ALLAH IS ONE
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00I was a Christian growing up. I would go to a Catholic church.
00:03For me it felt very ritualistic and it felt very hypocritical.
00:07Don't do this, don't do this.
00:09And it's like, it was very much driving a point home of like being afraid.
00:13And the problem was that when I would ask the questions they would never get answered.
00:16So what was your view of Islam back then?
00:19We as Americans were fed this big lie about how Muslims are evil people.
00:25And all we would see are these images of men in the streets like, you know,
00:30Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, rallying and fighting.
00:33I found my way to Los Angeles. I worked with a lot of celebrities.
00:37Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Pharrell.
00:39I was living the dream life. I had money. I was traveling.
00:42Once you get there, you're like, okay, well now what?
00:45Hollywood is a very, very dark place.
00:49To prove that, ask any child actor.
00:51Why is the suicide rate so high?
00:53Why are all these celebrities overdosing on drugs?
00:55How come none of them are happy?
00:57They're all searching for something.
01:00I somehow managed to find a copy of the Quran.
01:03I could not put it down. You couldn't take that thing away from me.
01:06Mom, I have news for you.
01:08She's like, oh my goodness, you're moving to Morocco? Alone?
01:13I landed in Morocco and from there my life changed.
01:16How did you take your shahada?
01:19It's such a hard thing to say in Arabic, but such an easy thing to say from the heart.
01:23Your heart just lights up and you're like, okay, this is it.
01:27And then you run to it and then hopefully stick to it.
01:36As-salamu alaykum, Sister Jamie Brown.
01:38Thank you so much for accepting our invitation.
01:40As the Eternal Passenger, we are very happy to have you with us.
01:43I want to start with, who is Jamie Brown? Can you tell us briefly about your life?
01:47First of all, thank you for inviting me. I appreciate that very much.
01:50My name is Jamie Brown. I am American and I grew up in the United States.
01:55As a Christian and even as a child, I was always interested in different religions.
02:01What do they mean? What do they believe in?
02:03As I was older, I got reintroduced to church.
02:06Found my way to Los Angeles and was working in Hollywood
02:11when I somehow managed to find a copy of the Quran.
02:16And the rest is history, I suppose.
02:19Can you tell us about your life while you were in Hollywood?
02:22What type of life were you living? How did your Hollywood journey start?
02:26Before I left for Hollywood, I was working as a hairstylist in a salon.
02:30And I also did graphic design.
02:32My mother is a fabulous, wonderful graphic artist.
02:36I was doing hair full-time and I went out to California
02:40thinking that I was going to work in a salon out there.
02:43But then I got hooked into the entertainment industry right away.
02:47They always say in Hollywood, it's not what you know, it's who you know.
02:50And it's absolutely true.
02:52I met one of the most amazing people I've ever met.
02:56Someone named Lisa Betwi.
02:58She looked at me one day on the day we met and she said,
03:00you don't know this yet, but I'm about to change your life.
03:03I shifted from doing hair into doing production.
03:06And then I found myself on set of a TV show and I thought,
03:09wow, I could do this.
03:11It's more fun than standing behind a chair.
03:13I would say by most people's standards, I was living the dream life.
03:16And then as things kind of progressed, I was feeling less and less fulfilled.
03:21I was living in Beverly Hills.
03:24I was working an amazing job.
03:26I had money. I was traveling.
03:28I was just having a blast.
03:30And at the end of the day, I said, you know, this is really fun,
03:34but okay, what else is there?
03:37You know, once you achieve those goals that you think you have,
03:41once you get there, you're like, okay, well now what?
03:44You know, the things that a lot of people think would make you super happy?
03:48No, they really don't.
03:50It's just a normal life on a bigger stage.
03:52You do start to realize right away that a lot of them are not happy.
03:57Mostly everything in Hollywood is fake.
03:59You know, you see these celebrities with their big mansions.
04:02Those are rented for the video shoots.
04:05You see them driving around in exotic cars.
04:08Those are rented.
04:09They arrive on set on a flatbed truck.
04:11You know, there's a lot of amazing things that happen there,
04:13but it's a very, very, very dark place.
04:16As-salamu alaykum, brothers and sisters.
04:18We saw that 80% of our audience, including this video,
04:22are not subscribed to our channel.
04:24As you know, we are a non-profit organization,
04:26and advertisements are disabled on our videos.
04:29So the only reason we are asking for this is to spread the truth.
04:33It may seem like a small act, but inshallah,
04:35it may be a means of guidance for many people.
04:38Now let's click the subscribe button and let's walk as an eternal passenger.
04:44In general, people believe that people in Hollywood have a wonderful, very happy life.
04:48As someone with a Hollywood background, do you think that's really the case?
04:51No.
04:52I think there are a handful of people in Hollywood that are very happy.
04:57Hollywood is a very, very dark place.
05:00The more you know about it, the more you want to run away from it.
