From the German Press
Das neue Leben mit Allah
WELTONLINE24. February 2007
Von Eva Eusterhus
The number of Germans converting to Islam is increasing especially amongst young men and women who take the decision to abandon their previous lives and become Muslims. Why? Three female converts from Hamburg give an answer.
It was on a Thursday one and a half years ago that Sonja encountered Allah for the first time. A religious teacher of a Sufi Order extended his hand to her and suddenly there was, “this celestial feeling”. It happened to Ashraf two years ago. He resisted it to begin with but then he went into the prayer room. At some point he put his hands over his eyes and cried. It was completely different for Silke. She was sitting on her bed reading the Qur’an when she suddenly felt, “butterflies in her tummy”.
As different as the descriptions of Sonja’s, Ashraf’s, and Silke’s ‘revelations’ are, there is one thing they all have in common: all three have converted to Islam. They each belong to different currents of Islam but what unites them as Muslims is the conviction that the world is Allah’s creation, that Islam is the last of the revealed religions, and that Muhammad is its Prophet.
They are not alone; the number of Germans who take the step to Islam has increased greatly in recent years according to a study of the German Islamic Archives in Soest. Increasingly more young German women especially can be seen in the mosques of Hamburg for example. It appears that they are attracted by the Muslim world view that allows no division between Church and State, priests and laity, or divine and human rights.
The search for the meaning of life
At least that is how it was for Sonja. Questions such as, “Who am I, what is the meaning of life, is there a life after death?” began to build up inside her but she found no clear answers. Until the day when a friend invited her to a hadra, the weekly meeting of the Sufi order of the Burhaniya Tariqa. Initially it was the social aspect and the dance-prayers that drew the passionate musician to attend every Thursday. Then she was given a prayer to read and finally something clicked. She can’t describe exactly what it was that convinced her but any doubts faded in relation to the general realization of the relevance of Islam.
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At least that is how it was for Sonja. Questions such as, “Who am I, what is the meaning of life, is there a life after death?” began to build up inside her but she found no clear answers. Until the day when a friend invited her to a hadra, the weekly meeting of the Sufi order of the Burhaniya Tariqa. Initially it was the social aspect and the dance-prayers that drew the passionate musician to attend every Thursday. Then she was given a prayer to read and finally something clicked. She can’t describe exactly what it was that convinced her but any doubts faded in relation to the general realization of the relevance of Islam.
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