The story of my conversion in to my faith.
Aug 2, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otx_IzFN3Mg

hi guys I just thought you know today
would be a great day to come on and
answer your guys's questions that you
have had regarding my conversion to my
religion that I am and I scream out
really dark there from it I'm like
anyways I thought that this would be
like the perfect time to just sit and
share my story and that way then it can
you know it can definitely answer some
of your guys's questions and again if
you guys have more questions just shoot
them towards me and you know I'll answer
them so I want to begin this video by
making it very clear that I am NOT
sharing this video to push my choice of
faith upon anybody I simply am
explaining how I converted to Islam by
my choice for your guys's questions and
curiosity and so I just want to make
that very very very very clear that I
will never push my religion upon anybody
if that is not my job I'm here to answer
questions share my story because I've
been asked and then leave it at that if
anybody has any further questions after
my video you guys are more than welcome
to message me private message me however
you guys want to do it and that's
totally fine but I just don't want to
make anybody feel uncomfortable because
definitely that's not that is not what
I'm trying to do or promote so anyways I
just wanted to say that before I started
so I converted five years ago it was
June 14th of 2000
14:00 no 13 yeah 13 2013 Wow no time
goes by so fast but yes I converted June
14th of 2013 and when I did that prior
to even the thought of converting I did
a lot of research I you know I didn't
even know what Islam was to be honest
until after I went to Egypt and was
really like focusing on my husband and
of course he is Muslim and just watching
how you know he would pray and he would
read the Quran and you know just seeing
how people treated each other and how
his mother was and that's what kind of
strike me because I again I didn't even
know what Islam was I didn't even hear
that before in fact I thought Islam when
i before I knew anything about it I
thought that was Hindu I thought that
was an Indian religion and I thought it
was Hindu I didn't even know the word
Islam at the time so when I went back to
Egypt you know I started asking Ollie
questions you know and just trying to
get a little bit of information just so
I kind of knew what was going on and I
had heard some really negative things
about the religion beef right before I
had left to Egypt but I think that that
was more of a scare source I don't think
that it was out of love that I was being
told the things that I was shared about
the religion and stuff and I think a lot
of it was covered through media so
there's that so when I went to Egypt I
was expecting that you know I mean that
the religion was a really bad religion
for what I only knew of it but I decided
to still go with my heart and still
pursue with my relationship with Ollie
and pursue with my heart on where I felt
I should be going so we got married in
2009 and he didn't join me until 2010
to the US and our 2011 sorry and until
then I just did oh you know I did some
research and watched some sorry I'm
shaking my camera watching some YouTube
channels and just kind of doing my own
like learning up on it the best I could
and then when he came to the states I
would see him faithfully praying and
faithfully sitting down and reading the
Quran when it you know was the time for
him to sit down and read and his actions
spoke of the religion so highly and the
way that he was you know and I would
tell him you know thank you so much for
treating me so good and he would say for
you know for the sake of our religion
that I believe in we are to treat our
women as Queens and that's what I'm
gonna treat you as nothing less and you
know that meant a lot to me but again I
still really didn't know a whole lot
about it so I would just ask him
questions here and there you know like
just off off the topic questions and he
was so good about answering them and so
I again I kept doing more research
reading I would sit down and read the
Quran and he had gotten me before I left
Egypt my gift one of my gifts were a
Quran in English and I just wanted to
take that back because it was such a
source of history and I felt really
close to when I took that I felt very
close to him because I can see how how
much his faithful you know belonged in
his life so if I had a piece of that I
felt so close to him and so that's one
of the reasons I was so excited when he
got me the crown before I even really
started technically reading it but it
was in English and it also had the
Arabic on the side so I could read it
and understand what I was reading so I
would do a little bit of the Quran
reading and again I would do more
YouTube channels and googling and
I started asking you know questions
about you know the steps of conversion
and you know he had asked me at the time
