even tried to have me committed to a mental hospital. They were convinced that I was crazy. They didn’t succeed, Alhamdulilah. WOMEN IN ISLAM Granada, Nicaragua
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