greetings of peace welcome to the D show
every week we're here enlightening you
with our guests that come in share their
stories and my next guest coming out in
a second eight years he spent in the
monastery before that he was an atheist
he denied God and he went through the
whole party phase hanging out at the
clubs doing what men do you know
nowadays just chasing all the worldly
things and he's here with us today to
talk about the transitions that he made
in life and how he's gotten on the D
show today on this new way of life this
way of life that brings peace prosperity
in this life satisfaction in the soul
he's got it and he's here to share his
story with us so you can get it too here
in addy show with my next guest Sicilian
that's right we're going to ask him if
he knows Michael Corleone because the
man is obviously someone who's from the
Sicilian background and so we got a lot
to talk to him about when we come back
here on the D show don't go anywhere
this is the this is the thing you know
this is the day sister danger this is
the things he's been Huson alaikum
Salaam Michael che chair no the chair no
the chair of the chair oh so I was out
as I was opening up at the end I forgot
to mention from I mentioned from Sicily
Sicily you were born no America born of
America but my family Sicilian ok did
you know Marco Corleone know talk about
from the Godfather yes yeah now that's
right away a big misconceptions because
as soon as you say you know people
confuse the two it's a Cillian or
Italian right away people are like ok
these are the mafia how far is that from
the truth as far as Islam and terrorism
is from from the truth yeah that's a
good way to start now did the same way
you know all Italians to cellular
they're not in the Mafia are they nope
Muslims aren't terrorists nope yeah and
you found that out you went through a
whole big journey where'd you start
where did the journey start well when I
was a young kid of course I you know
grew up in a theist born into a Roman
Catholic background as I was growing up
my family never talked about God or you
would hear Jesus but it would be with
swear words or curse words that's about
it but we never went to church I was
baptized I had First Holy Communion you
know the sacraments of the Church
those are the only two days I ever
remember going to church but I myself I
never believed in God through my teenage
years I because of my denial of God I
mean if you don't have God then you have
to be filled with something else
and so throughout my teenage years what
I was doing was filling myself with you
know women different kinds of drugs
alcohol the party lifestyle I wanted to
do what I wanted I quit school in the
ninth grade got a full-time job my dad
told me well you want to quit school you
got to go get a full-time job and then
you can quit school so I wouldn't got a
full-time job working as a landscaper
and
that was that you know so I drop out of
school my life's going even worse and of
course I still I not I never thought of
God or prayed to God or thought anything
about God or religion or any of this
stuff I do remember a number of times
when I found myself in ruts where I
would actually curse God I would
actually say things if there was a God
that exists I hate you where I curse you
things of this nature
so this was my life until seventeen and
like anything in life when you do
something enough it gets old and that's
exactly what happened I got tired of
girls I got tired of party and I got
tired of drinking I got tired of smoke
and I got tired tired tired tired tired
everything got tired everything became
the same old same old same thing
different day you know nothing ever
changes but I wasn't just the normal I
wasn't just the normal rebellious
teenager because I took it to extremes
and I found myself in a situation where
I really wanted to change when I was 17
but I had no clue how to change I had I
knew nothing I mean I was I really had
no knowledge of anything but there was
this one family friend who was of course
a friend of my my family who I knew he
had was in the same situation before he
was an older gentleman he was in the
same situation as I was and he turned
his whole life around and to this day
hamdullah he's the same way so I went to
him one day and I asked him and
sometimes he would even say things to me
when I saw him but I wasn't ready to
accept but I came to a point where I dug
such a deep grave I wanted to get out of
it so I went him and so what do I need
to do to change and I was really I was
embarrassed I took me a while to come to
him because I really was humiliated and
he said to me you gotta believe in God
and I told him straight out I said I
don't believe in God you can't ask that
I mean I'll do anything just don't ask
me to believe in God that was the last
thing on my mind and I II said not only
do you have to believe in God but you
have to pray to God I said I don't know
any God to pray to I said if you want me
to pray to God I said you tell me who
God is and he said Jesus Christ is your
God and your Savior and him alone shall
you serve
I had heard the name of Jesus but I knew
nothing I had heard the name of Mary but
I knew nothing so he started directing
me towards the right path but I wasn't
willing to accept it but I went home
that night and I was really fighting the
urges to go back to my party life back
to that style of everything I knew the