like are you thinking of converting and
I was like well no I was like you know
I'm just I'm just asking you know I mean
I was basically I guess you would say I
called myself a Christian when I had
very first got with him because that was
the religion that was chosen for me as a
child everybody that I lived with were
Christians and I can't say that I fully
ever embraced the you know the faith of
Christianity in the sense that it was
chosen for me I didn't have a choice I
didn't you know that's just what it was
we got up on Sunday mornings we went to
church you know Wednesdays we would
maybe go to church if we felt like it
but you know that that is what it is
so when I married him you know I didn't
cover I didn't wear a hijab I didn't you
know I wore tank tops and shorts and you
know I just lived regular life and he
married me just the way I was and you
know and I asked him I said you know
what with me marrying you and me even
not being what you are is that gonna
make a difference you know because I my
biggest thing was I did not want to have
to change my life just because I was
marrying somebody and he said absolutely
not he said I'm marrying you just the
way you are and if I had an issue with
that then we you know I wouldn't pursue
in a relationship the one and only
speculation that he ever had was he
asked me at the very front of our you
know conversation in starting he said do
you smoke and I said no and which I
didn't and he's like oh okay I said well
why and he said I said why is that it
would that would that be a deal-breaker
and he said yeah and I said oh okay I
said well no I'm not a smoker now at the
time I thought well maybe he didn't
smoke but he smokes but he just he just
doesn't
want the wife that he chose to marry
mm-hmm to smoke because of course we're
the ones the women are the ones that
carry babies and so not only would we be
hurting ourselves but we would also be
hindering you know the safety safety of
our babies and so that was just one of
his things you know and and I have no
issue with it because I never smoke so I
was just like yeah whatever so anyways
so when I married him
it was very known that I was not gonna
change I didn't have any any type of
feeling that I was gonna convert to his
religion I mean nothing and for four
years I just I live life the way that I
did from the day that I married him I
you know wore what I wanted and you know
I would always be respectful with what I
wore only because that's how I just
always am I would never go out of the
house with really short shorts or you
know tight shirts it just isn't my
that's just not me you know but I would
I wear a tank top of course I would
would I were capris yeah but you know I
always did it very tastefully I didn't I
just wasn't that type of a person so
June 14th 2013 I had to make sure I got
my year right I went to a parade here in
Portland Oregon and I seen some ladies
walking by and they were 'muslims and I
just I thought in my mind I said my god
they are so beautiful there his jobs are
so beautiful the way that they carry
themselves are so beautiful they are
just beautiful and again I have been
doing research prior to this for four
years asking lots of questions to ollie
and you know and if he didn't have the
answer he would go find the answer come
back and so I was obviously dipping my
toes to just find out more about it and
I felt like I was getting
pretty close to making a decision a
decision that was gonna change the rest
of my life in the way that something
that I was choosing to believe in but I
wanted to do it on the right terms the
right reasons and not regret something
that I was gonna choose to do so that
night I had seen these Muslim ladies and
they were walking by and all that and
for some reason something in my heart
just felt at peace and I was like I
think I want to convert but I don't want
that word think I want to be like I know
I want to convert so I kept pondering
that thought for the rest of the night
and then when I went home you know I
just I didn't say anything to oli about
it or nothing like that you know I just
kept thinking about it and that night I
went to bed and I had a dream and in my
dream I had a dream that I converted and
it was so real
so real that when I woke up the next
morning I was like I know what I want
now and I know what I feel is right and
I know what I have to do so I went into
the bedroom it was really early in the
morning and I want to say it was like
seven o'clock in the morning and I woke
Olli about asleep like he was dead
asleep and I woke him up and he was like
yeah what's up but you know because he
of course why am i waking up so early
and I said I need you to sit up and I
need to talk to you really quick and
he's like okay is everything okay and
I'm like yeah everything's fine I just I
really need to talk to you so he got up
and we were starting to talk and I said
I want to convert to Islam and he looked
at me a little bit strange and I think
it was because partly he was still
