The story of monika

The story of Monika 

The popular Tamil film actress Monika who is known for her films like ‘Azhagi’ and ‘Silanthi’  has converted to Islam and her new name is M G Rahima. Monika has acted in more than 70 films as heroine and child artist.

Monika’s parents are Christians and the actress says hereafter she won’t be acting in films. Monika also says that there is no selfishness in her decision to convert to Islam.

Monika started her career as a child artist in Avasara Police 100. She is also popular  in other South Indian film industries like Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

She conducted a press meet at RKV Studio  on Friday where she said, “I started my career in cinema from child artist, completed 70 films in Cinema Industry. I have done with your full support. The word thanks  is not enough for your affections”.

She added, “I don’t convert for the reason of love of money,i  am not such a person. I like Islamic principles so that I converted to Islam. I will intimate about my marriage to media once it will be arranged by my parents and I really thank to my dad  for  his full support. I am not convinced to change my name but I have changed my name , it is M.G.Raheema (M – Maruthi Raj (father), G-Gracy (mother)). Hereafter I won’t act in the film, it gives some pain but I don’t change my mind”

The actress added that she was planning to tie the knot soon. The actress has also  issued her new photographs in Islamic Abaya

The best moment of rolle's life

That moment change the life of British musician rolle 

Rolle British musician was born in UK and he become Muslim 7 years ago

Rolle moved to East London and used to go to a book shop called Dar Assalam in theWest End.He recalls, “I‘ve always liked reading about world affairs and conspiracies and what’s going on. Some things I read about were true and some weren’t but it didn’t bring me any closer to the Creator. 

My soul was always searching even though I wasn’t one hundred percent aware of that.The brothers at the shop used to give me booklets and I’d take them home and put them in the cupboard. Shortly afterIraqwas invaded, and after reading up about itall, I felt sympathy for the Muslims. I usedto ask myself why the world was always attacking Islam and Muslims.” Rolle noticed that the media was portraying Muslims as terrorists, and he just knew that could not be right because he was aware that the media does not always tell the truth. He wanted to know why they were attacking the Muslims. In response to his confusion, he went into his bedroom, put his head down on the floor, prostrated and prayed.Later, outside the bookshop he said to hisson, “I need something to feed my soul. 

These other books aren’t doing anything for me.” His son pointed out a DVD calledWhat Is The Purpose of Life?by Khaled Yaseen. He took part one home and played it and watched it and felt greatly inspired. “Everything that was being said on the DVD I felt I already knew. I knew it was the truth,” recalls Rolle.He learned that Muslims pray five times a day but because he was still into mainstream music at that time, he thought he would not be able to make time to pray like that. 

However, his soul was telling him that it was right. The bookshop gave him some books but they could not get him past this point of praying five times a day.Being Nurtured by MuslimsI have always found that most Muslims are polite, generous and kind-heartedRolle remembers that the Muslim community nurtured him and he found himself surrounded by brothers who reallyshowed that they care. He says, “I spent a lot of time with them for about two years. 

They taught me, corrected me, and reminded me. These were mainly brothersin the bookshop. I have been with them ever since.”He adds, “I have always found that most Muslims are polite, generous and kind-hearted. Even though there are problems in the Ummah worldwide, the individual Muslims have always been kindto me. I wanted to try to become pious and I keep trying. I want to be like them.”By this time, Rolle believed in Islam and had acquired fundamental knowledge of the religion and was on the way to learn more and more. At that time, the brothers were telling him that he should declare the two testimonies of faith and they reminded him that death is always near. However, he still felt he was not quite ready.

photographee find in nature

What the photographer find in nature 

I was born into an ordinary, non-religious Swedish home, but one that had very loving relationships.I had lived my life for 25 years without really thinking about the existence of God or anything spiritual whatsoever, I was the typical materialistic man.Or was I?I still recall a short story I wrote in the seventh grade about my future life, where Iportrayed myself as a successful games programmer (I hadn't yet even touched a computer) living with a Muslim wife! OK, atthat time, "Muslim" to me meant dressing in long clothes and wearing a scarf, but I have no idea where those thoughts came from.Later, in high school, I remember spendinga lot of time in the school library becominga bookworm, and at one time, I picked up atranslation of theQuranand read some passages from it. I don't remember exactlywhat I read, but I do remember finding thatwhat it said made sense and was logical tome.Still, I was not at all religious; I couldn't fit God in my universe, and I had no need of any god. I mean, we have Newton to explain how the universe works, right?Time passed and I graduated from school and started working. I earned some moneyand moved to my own apartment and found a wonderful tool in my PC. I became a passionate amateur photographer and enrolled in photography activities.One time, I was documenting a marketplace and taking photos from a distance with my telephoto lens when an angry-looking immigrant came over and explained that he wanted to make sure I wasn't going to take any more pictures of his mother and sisters. Strange people, those Muslims!More things related to Islam happened, and there are some things that I can't explain why I did what I did. I can't recall the reason I called the Islamic Information Organization in Sweden to order a subscription to their newsletter and to buy Yusuf Ali's translation of the Quran and a very good book on Islam called Islam: Our Faith. I just did!I read almost all of the Quran and found it to be both beautiful and logical. But still, God had no place in my heart. One year later, while I was out on a patch of land called Pretty Island, which really is pretty, taking autumn-color pictures, I was overwhelmed by a fantastic feeling. I felt as if I were a tiny piece of something greater, a tooth on a gear in God's great gearbox called the universe.It was wonderful! I had never ever felt like this before, totally relaxed, yet bursting with energy, and above all, totally aware of God wherever I turned my eyes. I don't know how long I stayed in this ecstatic state, but eventually it ended and I drove home, seemingly unaffected. But what I had experienced left inerasable marks in my mind.At this time, Microsoft introduced Windows 95 to the software market with the biggest marketing blitz known in the computer industry. The package included the online service Microsoft Network (MSN). I was keen to know what it was all about, so I got myself an account on MSN.I soon found that the Islam BBS (electronicbulletin board system) was the most interesting part of MSN, and that's where I found Shahida.Shahida is an American woman, who, like me, had converted to Islam. Our chemistry worked right away, and she became the best pen pal I have ever had. Our e-mail correspondence will go down in history — the fact that my mailbox grew to something like three megabytes over the first six months tells its own tale.Shahida and I discussed Islam, and faith inGod, in general, and everything she wrote made sense to me. Shahida had the patience of angels to deal with my slow thinking and silly questions, but she never gave up hope in me. She told me, "Just listen to your heart, and you'll find the truth."I found the truth in myself sooner than I had expected. On my way home from work,I was riding the bus and most of the people around me were sleeping. I was adoring the sunset, which was painting thebeautifully dispersed clouds with pink and orange colors. At that moment, all the parts came together.I understood how God could rule our life, although we're not robots. I saw it was possible to depend on physics and chemistry and still believe and see God's work. It was wonderful: I experienced a fewminutes of total understanding and peace.I longed so much for a moment like this to happen again.And it did. 

One morning I woke up, my mind clear as a bell, and the first thought that ran through my brain was how grateful to God I was that He made me wake up to another day full of opportunities. It was so natural, like I had been doing this every day of my life.After these experiences, I could no longer deny God's existence. But after 25 years of denying God, it was no easy task to admit His existence and accept faith. But good things kept happening to me. I spent sometime in the United States, and, at this time, I started praying and feeling and learned tofocus on God and to listen to what my heart said. It all ended in a nice weekend inNew York, about which I had worried a lot, but it turned out to be a success, most of all because I finally got to meet Shahida.At this point there was no return; I just didn't know it yet. Back in Sweden, 

God kept leading me. I read some more, and I finally got the courage to call the nearest mosque and to meet with some Muslims. With trembling legs, I drove to the mosque,which I had passed many times before, buthad never dared to stop and visit.I met the nicest people at the mosque, andI was given some more reading material and made plans to come and visit the brothers in their homes. What they told meand the answers they gave all made sense.Islam became a major part of my life. I started praying regularly and went to my first Jumu`ah Prayer.It was wonderful. I sneaked in and sat in the back. I didn't understand a word of what the imam was saying but still enjoyed the service. After the sermon, we all gathered together in rows and performed two rak`ahs. It was one of the most wonderful experiences I ever had on my journey to Islam. The sincerity of 200 men fully devoted to just one thing — praising God — felt great.Slowly, my mind started to agree with my heart, and I started to picture myself as a Muslim. But could I really convert to Islam?I had left the Swedish state church earlier, just in case, but could I pray five times a day?

 Could I stop eating pork? Could I really do that? And what about my family and friends? 