05:03To prove that, ask any child actor.
05:06Why is the suicide rate so high?
05:08Why are all these celebrities overdosing on drugs?
05:12Why, if they have all the money, all the fame, all the ability to travel,
05:16live in a big house, take care of their family, buy the clothes that they want,
05:19go to the places that they want to go to,
05:20all these VIP experiences that everyone dreams of,
05:23if they have all of that, how come none of them are happy?
05:27How come none of them feel fulfilled?
05:29I'm sure there are some. I shouldn't say none.
05:32The majority of them.
05:34It's a lot of empty promises.
05:37In Hollywood, you're sold this dream that,
05:39come to the life of glitz and glamour and fame and fortune,
05:43and it's like, it's not that way.
05:47They're all searching for something.
05:50Before Islam, how was your life in regards to faith?
05:53What were you believing in?
05:54I always believed in God.
05:55I was a Christian growing up.
05:57I was oftentimes in a Methodist church with my friends.
06:00I spent some time in the Mormon organization
06:03with my best friend in junior high.
06:05I studied a lot about religions,
06:07and I always knew that there was only one God,
06:11and I always knew that I had a deep connection there,
06:14but something always felt a little bit off.
06:17I would go to a Catholic church.
06:19For me, it felt very ritualistic, and it felt very hypocritical.
06:22There are some specifics about a Catholic church
06:24that really didn't sit well with me.
06:26But I was a child, and that's what my parents did,
06:29and I didn't really have a choice.
06:31And I always remember I left church
06:33feeling the same as I did when I walked in.
06:35And I always thought, like,
06:36shouldn't you feel uplifted if you're coming here?
06:38Shouldn't you feel something?
06:41And in the Catholic church,
06:42it just felt like everything was just on the schedule.
06:44You had to say certain things at certain times.
06:46You had to do certain things at certain times.
06:48And all of this felt like
06:49it was really going through the motions for me.
06:52In terms of faith,
06:53you looked into Methodist church or Mormon churches.
06:56What didn't make sense to you in Catholicism?
06:58One of the big factors in Catholicism is
07:01they do a thing where you take communion in church.
07:03You take this wafer, the priest gives it to you,
07:05but you can only take it under certain situations.
07:08My mother was divorced,
07:12so she wasn't allowed to do that,
07:14as if she was impure.
07:15Everything was always about Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
07:18And it was always about how Jesus is so forgiving
07:20and this and that, and I said,
07:22so you don't think Jesus would allow my mom to do this?
07:24You don't think that she would be forgiven?
07:27They went their separate ways.
07:28They're peaceful.
07:29They get along great.
07:30They're friends.
07:31Why is this such a terrible thing to do in your life
07:34so much so that you aren't even allowed
07:36to do certain things in church?
07:38And I didn't like that.
07:39And then the Trinity didn't make sense to me.
07:41It's like Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
07:44Jesus and God are the same.
07:46Jesus is God in the flesh.
07:48No, it's not.
07:49What is it that's going on down here on earth
07:52that God can't see or that God can't hear
07:55or that God needs to physically come down here
07:58to witness in person?
08:00That doesn't make sense.
08:01God sees everything.
08:02He doesn't need to come down here in the body of a man.
08:04Nothing was a major deal breaker,
08:06but it's a lot of little drops in a bucket
08:09where, okay, wait, that didn't really make sense.
08:11Eh, I'll let it slide.
08:12And the problem was that when I would ask the questions,
08:14they would never get answered.
08:15In your opinion,
08:16what is the biggest and most obvious difference
08:18between your former faith, Christianity,
08:20and the religion now you believe in, Islam?
08:22The biggest difference for me
08:24is the concept of Jesus being a prophet
08:26versus Jesus being part of a Trinity
08:29because I believe that God is one.
08:33I have never thought that
08:35the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
08:38one plus one plus one does not equal one.
08:40I always kind of search for something
08:42because that part,
08:43I never really agreed with all of that.
08:46I think the fact that we really examine Jesus' life
08:49and what he preached,
08:51not what the church preaches.
08:54So we look at what did Jesus say.
08:56Jesus never said, worship me.
08:58Jesus never said, pray to me.
09:00And if Jesus had his face on the ground
09:02and he was praying,
09:03if he was God in the flesh,
09:06who would he be praying to?
09:08It doesn't make sense.
09:09And I know how things go
09:10because when you're in a Christian church,
09:12it's just, this is what we believe.
09:14Like, how dare you question that?
09:16And I experienced that firsthand
09:18when I would ask pastors
09:19of not just one church, but several.
09:22And I would constantly get the same answers.
09:24And it's always like,
09:25believe that Jesus is God,
09:26pray to Jesus, don't ask questions.
09:28And I love that Islam says,
09:30oh, absolutely not.
09:32Don't take anybody's word for it
09:33and you better ask questions.
09:35So what was your view of Islam back then?
