Suzanne Haneef, Islam: The Path of God, pages 7–10
To ALL OF YOU, MY READERS, WHO ARE SEEKING TO KNOW ABOUT THE FAITH OF ISLAM OR WHO ARE SEARCHING FOR A PATH OF LIFE, I DEDICATE THIS WORK, WITH A PRAYER THAT IT MAY BE USEFUL TO YOU IN YOUR QUEST.
“The little book you’re holding in your hands was written by an American woman who accepted Islam in 1965. However, when I first encountered Islam in the mid-50’s, I knew absolutely nothing about this religion or its followers. In fact, whatever I thought I knew-that Muslims believe in a pagan deity called Allah and that they worship Muhammad-couldn’t have been more incorrect and absurd.
At that time, the Muslim presence in this continent was hardly noticeable and was limited almost entirely to foreigners hailing mainly from the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. American Muslims were extreme rarities, who came into their new faith with very little support from any direction: there were very few Muslim communities and Islamic centers, a small and inadequate supply of literature and information about Islam, and a severely limited number of live role models to learn from. The critical question of how Islam could be applied by people living in the mainstream of American society without sacrificing any of its basic principles or teachings had barely been asked, much less answered.
But during the past three decades, all this has changed dramatically. The Muslim community is now firmly established in this continent; currently there are some 1500 mosques or Islamic centers in the United States, and a large number in Canada as well. Muslims are found everywhere, even in the smallest places. They are making significant contributions not only to the religious and spiritual life of North America but in many other areas as well: politics, business, teaching, technology, research, medicine, and the social sphere.
Islam is generally thought of as an Arab religion. But the fact is that Arabs comprise only one-seventh of the world’s Muslims. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, followed by Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. Some twenty or so million Muslims live in the People’s Republic of China, and triple that number in the former Soviet republics. Thus, the Muslim population in North America represents the Muslim world in miniature. While it consists primarily of Arabs and Indo-Pakistanis, there are also significant numbers of North Africans, Iranis, Afghans, Turks, Bosnians and South East Asians. And there is a steadily increasing number of American Muslims.
Still, in spite of this growing Muslim population, and the fact that Islam and Muslims are constantly in the news, many people in America know almost as little about Islam as I did a third of a century ago. We may imagine that we’re getting a lot of information on the subject from the media, but much of what comes to us is actually misinformation, which does nothing but reinforce prejudices and stereotypes.
Even now, at the end of the 1990s, I find myself constantly surprised by the unwillingness of people in the West even to consider Islam as a possible source of correct information. I’ll give you just one example of this. Christians and Jews are deeply interested in biblical history and archeology. But with very few exceptions, they approach these subjects without ever consulting Islamic sources, which would unquestionably provide a wealth of authentic information. And I keep asking myself, When are the people of the West going to realize the treasure that Islam is and avail themselves of what it has to offer?
I’m sometimes asked what attracted me to Islam. To answer this, I must give a bit of personal history.
By the time I first began to hear about Islam, I’d parted company forever with my earlier strong Christian convictions. Not finding answers to the insistent questions I was struggling with (questions which you’ll frequently encounter in this book), I stopped believing in God because the only God I knew about was unbelievable. It was simply impossible for me to come to terms with what I perceived His dealings with humankind to be.
But as time passed, I found a deep aching emptiness within myself where God had previously been. It then became clear to me that Islam offered something I desperately needed: absolute certainty and clearness of direction. As I came to understand the Islamic concept of God and His purposes for mankind, it was one that made complete sense to my mind and that I instinctively recognized as right. Islam’s emphasis on the individual’s relationship with God and its deep spirituality drew me like a magnet. And I knew I had to make it my own.
It’s been a long journey from that state of knowing less than nothing to this point. But it’s been a grand and exciting journey. It’s taken me from inner emptiness, sometimes verging on despair, into the heart of a faith which I’ve found to be like an ocean in its depth and breadth. This journey has allowed me to recapture the spirituality of my childhood, and to taste the flavor and sweetness of Islam as a way of life in some of the Muslim heartlands. Summing it up, it’s been a journey of coming to an understanding of the purpose and meaning of existence and of finding my own personal path to God.
This is a path which I feel so blessed to be a part of that I must share it with others-with you, if you’re willing. I’m offering to be the tour guide on your journey of discovery of a faith which is as dear to life itself to millions of the world’s people. The fact that some of these people may be your neighbors, friends, fellow students, co-workers, grocers, physicians, teachers or even your relatives may make this journey more real and personal for you as you try to look at things through their eyes.
Muslims are no longer “those people over there.” On the contrary, they’re over here and they’re an integral part of our communities. This fact in itself demands from us the willingness to be open-minded and to replace prejudice, speculation and stereotypes with accurate information, which hopefully in turn will lead to tolerance and respect. And in the process we may find out how much Islam and Muslims have to offer us.
My approach to the subject is simple and direct, not scholarly. I’ve emphasized the concepts and high spiritual principles of Islam rather than its rules; this is not a how-to-do book but simply an overview. May God, your Lord and my Lord, the Lord of the universe and every creature in it, bless you and guide you as you read.”
credit: Suzanne Haneef, Islam: The Path of God, pages 7–10. (PDF)
i recommend this book to everyone!
E-book copy http://www.islamicbulletin.org/free_downloads/new_muslim/islam_the_path.pdf