I recalled what one brother named Omar told me, how his family had tried to get him admitted to an asylum when he had converted. Could I really convert?By this time, the Internet wave had swept through Sweden, and I too had hooked up with the Infobahn. And there was tons of information about Islam out there. I think I visited just about every website that included the word Islam anywhere in the text, and I learned a lot from them.

What really made a change in me was a story entitled "Twelve Hours" of a newly converted British woman who had experienced feelings exactly like mine. When I read the story, I wept and realized that there was no turning back anymore; I couldn't resist Islam any longer.Summer vacation started, and I had made my mind up. I had to become a Muslim. But the start of the summer had been very cold, and if the weather was going to start getting sunny during my first week of vacation, I didn't want to miss a day of sunshine and had to take advantage of theweather by going to the beach. On the TV, the weatherman had drawn a big sun right on top of my part of the country. 

OK, then I would convert some other day.The next morning there was a steel gray sky, with ice-cold gusts of wind blowing outside my bedroom window. It was like God had decided that my time was up and I could wait no longer. I performed the required bath (ghusl), dressed in clean clothes, jumped in my car, and drove for one hour to the mosque.In the mosque, I approached some brothers and told them about my wish to become Muslim. So after noon prayer, the imam and some brothers witnessed me say theShahadah.Al-hamdulillah

Isabelle matic 

French director Isabelle Matic has announced her decision to revert to Islam on her FaceBook account, making the unexpected announcement only a few days after Charlie Hebdo Paris attacks.she said
“Today, I passed through the first pillar of Islam. There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet,”
Matic said in a message posted on her Facebook page on January 11.She followed her announcement with a series of posts in which she thanked Moroccan actor Hicham Bahloul for announcing her decision on Moroccan papers.In another message, she described how she took the decision and its effect on her beliefs in freedom of expression.“Between the massacre at the premises of Charlie Hebdo and other event that have followed:
I became a Muslim,” Matic wrote.“Am I still for freedom of expression for all and Charlie Hebdo in particular?! Yes,” Matic wrote yesterday.“With regard to my position towards the caricatures of the Prophet, I will write you the text of the SMS that I received this morning from a mosque which agreed quite well with my thoughts since the beginning of the cartoons, well before I became a Muslim,” she added“They are making fun of Muhammad and do not harm Muhammad.
They are making fun of a character that they have imagined and to whom they have given a name. Thisman is not our Prophet,” she wrote.The new Muslim referred to the early life ofProphet Muhammad (peace be upon him) when non-believers rejected his calls to Islam.“The Makkans laughed at Muhammad (worthy of praise) in the appellant Modamam (worthy of name calling).
The prophet peace be upon him was smiling. Yes, he was smiling! And he said: They are making fun of Modamam and not me,” Matic wrote.“The wisdom is the answer to provocations. And this is what our belovedProphet (peace and blessings of Allah be with him) has taught us.“So when Charlie Hebdo will be published insha ' Allah (God willing), do not pay attention.
Do not respond to the provocation. And do not give them of importance,” she added.In its Wednesday’s edition, Charlie Hebdo magazinefeaturesa cartoon of a man they claim to be the prophet of Islam on the cover.The cover depicts Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) with a tear falling from his cheek, holding a sign that says, "Je suis Charlie” under the headline "All Is Forgiven."The edition is the first after two gunmen attacked the magazine’s headquarters in Paris, killing 10 journalists and two policemen. Two of the dead were Muslims,an editor and a police cop.It culminates the magazine’s long history of offending millions of Muslims worldwide.

The Best Of Cat Steven

The best moments of cat Steven's life 

When cat Steven came to London, he brought backa translation of the Quran, which he gave to me.  He did not become a Muslim, but he felt something in this religion, and thought I might find something in it also.And when I received the book, a guidance that would explain everything to me - who Iwas; what was the purpose of life; what was the reality and what would be the reality; and where I came from - I realized that this was the true religion; religion not in the sense the West understands it, not the type for only your old age.  In the West,whoever wishes to embrace a religion and make it his only way of life is deemed a fanatic.  I was not a fanatic; I was at first confused between the body and the soul.  Then I realized that the body and soul are not apart and you don’t have to go to the mountain to be religious.  We must follow the will of God.  

Then we can rise higher than the angels.  The first thing I wanted todo now was to be a Muslim.I realized that everything belongs to God, that slumber does not overtake Him.  He created everything.  At this point I began to lose the pride in me, because hereto I had thought the reason I was here was because of my own greatness.  But I realized that I did not create myself, and the whole purpose of my being here was to submit to the teaching that has been perfected by the religion we know as Al-Islam.  At this point, I started discovering my faith.  I felt I was a Muslim.On reading the Quran, I now realized that all the Prophets sent by God brought the same message.  Why then were the Jews and Christians different?  I know now how the Jews did not accept Jesus as the Messiah and that they had changed His Word.  Even the Christians misunderstand God’s Word and called Jesus the son of God.  Everything made so much sense.  

This is the beauty of the Quran; it asks youto reflect and reason, and not to worship the sun or moon but the One Who has created everything.  The Quran asks man to reflect upon the sun and moon and God’s creation in general.  Do you realize how different the sun is from the moon?  They are at varying distances from the earth, yet appear the same size to us; at times, one seems to overlap the other.Even when many of the astronauts go to space, they see the insignificant size of the earth and vastness of space.  They become very religious, because they have seen the Signs of God.When I read the Quran further, it talked about prayer, kindness and charity.  I was not a Muslim yet, but I felt that the only answer for me was the Quran, and God hadsent it to me, and I kept it a secret.  But theQuran also speaks on different levels.  I began to understand it on another level, where the Quran says, “Those who believe do not take disbelievers for friends and thebelievers are brothers.”  Thus at this point Iwished to meet my Muslim brothers.ConversionThen I decided to journey to Jerusalem (asmy brother had done).  At Jerusalem, I went to the mosque and sat down.  A man asked me what I wanted.  I told him I was aMuslim.  He asked what was my name.  I told him, “Stevens.”  He was confused.  I then joined the prayer, though not so successfully.  Back in London, I met a sister called Nafisa.  I told her I wanted to embrace Islam, and she directed me to theNew Regent Mosque.  This was in 1977, about one and a half years after I received the Quran.  Now I realized that I must get rid of my pride, get rid of Satan, and face one direction.  So on a Friday, after the Friday congrational prayer service, I went to the Imam (Prayer Leader) and declared my faith (the Shahaadah) at this hands.  You have before you someone who had achieved fame and fortune.  But guidance was something that eluded me, no matter how hard I tried, until I was shown the Quran.  Now I realize I can get in direct contact with God, unlike Christianity or anyother religion.  As one Hindu lady told me, “You don’t understand the Hindus.  We believe in one God; we use these objects (idols) to merely concentrate.”  What she was saying was that in order to reach God, one has to create associates, that are idolsfor the purpose.  But Islam removes all these barriers.  The only thing that moves the believers from the disbelievers is the salat (prayer).  This is the process of purification.Finally, I wish to say that everything I do is for the pleasure of God and pray that you gain some inspirations from my experiences.  Furthermore, I would like to stress that I did not come into contact with any Muslim before I embraced Islam.  I read the Quran first and realized that no person is perfect.  Islam is perfect, and if we imitate the conduct of the Prophet we will be successful.

maryam cerrah

Maryam cerrah 

It was probably around the late 80's. I was hangin' out with Divine Styler (a popular Los Angeles rapp artist). He was basically at the end of his 5% period (referring to thepseudo-Islamic "Nation of Gods and Earths" sect). He was starting to come intoIslam. He lived with the Bashir family. Abdullah Bashir was sort of his teacher; and mine it wound up later. As he was making the transition from 5% into Islam I would just be around and hear things.I'm trying to think of the first time I recognized it as Islam. I think it was when one of Divine's friends took Shahada (the Muslim profession of faith) and I was there. I heard him say, "I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the servant and messenger." And I remember me being like, "What is this?
 I'm white. Can I be here?" It was outta ignorance, you know? 'Cause here in America, Islam is considered a "Black thing." And that's when someone pointed out to me, "You have no idea how many white Muslims there are in the world." I was like, "Really," and somebody broke it down. I said, "That's crazy. I had no clue."