09:37Did you have any prejudice against Islam?
09:40Early on, I didn't really have
09:41any prejudice towards Islam.
09:43I didn't like the news
09:44that was showing all the terrorists
09:46and, you know, all we would see
09:49are these images of men in the streets,
09:51like, you know, Allah, Allah, Allah,
09:54but rallying and fighting
09:55and they're showing them with, you know,
09:57big machine guns
09:58and they're just portraying them
10:00on the actual news
10:02as if it was on a Hollywood set.
10:04We as Americans were fed
10:07this big lie about how
10:10Muslims are evil people
10:12and they're, you know,
10:14they're out to get us.
10:15No, they're not.
10:16I just thought it was this kind of
10:18mysterious religion
10:19that I didn't know about,
10:21nor did I have a reason to know about
10:23because I thought it was so different
10:25than my own upbringing
10:26that I thought, well, you know,
10:28let them do their thing.
10:29I'll do my thing.
10:30I don't know.
10:31It seems kind of crazy.
10:33They're on carpets in public
10:34and I don't know what they're doing.
10:36Let them live.
10:37How did your journey to Islam begin?
10:39I was working on a show
10:40and one of the colleagues
10:42that I was working with,
10:44he would disappear on Fridays
10:46for a few hours
10:47and he would leave.
10:48And I always would ask him,
10:49like, where are you going?
10:50Like, why do you always just disappear?
10:51Like, I know you're not taking lunch.
10:53What are you doing?
10:54And so he told me,
10:55well, I'm Muslim
10:56and on Fridays we go and we pray.
10:58And then I responded with,
10:59well, why don't you just come
11:00to church with me one time
11:01and see how you like it?
11:02And he said, definitely not.
11:03Thank you,
11:04but I'm not at all interested in that.
11:06And then that made me angry.
11:08I couldn't understand
11:09why he didn't even want
11:10to give it a chance.
11:11And I said,
11:12what has him so stuck
11:14on his religion
11:16that he won't even come
11:17for 45 minutes on a Sunday?
11:19And so that's when I asked him.
11:21I said, OK,
11:22I would like to read your
11:23whatever book that you have
11:25and then I would like to come back
11:26to you and tell you
11:27using your own verses
11:28why this doesn't make sense
11:30and why you should be Christian
11:32and hopefully then
11:33you can be saved
11:35and, you know, come to Jesus
11:37and then he said, sure, sure.
11:39I'll give you the book.
11:40I started reading it
11:42and I was like,
11:43wait a second.
11:45This actually makes sense.
11:47OK, hold on now.
11:48And so then I became
11:49really interested
11:50and I started reading
11:51and reading and reading
11:52and as you can see,
11:53I was unsuccessful
11:54in converting him
11:55to Christianity,
11:56but I was extremely successful
11:58in becoming Muslim myself.
12:01So it didn't go
12:02as I thought it would,
12:03but Alhamdulillah,
12:04it was the best outcome.
12:05One of the things
12:06that I discovered
12:07was that there's one copy,
12:08not a hundred or more.
12:10You know, there were
12:11so many different versions
12:12of the Bible
12:13and I always thought,
12:14well, how come my friend
12:15sitting next to me,
12:16she has two extra verses in hers,
12:17but on my text,
12:18those verses aren't there.
12:20Who's editing this?
12:21When I learned that
12:22there was only one Quran
12:23and not a single letter
12:24has changed,
12:25I was like, oh.
12:27I was always exposed
12:28to this concept of,
12:31you know, just believing,
12:33just believe.
12:34Well, if you don't believe,
12:35then you don't have faith.
12:36And I'm like, well,
12:37shouldn't it make sense
12:38what I'm believing in?
12:39And I would ask the pastors
12:40in the church.
12:41I would say, well,
12:42Jesus is God in the form of flesh.
12:45So God came into Jesus' body,
12:48but Mary gave birth to Jesus.
12:50So you're telling me
12:51Mary gave birth to God?
12:54No.
12:55And then if God was in Jesus' body
12:59and then they nailed him
13:00to a cross and killed him,
13:02so God died?
13:03Okay, so who's running the world?
13:05So as I started
13:06to read the Quran
13:07and it was really teaching like,
13:08no, Jesus was a prophet.
13:10So all these things
13:11did not make sense.
13:12And then as I started
13:13to read the Quran,
13:14it just felt right.
13:15You just know.
13:16It's just like there's something
13:17that your heart just lights up
13:19and you're like,
13:20okay, this is it.
13:21And that's something
13:22that I think born Muslims
13:25will not understand.
13:26It's a way that you just,
13:29it's like you,
13:32I don't know,
13:33you just know.
13:34And you're happy when it happens
13:36and then you run to it
13:39and then hopefully stick to it.
13:43Was it difficult for you
13:44to leave your career
13:46after you decided
13:47to become a Muslim?
13:48Absolutely not.
13:49Super easy.
