Alisa: "When people first see me they think hmmm Turkish,

Alisa: "When people first see me they think hmmm Turkish, Lebanese or a mix of both - and when I say "no I'm Australian" they tend to gasp. I was born in Melbourne to an Australian mother and an almost Aussie dad (he came to Australia from Bosnia at the age of 7).

I started wearing the Hijab at 16 years of age and have never regretted my decision. I feel as though it empowers me and it gives me strength to overcome so many obstacles....do you feel a knot
in your stomach when you go out for the first time after making a drastic change i.e. shaving your hair or wearing a bold outfit? And when you conquer that feeling you feel amazing and like you can do anything! That's how it is for me.

Through all my experiences I have never felt that my hijab holds me back - I have been hired, I have been interviewed, I have been smiled at, etc etc. Despite what some people have said - hijab will ruin my young life - I, through the grace of God have been married now for almost 8 years and have 2 wonderful children. The only negative about the hijab that I've experienced is awkward tan lines hehe.

Australia is a great country with great people. We truly are lucky and blessed to be living here regardless of what our cultural backgrounds or heritages are. I stand proud to say that I am an Australian Muslim and want to thank all the true Aussies out there that show and continue to support the Muslim community in the name of peace and progress. That is what Australia is all about smile emoticon "

This 39-year-old Muslim convert was born Paul Steven Mellor in Cheshire.

And just a few short years ago he was serving Queen and country as a Lance Corporal in the elite Irish Guards regiment .

The former Church of England Sunday school boy claims he guarded the royal palaces and marched in the Trooping the Colour in red tunic and bearskin during his nine-year Army career.

He changed his name to Jibreel and the dad-of-three told The Sun:
“I was a soldier of the Queen, now I’m a soldier of Allah. I was on sentry duty at Buckingham Palace, I did Trooping the Colour. Now I’m against democracy. The system stinks.

He is campaigning for Sharia law and self-governing Muslim “states” to be established in Britain.

Jibreel, a one-time Liverpool fan who says he has burnt all photos from his Army days, said: “I used to have a pint when I was in the Army but I don’t think it’s excessive to lash drinkers.”

Jibreel left the Army in February 1997 and became a labourer in a relative’s building firm but couldn’t get used to civvy street.

When his half-brother, Ian, committed suicide aged 20, Jibreel turned to drinking.

He said: “I was mixed up with alcohol. I was going down a slippery slope.

“One night I came out of a nightclub in Stoke-on-Trent and I was stumbling all over the place. A Muslim taxi driver approached me and started talking about Islam.

“I wasn’t looking for Islam but it found me at the right time. It just made sense to me, a brotherhood that would always stick together. It was overnight, basically.” Alhamdulillah for Islam!

ifferences were about how they see Jesus. Which wasn’t a big deal to me,

EX-CHRISTIAN BROTHER MUSA ABDUL HADI’S JOURNEY TO ISLAM (FROM U.S DALLAS,TEXAS)

I start by saying praise and glory to Allah (Subhanahu wa ta ala), to whom all thanks belongs. And Allah guided those who believed, by His permission. And Allah guides whom He wills to a straight path.

I was born and raised in Dallas Texas of the United States.
My parents separated when I was 5 and I spent most of my time growing up living with my mom, 2 brothers and 1 sister with my grandparents. It was a very religious Christian home.

My grandma was a Sunday school teacher, and my grandfather and her never missed a Sunday in church. With that being said I learned a lot about the Bible from a young age, and I took an interest in God from a very young age. But my family pretty much took it as I just wanted to show off to my grandparents who were active in church, which was an initial shock to me that even my Christian family would take my religious seriousness as a joke. After brushing that off I quickly realized, still at a young age, that Christians were mean people in general.

At some point in elementary school my grandmother passed away, and a few years later my grandfather. Without them there my mom got away from church, and I eventually formed an atheist point of view by high school. But even before I considered my self as complete atheist, I had serious doubts in religion from my experiences at church.

But once I hit high school I turned more rebellious and spent a lot of time making some big mistakes, and spent the majority of my years between 15 and 18 in and out of jail. At 18 I moved from Dallas to California and pretty much kept my self out of trouble from that point on, but other than that my choices weren’t much better, and as the years went on, the further and further I was from any form of truth. Eventually I found my way to Pennsylvania when I was 19, and ended up being with a girl that I have been with ever since and ended up getting engaged to. I started to grow more and more in my hatred of religion in general, I felt religion was only something people used to make them selves feel better than others.

