Why Islam is my choice — Page 106
106 decision. How did you come about deciding to become a Muslim in a society which was fully engulfed as enemies against Isl ā m. R: Well, I don’t think that in the US there was enmity towards Isl ā m, per se. Christianity had enmity towards Isl ā m from day one, from the birth of Isl ā m Christianity had an obligation to Isl ā m because Isl ā m was a rival, due to the fact that they were both preaching the same thing. But I don’t think Isl ā m was strong enough to cause any kind of reaction. But what I’ve found, you have to understand what was going on in the US at the time that I heard about Isl ā m. There was a lot of discrimination going on, there’s some going on today, but it’s settled, I don’t think it’s been as bad as it was then. Say, you wanted a job. You pick up the newspaper and it would say, “Carpenter wanted. White only. ” W: What year was this? R: This was in the 30s, 40s, even the 50s. I have seen personally, I have seen on my way to school. You see a flat for rent, “White Only. ” And with public transportation, in the south, the Afro-Americans had to sit in the back of the buses. And if the bus was full, you had to give up your seat for the white person. And in the North, they didn’t have that system, but they had to open this thing for you, and many times I have gotten on the public transportation—on the bus or the tram—and you sit down beside a white person, and they just get up go sit somewhere else, they wouldn’t sit beside you. And it was just constantly public humiliation. So this was one of the reasons why I found Isl ā m attractive, because it didn’t have that element. It had equality. That God made us all and he didn’t make anybody any better than anybody else. I could not have remained that way. I wasn’t a part of that system anyways. I just had no place to go. I didn’t believe in it. I didn’t like it. And when Isl ā m came along, I found my way out of it. I can put that as one of the forefronts of my