13:50I was tired of it.
13:51There was nothing
13:52fulfilling left anymore.
13:53You know, you have this vision
13:55that you think
13:56that LA is going to be
13:58and then once you get there,
13:59you realize,
14:01whoa, it looks a lot different
14:02than it does on TV.
14:03The reality of living there
14:05is a lot different
14:06than what I expected.
14:07It was amazing.
14:08It was fun,
14:09but I had pretty much
14:10squeezed everything out of LA
14:11that I needed.
14:12And at this point,
14:13I was looking for something else
14:14way more fulfilling
14:15than, you know,
14:16driving a fancy car,
14:17living in a fancy neighborhood,
14:18doing the things that I did.
14:19None of that mattered to me at all.
14:21And people would say,
14:22how do you just pack everything
14:23into one suitcase?
14:24How do you just get rid
14:25of all your stuff?
14:26And I said,
14:27who cares about things?
14:28And I joke with my friends
14:29and I'll say,
14:30and they're like,
14:31oh, I could never leave.
14:32I have all my stuff.
14:33And I'm like,
14:34stuff, who cares?
14:35What is it about
14:36your bed frame
14:37at your house
14:38that is just so wonderful
14:39that you can't separate
14:40yourself from that?
14:41I'm like, come on,
14:42who cares?
14:43It's just things.
14:44They're just belongings.
14:45So for me,
14:46it was really easy
14:47to just leave a life
14:48where, like,
14:49the materialistic life
14:50is so praised.
14:51When I moved,
14:52I had a very illegal rummage sale,
14:56we will call it,
14:57on Sunset Boulevard
14:58where I,
14:59maybe this was preparing me
15:01for silk life
15:02in advance
15:03and I didn't know,
15:04but I put down
15:05a big sheet of plastic
15:06on the ground
15:07outside of a park
15:08in Sunset Boulevard
15:09and I just put
15:10all of my stuff on it
15:12and I just told people,
15:13like,
15:14take what you want.
15:15After starting reading
15:16the Quran,
15:17why did you leave
15:18your dream city,
15:19LA,
15:20and move to Morocco?
15:21The reason why
15:22I left Los Angeles
15:23is because I knew
15:24that as somebody
15:25who knew she was about
15:26to officially take
15:27the Shahada,
15:28I knew that
15:29with the people
15:30that I was hanging around with,
15:32the lifestyle
15:33that I was living,
15:34you know,
15:35the job that I was working at,
15:36I felt really out of place
15:38in the place
15:39that I felt the most
15:41in place with before,
15:43if that makes sense.
15:44I really fit in in LA
15:46and I loved every bit of it,
15:48but then as soon
15:50as I found Islam,
15:51all of the things
15:52that I used to love,
15:53I just didn't want
15:54to be a part of anymore
15:55and so I knew
15:56that I couldn't just call
15:57my friends one day
15:58and say,
15:59hey, by the way,
16:00so I'm just going
16:01to be Muslim
16:02and I'm going to wear hijab
16:03and we're probably
16:04never going to hang out again
16:05because the place
16:06says you want to hang out,
16:07I don't want to hang out
16:08and things like that.
16:09So I knew that I had
16:10to remove myself
16:12from my surroundings
16:14so that I could change myself
16:16and so when I moved to Morocco,
16:17I didn't tell anybody
16:18that it's because
16:19I wanted to be Muslim
16:21and so on the way,
16:23after I left LA,
16:24I came back home
16:26for about a week
16:27to just kind of like,
16:28you know,
16:29say goodbye to my family
16:30and, you know,
16:31make a little pit stop
16:32before heading to Morocco.
16:33So I did that,
16:34but I didn't want to tell
16:36my family anything about it
16:38because I just didn't want
16:40their opinions of Islam
16:43to maybe affect me
16:45or maybe doubt
16:46what I wanted to do
16:47or second guess,
16:48hey, you know,
16:50you're moving
16:51to another continent alone
16:53with nobody there
16:55if anything goes wrong
16:56and you don't speak
16:57either of the languages,
16:58like you don't have
16:59a job lined up,
17:00you don't have a house in place,
17:01like, are you good?
17:04You know,
17:05so I didn't want them
17:06to kind of discourage me
17:08from doing that
17:09and so I kept it to myself
17:11and when I said my Shahada,
17:13I didn't really tell my family
17:16for about a year.
17:18What did you tell your parents
17:19and family
17:20when you were moving to Morocco?
17:21For what reason
17:22were you moving,
17:23you told them?
17:24When they asked me
17:25why I was moving to Morocco,
17:26my answer was,
17:27why not?
17:28I'm a very brave,
17:30fearless person.
17:31I'm not afraid of a challenge.
17:33I'm very spontaneous.
17:35You can give me a wild idea
17:38and say, hey,
17:39do you want to do this?
17:40And I'll be like, yeah,
17:41let me get my coat, let's go.
