Why Islam is my choice — Page 25
25 particularly attracted to religion and did things that young men are usually interested in. It was during this period that many young men like myself enrolled into the military. There I noticed that two of my friends had changed their names to Isl ā mic ones. I thought that was rather courageous because of the political situation in the country at that time. It also impressed me somewhat. I would often talk to them about Isl ā m and the meaning of their names. However, I was still the least bit interested in religion. Quite frankly, neither were the others. It was just that they had changed their names. Other than that, there was nothing else much different about us. After leaving the military I went to Boston where I got married. I spent some time in Boston before returning to New York. I quickly revived all my old friendships. There were many political and cultural events taking place in New York at that time. I began to take interest in these events and soon I had an exposure to many different ideas and cultures. During this time I was employed with the New York Telephone Company. In August of 1971, the employees, including me, went on a strike. It was at this time that I got a serious exposure to Isl ā m and its philosophy. By now, my friend Akbar had become interested in Eastern philosophy. Jal ā ludd ī n ‘Abdul-Lateef