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| A Woman Talibon Prisoner becomes Muslim |
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| Kathy |
| 03/26/03 at 08:38:04 |
| [code]My Journey to Islam by Yvonne Ridley Wednesday, March 05, 2003 [Courtesy of Q-News] Islam is by far the most misunderstood religion in the world today thanks to centuries of medieval-style propaganda successfully peddled by bigots and Christian zealots. So I should not have been entirely surprised by the almost hysterical reaction in the mainstream media to news that I am considering becoming a Muslim. Some of the comments were bitchy and snide, other journalists asked me stupid questions showing a distinct lack of research or understanding. One even accused me of suffering from Stockholm Syndrome as a result of spending ten days in the hands of the Taliban! My spiritual journey, like that for many converts/reverts, was meant to be a personal affair between myself and God. Sadly it has now become a very public issue and so I have decided to share with Q-News readers my feelings and thoughts on Islam to prevent any more misunderstandings or misconceptions. Yes, my journey did begin in the unlikely surrounds of an Afghan prison where I was being held by the Taliban facing charges of entering their country illegally disguised in the all-enveloping burqa. One day, during my captivity, I was visited by a religious cleric who asked me what I thought of Islam and if I would like to convert. I was terrified. For five days I had managed to avoid the subject of religion in a country led by Islamic extremists. If I gave the wrong response, I had convinced myself I would be stoned to death. After careful thought I thanked the cleric for his generous offer and said it was difficult for me to make such a life-changing decision while I was in prison. However, I did make a promise that if I was released I would study Islam on my return to London. My reward for such a reply was being sent to a ghastly jail in Kabul where I was locked up with six Christian fanatics who faced charges of trying to convert Muslims to their faith. (After being bombarded with their bible readings, happy-clappy Christian songs and prayers twice a day, I think we can discount the accusations of Stockholm Syndrome). Several days later I was released unharmed on humanitarian grounds on the orders of Mullah Omar, the Taliban's one-eyed spiritual leader. My captors had treated me with courtesy and respect and so, in turn, I kept my word and set out to study their religion. It was supposed to be an academic study but as I became more engrossed with each page I turned I became more impressed with what I read. I turned to several eminent Islamic academics, including Dr Zaki Badawi, for advice and instruction. I was even given several books by the notorious Sheikh Abu Hamza AI-Masri whom I spoke to after sharing a platform at an Oxford Union debate. This latter snippet was seized upon by some sections of the media in such a ridiculous fashion that outsiders might have thought I was going to open a madrassa for AI-Qaeda recruits from my flat in Soho! Thankfully the support and understanding I have been given from my brothers and sisters (for I regard them as that) has been unstinting and comforting. Not one of them has put pressure on me to become a Muslim and every convert/revert I've spoken to has told me to take my time. One of the big turning points for me happened earlier this year when the Israelis began shelling The Church of the Nativity in Manger Square, one of the most precious monuments for Christians. Every year thousands of school children re-enact the Nativity at Christmas time, a potent symbol of Christianity. Yet, not one Church of England leader publicly denounced the Israelis for their attack. Our Prime Minister Tony Blair, who loves to be pictured coming out of church surrounded by his family, espousing Christian values, was silent. Only the Pope had the guts to condemn this atrocity. I was shocked and saddened and felt there was no backbone in my religious leaders. At least with Islam I need no mediator or conduit to rely upon, I can have a direct line with God anytime I want. While I feel under no pressure to convert/revert by Muslims, the real pressure to walk away from Islam has come from some friends and journalists who like to think they're cynical, hard-bitten, hard-drinking, observers of the world. Religion of any form makes them feel uneasy, but Islam, well that's something even worse. You'd think I had made a pact with the devil or wanted to become a grand wizard in the Ku Klux Klan. Others feared I was being brainwashed and that I would soon be back in my burqa, silenced forever like all Muslim women. This, of course, is nonsense. I have never met so many well-educated, opinionated, outspoken, intelligent, politically aware women in the Muslim groups I have visited throughout the UK. Feminism pales into insignificance when it comes to the sisterhood, which has a strong identity and a loud voice in this country. Yes, it is true that many Muslim women around the world are subjugated, but this has only come about through other cultures hijacking and misinterpreting the Quran (Saudis take note). I wish I had this knowledge (and I'm still very much a novice) when I was captured by the Taliban because I would have asked them why they treated their own women so badly. The Quran makes it crystal clear that all Muslims, men and women are entirely equal in worth, spirituality and responsibility. Allah ordained equality and fairness for women in education and opportunity. Fair property law and divorce settlements were introduced for Muslim women 1400 years ago; maybe this is where Californian divorce lawyers got their inspiration from in recent years! The Quran could have been written yesterday for today. It could sit very easily with any Green Party manifesto, it is environmentally friendly and it is truely an inspiration for the 21st century, yet not one word has changed since the day it was written, unlike other religious tomes. "It's more punk than punk," musician Aki Nawaz of the band Fun-da-Mental recently told me. And, of course he is right. [/code] |