Do you feel any extra pressure being a  Muslim in AmericIt was probably around the late 80's. I was hangin' out with Divine Styler (a popular Los Angeles rapp artist). He was basically at the end of his 5% period (referring to thepseudo-Islamic "Nation of Gods and Earths" sect). He was starting to come intoIslam. He lived with the Bashir family. Abdullah Bashir was sort of his teacher; and mine it wound up later. As he was making the transition from 5% into Islam I would just be around and hear things.I'm trying to think of the first time I recognized it as Islam. I think it was when one of Divine's friends took Shahada (the Muslim profession of faith) and I was there. I heard him say, "I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the servant and messenger." And I remember me being like, "What is this? I'm white. Can I be here?" It was outta ignorance, you know? 'Cause here in America, Islam is considered a "Black thing." And that's when someone pointed out to me, "You have no idea how many white Muslims there are in the world." I was like, "Really," and somebody broke it down. I said, "That's crazy. I had no clue."Do you feel any extra pressure being a white Muslim in America?I don't think of it on the grand scale. To me, Islam is mine. Allah is the God of all the worlds, and all mankind and all the Al-Amin (worlds/universe). Islam is my personal relationship with God. So, nobodycan put any more pressure on me than I can put on myself. But as far as the mosque where I pray, I have never felt more at home or more welcome. And it's not just mine. The few mosques that I've gone to around the country, I've never ever been made to feel uncomfortable. Like in New York, the mosque is big and there's so many people that nobody is lookin' to notice you. There were Chines, Korean, Spanish - everything, which was a good thing for me because at my mosque I'm the only white male, [although] there are some white females.I think at first, I thought about it more than anybody else the first couple times I went to Jumma (the Friday congregational prayer). The first time I went to Jumma, I was taken by a friend of mine in New York. It was in Brooklyn in Bed-Stuy (Bedford Stuyvestant). I was nervous about the neighborhood I was in, not the mosque. But I was just so at ease once I was there. I was like, "This is great." I didn't feel any different than anybody else in the mosque.a?I don't think of it on the grand scale. To me, Islam is mine. Allah is the God of all the worlds, and all mankind and all the Al-Amin (worlds/universe). Islam is my personal relationship with God. So, nobodycan put any more pressure on me than I can put on myself. But as far as the mosque where I pray, I have never felt more at home or more welcome. And it's not just mine. The few mosques that I've gone to around the country, I've never ever been made to feel uncomfortable. Like in New York, the mosque is big and there's so many people that nobody is lookin' to notice you. There were Chines, Korean, Spanish - everything, which was a good thing for me because at my mosque I'm the only white male, [although] there are some white females.I think at first, I thought about it more than anybody else the first couple times I went to Jumma (the Friday congregational prayer). The first time I went to Jumma, I was taken by a friend of mine in New York. It was in Brooklyn in Bed-Stuy (Bedford Stuyvestant). I was nervous about the neighborhood I was in, not the mosque. But I was just so at ease once I was there. I was like, "This is great." I didn't feel any different than anybody else in the mosque.

The Best Of Mike Tyson

The best interview of mike tyson

Q: When you were younger, what did you think Mike Tyson would end up doing?  Did you have career aspirations? What were they?
A: I thought I would be dead before 20.  Where I come from (Brownsville) young black men don't make it too far.  They are either murdered or in prison.  95% of my childhood friends from my old neighborhood either have life sentences in prison or are dead.  I just thought I would be a criminal because that is all I was ever taught.  Then when I went to reform school I was introduced to boxing. From that point on, I only wanted to be a boxer.  If I wasn't boxing, I would have been dead or in prison.  Boxing saved me.
Q: The addictions (the drugs and the drinking), how and when did that all begin and when did you realise it was a problem? What prompted you to get help and how is that ongoing battle for sobrietygoing?
A: My drug and drinking issues started to spiral out of control after I retired from boxing.  Boxing was the only real structurein my life at that time and without it I just lived a life of extremes.  I finally got tired of it.  I knew if I didn't change my life that Iwould die.  So I went to rehab for a year and then I had some relapses.  I got married and Kiki and I had a daughter, Milan and I wanted to be a better father.  So having the structure of a wife and children to raise helped me finally grow up.  I was over four years clean and sober and had a relapse with alcohol so it's like starting all over again.  The one relapse wipes out all of the sober years I have had.  This disease is that powerful.  However, I'm now over 70 days totally sober and have no desire to ever pick up adrink again.
Q: A lot of people see public speaking like this as a form of therapy – is that how youapproach it?
A: I don't approach it as therapy but I certainly see the benefits of it.  I have always been an open book.  Perhaps that is why I have stirred up so much raw emotion and at times controversy because I have never been afraid to speakmy mind.  However, this is the first time I personally speak about the headlines that would shape peoples opinion about me for the good or the bad.  I never took control in this kind of format and told people what I thought about the headlines.  No one has heard my undisputed truth directly from me.  There is something therapeutic about this process I suppose.
Q: Many of our readers are Muslim. Can you tell us a little about your reversion to Islam – how that came about and what the religion gave/gives to you, personally?
A: Islam has given me a sense of stability.It has helped me gain some serenity and understanding of who I am as a person.  I was introduced to Islam over two decadesago.  I made my hajj two years ago.  I am not professing to be a good Muslim or theposter boy for Islam.  My relationship withAllah is my own person relationship and how I grow in my religion is my journey alone.  I'm just trying to work on myself and grow as a person and love all of Allah's creations.Q: What can your fans in the UAE expect from your show? And how do you feel about bringing your story to these shores?A: I am beyond grateful to do my show in Dubai.  I am just really looking forward to giving a good performance.  Expect to seea knockout performance.  It's a roller coaster ride of emotions.  One minute youwill want to cry and then they next you  are bellied over with laughter.
Q: What's the hardest thing to talk about in the show?
A: The death of my daughter Exodus.  It's just something I will never be at ease with talking about but she deserves for the world to know about her.
Q: And what gets the biggest laughs?
A: Oh, wow, there are a lot of big laughs.  My life plays out in a lot of funny scenarios.  You just have to come and seeit and tell me what you thought was the funniest part.  The Mitch Green stories arepretty funny though.
Q: If people are undecided on whether to come, what's your knock out blow to convince them?
A: So many people that have come to my show have later told me that they hadn't a clue what to expect and it was nothing like what they expected.  They thought they were going to see a cliche' rendition of a boxer trying to be a performer.  But they left with feeling like they saw a true performance.  My story is touching, tellingand funny.  Whether you love boxing or hate it, you will love my show.  It's not just for the men.  Women love the show.  There is something very identifiable aboutmy stories that transcends gender and age.

best from the life of A.r rehman

Best story from the life of a r rehman

That man is today known as Allahrakha Rahman, one of India’s foremost composers. He discusses his decision to convert and the impact it had on him in these edited excerpts from AR Rahman The Spiritof Music by Nasreen Munni Kabir.How has Sufism affected your attitude to life?It has taught me that just as the rain and the sun do not differentiate between people, neither should we. Only when you experience friendshipacross cultures, you understand there are many good people in all communities.

Did your belief in spirituality help when you and your family were facing hard times?

Yes, absolutely. My mother was a practising Hindu. She had always been spiritually inclined. We had Hindu religious images on the walls of the Habibullah Road house where we grew up. There was also an image of Mother Mary holding Jesusin Her arms and a photograph of the sacred sites of Mecca and Medina.In 1986, ten year after my father died, we happened to meet QadriSahebagain. The peer was unwell and my mother looked after him and he regarded her as a daughter. Therewas a strong connection between us.Did thepeerask you to embrace Islam?No, he didn’t. Nobody is forced to convert to the path of Sufism. You only follow if it comes from your heart. A year after we met QadriSaheb, in 1987, we moved to from Habibullah Road to Kodambakkam, to the house where we still live. When we moved, I was reminded of what Jesus Christ, Peace be upon Him, once said: “I wish that you werecold and hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”What I understood by His words wasthat it is better to choose one path. The Sufi path spiritually lifted both my mother and me, and we felt it was the best path for us, so we embraced Sufi Islam.Were you conscious of the fact that changing your faith might affect your relations with people?No one around us really cared – we were musicians and that allowed us greater social freedom…The important thing for me is that I learned about equality and the oneness of God. Whether you are a winner or loser, king or slave, short or tall, rich or poor, sinner or saint, ugly or beautiful - regardless of whatcolour you are, God showers unlimited love and mercy on us if wechoose to receive it. It is because of our inability, our blindness in seeing the unknown that we lose faith.On the net there are many versions of how you came to be called AR Rahman. What is the real story?The truth is I never liked my name. 

No disrespect to the great actor DilipKumar! However, somehow my name didn’t match the image I had of myself.Sometime before we started on our journey on the path of Sufism, we went to an astrologer to show him my younger sister’s horoscope because my mother wanted to get her married. This was around the same time when I was keen to change my name. The astrologer looked at me and said, ‘This chap is very interesting.”He suggested the names:

 Abdul Rahman and Abdul Rahim and said that either name would be good for me. I instantly loved the name Rahman. It was a Hindu astrologer who gave me my Muslim name.Then my mother had this intuition that I should add Allahrakha [Protected by God], and that's how I became AR Rahman.

