Why Islam is my choice — Page 135
135 Evan (‘Umar) Wicks My Journey to Isl ā m How on earth does a white thirty something American, raised by very strict Christian parents, convert to Isl ā m? Well it started something like this… I’d been married for about 11 years or so when one day, I noticed my son getting all dressed up. I asked him where he was going. He replied that he was going to the Mosque. “What’s that,” I asked. “It’s an Isl ā mic house of worship,” he said. “What are you going there for?” I asked. He told me that he was converting to Isl ā m. ” “WHAT!!!!!” I got so mad at this point (being a good Christian and all) that I told him in not so nice a tone that if he ever mentioned the word Isl ā m, or Muslim, that I would kick him out of the house. Stupid kid, what did he know? But, for the next while (not sure of the duration here) he would sneak out on Fridays and Sundays to the Mosque. He even got my wife and her father to go once. (I thought they were going shopping. ) One day I heard my son upstairs talking. No one was home and he wasn’t on the phone, so I wondered what was going on. I went to the stairs and listened. Something about, “Has the Messiah already come?” I don’t know what it was that made me keep listening but I did. He came downstairs and asked me if he could practice his speech in front of me. I said, ok, and he proceeded to give his speech to me. It was pretty good. I told him that he just needed to slow down a little and he’d be fine.