Dr.
Jerald F.
Dirks has an interesting conversion story. His struggle to accepts Islam as a
religion, way of life and also as an identity, I think it can be a great lesson
to someone who accepts Islam as the Truth but afraid to become a Muslim because
pressure from the family or society.
He realized that there has
to be sacrifice from him in order to become a Muslim, but as he says that we will find these sacrifices a very cheap coin to pay for the
“goods” you are purchasing.
So,
here is his conversion story to Islam.
From his childhood story we know that he and
his family had a great emotional experience and intensive participation in
church activities. So I think because of that reasons and his big enthusiasm towards
Sunday school and other church activities eventually later take him to a
personal calling to focus on the ministry.
His good preaching skill is able to draw wide
attention and improve the church attendance. His good achievement from his
education at Harvard College made him even a better preacher. Here are his own
words from this chapter.
“One of my earliest
childhood memories is of hearing the church bell toll for Sunday morning
worship in the small, rural town in which I was raised. The Methodist Church was an old, wooden
structure with a bell tower, two children’s Sunday School classrooms cubbyholed
behind folding, wooden doors to separate it from the sanctuary, and a choir
loft that housed the Sunday school classrooms for the older children. It stood
less than two blocks from my home. As the bell rang, we would come together as
a family, and make our weekly pilgrimage to the church.”
“In addition, there was a two-week community
Bible school every June, and I was a regular attendee through my eighth grade
year in school. However, Sunday morning worship and Sunday school were weekly
events, and I strove to keep extending my collection of perfect attendance pins
and of awards for memorizing Bible verses.”
“My preaching began to draw community-wide
attention, and before long I was occasionally filling pulpits at other
churches, at a nursing home, and at various church-affiliated youth and ladies
groups, where I typically set attendance records.”
“That spring, Harvard named me a Hollis Scholar, signifying that I was one of the top pre-theology students
in the college.”
“Following graduation from Harvard Divinity
School, I spent the summer as the minister of two United Methodist churches in
rural Kansas, where attendance
soared to heights not seen in those churches for several years.”
Struggle
for Personal Integrity
There are two points of his personal
integrity struggle. First is that he was a Christian and an ordained minister but he
has doubts or discomforts on Christianity basic theology. And the second is his
concerned about the loss of religiousness in American society at
large. Here are his own words from this chapter.
“There
is some irony in the fact that the supposedly best, brightest, and most
idealistic of ministers-to-be are selected for the very best of seminary
education, e.g. that offered at that time at the Harvard Divinity School. The
irony is that, given such an education, the seminarian is exposed to as much of
the actual historical truth as is known about: 1) the formation of the early,
“mainstream” church, and how it was shaped by geopolitical considerations; 2)
the “original” reading of various Biblical texts, many of which are in sharp
contrast to what most Christians read when they pick up their Bible, although
gradually some of this information is being incorporated into newer and better
translations; 3) the evolution of such concepts as a triune godhead and the
“sonship” of Jesus, peace be upon him; 4) the non-religious considerations that
underlie many Christian creeds and doctrines; 5) the existence of those early
churches and Christian movements which never accepted the concept of a triune
godhead, and which never accepted the concept of the divinity of Jesus, peace
be upon him; and 6) etc. (Some of these fruits of my seminary education are
recounted in more detail in my recent book, The Cross and the
Crescent: An Interfaith Dialogue between Christianity and Islam, Amana Publications,
2001.)”
“As the years passed by, I became increasingly
concerned about the loss of religiousness in American society at large.
Religiousness is a living, breathing spirituality and morality within
individuals, and should not be confused with religiosity, which is concerned
with the rites, rituals, and formalized creeds of some organized entity, e.g.
the church. American culture increasingly appeared to have lost its moral and
religious compass. Two out of every three marriages ended in divorce; violence was
becoming an increasingly inherent part of our schools and our roads;
self-responsibility was on the wane; self-discipline was being submerged by a
“if it feels good, do it” morality; various Christian leaders and institutions
were being swamped by sexual and financial scandals; and emotions justified
behavior, however odious it might be. American culture was becoming a morally
bankrupt institution, and I was feeling quite alone in my personal religious
vigil.”
Weaving
Different Threads into a Single Strand
In time he has deeper exposures and
understanding about Islam and Muslims. His new relation with his Muslim friends
over time brought him to a better understanding about Islam and encourages him
to ‘re-learn’ about Islam. Here are his own words from this chapter.
"My personal values and sense of morality were much
more in keeping with my Muslim friends than with the "Christian"
society around me. ... my nostalgic yearning for the type of community in which
I had been raised was finding gratification in the Muslim community. American
society might be morally bankrupt, but that did not appear to be the case for
that part of the Muslim community with which I had had contact. Marriages were
stable, spouses were committed to each other, and honesty, integrity,
self-responsibility, and family values were emphasized. My wife and I had
attempted to live our lives that same way, but for several years I had felt
that we were doing so in the context of a moral vacuum. The Muslim community
appeared to be different."
