Sometimes the most extraordinary journeys begin with the most unexpected moments. For Zakaria, a young Mormon from Montreal, it started when a classmate presented Islam in a school religion class with such beautiful character that it touched his heart. When asked during an interview whether he would ever convert, the words “I might convert to Islam” left his mouth before he even understood why. That single unplanned statement set in motion a chain of events that would lead him from Mormonism through doubt, research, and ultimately into the welcoming embrace of Islam.
From Contradictions to Clarity
After that pivotal classroom moment, Zakaria returned to his Mormon faith and decided to study the Bible seriously. What he found troubled him: contradictions within the text and church members who explained the same verses in completely different ways. The belief that Jesus was God never sat right in his heart. He began researching Christianity’s foundations and concluded it was not the right path. Meanwhile, a book on how to pray in Islam kept literally returning to him every time he kicked it away in the hallway, until he finally picked it up.
I started reading the Bible and seeing contradictions. People at church always explained the same verses in different ways. I kept asking: who is explaining it right? The belief that Jesus is God just did not make sense in my heart.
How a Basketball Court Became a Doorway to Islam
- At a YMCA basketball court during Ramadan, Zakaria approached a fasting Muslim and asked if Islam included Moses and Jesus as prophets; the answer was yes
- The Muslim explained that the only difference was the belief in one God and Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the final messenger
- Despite seeing “Islam = terrorist” all over the internet, Zakaria investigated for himself and discovered the exact opposite
- He took his shahada at a mosque and describes the experience as a dream that became reality
The way we act with people, the way we dress, the way we speak, it affects people even though you don’t notice it. People watch. As soon as you wear something that shows you are a Muslim, every action you take is either dawah for Islam or against Islam.
Zakaria’s message to Muslims is powerful and direct: your character is your greatest tool of dawah. He witnessed fellow Muslims stealing and acting contrary to Islamic teachings, and saw how it pushed potential converts away. The same character that first attracted him to Islam in that classroom is the same character that will attract others. Live the Sunnah, smile at people, show good manners especially to non-Muslims, and understand that every action you take as a visible Muslim is either an invitation to Islam or a barrier against it.