17:42You know, I'm that kind of person.
17:43So I called her
17:44from Los Angeles.
17:45I said, okay, mom,
17:46I have news for you.
17:47I'm leaving LA
17:48and she said,
17:49ah, you're finally moving
17:50back home.
17:51I was like, nope,
17:52moving to Africa,
17:53two months.
17:54And she was like,
17:55oh my goodness.
17:56She's like, Jamie,
17:57nothing you do
17:58even shocks me anymore.
18:00She's like,
18:01you're moving to Morocco alone?
18:03What are you going to do there?
18:05I said, I don't know.
18:07I'll find out when I get there,
18:08I guess.
18:09And so, you know,
18:10I look back and I'm like,
18:11oh, stuck for a while
18:13for all the times
18:14I've stressed my parents out
18:15with just doing crazy things.
18:17But although they might not agree
18:19with all my choices,
18:20they definitely support them.
18:22Then what happened?
18:23You were amazed by the Quran.
18:24So how did you move
18:25your next steps
18:26towards your shahada?
18:28So once I got this copy
18:30of the Quran,
18:31I could not put it down.
18:32You couldn't take
18:33that thing away from me.
18:34I was reading it all day,
18:35every day.
18:36This goes back to
18:37people always ask me
18:38why Morocco?
18:39Why did I choose Morocco
18:40to move to make my hijab?
18:41And I say, I don't know.
18:43I have no idea
18:44because I would read the Quran
18:45and every single time
18:47that I did,
18:48it started off as a whisper.
18:50I would always like,
18:51you know, close the book
18:52and then I would,
18:53I would think about Morocco
18:54and I didn't think anything
18:55of it at first.
18:56I was, oh, yeah, okay, cool.
18:57And then it started to become
18:59more and more obvious
19:00and it was like the whisper
19:02became louder and louder.
19:03I'm not scared of anything.
19:05So I said, well,
19:06I can move to LA by myself.
19:08Surely I can move to Africa
19:10by myself.
19:11So I packed everything
19:13and took one suitcase
19:14and decided to move
19:16to Agadir, Morocco.
19:18I was doing that
19:19because I wanted to say my shahada
19:21in a Muslim country.
19:22December 15th, 2010,
19:26I landed in Morocco
19:27and from there my life changed.
19:29Can you tell us how you felt
19:30when you took your shahada?
19:32In detail, please.
19:34It was New Year's Eve, 2010
19:37and I went to Casablanca
19:40and the Hassan Tani Mosque,
19:41this big huge mosque
19:42right on the shore of the ocean.
19:44I kind of went in
19:45like this back door area
19:47and they asked me all these questions
19:48like, you know,
19:49is anybody making you do this?
19:51Like, are you ready?
19:52Are you sure?
19:53And I said, okay.
19:54They gave me some instructions.
19:55Of course I was filmed,
19:56camera with gigantic lights
19:57in my face.
19:58I am shaking like a leaf,
19:59so nervous.
20:00I don't speak Arabic, obviously.
20:02So I opened the door
20:04and I'm blinded
20:05by this like camera light
20:06and I look out
20:07and I can just see
20:09what looks like
20:11a never ending group of people
20:13and they're all just like
20:14staring at me.
20:15So of course it made me
20:16so much more nervous.
20:18So he's got his tiny mic
20:20like this, you know,
20:21he's telling me this
20:22and he's, you know,
20:23this whole thing.
20:24And so I say it
20:25and afterwards I hear this
20:27this uproar of
20:29Allahu Akbar!
20:31Allahu Akbar!
20:32And I was like,
20:34they're all doing that for me?
20:35Why do they care?
20:36Like, I didn't understand
20:37why anyone cared
20:39and why they were so excited.
20:40I'm like, nobody here
20:41knows who I am.
20:42I'm like, what is the big deal?
20:43It was
20:46such a hard thing to say
20:48in Arabic
20:49but such an easy thing
20:50to say from the heart.
20:51And then, you know,
20:52the door closed.
20:54I took a minute
20:55because they were asking me
20:56to pray.
20:57They were like,
20:58okay, pray to Rakat
20:59but I didn't know
21:00how to pray.
21:01And so I felt like
21:02I was being very fake
21:03because I didn't know
21:04what I was doing
21:05and they were super emotional
21:06and they seemed very into it
21:07and I was like,
21:08uh, stand up,
21:09bend over, stand up,
21:10face on the ground,
21:11I don't know.
21:12And I didn't know
21:13how to pray
21:14so I felt really
21:15kind of inadequate
21:16right away
21:17because I'm like,
21:18okay, here I am,
21:19I'm Muslim
21:20and then all these Muslims
21:21are praying
21:22and I still feel like
21:23the new person
21:24that doesn't know
21:25what to do.
