First person: ‘In Islam I found my peace of mind'

MONDAY, 04 APRIL 2011 13:41
Getreading

By Stuart Mee

Civil servant Stuart Mee felt there was something missing in his life which could not be satisfied by material possessions.

Here, the 46-year-old from West Reading explains how he found inner peace by turning to Islam:

I am a white English Muslim revert - something I thought would never happen even three years ago.

Of all the religions I could have chosen, why Islam?

Deep down I have always believed in a greater being - God.

However, for one reason or another, it was well hidden.

Like many other reverts I found there was ‘something missing from my life' an old and hackneyed cliché, but true.

There were short term fixes to make me happy - new clothes, phone, holiday, car and, like a junkie, I looked for my next fix of consumerism to fill that gap, but it did not.

I had noticed some while back, probably many years, friends and colleagues who I knew held deep religious beliefs had a sense of inner calmness.

That led me to look more at my unexplored belief in a greater being.

Over a period of about a year or so before I became Muslim, informative and balanced reading, conversation, talks and several visits to London Central Mosque led me to realise that Islam was what I was looking for.

It opened the way to have that one-to-one with God and to look to the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, in a new light.

All of this took me well out of my comfort zone and deep into untested territory.

Yes, I had concerns - what are Muslims like?

Are they as portrayed in the news?

What about women in Islam?

What if somebody talks to me?

There were things I found unusual but these were outweighed by the many wonderful aspects of Islamic life.

In mid-2009 I emailed the Imam to take my Shahadah, testament of faith, and was more than a little surprised when he wanted a 15-minute ‘chat' beforehand.

I now know he wanted me to understand what I was letting myself in for, by the way, some 75 per cent of reverts are women.

Very shortly after my Shahadah I was fortunate to meet a really good crowd of Muslim brothers.

I continue to learn about Islam and have never looked back having found that peace of mind.

Source: www.khilafah.com