In 2008 for some reason I just completely changed, and out of no where felt the urge to get closer to God and get my life on a better path. I started with reading the Bible, because I wanted to know what God wanted before I started looking into churches. I quickly realized that no church practices what the Bible teaches, but I felt God changing me and knew it was important I learned, so I just stuck with the Bible which is what I had. The changes I was making so quickly were a complete shock to my girlfriend I was living with at the time, and we ended up splitting up, because for our whole relationship I taught her why religion was wrong, and now I’m changing and trying to teach her why religion is important, and it was too much.

So we split up and I moved back to California, during that time I studied the Bible, and visited church one time during that point. I was looking into the Jehovah Witnesses because they seemed to hold more truth than any other Christian group. I went to church there once and really liked it, was considering becoming a Jehovah Witness myself, until my mom showed me some history of theirs that made me change my mind. Eventually me and my girlfriend that I moved away from in Pennsylvania started talking again, and she decided she realized she needed to be more religious too, and we wanted to work things out so I moved back.

We got engaged immediately after I got back, and I was pretty quickly falling off my changes I had made. She got pregnant shortly, and life got busier, all the while I was falling further and further from my relationship with Allah. The whole time I realized I was making bad decisions, and knew my life was miserable like this, but I couldn’t figure out how to change. Reading the Bible was not enough, and I had no one I trusted to guide me. Me and my fiancé started fighting worse than ever, and by the time our daughter was born we were on the edge of splitting up again. I ended up getting a really bad drug addiction, and I felt all this pressure to fix my relationship with my fiancé because now we have a daughter, but everyday it just got worse. I knew I needed Allah… But had no idea how to get close to him from the point I was at… Between the time my daughter was born and when she was 6 months old was the darkest time of my life, between the drugs and the fighting the new baby and everything falling apart, I was lost and confused. Eventually I gave up the drugs because of the damage I was doing to my loved ones, but it was too late and the relationship with my fiancée was too damaged.

At some point in that time, (which was during Ramadan 2011, but I had no idea because I never even knew one Muslim at this point) during a normal night for me, I was at home in my room, late at night. My fiancée was asleep on the couch, which had become normal because of all the fighting, so I’m sitting there trying to not think about my problems. I ended up deciding to look into what Muslims believed.

I started out looking up the differences between Christians and Muslims, and found out the only real differences were about how they see Jesus. Which wasn’t a big deal to me, because I was starting to get uncomfortable with some of the beliefs Christians held about Jesus, but I still believed he was Allah’s son (Astaghfirullah) and still believed you needed him for removal of sins and to get to heaven (Astaghfirullah). So this was enough for me to look into the Quran, I wanted to see what actually inspired Muslim beliefs.

So I goggled the Quran and found an English translation and started reading. I read up to the point in Baqarah where it talks about the blessings of Ramadan and the Quran being sent down in Ramadan, and already with the power of the Quran it felt special that I was there in that moment reading it. So I went back to Google out of curiosity to see when Ramadan was, and found out I was in it. The whole situation blew me away, it felt very relevant that I was there at that time reading this Powerful Book, filled with an amazing guidance and light. I continued reading and felt my problems leaving.

I felt this was it, the answer to all my problems, the peace and guidance I needed. I thought every problem would go away, I knew I wasn’t ready to be Muslim but I knew I wanted to learn this book and model my life after it. As soon as my fiancée woke up (I stayed up all night reading Baqarah) I had to tell her about it, I was so excited, I wasn’t too surprised when she thought I was crazy, but I wanted to keep trying to talk to her about it over the next few days. Unlike how I thought, my problems far from went away, my life was getting darker quicker, and the fighting worse. In my mind, I knew the Quran was true… But kept remembering how surah Baqarah states how Allah causes those to stray who He wishes, I felt positive I messed my life up too much and Allah just showed me the Quran to show me how bad I messed up. Me and Tori ended up splitting up and I moved back to California, which was devastating to me at first, because of my daughter. But I ended up getting over it.

I was staying with my mom in Cali, and I spent a lot of time reading Quran on my phone, I eventually ordered a physical copy at one point. And slowly life started to look brighter and I felt Allah guiding me again, which is all that mattered to me at the time. Around the time I was coming close to finishing the Quran my Imaan was getting higher and I decided I should tell my mom that I want to be Muslim. Like I expected she completely flipped out and tried to do all she could to talk me out of it, but at this point I had no doubts about my choice, Allah already taught me the truth about Jesus in His Quran at that point, and I already had gotten over my doubts before I even told her. Fighting between me and my mom ended up getting really bad now, she didn’t want to stop bringing it up and it would always turn into a very nasty debate.