21:26And so I was like,
21:27uh, okay,
21:28and I just kind of prayed
21:29not really knowing
21:30what I was doing
21:31but I was so,
21:32still almost in a state of shock
21:33about what I had just done
21:34so it almost felt surreal.
21:35And then after that,
21:36the few weeks
21:37after I had taken my Shahada,
21:39it was really just
21:40this overwhelming gush
21:42of emotions
21:43and I just felt like
21:45a totally different person
21:46and I was just really,
21:47really thirsty,
21:49really thirsty
21:50for Deen.
21:51Have you ever come across
21:52a hijabi person
21:53and what thoughts
21:54crossed your mind?
21:55I met my friend's mom
21:58who was Muslim
21:59and she had come in
22:02to Los Angeles
22:03for a visit
22:04and I got to meet her
22:05and we took a walk
22:06down the boardwalk
22:07on Venice Beach
22:09and she was wearing
22:10a long sleeve abaya
22:11and a hijab
22:12and of course I'm asking her
22:13the usual questions,
22:14aren't you hot?
22:15Aren't you hot in that?
22:16You know,
22:17like do you really wear that
22:18all the time?
22:19Like what if you want
22:20to go swimming?
22:21And this is me
22:22asking a million questions
22:23and she was so strong,
22:24so, so, so strong,
22:25I can't even talk about it,
22:26I'll get emotional.
22:28She was so strong
22:29in her faith
22:31and it really inspired me
22:32to kind of look deeper
22:33into it like,
22:34how is she like
22:35torturing herself
22:36in this heat?
22:37You know,
22:38how is she,
22:39how is she so committed
22:40and so dedicated
22:41that she's not gonna even
22:43let even her wrist show?
22:45You know,
22:46and I was so truly inspired
22:48and like,
22:49it's hard not to cry
22:52because I get really emotional
22:54about it
22:55and she inspired me so much
22:57that I named my daughter
22:58after her.
22:59So she was definitely
23:00my first impression
23:01of a Muslim
23:02and the best impression
23:03of a Muslim.
23:05How did you start
23:06wearing hijab?
23:07When I first put hijab on,
23:09I was coming in
23:12on a flight to Morocco
23:13at night
23:14and I had a backpack
23:16with me on the plane
23:17and in that backpack
23:18was a scarf.
23:19A big thick,
23:20ridiculous scarf.
23:22I remember getting off
23:23that plane
23:24and saying to myself,
23:25this is it.
23:26As soon as I get off
23:27this plane
23:28and my feet touch the earth
23:29here in Morocco,
23:30this is when my
23:31second chapter of my life
23:34truly begins
23:35and I wanna start that off
23:36on the right foot.
23:37So I took that scarf
23:38and I went into the bathroom
23:39in the airport
23:40and I tried to wrap it up nicely
23:42and I did not do it
23:43very nicely,
23:44but I said,
23:45well, you know,
23:46it's my first time,
23:47we'll see how this goes
23:48and so I put it on
23:49and I wrapped it around
23:50and I've never taken it off
23:51since that day,
23:52alhamdulillah.
23:53For the people that say,
23:54you know,
23:55it's very restrictive,
23:56it's very oppressive,
23:57it restricts my freedom,
23:59nobody was holding me
24:00at gunpoint
24:01to put a hijab on,
24:02you know.
24:03When I left Morocco
24:04and I came to the United States
24:05again,
24:06people asked me,
24:07why don't you take it off?
24:08You're not in Morocco anymore.
24:09I said,
24:10well, my faith does not
24:11depend on my location.
24:12I don't wanna take it off
24:13and I think a lot of people
24:14were shocked
24:15that when I came back to America
24:16that I didn't take it off.
24:17Do you also give dawah
24:18to the people around you
24:19and how do you do this?
24:21So I do give dawah
24:22all the time.
24:23I like to call it
24:24unspoken dawah,
24:25meaning,
24:26how do I carry myself
24:28in public?
24:29When I am around someone
24:31that's maybe
24:32looking at me strange
24:33because maybe they've
24:34never seen someone in hijab
24:36or maybe they don't know
24:37what to think of me
24:38because I'm white,
24:40I don't speak with an accent,
24:41I don't look like
24:42I'm from the Middle East,
24:43so I'm the colorful,
24:44outgoing, friendly Muslim
24:46that speaks in the same accent
24:48they speak in,
24:49you know,
24:50so a lot of times
24:51people will ask me questions
24:52and I will give dawah
24:54to them
24:55if they initiate it.
24:56I don't chase people down
24:58and try to teach them
24:59about Islam,
25:00but, you know,
25:01friends or people that I know
25:02or even strangers,
25:03if they ask me questions,
25:04I always say,
25:05I'm not here to preach to you,
25:06I'm not here to convert you
25:07to Islam,
25:08I'm here to help you
25:10and answer any questions
25:12that you might have,
25:13but, you know,
25:14I'm not going to push
25:15my religion on you.