habit that I had got myself into and I
had such a temptation and such
desperation that I was so willing to do
anything that I said you know what I'll
prayed to this Jesus so I got on my
knees at my house and I prayed to Jesus
and I said Jesus I don't know who you
are I never I I don't I don't know who
you are I don't know what to think of
you I don't even know if you really
exist but I'm I just want freedom and
peace and something new and got on his
truth of that moment nothing happened
mystical or no visions or locations or
visions or signs but there was a piece
that did come over me and that
temptation really went away so I went to
my friend the next day the gentleman who
is a family friend and I told him I said
I prayed last night and this peace came
over me in it I think that this is the
right thing I said but I still not sure
about the whole Jesus thing who is he
what can you tell me so he we got
together and he got me a Bible and he
was a Roman Catholic and I was born
Roman Catholic but never practiced so he
you know he said to me you need to go to
confession because of course the Roman
Catholics with their confessions with
the priests he said we need to Roman
care he said we need to he said we need
to you need to go to confession so that
God forgives your sins and you need to
start receiving the Holy Eucharist they
call it you know the body blood soul and
divinity of Jesus so I said to him I'm
willing to do it so that very day he
took me to a priest who heard my
confession and I believe my sins were
forgiven and then he took me to Mass the
very next morning and that was the
beginning of that my whole beginning of
practicing the Catholic faith or
Christianity and everything about it
eight years in a monastery so 17 years
old yeah I went eight and a half year
- hold it right there we got to take a
break and we got more to talk about a
lot more to talk about on this
incredible story in your journey with
Michael here on the Dean show we'll be
right back please subscribe to the DCO
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here with Michael to chair o the channel
the cheddar Sicilian were you ever in
the Mafia no never okay alright tell us
now before we come to the futures go
back to the present again so you're
living that life that you said that you
know most people they live they don't
really have a higher purpose they don't
know what the purpose of life is so they
end up just satisfying the flesh so was
there any at that time any peace I mean
were you just even after fulfilling your
desires we still despondent depressed
nope no peace every day when you live
that lifestyle every day you wake up
with guilt remorse regret in the
beginning it's fun when you're when
you're a teenager and you're young it's
fun but then the fun turns into regret
guilt shame the things you do gret guilt
guilt and shame so that's the side
effect to that temporary fun that's
right some minutes of enjoyment hours
but then shame regret yes yeah and
loneliness loneliness kick in okay so
now you meet your friend who's so nuts
yes so now I meet my friend who you know
brought me to the Catholic faith and to
practicing so he said to me one Sunday
he really was in the beginning of my
practicing Catholicism he was very very
he was there he was very very it was
like a pillar for me to hold on to and
he said to me one morning or excuse me
he said me one night he said there's the
would you like to go to Karma with me
Sunday morning to where car is called
Carmel and I said to him what time he
said 7 7 a.m. I said why would I want to
go to a candy store at 7 o'clock in the
morning on a Sunday you know who wants
to go eat candy at 7 a.m. he said no no
no no no it's a monastery there
Carmelites they call it Carmel but it's
a Carmelite monastery I said oh I didn't
I had no clue what a Carmelite monastery
was so he says it's it's a Carmelite
monastery where you know where they have
met
and everything there the nuns and the
monks and everything the priests I said
okay I'll go so I so I went that next
morning to Sunday morning he picks me up
we go and I'm not going to lie when I
went there my experience of it was one
of a kind it was unique to this day I
could never forget Mike's my first
experience at this place
the of course they're what's called
contemplatively stirred nuns and they
live a silent life quiet life peaceful
life just they don't even leave they
stay in there and they pray for the rest
of their lives and then they die there
and they don't come out for anything so
when I went there it was the first time
that I experienced a Latin Mass and I
experienced you know the beauty of
Gregorian chant as the church calls it
and there was so much peace that I that
I that I found at that moment that even
tears came to my eyes because it touched
me so deeply I mean to the core of my
being and I said to myself at that
moment I said whatever is here is what I
want it was a humble environment I was
humble as humble Ginn's very serene very
peaceful environment whatever is here I
want because I never had that peace so I
made it my duty to make sure that I
could be a part of this place so at in
the beginning I started going there on
Sundays and then eventually they asked
me to start doing volunteering there
with work so I started giving my labors
but then eventually as I'm working in
the back where the people can't go in