| Re: A Woman Talibon Prisoner becomes Muslim |
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| BrKhalid |
| 03/26/03 at 08:42:19 |
| Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) I'm not sure Yvonne Ridley has actually converted but I'd be more than happy to be proved wrong ;-) |
| Re: A Woman Talibon Prisoner becomes Muslim |
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| Barr |
| 03/26/03 at 09:05:04 |
| Wa'alaikumussalam warahmatullah, Yeah, she did become, Muslim, mashaALlah. I just can't find the article right now. Wassalam |
| Re: A Woman Talibon Prisoner becomes Muslim |
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| Twilight |
| 03/26/03 at 09:17:38 |
| [slm] so she did become a muslim. when i went to the march in Hyde park London on Saturday she began her speach with [slm] and i wasn't sure if she was a muslim or was just saying it as she had learnt that this was our greeting to each other. I am glad Wa salaams T |
| Re: A Woman Talibon Prisoner becomes Muslim |
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| gift |
| 03/27/03 at 04:58:21 |
| [slm] it is so awesome to hear this sister talk about islam - when she does interviews etc as a journalist she refuses to take any rubbish from the interviewers :) i also heard her at hyde park - it was amazing to hear the roar of 'wa'alaikun as salaam' in response to her salaam :-* [wlm] |
| Re: A Woman Talibon Prisoner becomes Muslim |
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| mr-bean |
| 03/27/03 at 16:39:39 |
| [slm] ...she came to a fund raising dinner for iraq at my uni in novermber and somebody asked her in the q & a session whether she had become muslim....she said no...but she was thinking about it... however it seems from the lead article that she is closer than ever to islam if she is already not a muslim...and in any case she is very sympathetic to islam....and that takes enormous courage for a journalist who writes/wrote for the Daily Mail... in any case....afghanistan is a really wierd place....really wierd stuff happens there...and in spite of being such a disaster land and having some really wierd people who beat women because of their squeaky!! sandals..and others who like to give fatwas about the halality of killing americans "...where ever you find them..." .it is an enormously strong magnet for islam.... ...for example, i had a russian room mate who fought in afghanistan during the russian occupation. he was captured and then.....as he said it...in a token of sheer mercy his captors released him saying:....see, we can be merciful....we are not as cruel as you think.... when he first moved into my room (he was a ph..d student in plasma physics) and i was an undergrad...he almost had a heart attack because when he first saw me....i was wearing a typical south asian (pyjama/panjabi) long top....(and of course baggy jeans and nike airs!) and this reminded him of the nightmare that was afghanistan. he told me later on that he used to be afraid that i would creep up on him and cut his throat at night.....that was how paranoid he was.... and in spite of all this within two weeks of moving in,....,he wanted to become muslim. when he first told me this, i was really perplexed...i had never told him much about islam....only the difference between muslims and christians (christians give anthromorphic characteristics to God, muslims don't) ....so i could hardly understand why he had this sudden pull toward islam.... it turns out,....and this is what i think it must be....it is really because of his experience of islam in afghanistan....hearing the athan so often....seeing muslims going to pray....and how they live....and when he saw me pray....and heard my quran tapes...all those memories came flooding back to him and acted as a trigger be to become muslim...that is the miracle of aghanistan....a land which any secular person would claim to be the most god-forsaken and hopeless spot of earth's land....but for some unfathomable reason creates such an enormous pull towards islam.... |
| Re: A Woman Talibon Prisoner becomes Muslim |
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| AyeshaZ |
| 03/30/03 at 19:12:42 |
asslamu alykum, Yvonne Ridley is a very powerful speaker.. She was in the states couple months ago and I sat through one of her lectures.. Subhan'Allah, someone in the audience asked her the question, if she had converted? she said no.. wallahu A'lam.. But alhamdullilah, she spoke so highly about Muslim Women and her experience with women.. It was amazing.. the audience was in tears. May Allah(swt) bless her !!! |
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