25:16So did anyone
25:17become Muslim
25:18after being inspired by you?
25:20Okay, so I was living
25:21in Morocco
25:22and there were several of us
25:24and we were all sitting
25:25at this cafe.
25:26A few tables away
25:27was a girl
25:28and her mother
25:29and the girl was probably
25:30like 13 or 14,
25:31maybe 15,
25:32and she kept staring at us
25:34and we didn't think
25:35anything of it, you know.
25:36Some of us were wearing
25:38like the traditional,
25:39like, well,
25:40I don't know how traditional it is,
25:41but the khemar
25:42with the two pieces
25:43and some of us
25:44were in the cob.
25:45She kept staring at us
25:46and, oddly enough,
25:48we're all white
25:49and we all have blue eyes,
25:50so in a Muslim country,
25:52we do kind of stand out.
25:53You have a table full of like
25:54seven blue-eyed
25:55white reverts
25:56and, yeah,
25:57people are going to notice,
25:58you know.
25:59I just kind of kept my eye on her
26:00and I noticed that
26:01she started crying
26:02and she was crying
26:03for quite a while
26:04and I felt really bad
26:05and I had my laptop at the time.
26:06I wanted to leave her
26:07a little note,
26:08but, you know,
26:09I do speak Moroccan Arabic,
26:11but I wanted to leave her
26:12a note in Fusa.
26:13So I took a paper
26:15and I opened my laptop
26:16and got on Google Translate
26:17and I'm trying to write out
26:18in Arabic
26:19a note to her saying like,
26:21you know,
26:22whatever you're crying about,
26:23may Allah ease your pain.
26:26So as I'm writing this note,
26:28I'm almost done
26:29and her and her mom
26:30stand up and they go to leave
26:32and I'm thinking,
26:33I cannot let this girl leave.
26:34I have to give her this note.
26:35They start to leave
26:36and they kind of like
26:37are walking past our table
26:39and I flag her down
26:40and I said,
26:41excuse me, excuse me,
26:42and I brought her over
26:43and I kind of said,
26:44do you speak English?
26:45She didn't.
26:46I'm trying to tell her like,
26:47hey, I'm actually writing this
26:48and I show her my screen
26:49and I'm like,
26:50you see this?
26:51I'm like,
26:52I'm writing this for you
26:53and so I just hold up my laptop
26:54so she can just read the Arabic
26:55and she just bursts into tears
26:56and so, you know,
26:57she speaks English a little bit,
26:58you know,
26:59and I always say like,
27:00no, I don't,
27:01but they speak English.
27:02She'd also,
27:03she tells us,
27:04she was like,
27:05I was sitting with my mom
27:06and I've been wanting
27:07to wear hijab
27:08for the past few months.
27:09I haven't felt the strength
27:10to be able to do that.
27:11I don't know how to like
27:12break it to my friends
27:13that I want to start
27:14wearing hijab
27:15and she said,
27:16when I looked over
27:17at all of you
27:18and not only
27:19are you all rebirths
27:20but you're all covered
27:21and you're all like
27:22very covered,
27:23she said,
27:24it just really
27:25made me realize
27:26how strong
27:28you are
27:29and how much
27:30you can just
27:31make you
27:32and she says,
27:33as a born Muslim,
27:34we're so scared
27:35of what our friends think
27:36but seeing that you guys
27:37care what no one thinks
27:38and you're doing it
27:39clearly for the pleasure
27:40of Allah,
27:41it just makes me want
27:42to put hijab
27:43on so much more now
27:44so of course,
27:45all of us are crying
27:46at this time
27:47and we're like,
27:48come here,
27:49come here,
27:50we all give her a big hug
27:51and we exchange numbers
27:52and oddly enough,
27:53about two weeks later,
27:54I happened to run into
27:55her and her mother.
27:56She was wearing a full
27:57maxi skirt,
27:58long sleeves
27:59and full hijab
28:00and I was really,
28:01really,
28:02really happy to see that.
28:03We know that Islam
28:04brings solutions
28:05to every issues of life.
28:06What are the three
28:07biggest problems
28:08of the American society
28:09you think that Islam
28:10can solve?
28:11I would say,
28:12it's not three.
28:13It's the entire society.
28:14The entire society
28:15needs help.
28:16The entire society
28:17has completely
28:18fallen from grace.
28:19I think Islam
28:20would benefit
28:21America
28:22in nearly every aspect
28:23and it's not
28:24just Islam
28:25in nearly every aspect
28:26and I don't mean that
28:27in a very extreme way.
28:28It just means
28:29it's a guideline.
28:30Islam is not this
28:31rigid set of rules
28:32that are going to
28:33make your life miserable.