Monica's story

The true story from the life of monica 

“I embraced Islam because I was attractedto Islamic rules especially the women’s rights in Islam. I started reading about Islam in 2010 with the misconception that it promotes extremism. However, during my research I found out thatIslam is indeed a religion of peace,” she said.“I have been practicing Islam for almost four years now. My father is a Christian and my mother is a Hindu and they support my decision fully. My last film ‘Nadhigal Nanaivathillai’ would be releasing soon and I won’t be acting in films henceforth,” Monica said during a press conference (video below) at RKV Studios on May 30, 2014.Monica, 26, has changed her name to MG Rahima where ‘M’ has been extracted fromher father’s name Marothi Raj while ‘G’ represents her mother’s name Gracy.Born as Rekha Maruthiraj, she took the name Monica for her acting career in Tamiland Telugu films. Later, she changed her name to Parvana for Malayalam filmsMonica has acted in nearly 70 Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films likeInidhu Inidhu Kadhal Inidhu,Isai Arasan 23m Pulikesi,Varnamand the 2013 filmJannal Oram.Monica won Tamil Nadu State Award as the best child actor for her performance inEn Aasai Machan.

sean Stone's opinion

Sean Stone's opinion about islam 

Sean Stone, son of controversial director Oliver Stone, converted to Islam in Iran last week and says he’s already experiencing a Hollywood backlash.The ceremony was held in Isfahan, where he is researching a documentary. He now goes by the name of Sean Christopher Ali Stone.He told Page Six: “I’ve already experiencedthe reverse of anti-Semitism, having people within the film industry express a reluctance to work with me now that I have said a simple prayer, ‘There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his messenger.’I am sure I have [bleeped] off some powerful people.” Speaking over dinner at Barrio 47, Sean told us, “Having read the Koran and having been around the Islamicculture, especially in Iran, I do believe thatMohammed is a prophet of the same god worshipped by other religions.EPASean Stone“I am of a Jewish bloodline, a baptized Christian who accepts Christ’s teachings, the Jewish Old Testament and the Holy Koran. I believe there is one God, whether called Allah or Jehovah or whatever you wish to name him. He creates all peoples and religions. I consider myself a Jewish Christian Muslim.“What I am trying to do is open up a dialogue about religion. There is such Islamophobia in the West. Islam is not a religion of violence any more than Judaism or Christianity is.”

The life of loon

The life of loon 

He was formerly a hip-hop and rap performer who worked under the stage name of ‘Loon.’ He earned his fame as a part ofPuff Daddy’s Bad Boy Records, wherehe not only releaseda self-titled debut album, Loon, but also performed with many of the industry’s notable R&B and hip-hop celebrities.In 2004, Loon left Bad Boy to start his own label, Boss Up Entertainment. Having started his music career as a member of Mase’s rap collective Harlem World, Loon branched out into acting and was featured in two movies directed by Damon Dash, State Property 2 and Death of a Dynasty.Born to a Christian family, Chauncey Lamont Hawkins changed his name to Amir Junaid Muhadith after Allahguided him to Al-Islam in 2008. Following a life-changing visit tothe city of Abu Dhabi along with prolonged exposure to the Muslim lifestyle, Amir explained his attraction to Islam in an interview:‘I visited Abu Dhabi, Emirate’s capital, and there I found the real happiness and tranquility which my wealth and fame failed to give me all over my life as a singer. I was affected with the  Muslim’s culture; and I admired their refined morals, their kind treatment with people, and especially their regular going to pray in the mosque five times every day.Consequently, I began to ask about the reality of this religion, and whether it was only exclusive for Arabs, and I realized that Islam includes all human beings without any consideration to their nationalities. Then, I announced my conversion to Islam after a profound thinking, and I prayed for the first time after my return to my home in Harlem, New York.’Shortly after having become Muslim, Allah blessed brother Amir by guiding his family toIslam: ‘My relief increased a lot when my wife and my son accepted Islam.’ Allah continued to showerHis bounty upon Amir by facilitating the ability for him to perform Umrah, an incredibly moving experience for him:‘…When I was performing Umrah, afew days ago, I liveda very poignant moment when I sawthe holy Kaaba for the first time in my life. I could not bear this affecting situation, so I could not stand on my feet, and I began to cry thanking Allah who allowed me to perform this magnificent ritual, and to visit the Prophet’s honorablemosque.’May Allah accept him, his family and their deeds, and may He keep them all steadfast, Ameen. Amir has since ended his rap career, and has instead chosen to spend his wealth, time and life seeking knowledge and giving Da’wah; educating Muslims and non-Muslims alike about Islam, and calling people of all faiths and backgrounds to the Religion of Truth. Having found peace in Islam which his previous wealth andlifestyle could not provide, Amir embraced his new life and mission with a renewed enthusiasm:‘Islam turned my lifeupside down since I renounced the profession which I practiced from seventeen years old;however, now I feel the serenity and peace of mind which I longed for all my life. …I became very enthusiastic to know more about Islam when I joined a Canadian Organization calling for Islam, and now I work on attracting the popular singers and artists to understand Islam’s tolerant principles.’Allah swt says in theNoble Quran, Truely,

true story of pooja lame

Pooja lame 

Famous Nepalese actress and singer Pooja Lama argues took in the embrace of Islam,Pooja Lama said in a statement: Islam is the world’s sole religion of humanity based solution offers all the problems of Islam beauty show me theright way, otherwise I keep wandering in the darkness,I want to tell the world that Islam is areligion of peace only, please read this evaluation would be automatically look.

Interview: Abdus Saboor Nadvifive months ago Nepal’s famous actress, model 28-year-old Pooja Lama perception of Islam and to the community was surprised. She brought up in Buddhist family, Sheannounced her Converting after a short visit to Dubai and return from Qatar to Kathmandu, was present to discuss these important Statements:

Q: What feature of Islam in persuading you to accept Islam?

A: I was from the Buddhist family, One year ago that thought in my mind to study other religions, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam started a comparative study, during study travel to Dubai and Qatar was the journey there from the Islamic civilization was very impressed,the biggest feature of Islam, he is Oneness, faith and trust in Allah to see who got strong belief here, and in Other religion I could not.

Q: World media has opened front against Islam, Islam is being presented in the style of terrorism, you were not affected by it?

A: Propaganda against Islam is the reason also embracing to Islam, because his study say other thing was I found, and now I can say with the claim that Islam is the world’s only religion of humanity and peace issues Justice solution offers

Q: Pooja Ji! From the film industry is concerned you, and you regarding the many scandals in the media come to common view, which you was afflicted, and once attempted suicide of you, will tell us something?

A: I did not want to accuse the media regarding my personal life to cut, to publish comments, to defame me, I think you need this talking, still have been my three marriages, after a brief break from all There was gone to alone, I have a son from first husband who lives with my mother, about the same things the media to jump someimproper things, which hurt me very much, people accuse me that I have for fame What’s all this, the truth is that I was miserable wanted tocommit suicide, I took my friends, led by the study of religious books, then embraced Islam, I want to forget my past, because I now ‘m quiet and decent life.

Q: Pooja Ji! After acceptance of Islamcame a major change in your lifestyle, your head is tied up Scarf , the alcohol and smoking have also repent?

A: Please don’t call me Pooja, Pooja my past and now I am Amna Farooqi, tension-filled moments before Islam, alcohol and cigarettes were my support, ever drink so much that the firm was unconscious. Prey to depression had, and the darkness around me was just darkness, but the joy of Islam have breath, alcohol, cigarettes have turn,the only Halal eat meat.

Q: In Islam Body exhibition of women, song and dance equipment is prevented, to what extent you agree?

A: After my converting to Islam ,all producers have broken me , since the sangeet is filled my pulse was intravenous, so sometimes songs ina restaurant will go away, burqa ( Full Hijab) also use’s wearing, will try to exhaust even a series of songs.

Q: What were the motives of Islam?

A: Since the some of my Buddhist partner had converted to Islam, when they see trouble me urge you to Islam, says his teachings, I started to read, one day I put a Muslim friend to lecture, one of hisFixed all my heart that any wrongdoingwas not afraid of humans but should fear Allah, so embrace Islam at that time decided to shelter.

Q: After acceptance of Islam was the reaction of your family?

A: After embracing Islam I informed my family, who lives in Darjiling , my mothercooperated fully, if they saw me flowerswhen smayyn, mightsay:”Oh dear! You chose the right path,to see you happy I found quiet. Hobbitshave changed me, So other people alsoappreciated the family.

Q: The media have expressed doubt that any Muslim anywhere you are in love and married herto felled you is Islam?

