Why Islam is my choice — Page 68
68 ‘A ṭā ul Jal ā l N ū rudd ī n How I Accepted Isl ā m My name is ‘A ṭā ul Jal ā l N ū rudd ī n, generally known as simply, Jal ā l. I was born on August 16, 1949 in Dayton, Ohio. My name at birth was James Marcus Jones. I lived with my mother who was a single parent but was largely responsible for raising me and my two sisters. I remember having seen my father when he had reunited with the family briefly. My parents eventually divorced, leaving me and my sisters to the care of my mother. I frequently visited my paternal grandparents who lived only around the corner from us. My Grandfather Jones would occasionally take me to the church with him. I basically did this to stay in the company of my grandfather without any interest in the church itself. This went on until I was 15. When I look back at my life, I feel that my visits to the church gave me some religious foundation and made me believe in God. I never became a devout Christian but I did not mind going to church, occasionally. My family was relatively poor but I never realized that, as all my childhood needs were being provided for by my mother. My older sisters also took good care of me. My mother was a very loving person but did not seem to pay attention to religion. I remember that once at the age of about 14, I asked her about the purpose of all the creation and about our own. She could see that something was disturbing me. She hugged me and tried to change the subject but did not actually attempt to answer my question.