But the whole time I was learning Quran I was also trying to explain it to my ex fiancé when I would call to see how my daughter was doing. She thought I was crazy at first but slowly started to see the truth in it. And eventually as tensions rose between me and my mom I decided to go back to Pennsylvania with my family, because my fiancé wanted to learn about Islam. Eventually in January 2012, I took my Shahada, and in July 2012 she took hers, and we are both students of Islam and in sha Allah

My apologies for this being so long dear brothers and sisters.

Asalamu alaikum wa rahmatoulah

Romanian Orphan girl Violetta's journey to Islam.

The journey of sister Violetta , who was bought up in an Orphanage in Communist Romania is a heartfelt journey the story of human survival and struggle. Read it in her own words.

As Salam alaikum,
Hello everyone I'm ready to share with you all my story. I'm living a very simple life with simple and beautiful things and I love making people happy.

First, you can imagine one little orphan girl of 10 yrs old in Romania. She is crying in a small room very cold and in dark , sleeping on the floor without blanket to cover herself. There is her bed every evening smelling the floor dirty and full of trash dreaming having one piece of bread being so hungry every day and for dinner having her own tears every evening until middle of night when body becomes tired of crying. Her body is full of bumps wondering why would these people hit me so hard every day. This little girl was so happy to see that is snowing on the window enjoying the winter from inside that cold room , she is the like in a cage .This little girl watching from her window all winter how in many houses Christmas lights shining so strong!

She didn't know the taste of chocolate or an orange never! This little girl never had like Christmas present or one little doll as a child her mommy was very poor. Yes never! She looks across window dreaming that in one day she will be under Christmas Tree opening her own present. She is in an orphanage because her mommy died very fast and her life have been changed forever, being in one cold and bad world.

It was year 1988, Romania was a communist country without freedom. This little girl is me Violetta. Being in that orphanage was my nightmare , Teachers used to beat us so much without any reason , being scary washing our self in cold bath every Saturday because water was so cold we never had warm showers. Yes , I was small, young and innocent child working hard in a gardens for that orphanage school every morning working hungry starting at 5 o clock until 5 - 6 afternoon eating just one apple and little water . My feet used to be bloody and painful especially my nails, my shoes being so small and working the land all day was so painful oh God nightmare . My fingers and my feet they still have the pain because I always had smaller shoes, I as never given proper fitting shoes. My back used to hurt from all the hard work I did as a child. At the orphanage I felt like a slave with many other kids. I am so sorry but unfortunately that was Romania at that time time. Many times I said to myself that I will die .

I was there for 3 years in pain , alone living in fear , hungry ,thirsty and tears every night! And I always had a incredible faith in God and Because He healed my pain, wiped my tears and gave me a new life! Please wake up and love yourself , be thankful for what you have , be happy for what you are even u are fat, slim. Stop complaining about life and love each day and try change for good for what you have .

In the middle of pain and ocean of tears and sorrow, I found ISLAM. So stand up even you are depressed and love everyday and be thankful to Allah, enjoy the sun and love the rain, enjoy the rich and love the poor, be strong and be thankful for all what you have for life is short and will be late to love you self.

I was married to a man when I was 18 but unfortunately our ways are separated now, I raised my kids with very difficulty but I am proud !!!They are the light of my life .I am proud mommy of one girl 14 and one son 16. My marriage was full of tears as well but this will be chapter two

My marriage was full of pain and tears. In my free time I am cleaning other peoples houses for for little money and praying to God. I love meeting new people ,sharing life experience and helping hungry people so much .

I don't complain about my life. I am proud and have hope for tomorrow, even when in pain, depression , anxiety or other sad things, ALLAH IS THERE WAITING FOR YOU JUST OPEN YOUR HEART and hear His calls the people whom He loves!! Go to Him tell Him how much you cry and how much pain you bear .There is always peace ,there is always love .You will find love and peace and first of all you will be saved!

An American Christian embraces Islam because of its amazing simplicity.

By Troy Bagnall

My name is Troy Bagnall. I’m a 22-year-old (soon to be 23) college student at Arizona State University (ASU) from Phoenix, Arizona in the US. I’m in a film & media studies program at ASU too.

I accepted Islam last February for a multitude of reasons. I had been interested in Islam for quite some time, as it is a hot topic when it comes to the news and current events. I am very interested in ancient history and world history as well as war and politics.