A: baseless news, Some my friends areMuslims, but thisdoes not mean that I love someone felled and brought Islam to marry her lust, yes now I am a Muslim, so I marrieda Muslim will have, and shall decide when everyone will know then.

liam neeson a beautiful actor

Liam neeson 

Actor Liam Neeson was quoted in newsprint and articles as saying,"I love to hear the adhan(Muslim's call to prayer)" and"I'm thinking of converting to Islam". Sources claim while he was in Istanbul, Turkey recording the famous movie, "Taken" that Neeson loved hearing adhan and even said he might go to Islam.It appears this an effort by his agent to putoff any possibility that major studios might cancel contracts or stop recordings?What ideas do you have to reassure Liam Neeson, his agent and sponsors know it would not be bad for him to go to Islam? In fact, they could see it aa a great opportunity for free publicity and a whole new market share in the Muslim world.So post your comments and let them all see - PLEASE!It has been a while since we asked our readers to write something for the famous movie actor and we still would like to see him make a move to what is better for him,but at least tell the world about Islam while we have their attention, inshallah.We want him toknow about real Islamand the beautiful teachings of the Quran.Today, we see more evidence than ever of those who have contributed and those who have read and benefitted for your comments.People everywhere are more aware of the true Islam from these types of efforts and we ask you to continue - and we ask Allah to accept and bless us all, ameen.

Michael Wolfe Journalist

Michael's life

After twenty-five years as a writer in America, I wanted something to soften my cynicism.  I was searchingfor new terms by which to see.  The way one is raised establishes certainneeds in this dnepartment.  From a pluralist background, I naturally placed great stress on the matters ofracism and freedom.  Then, in my early twenties, I had gone to live in Africa for three years.  During this time, which was formative for me, I rubbed shoulders with blacks of many different tribes, with Arabs, Berbers, and even Europeans, who were Muslims.  By and large these people did not share the Western obsession with race as a social category.  In our encounters, being oddly colored, rarely mattered.  I waswelcomed first and judged on merit later.  By contrast, Europeans and Americans, including many who are free of racist notions, automatically class people racially.  Muslims classified people by their faith and their actions.  I found this transcendent and refreshing.  Malcolm X saw his nation’s salvationin it.  “America needs to understand Islam,” he wrote, “because this is theone religion that erases from its society the race problem.”I was looking for an escape route, too, from the isolating terms of a materialistic culture.  I wanted access to a spiritual dimension, but the conventional paths I had known as a boy were closed.  My father had been a Jew; my mother Christian.  Because of my mongrel background,I had a foot in two religious camps.  Both faiths were undoubtedly profound.  Yet the one that emphasizes a chosen people I foundinsupportable; while the other, basedin a mystery, repelled me.  A century before, my maternal great-great-grandmother’s name had been set instained glass at the high street Church of Christ in Hamilton, Ohio.  By the time I was twenty, this meant nothing to me.These were the terms my early lifeprovided.  The more I thought about it now, the more I returned to my experiences in Muslim Africa.  After two return trips to Morocco, in 1981 and 1985, I came to feel that Africa, the continent, had little to do with the balanced life I found there.  It was not, that is, a continent I was after, nor an institution, either.  I was looking for a framework I could live with, a vocabulary of spiritual concepts applicable to the life I was living now.  I did not want to “trade in” my culture.  I wanted access to new meanings.After a mid-Atlantic dinner I went to wash up in the bathroom.  During my absence a quorum of Hasidim lined up to pray outside the door.  Bythe time I had finished, they were tooimmersed to notice me.  Emerging from the bathroom, I could barely work the handle.  Stepping into the aisle was out of the question.I could only stand with my head thrust into the hallway, staring at thecongregation’s backs.  Holding palm-size prayer books, they cut an impressive figure, tapping the texts on their breastbones as they divined.Little by little the movements grew erratic, like a mild, bobbing form of rock and roll.  I watched from the bathroom door until they were finished, then slipped back down theaisle to my seat.We landed together later that night in Brussels.  Reboarding, I found a discarded Yiddish newspaper on a food tray.  When theplane took off for Morocco, they were gone.I do not mean to imply here that my life during this period conformed to any grand design.  In the beginning, around 1981, I was driven by curiosity and an appetite for travel.  My favorite place to go, when I had the money, was Morocco.  When I could not travel, there were books.  This fascination brought me into contact with a handful of writersdriven to the exotic, authors capable of sentences like this, by Freya Stark:“The perpetual charm of Arabia is that the traveler finds his level there simply as a human being; the people’s directness, deadly to the sentimental or the pedantic, like the less complicated virtues; and the pleasantness of being liked for oneself might, I think, be added to the five reasons for travel given me by Sayyid Abdulla, the watchmaker; “to leave one’s troubles behind one; to earn a living; to acquire learning; to practice good manners; and to meet honorable men”.I could not have drawn up a list of demands, but I had a fair idea of what I was after.  The religion I wanted should be to metaphysics asmetaphysics is to science.  It would not be confined by a narrow rationalism or traffic in mystery to please its priests.  There would be no priests, no separation between nature and things sacred.  There would be no war with the flesh, if I could help it.  Sex would be natural, not the seat of a curse upon the species.  Finally, I did want a ritual component, daily routine to sharpen the senses and discipline my mind.  Above all, I wanted clarity and freedom.  I did not want to trade away reason simply to be saddled with a dogma.The more I learned about Islam, the more it appeared to conform to what I was after.Most of the educated Westerners Iknew around this time regarded any strong religious climate with suspicion.  They classified religion as political manipulation, or they dismissed it as a medieval concept, projecting upon it notions from their European past.It was not hard to find a source fortheir opinions.  A thousand years of Western history had left us plenty of fine reasons to regret a path that led through so much ignorance and slaughter.  From the Children’s Crusade and the Inquisition to the transmogrified faiths of nazism and communism during our century, whole countries have been exhausted by belief.  Nietzsche’s fear, that the modern nation-state would become a substitute religion, has proved tragically accurate.  Our century, it seemed to me, was ending in an age beyond belief, which believers inhabited as much as agnostics.Regardless of church affiliation, secular humanism is the air westerners breathe, the lens we gaze through.  Like any world view, this outlook is pervasive and transparent.  It forms the basis of our broad identification with democracy and with the pursuit of freedom in all its countless and beguiling forms.  Immersed in our shared preoccupations, one may easily forget that other ways of life exist on the same planet.At the time of my trip, for instance,650 million Muslims with a majority representation in forty-four countriesadhered to the formal teachings of Islam.  In addition, about 400 million more were living as minorities in Europe, Asia and the Americas.  Assisted by postcolonial economics,Islam has become in a matter of thirty years a major faith in Western Europe.  Of the world’s great religions, Islam alone was adding to its fold.My politicized friends were dismayed by my new interest.  They all but universally confused Islam with the machinations of half a dozen middle eastern tyrants.  The books they read, the new broadcaststhey viewed depicted the faith as a set of political functions.  Almost nothing was said of its spiritual practice.  I liked to quote Mae West to them: “Anytime you take religion for a joke, the laugh’s on you.”Historically, a Muslim sees Islam as the final, matured expression of an original religion reaching back to Adam.  It is as resolutely monotheistic as Judaism, whose major Prophets Islam reveres as links in a progressive chain, culminating in Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them.  Essentially a message of renewal, Islam has done its part on the world stage to return the forgotten taste oflife’s lost sweetness to millions of people.  Its book, the Quran, caused Goethe to remark, “You see, this teaching never fails; with all our systems, we cannot go, and generally speaking no man can go, further.Traditional Islam is expressed through the practice of five pillars.  Declaring one’s faith, prayer, charity, and fasting are activities pursued repeatedly throughout one’s life.  Conditions permitting, each Muslim is additionally charged with undertaking a pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime.  The Arabic term for this fifth rite is Hajj.  Scholars relate the word to the concept of ‘qasd’, “aspiration,” and to the notionof men and women as travelers on earth.  In Western religions, pilgrimage is a vestigial tradition, a quaint, folkloric concept commonly reduced to metaphor.  Among Muslims, on the other hand, the Hajj embodies a vital experience for millions of new pilgrims every year.  In spite of the modern content of their lives, it remains an act of obedience, a profession of belief, and the visible expression of a spiritual community.  For a majority of Muslims the Hajj is an ultimate goal, the trip of a lifetime.As a convert, I felt obliged to go toMakkah.  As an addict to travel I could not imagine a more compelling goal.The annual, month-long fast of Ramadan precedes the Hajj by aboutone hundred days.  These two rites form a period of intensified awareness in Muslim society.  I wanted to put this period to use.  I had read about Islam; I [attended] a Mosque near my home in California; I had started a practice.  Now I hoped to deepen what I was learningby submerging myself in a religion where Islam infuses every aspect of existence.

