Alina from a small city in Romania

"Assalamualaykum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh

Just call me Alina. I am your new sister in Islam. I was born in a small city in Romania, a country in the South East of Europe. Romania is 97% Christian Orthodox but very much non-practicing. Religion has turned into tradition, folk, and culture. Religion is seen as something that everyone has, but that is not necessary to be shown to others. You have to keep it for yourself, or talk about it casually.

Ever since I was young, I was fascinated by religion. I loved to pray and go to church. I had my mom’s aunt who would always take me and teach me about Christianity. She was the closest thing I had to a grandmother. I called her “Mamaitza”. My parents were never too excited about me becoming too religious but didn’t prohibit me from listening to Mamaitza’s stories or going with her.

When I was 16 years old, I moved to the United States for my last year of high school and then college. I am 23 now and I am still in the US working and finishing my Master’s. I did not know a thing about Islam when I first got here. 

After graduation, I met a Muslim man who treated me like no other before, respected me and challenged my beliefs. He later became one of my best friends and a person I would forever be grateful to. He took my knowledge about Islam to another level, posed me with questions about my religion without expecting an answer, and showed me the logic and truth in the Quran. My research into Islam continued for about 6 months until I was convinced about it being the ultimate truth. But I was nervous about converting and doing everything right. I was nervous about praying and making mistakes. I was nervous about the little details I still didn’t know. However, at the end of January 2012 I took my shahada, in the privacy of my own home and I finally prayed a real prayer. I HAVE NEVER FELT MORE PEACEFUL IN MY LIFE AS I DID WHEN I CONVERTED. 

There is nothing in the very essence of Islam that does not make sense. Yes, there are many things that we do not have enough knowledge to explain, out of the Quran or out of the Sunnah and Allah SWT explicitly tells us in the Quran that we do not have all the knowledge. But these are just the things that we can and can’t do, and not the very pillars, the very core of the religion.

Last but not least, my final reason to believe in Islam is Prophet Muhammad SAW himself. The righteous type of life he led, the type of person he was, his actions and stories and struggles and victories are not an ordinary thing, that anyone can do, his determination, his strength are not like those of normal people. His life and teachings MashAllah are so profound and such a clear statement of Islam being the right thing, that I myself could not deny it.

Alhamdulillah and JazakAllah Khair for reading my story!"💗😊