Gabriel — or Jabel, as his name translates in Portuguese — grew up in a small city in Brazil in a Catholic family. Like many Brazilian Catholics, his family attended church on Sundays and venerated saints and images, but something never sat right with him. The worship of idols and confessing sins to a priest instead of directly to God simply did not make sense. His search for truth would take him from Catholicism to Evangelical Christianity, and finally across the world to Australia — where he would discover Islam.
From Brazil to Islam in Australia
While studying English in Australia, Gabriel befriended classmates from Saudi Arabia. Everything he had known about Islam came from news headlines about terrorism — but what he witnessed firsthand was entirely different. Their character, their treatment of one another, and their way of life caught his attention. When they explained that Islam means worshiping God alone — no idols, no saints, no intermediaries — it resonated with what he had always felt in his heart.
“The main thing that caught me was the fact that in Islam we only worship Allah — God alone. Nothing else. We do not worship Prophet Muhammad, we do not worship Prophet Jesus. We believe in all of them, but we only worship the Creator.”
A Faith That Makes Complete Sense
- Becoming Muslim is simple: testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His final messenger — no elaborate rituals required
- Islam answered his deepest concern: why worship creation when you can worship the Creator directly?
- Since accepting Islam, every aspect of his life improved — his relationships with parents, friends, and his own sense of purpose
- Islam teaches that this life is a test and the Hereafter is our true home — giving believers patience in hardship and gratitude in ease
“Islam means peace and submission. A Muslim is a person who submits to the Creator. Why would I worship the creation instead of the Creator who gave us life, sustains us, and will resurrect us on the Day of Judgment?”
