Tell me, why did you convert to Islam?

And what's the CVV/CVC of your Visa Card?

I don't have a Visa card. XP

Well, as I may have mentioned, I was brought up Catholic, but starting around age 14 I began to lose my faith...I'm not sure how long it took, but one day it was just gone. I didn't believe in God anymore. So I became a Satanist. The way Laveyan Satanism works is that you consider Satan and the other demons as just symbols and the magical rituals simply as cathartic exercises to improve one's mental and emotional condition. It's a kind of doublethink.

So, I did that for a long time. I did a lot of drugs, as I've mentioned. At one point, I started heavily using a particular substance that causes hallucinations. I started incorporating it into my rituals and...well, I don't really want to get into it, but some seriously weird shit started going down. I've always been a scientific-minded person, but things were happening that I couldn't explain. I also noticed on high-level trips a sort of...presence. Now, of course, it's easy to write these things off (I was hallucinating my brains out at the time) but they felt very real to me. In fact, I felt (and still remember them) as feeling more real than the waking world.

I felt there was something...vast. Something just vast beyond all measure, and that it wanted to reach out to me somehow.

Now, while all of this was going on, keep in mind I was always into religious studies. I just thought religion was interesting, and that didn't stop just because I didn't believe in God anymore. But I had never really studied Islam. Then this song came out called "John Walker's Blues."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISFNTRaXRiI

Which got me into thinking about middle-eastern terrorism (even though the song's about a white guy). And I was wondering "What is the deal with these people, anyway?" So I started studying middle-eastern culture and, well, it became obvious real quick that I wasn't going to learn anything about that without studying Islam, so I found an online Qur'an and started reading.

Now, since I was an atheist (actually a devil-worshiper who just thought I was an atheist), when I asked myself the question "Was Muhammad any different from Moses or Jesus?" I answered myself, "Well, aside from time and place, no. They were just social reformers who used religion to popularize their philosophies."

But the more I read the Qur'an (English translation, of course), the more I liked it. It was beautiful and powerful and didn't make me want to fall asleep like the bible does (no offense intended to any Christian readers). And I realized that it had all this violent talk in it because it was revealed when we were a persecuted minority and that it was a reality we just had to deal with. Yeah, I could see why some whackjobs might take it the wrong way nowadays, and that's an unfortunate thing, but at the core, the principles of the faith, I found the same thing I found in the other faiths:

Protect the weak. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Do good. Be just. All men are brothers.

And I had a vision similar to the planetary shots here http://crunchnugget.deviantart.com/.....mony-270374989

And I saw a picture of Dhuhr at the Kaaba during Hajj.

So once I started believing in God again, I was already of the opinion that Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them) were all of the same kind. The rest followed.

Wow that's a beautiful conversion story, I'm glad to have met you, you certainly had it much tougher than I did, mine was a walk in the park in comparison XP But it seemed God guided you and that's awesome

Well, that is a very interesting story. "Protect the weak. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Do good. Be just. All men are brothers." is a good way to see things.

Wow, nice story. I was just born into this shit and I question it everyday. Nowhere near as interesting

It's natural that you would feel the urge to rub against the grain. Who knows, maybe you'll end up as a strict Roman Catholic! XD

Just remember, only Allah (all praise due to him) is fit to say what Islam actually is. No man has all the answers, so we're all just trying our best in the best way we know how, and if your take doesn't quite go along with the mainstream, well, that's between you and God. Peace.

Thanks, I truely believe he's up there, but I don't know if Islam's the right way to acknowledge him or not. How do we know Islam's the right religion when there's been 20 million religions in the past? For all we know we could die, head up, and find the Aztecs were the right ones.

But yeah, it's between you and god

When we go to stand in judgement, I don't think Allah will ask "What did you believe?" but rather, "What did you do?"

I can say without doubt that since I came to Islam, I've become a better person. Granted, I'm still possessed of many flaws, but it's enhanced my life and improved my character.

I'm glad for that, I hope I eventually pick the right fork in the road with my faith

I'm probably not the right person to really dispense advice considering the evil I've done, but...like you mentioned, you were born into Islam, so maybe it's nothing special to you.

If I could give you these eyes and the wonder and longing I feel when I see hundreds of thousands of people praying at the kaaba...

If I could give you these ears that delight in the adhan so much, I download mp3s...

If I could give you this heart the moves to tears even at just a translation of sura 36...

You would not be in doubt. But, alas...so, I'll quote you some pretty words instead.

"Say not, "I have found the truth," but rather, "I have found a truth."
Say not, "I have found the path of the soul." Say rather, "I have met the soul walking upon my path."
For the soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals."

~ Khalil Gibran

And consider, it's not the blind followers who will return Islam to her glory days, it's the people who ask the hard questions, seeking the truth buried in the mysteries of revelation. Islam needs people like you. Peace.

Still, it kinda disturbs me to think about what on Earth you could've seen. Eeeek, I am NEVER doing drugs.

I saw beautiful things. I saw silly things. I saw evil and good, things that were and things yet to be. I saw the back of my own head without using a mirror. lol. No, it's not for everybody and even a non-toxic chemical can be extremely dangerous to a person's psychology, especially if they have underlying mental health issues. Just keep in mind that there are huge differences between substances...we can't have you running around thinking that pot is the same as PCP, regardless of your lack of desire to sample either.

...so the secret to being a Time Lord is drugs! Yes, it all makes sense now!

It kinda puts a damper on things when you learn this "out of this world" spiritual experience is really chemical interactions at the synapses of your brains which alters the chemistry of your brain, which in turn monkeys with your brain's processing of it's senses.

That made them no less powerful and no less poignant.

That's fair. SO that was your equivalent of staring into the vortex, then?

Sorry, Dr. Who references :P

Hmm. Might be a fair enough comparison, though.

Salaam Dwale, uh any question? Hmm...What's your favorite subject?

Probably altered states of consciousness.

psychology?

That would be included, yes. ^.^

Ah you know me I'm all in the Social Sciences, History,Religion,Ethics,Philosophy etc XP

What's your favorite colour?

Blue. ^.^

Let's see uh...

How did you happen to become so very intellectual? I mean, I've been getting hints at your appreciation of art and your diction is really impressive! Your patterns that you've posted here are also very colourful and abstract, I just really like it.

It's nothing special. I just read a lot and happen to like beautiful things.

Heh, alright.

Mind pouring some insight into your experiences with jinn or what drove you to think of them the way you did? If you don't want to, I completely understand.

If you promise not to tell anyone, I'll tell you in PMs.

I promise.

I don't know if I've asked this before, nor if you've mentioned... But what happened to your ear? If you're willing to answer.

I was an abused child.

Eep! I'm sorry to hear that. I guess no one's childhood is good, but some worse than others.
*shoulder pat and hug-offer*

Umm... favorite type of cuisine?

*hug*

Japanese!

What languages can you speak?

Ni keyi shuo Zhongwen, ma?

12! All of them are English!