Dear Born Muslim

Dear Born Muslim

As Salamu Alaikum, There are a few things that I'd like to tell you, Revert to Born Muslim. First of all this meme pretty much sums up how I feel sometimes when you ask me my reversion story. Especially when you've just met me.

I'm picking on you, because none Muslims tend to say "Oh you converted? Cool." and Reverts just accept I'm one of them. No questions asked. Born Muslims however...tend to drop jaws, and ask for my entire life and reversion story....every...single...time.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not ashamed I reverted at all. And I'm genuinely happy when people ask, and want to know how I came to Islam.

But...please do't ask within minutes of meeting me. Because I'm much more than my reversion story. And more to the point; it's not just a story. It's someones life. My life. And I'd like you to get to know me first, and build up a friendship before I tell you the details of the most personal aspect of my relationship with God. And please, remember and accept, that sometimes people have to walk one path before they arrived at this one. And they might not want to share details of that journey. So please don't push. 

Please don't treat me like a rare commodity, and then drop me once the novelty of knowing a Revert has worn off. It's really annoying when that happens. Because to be honest, I'm not a spectacle to gawp at and admire. When you treat me differently, for better or for worse, you're unintentionally creating a divide. An "Us vs. Them" atmosphere. And at the end of the day, we're all humans. We're all Muslims and we all bow down to the same God. And that's all that matters at the end of the day.

And please PLEASE be mindful when you speak sometimes. Please don't criticise my Salah or my punctuation. Remember...you've been doing this since you were born! I've been doing this a fraction of that time. Please be patient. I'm still learning. 

And please don't say things like "I feel so bad you'll have nobody to share Iftar with during Ramadan". Or "I feel so bad you'll be spending eid alone." Make friends with me, come over, invite me over, I don't bite!

Please don't think that just because we probably come from very different cultures, that we won't have anything in common. We already have Islam in common, and that's huge! I reckon I could learn a lot from you, and maybe you could learn a little from me. We should do it over coffee and cake sometime!

And most of all please. Remember I love you for the sake of Allah, and just want to be accepted and loved back.

- Hols