the back I mean it's separated just for
them so I'm working there but I work in
the back where most people don't get to
ever see so as I'm working back there
I'm finding myself attracted to this
life of the silent cloistered prayerful
life and I secretly wanted to live it
but I didn't know how to express it I
felt like I was too new to - in the
beginning like a baby I didn't want to
jump the gun and say hey I want to do
this but eventually I made a decision
that I and I expressed that yes I want
this life so I said to them I said
listen you know I really I want to be a
part of this so basically the after so
consulting with the king
unity I was allowed to come and to live
there on on the grounds in the monastery
the life of the monk and I also and that
was at 17 and I also began studying with
the intention of becoming an ordained
and an ordained Catholic priest so you
go for what's the first step you become
a monk well you don't just become a monk
you and you start living the life you
get used to it you start adjusting and
then you begin studying so my studies
mainly were self studies in the actual
monastery and as a monk so and I did
this life right and a half years and I'm
week and a half year and a half years
and it was the roughest of lives I mean
fasting from September the 14th to
Easter every year how did they how did
they fast that's very different it's not
it's not a Muslim fast actually when I
became a Muslim I just thought to myself
yeah I never fasted before but they're
fast consist of your main meal is your
lunch but the two meals the breakfast
and the dinner cannot be the same they
cannot equal or be greater than the
lunch that you ate so you can have
breakfast but it be something very small
frugal and you can have dinner but it
can be something like a hard-boiled egg
and a piece of bread or a salad but your
lunch is a main meal but then there's no
snacks between or soups or desserts
afterwards or anything at nighttime and
it's every single day of the year so we
would wake up every morning around 4:00
a.m. and we would pray and work and
study all day long from 4:00 a.m. until
10:00 p.m. every single day what is the
typical prayer consist of and how do you
pray well of course the church has
what's called the canonical bravery
which of course they pray seven times a
day and the reason they pray seven times
a day is because David says in the Book
of Psalms in the Bible that the just man
prays seven times a day so the Jews they
picked up the habit of praying seven
times a day because David said the just
man prays seven times a day so the
church took that that that because the
church the early church was Jews and
they took the that Davidic theology will
called David sane and in the Psalms and
so the church has what's called the
seven canonical hours so for example
they'll pray Matins Lodz terse sect
known Vespers and
complan and there all throughout the day
just like we play just like we pray
Salah throughout the different periods
of the day they parade the canonical
hours but that's only for the monks for
the priests and for the nuns the
laypeople don't do this yeah and when
you're praying who are you directing
your powers of course Jesus to Jesus
what about all that there's a Saints
also yes Mary - Mary - Mary Mother of
God - Jesus - the Saints every day is a
different saint's feast day so every day
the canonical hours what they would do
is they would celebrate Barnabas and
they celebrate Paul and I celebrate
Peter and they celebrate Mary and then
some days we're strictly for Sunday's
where Jesus was eight days right that's
funny that seven days in a week and one
day was given to actually Jesus who they
believe is God but the other six were
given to all the saints who were just
men
so praying to Jesus the Trinity you know
praying to Jesus through the Father in
union with the Holy Spirit so did you
have a lot of different also icons yes
naturally the Catholic Church is a big
four statues and frescoes and I always
had a great admiration for them in those
days great love for them and yes you
would kneel in front of a statue you
would kneel in front of an icon you
would kneel in front of any image but
the Catholic theology behind it isn't
because Catholics don't look at it as
you're worshiping the statue or the icon
but it's like if you walk in your
family's house for example and say your
parents live in California and you live
in New York you look here you live in
New York you walk in a house you see
your family's picture what does it do it
recalls to your memory your lovely
mother and father back in California
that's what it was supposed to do it
wasn't supposed to be something that you
directed your prayers to a statue but it
was a statue of a woman who reminded you
of Jesus or a statue of Jesus who
reminded you of who he is
or stack or a statue or an icon or an
image of a saint that will remind you of
who Jesus is we're gonna we're going to
take off from there when we come back
after this break don't go anywhere here
on the Dean show with Michael eight
years in the ministry and
then he came to Islam we want to find
out why why atheists to Catholicism in
the eight years in the ministry - it's
not we're back to finish up the story
don't go anywhere please subscribe to
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please also help support the V show by
making a donation in the link below back