As I would hear about conflicts in the news that were happening in places such as Sudan, Somalia, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Chechnya, Lebanon, etc., I would research those conflicts simply so I would understand what was really happening in those conflicts as the media here tends to be very vague in explaining them in a fair and unbiased manner.

As I researched the conflicts, I also became interested in learning about the history of the Muslim world. I spent time on my own learning about some of the history and culture of the Muslim world. I also took a class at ASU called Islamic Civilization. As I learned about the history and culture of the Muslim world, I became interested in the religion, Islam, itself.

I had been raised Christian but quit practicing it when I was 15. I personally found Christianity to be very confusing and not logical. The trinity and doctrine of atonement really do not make sense considering there are verses from the Bible that contradict those doctrines.

When I took the Islamic History class I met a brother named Mohammad Totah who is very knowledgeable in the Bible, Quran, and all three Abrahamic faiths. We had many talks about comparing the faiths. I researched on my own as well. I learned more about how Christianity contradicts its own scriptures.
I learned more about how many Biblical scriptures actually support Islam too. Another thing that got me too was the Gospel of Barnabas which prophesized and mentioned by name, the coming of Muhammad (peace be upon him). This Gospel was also removed from the Bible.

Now to the Quran, which is beyond amazing with its flawlessness. I found the Quran to be quite simple and easy to comprehend. Islam itself is a very simple and straightforward with no complex doctrines. Islam does not feature the blind faith that Christianity does.

It also has a feeling of fulfillment that Judaism does not have as Judaism denies later prophets such as Jesus (peace be upon him) and John the Baptist (peace be upon him) for example.
As I learned more about Islam, I realized that it made sense of the uncertainties I had with Christianity. I actually know more about the Bible and Christianity now since reverting to Islam than I did while I was a Christian.

I feel much closer to God as a Muslim, too. Not to bash Christianity, but I find it to be more about the teachings of Paul and the other Apostles instead of the teachings of Jesus (peace be upon him).

I also spent much time learning about the history of the religions after they were established and how they spread across the world. I know that Islam is portrayed as being some exotic eastern religion here in the west, but it is really just what all the prophets were sent to teach, which is submission to God. It is also really frustrating how the media always portrays Islam in such a negative light.

I understand there are conflicts and violence in parts of the Muslim world, but those conflicts are really more about politics.
Yes, I will admit that it has been a bit tough practicing Islam considering I do live in America and the media here pushes negative stereotypes about Islam all the time. It is also a bit tough on me simply because it is not like there are many American college kids giving up the carefree party life and converting to Islam.

That was not much of a problem for me though, as I am pretty much a studious nerd. I get questions from non-Muslims concerning politics and Middle Eastern cultural practices, and I have to show them the difference between what is really Islam and what is political ideology and cultural practices.

The Middle East is obviously the center of the Muslim world, but it is frustrating too how the media stereotypes Muslims as always being Middle Eastern, as Muslims come from all over the world. I think racism is involved too, as the West seems to overlook the fact that Judaism and Christianity’s origins lay in the Middle East just like Islam.

To sum it up, I accepted Islam simply because I declared it to be the true religion of God. It is simple, straightforward, and not confusing.

I also love how Islam has such a universal bond of unity amongst its followers. Islam has helped me to become a better person.
I feel at ease when I practice Islam. It helps me feel better about life and helps me deal with stress and life problems.
I really hope that people here in the West become better educated on the Muslim world and what Islam really is as a religion instead of listening to the negative and not always entirely true criticisms that the media portrays about Islam.

I hope my story will inspire those who are interested in Islam to want to learn more about it.

And praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds!

My journey to Islam

By David Pradarelli

I came to Islam pretty much on my own. I was born and raised Roman Catholic, but I always had a deep fascination with the spiritualities of other cultures. My Journey started when I desired to have a relationship with my Creator. I wanted to find my spirituality, and not the one I was born with. I spent some time in the Catholic religious order known as the Franciscans. I had many friends and I enjoyed prayer times, but it just seemed to relaxed in its faith, and there was, in my opinion, too much arrogance and hypocrisy. When I had returned back from the order into secular living again, I once again was searching for my way to reach God (Allah).

One night I was watching the news on television, and of course they were continuing their one-sided half-truth reports on Muslims (always in a negative light instead of balancing it by showing the positive side as well) with images of violence and terrorism. I decided long ago that the news media has no morals whatsoever and will trash anyone for that "juicy story", and I pretty much refused to believe anything they said. I decided to research Islam for myself and draw my own conclusions.

