KUWAIT: The first encounter with Islam has been a deeply transformative moment for three new converts, each originating from diverse backgrounds, who all bravely embarked on a shared journey towards faith. Their paths converged in Kuwait, a land where they met people who welcomed and embraced them at every turn, deepening their sense of connection to a religion and a place they had never been part of before.
Finding God
German American Bettina Monroe had always been driven by an unseen force, searching for God throughout her life, until she unexpectedly stumbled upon Him. It was when she witnessed, for the first time, the prayer ritual of a Muslim, bowing down on their knees and touching their forehead to the ground. Even though Monroe said that she had always prayed to God, whether sitting, lying in bed or going to church, it was very odd for her to see someone go down to this level. This humble practice deeply touched her. "It did something different inside of me and made me feel so little,” she said compassionately.
When she performed this practice herself last year during Ramadan, she recalled feeling as if she were held down by an invisible weight. "It took me a while to be able to get up again. But when I did, I felt safe, and I couldn’t stop crying,” she said. Through this incident, Monroe came to the realization that God invited her to find Him, in the same manner that God invited Randall Smith, a 51-year-old American, by resolving all the doubts he had. "Islam answered all my questions and filled all the gaps I once had,” he remarked.
Bonding with community
Smith remembered worrying about how he would be received in the religion as a black American. However, he was pleasantly surprised each time he was greeted by a Muslim. "As soon as people knew I was a Muslim, it was as if they had won a prize, showering me with smiles and hugs,” he said. Reflecting on the sense of brotherhood and connection that he found within the Muslim community, he stated: "It’s exactly what I was searching for.”
It was also this strong sense of brotherhood that warmly welcomed fellow American Alexander Newcomb, 26, into the religion last year. To him, every encounter with a Muslim pushed him deeper into his faith. "If I hadn’t met such welcoming people, it would have been more challenging for me to learn about Islam,” he noted. He was astonished at how all the people he met always expressed a generous willingness to assist him beyond his requests. "I could text some of my friends at 2 am and immediately receive a response to any inquiry I had about Islam,” he added.
A leap of change
Islam provided Newcomb with a daily purpose, motivating him to strive towards self-improvement. "Every verse I read in the Quran resonated with what I believed a good man should strive to be,” he said. Following Islamic guidelines made him realize that happiness could be found beyond his old habits, such as drinking alcohol or eating pork. Instead, he found fulfillment in positive rituals like giving to the poor through sadaqah and zakat and witnessing instant rewards for his good deeds. "I learned that giving money to the poor truly doesn’t decrease your wealth. Since converting, I’ve received two job promotions and have also improved in my role,” he shared.
While Newcomb acknowledged that Islam brought significant changes to his personality, Monroe felt it had relatively little impact on her. She said she had always strived to be a good person before embracing Islam. However, it did inspire her to adopt more positive habits, such as praying regularly and gradually embracing the hijab. "I don’t see the hijab as oppressive to women. I’ve learned that it’s for protection,” she explained.
Monroe admired how wearing the hijab redirects people’s focus on inner beauty and encourages equal treatment of all women, regardless of age or physical appearance. As for Smith, he shared that breaking his old habits wasn’t easy, especially after 51 years of ingrained behaviors that he had to unlearn and replace with new ones.
Grasping the purpose
Smith realized the necessity of the five obligatory prayers a day in his journey of transformation. "Every time I kneel on my prayer mat and perform salah, I’m reminded of everything I’ve done since the last prayer,” he said. It particularly taught him to reflect on his interactions with people, by treating them more fairly and justly. "I use it as a chance to repent and reconsider my behavior, if I’ve given someone a harsh glance or told a lie.”
Understanding the purpose of praying was as easy for Smith as understanding the purpose of fasting. Simply realizing he did it for the sake of God made it much easier. "Fasting taught me that there’s something more important than food and drink. It’s true that I have a relationship with food, but I also have a relationship with God,” he said. He highlighted how this deprivation allowed him to worship God more profoundly, with an increased focus on prayers and reading the Holy Quran.
Smith, Newcomb and Monroe all agreed that fasting made them feel "clearer and more peaceful” from the inside. Even though they all had led different lives before Islam, they unanimously agreed that converting blessed them with the life they had always desired. Monroe believes that God gave us free will to seek Him, and upon finding Him, He desires for us to find who we are meant to be, not what others expect us to be.