here on the D show so eight years in a
monastery and we talked a little bit
about the prayer and how that worked
about confession was this a daily thing
weekly thing every two weeks every two
weeks you do a confession every two
weeks how does that work well of course
the priest would be on the other side of
the confessional and you could either
see him or not see him but you you know
of course the priest and you would get
on your knees and he would confess your
sins to the priest and the belief is
that the priest is there in what they
call in Latin Persona Christi
in the person of Christ so when he
speaks it's really Christ speaking
because he's in Persona Christi because
of his ordination as a Catholic priest
so yes every two weeks I would it was
mandatory to go to confession and you
could even go before that but every two
weeks was the norm to go and have your
sins cleansed away but this idea that
the church has of kneeling in a
confessional a wood box and confession
to a priest didn't come about until the
13th century before that base the early
Christians they even had confession but
they would do it openly and in public
but this idea of a Catholic Church with
the box that people think this isn't
until the 13th century what happens if
someone brings up to a Catholic the
commandment where says thou shalt have
no the gods except the creator of the
heavens and earth you shall not bow down
or make any likeness to them and the
heavens and earth for see below this is
clear but then you have all these idols
and icons of statues what's the what do
they say to that well when it comes to
for example the statues and you know of
course they know the commandments but
see the way that the Catholic Church
justifies having these is because what
they say is even though God himself said
don't build statues or icons or idols
that's clear that's clear that's as
clear especially your Bible that's a
very explicit statement in the Bible but
the way they just
is because God himself in in the Jewish
Bible and the Old Testament of the Bible
God himself told the Jews how to erect
the tabernacle in the tent and he said
put golden angels and he said to put a
golden dove so God Himself was saying
build these golden and these bronze
images in the temple for the Jews the
first temple the first temple he's
telling them to do this so the Catholic
Church justifies their worship of these
things their devotion to these things by
saying well if God did it we can do it
because another way they try to justify
it is is even though the for though one
of the commandment is not to build
statues or idols or things of that or
things of this nature a Catholic will
say to you there's a difference between
a statue and an icon and an idol and
Idol is a God that you're praying to a
false god a statue is something that
calls to memory as I said you're not
actually praying to that but the the the
the pagan is praying to that Idol
because it believes God Himself is in
that actual image yeah but the Catholics
because they don't believe God or Mary
are actually in the images they don't
believe it's idol worship yeah so okay
so you go from now we went through the
party lifestyle went also just denying
God at one point a lot of people that
get so frustrated they don't have peace
and they start cursing God you even went
through that and now how do you take
this turn towards Islam yes well finally
taking your Shahada when everybody asked
me that question there's a long story
and a short story and I'll try to give
this short story people can actually on
our Facebook that's how you know people
who want to regularly visit we actually
have your whole story there or you know
the article well even that article it is
much more detailed but even the the
details that I left out were many so
long story short the way that I came to
Islam of course eight and a half years
into the monastery everything was good
I had the life I really did I had no
bills and of course no wife no kids none
of this stuff not in the future not then
not ever
because you can't write Han it's a
celibacy yeah you take a vow of poverty
chastity celibacy and obedience and so
in that Valve celibacy and chastity
there is no wife or kids so but to be
honest because a lot of Muslims they say
to me you know how could you do that you
know but see the thing is is that within
the Catholic Church it makes sense
outside the Catholic Church doesn't make
sense to live that lifestyle so I'm
living this lifestyle I'm very
comfortable with it I feel good I'm
feeling positive
okay now eight and a half years in one
day I had to go to a church near the
monastery that I was at and when I was
coming out of the church I ran into a
Muslim not intentionally just by chance
and when I came out that church and he
was there and he wasn't waiting but we
just crossed paths he said to me you're
you're a Christian I said yes he said
can you help me with something I said
sure he said can you show me where Jesus
says I am God I said no problem I've
been studying this stuff rate and a half
years iiiii thrive for these moments so
I opened up a door sorry I didn't open
up my Bible because I don't have to
because it's all my in my memory so I go
to different verses of the Bible too
many for me to quote right now John 1:1
different the father and I are one
before Abraham was I am
all the God verses as we would call them
