Why Islam is my choice — Page 2
2 Y ū sef ‘Abdul-Lateef Why I Accepted Isl ā m From an early age, in fact as far back as my pre-teens, I was, although I believed in God, obsessed and not clear about the idea of God, heaven, hell, and His creation. My parents, may All ā h bless their souls, were Christians, adherents of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Therefore, they raised me within that religious discipline, which they believed to be good for me. They sent me to Sunday School and many other church activities, and after I became a grown man and began to travel, I always carried a Bible with me, which I would read not infrequently. Throughout my teens, into my twenties, I intuitively believed in the benevolence of God and the goodness and brotherhood of mankind. I continually searched for religious and spiritual understanding. When I read something in the Bible that I didn’t understand or when I heard something preached in church that I didn’t understand, I would ask for explanations from elders of the church. My somewhat perplexed state of mind concerning my position as one of God’s creations continued on into my late twenties. At the age of 27, while living in Chicago, Illinois, I met by chance, Ṭā lib Daw ū d, an A ḥ mad ī Muslim. There was something about his appearance and mannerisms that prompted me to ask him “What are you into?” as was the colloquial expression at that time. Without hesitation, he