28:34No,
28:35it's a guideline
28:36to live a complete
28:37and happy life
28:38in a way that
28:39you're pleasing Allah
28:40at the same time
28:41and if you just
28:42make small changes,
28:43I feel like it would have
28:44immeasurable benefit
28:45to society
28:46but I can't pinpoint
28:47an area
28:48where Islam
28:49would fix something
28:50because
28:51I don't think
28:52it would be
28:53where Islam
28:54would fix something
28:55because Islam
28:56would literally fix
28:57everything.
28:58If you had the chance
28:59to speak to all
29:00the non-Muslims
29:01in the world,
29:02if you could address them,
29:03what would you like
29:04to say to them?
29:05Don't listen to
29:06what you see
29:07on the media.
29:08Do your own research.
29:09Talk to a Muslim.
29:10You want to know
29:11what goes on
29:12inside of a mosque?
29:13Show up to one.
29:14Walk inside.
29:15Don't draw
29:16your opinion
29:17of Islam
29:18or Muslims
29:19based on
29:20what you see.
29:21Draw your opinion
29:22because it will be
29:23the opposite
29:24of what you've been shown.
29:26After witnessing
29:27what's going on
29:28in Gaza,
29:29many non-Muslims
29:30were really interested
29:31in Islam
29:32from America as well.
29:33So, how do you see
29:34the future of Islam
29:35in America?
29:36Well, I can't say for sure
29:37because I can't see
29:38into the future
29:39but I do know
29:40that after 9-11
29:41there was
29:42a huge amount
29:43of reverts
29:44that came from that.
29:45So,
29:46I think
29:47this is a lot different
29:48because
29:49when we looked at
29:509-11,
29:51we were told
29:52that
29:53terrorists did it
29:54which obviously
29:55they didn't.
29:56We were told
29:57that these terrorists
29:58were attacking us
29:59on our homeland
30:00and despite
30:01being attacked
30:02in our own home
30:03there were still
30:04so many reverts
30:05coming out of this.
30:06Now we're looking
30:07at something
30:08where
30:09you see the world
30:11and the way
30:12they're looking at
30:13what's happening
30:14in Gaza,
30:15their hearts
30:16are shattering.
30:17So,
30:18if you can produce
30:19a lot of reverts
30:20from an event
30:21that directly
30:22hurt Americans,
30:23think about
30:24how many reverts
30:25can come
30:26from a situation
30:27where
30:28we are not
30:29being attacked,
30:30we're just
30:31witnessing evil.
30:32And so,
30:33I think
30:34a lot of people
30:35have seen
30:36the unshakable
30:37faith.
30:44The unshakable
30:45faith of the Palestinians
30:46as Muslims
30:47we need to learn
30:48from them.
30:49You know,
30:50you see these people
30:51that are experiencing
30:53truly unimaginable
30:56tragedy.
30:57And we don't have
30:58to imagine it
30:59because we're seeing it
31:00in real time
31:02and despite
31:05truly
31:06unbearable
31:07human conditions
31:09they all have
31:10their fingers up
31:11and they're all saying
31:12La ilaha illallah
31:13every time.
31:15And for
31:16the world to witness
31:17the way that
31:18the way that
31:19Muslims truly rely
31:20on Allah
31:22you don't see
31:23from those Muslims
31:24the reaction
31:25that the world would expect.
31:26You see the exact opposite.
31:27You see the tender moments,
31:28the soft hearts.
31:30You see people
31:31helping each other.
31:32The world is finally seeing
31:33Muslims are not
31:34the monsters
31:35that we've been
31:36portrayed as
31:37for so long.
31:38You know,
31:39we're not characters
31:40in movies
31:41with, you know,
31:43strips of fabric
31:44tied around the head
31:45and guns everywhere.
31:46That's not
31:47that's not the Muslim.
31:48The Muslim is the one
31:49who is
31:50who is getting
31:51killed
31:52at Al-Aqsa.
31:53The Muslim is the one
31:54who is
31:55burying his wife
31:56and his 11 children
31:58and still
31:59saying Alhamdulillah
32:00Alhamdulillah
32:01and still having the strength.
32:02So the world is seeing
32:03that the Muslims
32:04are truly a group
32:05of
32:07gentle-hearted
32:08faith-based
32:09people
32:10who knows that
32:11it truly does
32:12take a village
32:13to raise a child.
32:14And so
32:15when we see
32:16a Muslim
32:17that now have
32:18no family
32:19look at how these doctors
32:20are caring for them
32:21as if they're own
32:22and we're seeing
32:23this side of Islam
32:25that's undeniable.
32:26You can take away
32:27everything
32:28from a Muslim
32:29but you cannot
32:30take away our faith.
32:31May Allah
32:32allow you
32:33to inshallah
32:34enter his paradise
32:35and
32:36thank you so much
32:37for your efforts
32:38inshallah
32:39to be an ambassador
32:40of Islam.
32:41Thank you so much
32:42for having me.
32:43Ameen to everything
32:44that you said
32:45and if anybody's
32:46watching this
32:47please make dua
32:48for my parents
32:49that they become Muslim
32:50inshallah