journey of sara bokkar for peace of mind

Journey of Sara bokkar for peace of mind

I am an American woman who was born in the midst of America’s “Heartland”.  I grew up, just like any other girl, being fixated with the glamour of life in “the big city”.  Eventually, I moved to Florida and onto South Beach of Miami, a hotspot for those seeking the “glamorous life”.  Naturally, I did what most average Western girls do.  I focused on my appearance and appeal, basing my self-worth on how much attention I got from others.  I worked out rigorously and became a personal trainer, acquired an upscalewaterfront residence, became a regular “exhibiting” beach-goer and was able to attain a “living-in-style” kind of life.Years went by, only to realize that my scale of self-fulfillment and happiness slid down the more I progressed in my “feminine appeal”. I was a slave to fashion.  I was a hostage to my looks.As the gap continued to progressively widen between my self-fulfillment and lifestyle, I sought refuge in escapes from alcohol and parties to meditation, activism, and alternative religions, only to have thelittle gap widen to what seemed like a valley.  I eventually realized it all was merely a pain killer rather than an effective remedy.As a feminist libertarian, and an activist who was pursuing a better world for all, my path crossed with that of another activist who was already at the lead of indiscriminately furthering causes ofreform and justice for all.  I joined in the ongoing campaigns of my new mentor which included, at the time, election reform and civil rights, among others.  Now my new activism was fundamentally different.  Instead of “selectively” advocating justice only to some, I learned that ideals such as justice, freedom, and respect are meant to be and are essentially universal, and that own good and common good are not in conflict.  For the first time, I knew what “all people are created equal” really meant.  But most importantly, I learned that it only takes faith to see the world as one and to see the unity in creation.One day I came across a book thatis negatively stereotyped in the West--The Holy Quran.  Up until that point, all I had associated with Islam was women covered in “tents”, wife beaters, harems, and a world of terrorism.  I was first attracted by thestyle and approach of the Quran, andthen intrigued by its outlook on existence, life, creation, and the relationship between Creator and creation.  I found the Quran to be a very insightful address to heart and soul without the need for an interpreter or pastor.Eventually I hit a moment of truth: my new-found self-fulfilling activism was nothing more than merely embracing a faith called Islam whereI could live in peace as a “functional”Muslim.I bought a beautiful long gown and head cover resembling the Muslim woman’s dress code and I walked down the same streets and neighborhoods where only days earlier I had walked in my shorts, bikini, or “elegant” western business attire.  Although the people, the faces, and the shops were all the same, one thing was remarkably distinct: the peace at being a womanI experienced for the very first time.  Ifelt as if the chains had been broken and I was finally free.  I was delighted with the new looks of wonder on people’s faces in place ofthe looks of a hunter watching his prey I had once sought.  Suddenly a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.  I no longer spent all my time consumed with shopping, makeup, getting my hair done, and working out.  Finally, I was free.Of all places, I found my Islam at the heart of what some call “the most scandalous place on earth”, which makes it all the more dear andspecial.Soon enough, news started breaking about politicians, Vatican clergymen, libertarians, and so-called human rights and freedom activists condemning the Hijab (headscarf) as being oppressive to women, an obstacle to social integration, and more recently, as an Egyptian official called it -“a sign of backwardness.”I find it to be a blatant hypocrisy when some people and so-called human rights groups rush to defend women’s rights when some governments impose a certain dresscode on women, yet such “freedom fighters” look the other way when women are being deprived of their rights, work, and education just because they choose to exercise their right to wear the Hijab.Today I am still a feminist, but a Muslim feminist, who calls on Muslim women to assume their responsibilities in providing all the support they can for their husbands to be good Muslims.  To raise their children as upright Muslims so they may be beacons of light for all humanity once again.  To enjoin good -any good - and to forbid evil -any evil.  To speak righteousness and to speak up against all ills.  To fight for our right to wear Hijab and to please our Creator whichever way we chose.  But just as importantly to carry our experience with Hijab to fellow women who may never have had the chance to understand what wearing Hijab means to us and why do we, so dearly, embrace it.Willingly or unwillingly, women arebombarded with styles of “dressing-in-little-to-nothing” virtually in every means of communication everywhere in the world.  As an ex Non-Muslim, I insist on women’s right to equally know about Hijab, its virtues, and the peace and happiness it brings to a woman’s lifeas it did to mine.  Yesterday, the bikini was the symbol of my liberty, when in actuality it only liberated mefrom my spirituality and true value asa respectable human being.I couldn’t be happier to shed my bikini in South Beach and the “glamorous” Western lifestyle to live in peace with my Creator and enjoy living among fellow humans as a worthy person.Today, Hijab is the new symbol of woman’s liberation to find who she is, what her purpose is, and the type of relation she chooses to have with her Creator.

the journey of Jermaine Jackson

When and How did you start your journey towards Islam?
It was way back in 1989 when I, along with my sister, conducted a tour to some of the countries of the Middle East.  During our stay in Bahrain, we were accorded a warm welcome.  There I happened to meet some children and had a light chitchat with them.  I put certain questions to them and they flung at me their innocent queries.  During the course of this interaction, they inquired about my religion.  I told them, "I am a Christian."  I asked them, as to what was their religion. Awave of serenity took over them.  They replied in one voice : Islam.  Their enthusiastic answer really shook me from within.  Then they started telling me about Islam.  They were giving me information, much in piece with their age.  The pitch of their voice would reveal that they were highly proud of Islam.  This is how I paced towards Islam.A very short interaction with a group of children ultimately led me to have long discourses about Islam with Muslim scholars.  A great ripple had taken place in my thought.  I made failing attempt to console myself that nothing had happened but I could not conceal this fact any longer from myself that at heart I had converted to Islam.  This I disclosed first to my family friend, Qunber Ali.  The same Qunber Ali managed to take me to Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia.  Till that time, I did not know much about Islam.  From there, in the company of a Saudi family, I proceeded for Mecca for the performance of"Umrah" [A lesser type of pilgrimage performed to Mecca].  There I made public for the first time that I had become Muslim.What were your feelings after you proclaimed that you were a Muslim?Having embraced Islam, I felt as if I were born again.  I found in Islam the answers to those queries which Ihad failed to find in Christianity.  Particularly, it was only Islam that provided satisfactory answer to the question relating to the birth of Christ.  For the first time I was convinced about the religion itself.  I pray my family members might appreciate these facts.  My family is the follower of that cult of Christianity, which is known as AVENDANCE of JEHOVA (Jehovah’s Witness).  According to its creeds, only 144,000 men would finally qualify to enter into paradise.  How come?  It remained always a perplexing creed for me.  I was surprised to know that the Bible was compiled by so many men, particularly about a volume scripted by King James.  I wondered if a man compiles a directory and then ascribes it to God, but he does not fully comply with these directions.  During my stay in Saudi Arabia, I have had the opportunity to buy a cassette released by the erstwhile British pop-singer and the present Muslim preacher, Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens).  I learnt a lot from this as well.

The real story of ice cube

                       The Story Of Ice cube               

Real Name

O'Shea Jackson 

AlbumsN.W.A.N.W.A. and the Posse (1987)Straight Outta Compton (1988)100 Miles and Runnin' (1990)Niggaz4life (1991)Westside ConnectionBow Down (1996)Terrorist Threats (2003)SoloAmerikka’s Most Wanted (1990)Kill At Will EP (1990)Death Certificate (1991)The Predator (1992)Lethal Injection (1993)War & Peace Vol. 1: The War Disc (1998)War & Peace Vol. 2: The Peace Disc (2000)Laugh Now, Cry Later (2006)Raw Footage (2008)Total Albums Sold13 million+Notes

You might know Ice Cube from his days asone of the main members of N.W.A., the group that sprung gangster rap on the masses with their street, yet politically charged lyrics. Ice Cube continued the tone of the gangster rapper with a social conscience throughout his career, and haseven had that persona transpire into a successful movie career.In an interview that touched on the confusion of whether he was an Orthodox Muslim or an involved member of the Nation of Islam, as he first projected on his1992 album, The Predator, he responded with the following, "Ah, when you say involved with the Nation, it's tricky. I never was in the Nation of Islam... I mean, what I call myself is a natural Muslim, 'cause it's just me and God. You know, going to the mosque, the ritual and the tradition, it's just not in me to do. So I don't do it."On how religion impacts his moral outlook and conscience, however, he said, “It’s all helped to shape me; half of my life Christian and the other half of my life Muslim. I realized in looking at both of them that ultimately when you know right from wrong you don’t need either of them to know how to live right. A lot of people really need a lot of religion in their life. I’m not knocking them for that at all because you gotta do what’s right for you. I’m not a person who needs a lot of that to stay on the right path, know how to respect people, and respect, believe and fear in God. So I don’t put a lot into religion

Upcoming Albums(none)

che smith chnaged His life

                       