What I found paled all the negative images that the satanic media spewed forth. I found a religion deep in love and spiritual truth, and constant God-mindfulness. What may be fanaticism to one person may be devotion to another. I picked up a small paperback Qur'an and began devouring everything I could. It opened my eyes to the wonder and mercy of ALLAH, and I found the fascination growing every day...it was all I could think about. No other religion including Catholicism impacted me in such a powerful way...I actually found myself in God-awareness 24 hours a day 7 days a week...each time I went to my five daily prayers, I went with anticipation...finally! What I have been searching for all of my life.

I finally got enough courage to go to a mosque and profess the Shahadah before my Muslim brothers and sisters. I now am a practicing Muslim and I thank ALLAH for leading me to this place:

Ashhahdu anna la ilaha ilallah wa Muhammadur rasul ALLAH! This means: "I believe in the oneness and totalness of ALLAH and that Muhammad(peace and blessings be upon him)is the chosen prophet of ALLAH." I now also accept Jesus as no longer equal with ALLAH, but sent as Muhammad was sent ...to bring all of mankind to submission to the will of ALLAH! May all of mankind find the Light and Truth of ALLAH.

1. 

Sister Aisha Jibreel Alexander, a Airline pilot reverted to Islam

Sister Aisha Jibreel Alexander, a Airline pilot reverted to Islam. She was a former Christian. Read her amazing story.....

My Name is Aisha Jibreel Alexander and I grew up in a Roman Catholic family. I was always very interested in knowing about religion and always questioned the “dogmas” of the catholic faith, but I found the same answers every time I asked about the trinity.

“You have to believe and not question your faith because you are committing a sin”, the nuns at the school always replied. With this concept, I grew up and I developed a fear of challenging my faith, so I continued in the road of Christianity with great faith and trust in God and on what I learned to believe, “the holy trinity.”

In 2001 I had the first encounter with Islam when I worked for a Canadian Company owned by Muslims. There, I had my first confrontation with the faith, but as I was young and very much dedicated to my professional career, I left the questions about religion behind, and I concentrated on finishing my career and taking care of my responsibilities with my family who also relocated with me from Colombia (my mother and my grandmother who are now 61 and 93 years old). I was very blessed with the family where I was born. These two women taught me the love and respect of God. They started my journey towards Islam by teaching me that I could not be or do anything without faith in God. Regardless the school they adhered to or followed, they taught me all about faith and respect of God.

I got married in 2003, a marriage that unfortunately marked my life with domestic violence, but out of the sad episode, I had my dearest son who is now eight years old. My husband at the time did not believe in God. Or should I say he believed in his own way. He drew me far from God; even from Christianity. It was the saddest episode of my life. But one day in 2005, I broke out of that situation with the help of my mother, and I continued life alone with my son and my mother, working hard to achieve my career goals, while becoming the main provider for my home.

Aviation brought me many opportunities; most of them really good. I had the opportunity to live in Malaysia, a country that shares three religions - Islam mainly, Hinduism and Buddhism. Back then, I lived in South America and I worked in the United States as a Corporate Pilot. Now, I am an Airline pilot flying mainly to Asia, Middle East and Europe. Unfortunately, being the only female pilot, almost everywhere I went, I spent most of time lonely. Maximum of my colleagues spent their spare time in night clubs and bars, and I was looking for something else that I could not have ever found in a club or at a bar, so I dedicated my spare time to continue my university studies online, but no time for God, other than a small prayer in the morning, and maybe at night time; no time to go to churches. So I was growing as a career woman but what about the life after?

Whenever I travelled to the Middle East, I always felt something special inside. There, I felt like dressing in a more decent manner than I normally did. I used to wear tight jeans, tight pants and fashion tops but I didn’t feel like dressing that way in the Middle East, not at a place where they called the name of God five times a day. I felt ashamed. I guess this is how the conversion started. Once in Bahrain, while waiting for my airplane to be fixed, I downloaded the Quran and I began praying every day in the morning before going for breakfast. I was feeling very empty inside; my life then was limited to waking up, working, eating, exercising and sleeping, but what about my spiritual life? Even when I returned back Home, I was not leading my son spiritually in the way I was supposed to. Previously, on my search to find God, I went from the Catholic church to the Baptist church, and after the ceremony of baptism, we only went to church a few times, mainly because of my tight schedule at work and honestly, there was no connection. Something was missing. I was not there completely.

