Nadiyah from USA

"I was raised in a secular household by my mother. She had six girls. Two of them were from my father. My father is a pious Muslim. But my parents divorced when I was 4 years old. When I was 13, I had some family issues with my mother and she left me by myself. So my father took me in after hearing about what happened. He told me that I was always welcomed in his house. But I was not too accepting towards Islam. I used to argue with him about the existence of God and how religion is useless. But on October 22nd, 2012, I took my shahada (Muslim profession of faith) with my friend at a masjid (mosque). That day was very dear to me. Islam was the reason I stayed out of trouble. And I realized that there is a God. And He's Allah. I started wearing hijab on my 17th birthday. My dad always told me that hijab doesn't define you as a Muslim, it's your iman (faith) that does. And I firmly stand by that. Thanks Abujee (dear daddy) for supporting me in my decisions! I love you! You're the best dad a girl could ask for. Alhumdulillah (All praise to Allah)!"-Nadiyah from USA