Real Name Che Smith

Albums Blue Collar (2006)Total Albums Sold~ 0.02 million

NotesRhymefest, probably best known for his ghostwriting for Kanye West, including the hit single, Jesus Walks, was first introduced to Islam through member of the Vice Lords gang. The gangmember took him to the mosque where he was toldto listen to the Imam speak, "I heard the imam speak, and it made me cry," the rapper says. "He was speaking of community and brotherhood and love, and I saw men all around me who had their boys with them. I saw these men in this holy place, with their shoes off, prostrated before God. I said, 'That's the kind of fatherI want to be.'"Now he shares a house in Indianapolis with his mother, who has been clean (fromcrack-cocaine) for years; a teenage sister; and his young son from a brief marriage, Solomon. Rhymefest worked countless jobs to support them, eventually becominga teacher and youth counselor. He could have easily written an entire album about his close proximity to the gang life where he grew up."Discovering God was my way out," he says. "You know why some rappers glorify drug dealing? They don't tell the whole story. They don't talk about the lives destroyed by it. The children left at home who eat paint chips off the wall, that go to school hungry. They aren't telling the whole story, and I hate that."Rhymefest has also spoken out about rappers who hide behind God to help themsell records. On his blog on SOHH.com, hesays, “Even rappers are jumping in on the"use God as a shield" act. Or is it really an act? It doesn't seem as though rappers areconcerned with appealing to that religious audience yet one of DMX's last singles was "Lord Give Me A Sign." Yes, this thing reaches further than any specific denomination, when even Lupe Fiasco proudly proclaims his Muslim faith as part of the reason for his unique outlook on music and culture. Don't get it twisted, in no way am I dissing any artist who announces their faith in their music and lifestyle. For even I use my co-authoring of"Jesus Walks" as part of the advertisementfor Rhymefest as an artist. And like Lupe, I have publicly embraced my Islamic faith. Although, I personally have a difficult time calling myself a Muslim (one who submits his will to God) because I'm still striving to totally submit myself to God. So let's makethis clear, sum it up and ask the questions”“(I’m) not talking about partial submission to God or using God's name as a marketingtool. (I’m) talking about totally submitting our lives to the idea of a power greater than record sales, saving face in lieu of criticism or even our own physical lives.”

The alica's story

                               

Sister Alicia:Alicia Brown.

Interviewer:Where are you from?

Sister Alicia:I‘m from Texas.

Interviewer:Masha’Alah, so you are a Texan!

Sister Alicia:Yes, a deep east Texan!

Interviewer:How long have you been a Muslim?

Sister Alicia:I embraced Islam just yesterday.

Interviewer:Oh wow, that’s great.And would you tell me how was your life before Islam?Sister Alicia:I hated myself and everything around me. It was just like I wanted to do anything I could do to hurt myself.I didn’t come from a very religious family. Imean they say they are religious but they are not really what you would call a religious family. They are Christian Baptists, but we were the type of family that don’t go to church regularly.My parents were divorced when I was 10. So we lived with my dad after that until I was 17. My father was very very abusive to me and my younger brother. He wasn’t so much abusive to my little sister, but he was really abusive to me so much I think because I reminded him a lot of my mother.When I was 16 actually I moved in with mygrandparents. I led a pretty self-destructive lifestyle. I hated myself and everything around me. It was just like I wanted to do anything I could do to hurt myself. I just did this like it was fun, and as something I wanted to do. I’ve tried drugs, alcohol and sex and nothing ever really fulfilled me emotionally.I went back to live with my mother when I was 17, and I thought maybe it was like a different thing; a new beginning. But still I led the same pattern, and maybe it even got worse.I met my daughter’s father when I was in my senior high school. He was really funny and sweat, so I thought that was a good path for me. And we dated for a couple of years, and I ended up getting pregnant. At first, it wasn’t as bad. I wasn’tfulfilled and we didn’t have the best of things but it wasn’t bad. We had somebody for each other at least, and I was just satisfied with what I had. I didn’t ask for too much. I didn’t expect too much, as I was certainly better than what Ihad before.After my daughter was born, that’s when my friend, her father, got really heavy into drugs. It was not just drugs like Marijuana but I’m talking about hard stuff like Cocaine. I can’t say I didn’t do it, I thought it’s OK, I’ll do it too. After like three months, we came to the point where we lost everything. So I quit that and thought he had to quit too but he didn’t.Interviewer:So you broke up with him?Sister Alicia:I left him a few times trying to give him a chance after a chance because I loved him and I cared for him, and when you love and care for someone you forgive him, and a lot of people make mistakes and they are forgiven. I thought maybe he could change. Maybe I could change. I dideverything.

Interviewer:I’m sorry to hear that. Now how did you start to learn about Islam?

Sister Alicia:My daughter was actually diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome. It’s a syndrome that starts at your feet, and moves up yourbody and makes sure muscles are really weak, where your immune system attacks your central nervous system, and it causes your muscles to get really weak and moves up to different parts of your body. It happens to kids or adults. It can happen to anybody. My daughter can move her arms, but some kids get damaged layers, but thank God she didn’t get that bad. She is getting better. I met Hayat and some Muslims at the hospital, and started to ask them a lot of questions about religion and things like that.I think a lot of people are misinformed about Islam. I think a lot of people think that it’s like the Hindu religion because this is what I thought.Interviewer:What really made you get attracted to Islam? I mean you knew about Islam, but what really attracted you to Islam to decide that it will be your religion?Sister Alicia:First, I think a lot of people are misinformed about Islam. I think a lot of people think that it’s like the Hindu religion because this is what I thought. I thought it’s just something predominantlylike the Middle East type of things. I didn’t really know about Islam. When they started to tell me that a lot of Islam had to deal with the same background, because I’ve always known that there’s one God I’ve never questioned that, but I was brought up as Jesus died on a cross and that he was the son of God.But it was then like the question was why did Jesus have to die on a cross for our sins, why can't God could forgive us anyway? I mean why does that have to happen? Because God is all powerful and He could do anything, why did He have to get somebody die on a cross for our sins. Then there was the fact that the bible has been translated so many times and there were so many different versions of the bible. I can’t even count how many different churches I’ve been to. They were basically Christian churches but they all have something different and everybody can give you a different answer. I mean you can ask anybody, and they can say my bible says this or this but if it’s a different bible, so which one is the right kind and that was always confusing for me.But then when I looked at Islam, I found that there’s one Quran. Everybody knows what it says. It’s translated in the English but you can read the Arabic. It’s not something that you can’t learn or you can’t read yourself. It’s not very difficult tounderstand. It’s fairly easy to understand. It’s not like five different things that can come out of it. It’s pretty self-explained and that’s what attracted me.Interviewer:I want to know what really hit you and made you say “This is the right time to take Islam as my religion”. How did that happen with you?Sister Alicia:First, I knew in what direction I was heading, but I was really scared because when you grow up your whole life being told that it’s blasphemous to say that Jesus is not the son of God; that’s blasphemy. And in the religion I grew up in, that’s the unforgivable sin. And if you commit that unforgivable sin then you willgo to Hell.What made me get over that fear and passthat to where I could allow myself to embrace Islam, was when I was talking to Hana, Hayat’s mother, and she showed me a lot of passages and I had prayed every night before I go to bed: “Oh God please give me a sign, some kind of a clear sign to know that’s the way I’m supposed to go.” And she read a passage of Quran to me and I can’t read Arabic, so I read the English part and the last words, I don’t remember which chapter it was, but it was about Jesus saying I’m not Godand never said I was, and then in the last sentence it said “To all who are looking fora sign, this is a sign within itself”. This is asign for you. If this is what you are lookingfor, this is your sign.I actually embraced this because this is something special, because you don’t get a sign from God everyday.To me that was like an overwhelming feeling came over me and I just started to cry because I just felt like this is my sign. This is exactly what I was looking for, and God gave this to me. And I actually embraced this because this is something special, because you don’t get a sign fromGod everyday. That made me really happy and then felt love and support because nobody before was so happy for me, and I never had that before

Interviewer:How do you feel right now after you embraced Islam?

