my name is Mariam
n that is my Islamic
name but my little name is Margaret
Templeton I was born in Scotland to a
house which was atheist in our house we
were not allowed ever to speak about God
and even if we learned something in
school we were not allowed to see
anything or we would be
punished for for as long as I can
remember I learned to read when I was
about
three for as long as I can remember I
have been seeking the truth about why I
am in this
world what am I here
for what am I supposed to
do we have a pleasant Interruption for
one minute
alhamdulillah you close no
um we've had some incredible things
happen and without any delay because the
brother he wants to be a
Muslim after me okay
say Allah
Allah Allah Allah
Allah and
say I declare I declare there is only
one God there is only one God and
Muhammad Muhammad is the final messenger
the final messenger
allahar
you I say it all the
time this amazing Allah is the greatest
and you know that's the reaction the
only reaction that needs to be and only
thing that needs to be said is that the
creator of the seven heavens is is
amazing he made this this gentleman come
up and uh after the sister speaks we'll
we'll get the brother to say a few words
and and explain to us a little
bit okay she said let him speak now
we'll give him a few minutes and he can
tell us I I never met him so let me sit
down and
listen hello
Alum uh I came up here out of my own
will to share a few a few words uh uh I
felt as though I needed to to explain
this to
everyone uh in fact I was born Muslim
I'm I'm an Arab my name is YF okay my
mother is
Christian my father is Muslim I grew up
here in Canada my background is
Kuwaiti and I wanted to share with
everyone my experiences that I've
learned growing up as a young boy I was
brought up upon uh the Islamic faith I
wasn't I wasn't uh strict about it my
father wasn't strict about it he didn't
enforce many of the rules upon me as he
allowed me to choose on my own my own
path and As I Grew I started to learn
more and more about Islam and I started
to appreciate it its values and it and
the beliefs behind it I experienced a
few things in my life that brought me to
a turning
point I went very very far and I almost
felt as though I I HD Rock Bottom the
end until something showed me that there
was a trer meaning out there
Allah spoke to
me he showed me that life has its own
meaning and a life can be so beautiful
when you understand what path it is you
need to take
I thank Allah alhamdulillah for showing
me the true
path that I should stray to go upon so
that inshah I'm end in Juma one
day excuse me I'm just I'm kind of
nervous uh after uh
realizing that uh it was it was the the
path that I needed to to
take I tried my very best
to learn and to be devoted to whatever I
learned next I had to to thank my
friends my family their families for
showing them and I guess the part that
that makes me feel good the most is the
fact that whatever I have learned as
little as may be I feel devoted to it
because I feel as though no one has told
me to learn this I need to find this out
on my own and when you figure out things
on your own
and when you have the desire to learn on
your
own your heart
opens and the meaning stays with you
forever thank you that's that's what I
wanted to say appreciate
it I was Bor to a house where God was
not allowed to be spoken
about as soon as I became old enough I
began to search for some information
about this person called God that other
people
mention and all through my life I have
been seeking the
truth not a particular
religion but the truth something which
made sense to me and something which
opened my heart and something which made
my life
worthwhile I have been in practical Al
every Church in the Kingdom both here
and at
home it never occurred to
me to think about
Islam I became interested in Islam When
The War took place in Iraq and I read
the terrible things that were being said
in the papers about
Muslims and I was sufficiently well
educated about other religions to know
that these things were not true that
lies were being
told and so I went seeking for a teacher
who could teach me something about the
Islamic way of life so that I would be
able to
refute these things that were being said
about Muslims which were wrong which
were lies and which came from Satan or
Satan as I called him
them I have always made
it my one of the things that I do is I
talk to
everyone uh I want to smile at everyone
and say hello and how are you and what
is your day like just to help their day
long because um Jesus spread
happiness whatever he
was and at that time I was a Roman
Catholic but I was very
unhappy and um I left the
church and I didn't know where to
go at the same time as I was seeking for
a teacher in
Islam I was praying constantly all day
to God help
[Music]
help
help over and over and over all day for
almost 2
years because I did not know what to do
where to
go a friend of a friend of a
friend brought me the name of an Alan
I think a
scholar his name was
nurin and he was an Arab born in this
country and he lived in
Ajax and he invited me to come to his
house which I did and he told me what
books to
buy and I could call him if I had
questions and that was our
relationship there were seven b volumes
of this book it was a commentary on the
Quran very excellent and if I could
remember its name I would tell
you but being one of the older
ones one of the less beautiful ones I
cannot always remember
everything so I started to study I
opened the first book I read the
acknowledgement and then I didn't start
from the back because I didn't know that
I started from the front and I was
immediately in
alakar is this correct
yes and before albak there was
[Music]
Al Al
F and I read
Al and it was as though I was struck by
lightning
tears poured from my eyes Tears like my
ey
fall my heart beat very
quickly I was sweating I was shaking
like
this I was afraid that this was
Shan that he was trying to stop me
because I have found a way where
because this book might give me the way
to
truth which is what I was seeking so I
called my
teacher and he said come I want to see
you so I went out to Ajax in the dead of
winter on the four
tree and I ride there like a block of
ice but a little suffering is nothing
for Allah as I found and I explained my
experience to my
Alan I said this is Shan what should I
do uh one of the things that took place
during
this tears was I saw my heart I could
see my heart out here bright red and
very large and rather
round not shaped like heart at all
and I was a little frightened and I told
him and I said what do you think I
should
[Music]
do and he said to
me Margaret he said you are going to
become a
Muslim and I said but I am not reading
these books in order to become a
Muslim I am reading them in order to be
able to refute the lies that are being
told by their Muslim people
I don't want to become a
Muslim and he said well Margaret you are
going to become a
Muslim because I must tell you that
there has been divine intervention in
your life I was 65 years
old I am now
66 I have been a Muslim for one
year I went on studying
with the
alum for from about November to
February and I could not wait any
longer to do my
sh and I asked him do you think it is
too soon for
me to come because I really don't want
to be a Muslim but I'm sure I will
learn and that God will forgive
me that I have not appreciated this
great gift that he gave
me I was not capable of appreciating it
I was too small too much a sinner to
appreciate this great gift that God had
given
me and he said no come on Friday the
11th of February
19
2003 and uh he
said about where you are and I said
about here he never touched me in all
the time that I was with
him and he very seldom looked at me and
he was dressed completely in white from
head to toe and he frightens me a little
bit because he was so young
he was only about
27 but very
very
knowledgeable and he said repeat after
me exactly as you said to the young
man and so on and this is what I did and
then I said to him what did I
say and he told me in English what I
said and I said then I am a
Muslim and he says yes and your name is
maram I cannot say that I am a good
Muslim I found it extremely difficult I
lost all my Catholic
friends all the friends that I taught
with uh my daughter thinks that I am
crazy my son is the only one who
believes that I made have found the
truth and he is the only one I think at
the
moment who may become a
Muslim the second thing which makes my
life very difficult is that I live in a
secular world not in a Muslim
world and I I
long with all my heart to live in a
Muslim world to have a Muslim
Community I am the only Muslim in Senior
residence where I
live
but
Allah has been very good to
me and although there are
difficulties I'm happy I am
studying I'm not praying very well I
pray everything in English because of my
age I cannot remember the rest ation so
I use a book and it says in the in the
in my instructions that anybody who
looks to the book while they are seeing
uh Salat and the Salat becomes now in
void so I ask Allah to please remember
Allah most merciful most compassionate
one that I am really only a baby
but I am a 65y old
baby and I have little
difficulties and you must help me and
this is one of the ways he is helping me
thank you