“While I never spoke to my Muslim friends about
those books, my wife and I had numerous conversations about what I was reading.
By the last week of December of 1992, I was forced to admit to myself, that I
could find no area of substantial disagreement between my own religious beliefs
and the general tenets of Islam. While I was ready to acknowledge that
Muhammad, peace be upon him, was a prophet of (one who spoke for or under the
inspiration of) God, and while I had absolutely no difficulty affirming that
there was no god besides God/Allah, glorified and exalted is He, I was still
hesitating to make any decision. I could readily admit to myself that I had far
more in common with Islamic beliefs as I then understood them, than I did with
the traditional Christianity of the organized church. I knew only too well that
I could easily confirm from my seminary training and education most of what the
Qur’an had to say about Christianity, the Bible, and Jesus, peace be upon him.
Nonetheless, I hesitated. Further, I rationalized my hesitation by maintaining
to myself that I really didn’t know the nitty-gritty details of Islam, and that
my areas of agreement were confined to general concepts. As such, I continued
to read, and then to re-read.”
The
Comfort of the Old and Familiar Identity
In this phase actually he already believes
the basic creed of Islam but he still has difficulties to let go his Christian
identity. Here are his own words from this chapter.
“Later,
when Iman came with my check, I attempted a round-about apology by
saying: “I’m afraid I was a little abrupt in answering your question
before. If you were asking me whether I believe that there is only one God,
then my answer is yes. If you were asking me whether I believe that Muhammad
was one of the prophets of that one God, then my answer is yes.” She very nicely
and very supportively said: “That’s okay; it takes some people a little
longer than others.”
Perhaps, the readers of this will be kind enough to note the
psychological games I was playing with myself without chuckling too hard at my
mental gymnastics and behavior. I well knew that in my own way, using my own words,
I had just said the Shahadah, the Islamic testimonial of faith, i.e. “I testify
that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of
Allah”. However, having said that, and having recognized what I said, I could
still cling to my old and familiar label of religious identity.”
Playing
Intellectual Word Games
In the month of holy Ramadan in 1933, Praise be
to Allah (Alhamdulillah) in his quite interesting story he and his wife accept Islam and became a Muslim. Here are his own words from this chapter.
“It
was now late in our Middle Eastern trip. An elderly friend who spoke no English
and I were walking down a winding, little road, somewhere in one of the
economically disadvantaged areas of greater ‘Amman, Jordan. As we
walked, an elderly man approached us from the opposite direction, said, “Salam ‘Alaykum”, i.e., “peace be upon
you”, and offered to shake hands. We were the only three people there. I didn’t
speak Arabic, and neither my friend nor the stranger spoke English. Looking at
me, the stranger asked, “Muslim?”
At
that precise moment in time, I was fully and completely trapped. There were no
intellectual word games to be played, because I could only communicate in
English, and they could only communicate in Arabic. There was no translator
present to bail me out of this situation, and to allow me to hide behind my
carefully prepared English monologue. I couldn’t pretend I didn’t understand
the question, because it was all too obvious that I had. My choices were
suddenly, unpredictably, and inexplicably reduced to just two: I could
say “N’am”, i.e., “yes”; or I could say “La”, i.e., “no”. The choice
was mine, and I had no other. I had to choose, and I had to choose now; it was
just that simple. Praise be to Allah, I answered, “N’am”.”
“With saying that one word, all the intellectual
word games were now behind me. With the intellectual word games behind me, the
psychological games regarding my religious identity were also behind me. I
wasn’t some strange, atypical Christian. I was a Muslim. Praise be to Allah, my
wife of 33 years also became a Muslim about that same time.”
Paying
A Small Price for A Good Return
In this chapter he emphasizes that a new
Muslim will find a trial and chalenges from society but as he says that
we
will find these sacrifices is a very cheap coin to pay for the “goods” you are
purchasing. Here are his own words from this chapter.
"For those
contemplating the acceptance of Islam and the surrendering of oneself to
Allah—glorified and exalted is He, there may well be sacrifices along the way.
Many of these sacrifices are easily predicted, while others may be rather
surprising and unexpected. There is no denying the existence of these
sacrifices, and I don’t intend to sugar coat that pill for you. Nonetheless,
don’t be overly troubled by these sacrifices. In the final analysis, these
sacrifices are less important than you presently think. Allah willing, you will
find these sacrifices a very cheap coin to pay for the “goods” you are
purchasing."
For complete story visit http://www.welcome-back.org/profile/dirks6.shtml
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