Sister Alicia:I feel really good. I feel like a big weight has been lifted off of me. I feel like I can breathe easier than ever before. I don’t have to worry about anything anymore. I’m re-born and I’m free of everything. All the sins that I have committed and all the things that happened in my life don’t matter any more.Interviewer:Alhamdulellah, now exactly all the sins you have done before are not only forgiven but actually they are swapped and they are all like mountains of good deeds right now and good blessings in-sha’Allah.

why i chose islam

                         

I was born Lew Alcindor. Now I’m Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.The transition from Lew to Kareem was not merely a change in celebrity brand name— like Sean Combs to Puff Daddy to Diddy to P. Diddy — but a transformation of heart, mind and soul. I used to be LewAlcindor, the pale reflection of what white America expected of me. Now I’m Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the manifestation of myAfrican history, culture and beliefs.For most people, converting from one religion to another is a private matter requiring intense scrutiny of one’s conscience. But when you’re famous, it becomes a public spectacle for one and all to debate. And when you convert to an unfamiliar or unpopular religion, it invites criticism of one’s intelligence, patriotism and sanity. I should know. Even though I became a Muslim more than 40 years ago, I’m still defending that choice.Unease with celebrityI was introduced to Islam while I was a freshman at UCLA. Although I had already achieved a certain degree of national fame as a basketball player, I tried hard to keep my personal life private. Celebrity made me nervous and uncomfortable. I was still young, so I couldn’t really articulate why I felt so shy of the spotlight. Over the next few years, I started to understand it better.Part of my restraint was the feeling that the person the public was celebrating wasn’t the real me. Not only did I have the usual teenage angst of becoming a man, but I was alsoplaying for one of the best college basketball teams in the country and trying to maintain my studies. Add to that the weight of being black in America in 1966 and ’67, when James Meredith was ambushed while marching through Mississippi, the Black Panther Party was founded, Thurgood Marshall was appointed as the first African-American Supreme Court Justice and a race riot in Detroitleft 43 dead, 1,189 injured and more than 2,000 buildings destroyed.I came to realize that the Lew Alcindor everyone was cheering wasn’t really the person they imagined. They wanted me to be the clean-cut example of racial equality. The poster boy for how anybody from any background — regardless of race, religion or economic standing — could achieve the American dream. To them, I was the living proof that racism was a myth.I knew better. Being 7-foot-2 and athletic got me there, not a level playing field of equal opportunity. But I was also fighting a strict upbringing of trying to please those in authority. My father was a cop with a set of rules, I attended a Catholic school with priests and nuns with more rules, and Iplayed basketball for coaches who had even more rules. Rebellion was not an option.Still, I was discontented. Growing up in the 1960s, I wasn’t exposed to many black role models. I admired Martin Luther King Jr. for his selfless courage and Shaft for kicking ass and getting the girl. Otherwise, the white public’s consensus seemed to be that blacks weren’t much good. They were either needy downtrodden folks who required white people’s help to get the rights they were due or radical troublemakers wanting to take away white homes and jobs and daughters. The “good ones” were happy entertainers, either in show business or sports, who were expected to show gratitude for their good fortune. I knew this reality was somehow wrong — that something had to change. I justdidn’t know what it meant for me.Some fans took my decision very personally, as if I had firebombed their church while tearing up an American flag.Much of my early awakening came from reading “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” as a freshman. I was riveted by Malcolm’s story of how he came to realize that he was the victim of institutional racism that had imprisoned him long before he landed in an actual prison. That’s exactly how I felt:imprisoned by an image of whoI was supposed to be. The first thing he did was push aside theBaptist religion that his parents had brought him up in and study Islam. To him, Christianity was a foundation ofthe white culture responsible for enslaving blacks and supporting the racism that permeated society. His family was attacked by the Christianity-spouting Ku Klux Klan, and his home was burned by the KKK splinter group the Black Legion.Malcolm X’s transformation from petty criminal to political leader inspired me to look moreclosely at my upbringing and forced me to think more deeply about my identity. Islam helped him find his true self and gave him the strength not only to face hostility from both blacks and whites but also to fight for social justice. I began to study the Quran.Conviction and defianceThis decision set me on an irreversible course to spiritual fulfillment. But it definitely wasn’t a smooth course. I made serious mistakes along the way. Then again, maybe thepath isn’t supposed to be smooth; maybe it’s supposed to be filled with obstacles and detours and false discoveries in order to challenge and hone one’s beliefs. As Malcolm X said, “I guess a man’s entitled to make a fool of himself if he’sready to pay the cost.”I paid the cost.As I said earlier, I was brought up to respect rules — and especially those who enforced the rules, such as teachers, preachers and coaches. I’d always been an exceptional student, so when I wanted to know more about Islam, I founda teacher in Hammas Abdul-Khaalis. During my years playing with the Milwaukee Bucks, Hammas’ version of Islam was a joyous revelation. Then in 1971, when I was 24, I converted to Islam and becameKareem Abdul-Jabbar (meaning“the noble one, servant of the Almighty”).The question I’m often asked iswhy I had to pick a religion so foreign to American culture anda name that was hard for people to pronounce. Some fans took it very personally, as if I had firebombed their churchwhile tearing up an American flag. Actually, I was rejecting the religion that was foreign to my American culture and embracing one that was part of my black African heritage. (An estimated 15 to 30 percent of slaves brought from Africa were Muslims.) Fans thought I joined the Nation of Islam, an American Islamic movement founded in Detroit in 1930. Although I was greatly influenced by Malcolm X, a leader in the Nation of Islam, I chose not to join because I wanted to focus more on the spiritual rather than political aspects. Eventually, Malcolm rejected the group right before three of its members assassinated him.My parents were not pleased bymy conversion. Though they weren’t strict Catholics, they had raised me to believe in Christianity as the gospel. But the more I studied history, the more disillusioned I became with the role of Christianity in subjugating my people. I knew, of course, that the Second Vatican Council in 1965 declared slavery an “infamy” that dishonored God and was a poison to society. But for me, it was too little, too late. The failure of the church to use its might and influence to stop slavery and instead to justify it as somehow connected to original sin made me angry. Papal bulls (e.g., “Dum Diversas” and “Romanus Pontifex”) condoned enslaving native people and stealing their lands. Conversion is a risky business because it can result in losing family, friends and community support.And while I realize that many Christians risked their lives andfamilies to fight slavery and that it would not have been ended without them, I found it hard to align myself with the cultural institutions that had turned a blind eye to such outrageous behavior in direct violation of their most sacred beliefs.The adoption of a new name was an extension of my rejection of all things in my life that related to the enslavement of my family and people. Alcindor was a French planter in the West Indies who owned my ancestors. My forebears were Yoruba people, from present day Nigeria. Keeping the name of my family’s slave master seemed somehow to dishonor them. His name felt like a branded scar of shame.My devotion to Islam was absolute. I even agreed to marry a woman whom Hammas suggested for me, despite my strong feelings for another woman. Ever the team player, I did as “Coach” Hammas recommended. I also followed his advice not to invitemy parents to the wedding — a mistake that took me more thana decade to rectify. Although I had my doubts about some of Hammas’ instruction, I rationalized them away because of the great spiritual fulfillment I was experiencing.But my independent spirit finally emerged. Not content to receive all my religious knowledge from one man, I pursued my own studies. I soon found that I disagreed with some of Hammas’ teachings about the Quran, and we parted ways. In 1973, I traveled to Libya and Saudi Arabia to learn enough Arabic to study the Quran on my own. Iemerged from this pilgrimage with my beliefs clarified and myfaith renewed.From that year to this, I have never wavered or regretted my decision to convert to Islam. When I look back, I wish I could have done it in a more private way, without all the publicity and fuss that followed. But at the time I was adding my voice to the civil rights movement by denouncing the legacy of slavery and the religious institutions that had supported it. That made it more political than I had intended and distracted from what was, for me, a much more personal journey.Many people are born into their religion. For them it is mostly a matter of legacy and convenience. Their belief is based on faith, not just in the teachings of the religion but also in the acceptance of that religion from their family and culture. For the person who converts, it is a matter of fierce conviction and defiance. Our belief is based on a combination of faith and logic because we need a powerful reason to abandon the traditions of our families and community to embrace beliefs foreign to both. Conversion is a risky business because it can result in losing family, friends and community support.Some fans still call me Lew, then seem annoyed when I ignore them. They don’t understand that their lack of respect for my spiritual choice is insulting. It’s as if they see me as a toy action figure, existing solely to decorate their world as they see fit, rather than as an individual with his own life.Kermit the Frog famously complained, “It’s not easy beinggreen.” Try being Muslim in America. According to a Pew Research Center poll on attitudes about major religious groups, the U.S. public has the least regard for Muslims — slightly less than it has for atheists — even though Islam isthe third-largest faith in America. The acts of aggression, terrorism and inhumanity committed by thoseclaiming to be Muslims have made the rest of the world afraid of us. Without really knowing the peaceful practices of most of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims, they see only the worst examples. Part of my conversion to Islam is accepting the responsibility to teach others about my religion, not to convert them but to co-exist with them through mutual respect, support and peace. One world does not haveto mean one religion, just one belief in living in peace.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NationalBasketball Association’s all-time leading scorer. During his 20 seasons in the league, he won six championships and was named its most valuable player six times.