Was God in my life? Yes, indeed! But He had better plans for me. I think He was just waiting for me to realize that my life was not only to work and pay bills. He knew I had more responsibilities with myself and my son; responsibilities to build for the life after. So God knocked at my door...and I was afraid to open. I thought just by talking to God in my mind all day and saying His name many times in the day was enough to feed my soul….but no it wasn’t enough. God knew I was in urgent need of Him saving my life.

The moment I said Islam was for me, it was in the Middle East; when I heard the call for prayer. At that moment, I had to cover my eyes with my sun glasses in front of the other pilots that were with me on the way to the restaurant, because my eyes were filled with tears...I felt like saying, “stop! I have to join this prayer”. I still remember one of them making fun of the call for prayer, and I felt so upset inside. I felt like calling him ignorant, & saying, “Don’t you realize it is a call for praying to God?”…but the words didn’t come out. Only tears kept rolling down my eyes. On that night after dinner, I came to my room, grabbed the praying rug, and bowed down to God; as I asked for His guidance for finding my spiritual light. After that night, my search started stronger than ever.

I watched videos, read the Quran on my long flights, looked out for Islamic organizations to find answers, and finally one day in Argentina; while resting after a long flight, I listened to a program about Islam in the country. So I googled for Islam in South America, and found that I was not the only Hispanic interested in Islam. The community was bigger than what any one could imagine. I committed myself to return to Argentina soon and visit the biggest Masjid in the American Continent. So I did. Three months passed, and I was assigned a trip to Argentina on thanksgivings day. After arriving, I made an appointment and went to visit the Masjid. I met with the Sheikh, a Saudi Arabian man who led the prayers in the Masjid. We talked for about three hours and before I left, he asked me if I wanted to embrace Islam. I said right away, “Yes!” I feared I might not return back to Argentina or get a similar opportunity.

My biggest struggle was to change my preconceived conviction of Jesus (peace be upon him) being God. At first, I felt I was betraying him. I was concerned and scared. I couldn’t wash out those phrases of the nuns back at school saying “not to challenge the religion because it was a sin”. This was the most difficult part.

Sheikh Mohammed from the Masjid in Argentina helped a lot with a little phrase he said to me, “Ibrahim, Moses, Noah, and Jesus (peace be upon them) where all in this road. Do you think is there any reason why you can’t be following them?” Reading the Quran and finding the recognition that Jesus (peace be upon him) enjoys, the importance of Maryam in Islam (she is in Islam, more important than she is for many Christians in Christianity), reading about the influence of Constantine and how he changed Christianity, all these studies helped a lot in clearing out my mind and feeling comfortable with accepting the truth that was always hidden to me; not by purpose, hidden just because it was the truth that my parents and ancestors knew, but “never challenged”.

As far as my lifestyle was concerned, I stopped drinking; this happened few months before I accepted Islam. Soon after my trip from Bahrain, after I prayed for guidance, I met with a good friend of mine; she and I always ate at the same restaurant and had a drink or two with the food. That day, I said “no” I don’t drink anymore, and I declared inside I was never going to have another alcoholic beverage, because I wanted to seek God. Also, I don’t eat pork anymore and I am changing my wardrobe, which is very difficult because I love clothing and fashion. I was always proud of my body and I liked dressing in a way so that everyone would look at me. Now, I have starting wearing a Hijab, wearing loose clothing, abayas, and modest long shirts.

At work, I am struggling very much. In the company where I work, most people are biased towards Islam. As far as my mother is concerned, she is still Christian, but she says she’s glad of my positive changes, and she is learning more and more about Islam every day, and she feels proud of me for being a Muslim. And now that my 8 year old son also reverted to Islam at his own free will, she is happy that we are on this safe path seeking for God.

My dream as a new Muslim is to study Islam, and help those families that are struggling with accepting the idea of converting to Islam. I want to focus particularly on children coming to Islam.

I think converting to a new faith is harder for parents with younger children because they can be easily confused. This is why I would like to concentrate on children of converted families in the future.

I also would like as a Muslim Pilot, to show the world that Islam is not the submission or oppression that many think it is, and defeat the idea that Islam rejects career women; on the contrary, being able to do what I do is something that only Allah could make possible.

The last thing I would like to share is that I have chosen a Muslim name for me, which is Aisha Jibreel. Aisha means ‘new life’, as Islam is a new way of life for me, and Jibreel, because he is the messenger of Allah, and I am in Islam because Allah delivered to my heart a message of peace, by showing me the road to Islam.