trying to wake up and he was like really
and I was like yeah I want to convert
and he said are you sure he said the
only reason why I'm asking are you sure
is because I want to make sure Amy that
you're doing it for you and for your own
personal life and you're not doing it
for me I don't want you to convert
because of me you do not have to convert
to be married to me you don't have to
change anything to be married to me if
you want to convert I want you to
convert because it's in your heart and
you feel this is the right thing but if
you have any doubts or any reservations
please don't do it until you are fully
ready if this is something you really
want to do I just don't want you to do
it because of me and I was like no I
want to do this because I want to do
this and he said okay so we took a drive
like he got up and took a shower and we
drove up to Portland to a pretty
good-sized mosque up there Salem has a
mosque but it's very small and we went
and talked to the Sheikh for a minute
and then I said my Shahada which is you
know declaring that there is only one
god and and then you know the whole
Shahada and I was so happy I was so
excited like I felt like such a sense of
relief of something I knew I really
wanted but I wanted to make sure that AI
was doing it on the right timing and B
that I was truly truly truly knowledged
enough of what I wanted and when I was
able to checkmark both of those things
off I knew I was ready and that day I
put the hijab on and I started dressing
modestly and I've never taken my hijab
off since
now I'm gonna say was it hard to convert
it was not hard to convert but it was
hard to change my dressing in a way
because when you're a big person you
carry body heat already well I converted
in June so we had the whole whole summer
to go through and my body was not
prepared to be covered with the hijab
with my clothes you know covering and
that was a deep challenge and I would
you know I would say to only you know at
times this isn't fair why do women have
to you know cover but men don't and he
said because you know honestly men are
more likely to look at a woman in a
sexual manner than a woman would
sexualize a man in in view and that is
why it is called for the women to cover
modestly because your beauty is for me
and me only you don't want to share that
beauty with everybody that is something
special between me and you now would he
walk around in a speedo of course not
while I would never let him walk around
a speedo but I mean I'm just saying like
you know he still dresses properly he
wears shorts down to his knees and you
know he wears t-shirts you know and
stuff he doesn't wear like tank tops out
but I mean it took you know it took
probably a good two years of getting
through summers where I wasn't about
ready to pull my hair out in this sense
that I was really warm but now it's like
my body has adjusted so much that like
today I mean I'm sitting here in the car
it's 78 degrees and it doesn't even faze
me at all like I'm really not hot and in
fact there's been just a very few
handful of times where I've walked out
of the house and I forgot my hijab and I
will be like I'm missing something and
then I'll be like oh my gosh I forgot my
hijab and I'll turn him around and run
back in the house and put it
or one day I had put my hijab in my
purse because I sneak out sometimes from
the door if I'm going somewhere without
taking the kids and so I will put it in
my person then I'll sneak and get in the
car and then I'll put it on and one day
I got like a half way down the road from
my house and I'm like god this breeze
feels amazing but why is it feeling so
good and I'm like oh no hijab so I had
to pull over and put my hijab on and
stuff but you know I mean it's not made
for for women to suffer every Muslim
lady that I have ever spoke to with
myself included we don't Phil and I can
speak for many of them well for millions
of them we do not feel like we are
forced to wear what we choose to wear we
choose to wear what we choose to wear
because that's what is called in our
faith and if you are truly invested in
your faith and you truly follow what is
called for you you will do what is
called and so for me and for the
millions of other women that are as you
know Muslims we don't feel like that as
a forced upon thing because our husbands
make us do it you know my husband
couldn't be any better of a husband than
I could ever imagine he you know he
respectfully treats me like a queen and
that's not everybody I'm not speaking
for everybody's husbands cuz there are
some husbands that you know struggle
with that that are you know Muslims not
every Muslim is a perfect mussel I'm
just like there is not one perfect human
being there's bad people in every
religion and it's so sad because for the
longest time you know in the
stereotypical way that I was told about
Islam was what media has shown which is
obviously Islam is a bad religion it is
you know it is a very vile and if people
would just
