Reverting from Sunnism to Shiism
Being a Shiite in our modern-day world is far from being a bed of roses. Mankind does not actually remember when Shiites were able to freely live their cult. We have always been persecuted and I am afraid that we end up always being so. If 1400 years ago, our figures have been slaughtered by the then terrorists, their ideals, their bravery and their noble values shall never be forgotten. We are their heirs. We shall act as if they gave us the honourable task of perpetuating their struggle.
My story is neither usual nor rare. If my case would have been unique centuries, and even decades ago, more and more people are starting to see the right path. I am a North African woman. A Maghrebi Arab. Born and raised in a Sunni family and decided to become a Shiite on a very young age. I used to spend most of my time home alone, when I wasn’t at the dance rehearsals. As a result, I read everything and anything I found, be it in my own house, at the library, on the internet or when I was at someone’s place. Aged 7, I was already reading 18th century French and English-speaking literature, as well as Italian poetry, German plays and Arabic political essays. I used to watch many documentaries, cultural shows and write my opinions about the said shows. I knew that I wasn’t like any other child and fitting in the society and country I was born in got harder and harder.
I remember that my grandmother spent her time watching Al Jazeera and at that time, the situation in Iraq was a calamity. I got to learn about Abu Ghraib and its atrocities, Jaish Al Mahdi, Hezbollah, politics in Palestine, the Iranian nuclear program, and so on. Pretty odd for an 8 year-old girl, while my classmates were still playing with dolls. Not that I didn’t have dolls, I actually enjoyed doing child things, but a very mature aspect was part of my personality and I had kept private.
As years passed, my passion for politics, religions and history increased, and I found my jaw dropping everytime I watched a speech of Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, read any extract of Nahjul Balagha or watched Iranian religious shows. Having many foreign TV channels truly helped me learning more about my own religion and I’m not gonna lie : it is more pleasant to hear an Iranian or Lebanese shiite explaining islam than wahhabis on Saudi channels!
As time flew, my vision became clearer and I had to realize something : I was a Shiite. My beliefs are. Just because I was born Sunni doesn’t make me less of a Shiite. When I hear or listen to a duaâ or a song invoking Ahlul Bayt, I feel these goose bumps. I pray five prayers, thrice a day. I won’t necessarily add “I take oath that Ali is the Wali of God and the successor of his Prophet” , but I deeply think about Ahlulbayt during my prayers. I practice islam just like any other Muslim, if not more. Among my friends, I am the only one praying. I come from a very strict and severe family, and yet, if most of the females are veiled and the men act in a ikhwani way, most of my relatives don’t even pray. However, I will never tell them that I am a Shiite. Firstly, it is a personal matter and they shouldn’t worry about my sect as long as I am a Muslim. Secondly, I am not exaggerating when I say that trouble could happen to me. God knows what could happen to young “converts”, although it is not a real conversion, but the meaning is here.
