Survey reveals reasons for more than 200 residents to convert to the ‘religion of peace’
Finding peace, ‘way to heaven’, becoming a better person and becoming more religious — these are some of the reasons why more than 200 UAE residents decided to convert to Islam.
In a survey conducted by Kalemah Islamic Centre in Dubai, residents revealed why they became Muslims.
One Filipino expat in Dubai, who was a Catholic, said she converted to pray five times a day and to listen to the Azan. “In the Philippines, we don’t listen to the Azan. This was my first time,” she said.
A Ukranian woman said: “I moved to the UAE and was impressed with how they prayed and how honourable they were with the religion.”
Another Filipino expat said: “A friend has been a very good example of being a Muslim and it caught my attention. I love how Islam teaches children to show respect to their parents and how important family is.”
When asked about the ‘major difficulty’ they experienced after converting to Islam, a majority of respondents said it was informing their families about the conversion.
A French expat in the UAE, Mathieu Garvi, said his father was an atheist and his mother, a Christian. He had a Christian upbringing, but started questioning his faith after meeting a Muslim-Morroccan friend, back in France.
“We were playing video games and he stopped and said he would be back after prayer. And then I thought ‘wow, he stopped in the middle of the game to pray’,” Garvi said.
After that, he started studying the Bible. He also studied Buddhism, but he said it wasn’t what he “was looking for”.
“I started reading the Holy Quran and I was so convinced. It didn’t have any contradictions and was clear,” he said.