take the time to really listen to a true
Muslim they would know honestly what the
truth is and where that where that truth
comes from because we are i have never
in the five years that i have been
converted have not run into one Muslim
that was mean rude had bad things on
their mind to hurt people everybody has
always been very welcoming and opened
armed and accepting and you know and
it's so sad because Islam is the
religion of peace but yet we get marked
as the religion of horror basically and
I'm not denying the fact that there have
been many people that have proclaimed
Islam as their religion and has went and
bombed people and hurt people and did
hurtful things but also I know that
there are other people in other
religions that have done the same thing
so I'm so happy that I over overlooked
all of that and did my own searching and
did my own soul searching on the choices
that I was gonna make and knew from the
day that I chose to convert that I was
doing the right thing for me I have
multiple multiple multiple friends that
are non-muslims and I would never push
my religion upon any of them you know if
I go out in public with them but sure
I'm gonna have my hijab on and sure I'm
going to dress modestly but that's
that's part of me that's not me pushing
myself on anybody and you know I just
knew that a lot of people had a lot of
questions and I just wanted to answer
some of them which is the story of how I
converted
you know of course I could probably go
into a longer story about the whole in
depth but that is pretty much how it
started and how I where I'm at today
this is the first year that I was able
to successfully make it through Ramadan
fasting from start to finish and that's
been being a Muslim for five years I've
only done it once so there was four
years of you know fasting that I didn't
do it did my husband force me to do it
no he leaves that for me that is my
choice I asked him today you know
because there was a conversation that we
were having I don't know a couple days
ago and I said you know you made a
comment that just say if something god
forbid ever happened to me in him and
just say we split up you know would I
continue to be a Muslim and that he said
you know the answer is yes because I
didn't convert for him I converted for
myself and I embraced this faith 100%
for my own beliefs of my own choices but
I came back on him and I said so I have
a question for you why is it so
important as a man to remind their wife
or daughter mother to wear their hijab
and you know if the hijab is you know
moved a little bit and exposing the
chest a little bit that a lot of times
you know he'll gesture like you know
it's it's flopping out or whatever I
said why is that your place to remind
and he said well here's the thing he
said as the man of the home and as the
husband it is my duty to make sure that
my wife is safe my wife is covered for
protection and in the end of the days
I'm gonna be asked by God about your
actions because your actions reflect on
me and he's like so yes I do hold you
accountable for what you've chosen but
it's not my choice if you were to choose
to take the hijab off 100% I
can't stop you that is your choice but
sadly I will be asked that as well why
you took your hijab off and why I didn't
encourage you to keep it on and why I
didn't help you continue to wear the
hijab versus just letting you take it
off and walk in the streets without it
so it was a really awesome answer
because I wasn't expecting that answer
to come back and so I just yeah I you
know I I'm so sad that a lot of people
think that the men are controlling and
you know that the women have to be a
hundred percent Mis submissive and we
don't have a life and we don't have a
choice and we don't have a voice and
that is so the opposite because
honnestly half of the women are the ones
that run the houses and the men just
kind of fall behind but when it comes to
like you know finances and you know you
know protecting the family and
supporting and supplying for us that is
the man's duty and the man's job and so
that's where the man and so that's kind
of where that lands but I just wanted to
get on here and share that story with
you guys so I know like I said a lot of
people have asked and I've been
wondering so I thought that I would
share that with you guys and again if
you guys have any questions outside of
what I've talked about and I didn't
cover something always feel free to ask
I am so hundred percent with asking
rather than assuming so if you want to
ask questions I will answer you to the
best of my ability if I don't have the
answer I will definitely go and find the
answer for you so feel free to question
me you know I know that I receive hate
for the choices of my choices of
religion that I choose to believe and
that's totally okay because sadly some
people don't know the truth and they
just know what they've been told and so
I don't hold them accountable for what
they say have a great day and I will
talk to you guys soon bye