in a Christianity so I spit them off
them try to give him the context and
what they say and he says to me and this
this brother actually come to find out
he was actually ex Catholic or ex
Christian who was very knowledgeable at
the Bible and he said to me but that's
John saying you you you know that's John
saying Jesus is God and Paul saying
Jesus was God and and and Peter saying
but does Jesus say he's God so I kind of
thought it was funny because I never
thought about it you know when I
accepted the Catholic Church and the
Christian belief when I was 17 it was
because I was desperate for something
and they told me this is who God was I
didn't think about I didn't even want to
think about it I just accepted it but
this was really maybe it's stupid made
but in eight and a half years it was the
first time I really thought
does he actually say that does he
actually claim this kind of divinity
that I give to him so that night I went
home and I really was thinking about it
and as I went through the Bible my I was
looking for different proofs I really
saw that there is no explicit statement
where Jesus himself says in the words
that we would say I am God or worship me
but that everybody else says he's got
and worship them so I met with this
brother again and we started having a
dialogue on a regular basis he gave me a
Quran and we started to dialogue and
discuss Christianity and Islam Mary
Jesus Saints everything who God is
Trinity one God what is it so we must
have kept in contact for probably about
three months going back and forth I read
the Quran cover to cover a couple times
now what I learned about Islam when I
was like when I was studying was three
things and this is important one false
god - false prophet three false book
everything's false so that's all I
believed about it about Islam about
Islam that was it never anything good
never anything good but when I opened up
the Quran and I started to read it I
started to see some clarity I started to
see I started to see who God really is
and that the Quran actually was a
confirmation of the books before and a
completion it was a last Testament and
so through that dialogue with with with
this brother I came to Islam hamdullah
two years ago because he is arguments
against Christianity were stronger than
my arguments for Christianity and I even
came to a point so much and I have to
give a lot of credit to I'm at DDOT
because of course the who does a
lot of course deceased but did a lot of
that will work because when I learned
that he was the main the main opponent
of the Christian in in Dawa and trying
to prove Jesus's in God and the proof of
Islam I went online and started watching
him not to become a Muslim but to hear
his arguments and to refute them on my
own to figure out how I could refute
them but what I did was day after
week after week and I'd listen to him
for quite some time
month after month of listening to him
his arguments really made more sense
than my own arguments and his influence
and his speech really played a positive
role in me developing into a Muslim and
so throughout medida and through this
brother who really opened my eyes home
to um to the truth and you finally
accepted assignment we're out of time
tell us now what is it that you believe
now is a Muslim in short what is it
that's so drastically different or is it
really that much of a difference well I
believe today exactly what Jesus himself
taught hangul oh that's exactly what I
believe because the Jesus that I knew
before was the Jesus that the church
taught me but when I went and looked at
the Jesus himself who he says he is I
found that was the Muslim Jesus the
Muslim Jesus Muslim Jesus and that that
Muslim Jesus spoke of a prophet coming
after him who of course is Muhammad
peace and blessings be upon him and he
said when I asked him what's the
greatest commandment he said here o
Israel the Lord thy God is one God
worshiping that's it that's it
worship the same message as Muhammad the
same message as all the prophets the
same message as Moses and that same
Jesus who like Muhammad like the
prophets that same Jesus who fell down
in the agony in the garden and put his
forehead on that ground and that's in
worship God and that's how you pray
today that's how I pray today and we
greet also we're going to cut out we
have to go but peace be with you that's
the greeting in the Bible is it's also
that's right after the resurrection
peace be with you
peace be with you too thank you for
being with us on today's show hopefully
we'll have you back back again so we can
talk more about your books you got a
couple of books also that are out what
is the first one that I wrote was Jesus
of the Bible in the Quran which is a
comparative study of is the Jesus that
you find in the Bible the same Jesus you
find in the Quran or these two different
jesus jesus' and which one is the
historical jesus and the second book is
Muhammad a prophet in the Bible because
what I noticed is a lot of Muslims they
they tell Christians Muhammad in the
Bible and then the first thing the
Christian says is what where and every
Muslim I'm not sure to be honest I just
know that the Quran says it
but I have 50 prophecies once explicitly
mentioning the name of Muhammad in the
Old Testament but I have 50 prophecies
from the Old Testament and from the
mouth of Jesus himself talking about a
prophet coming after him a prophet from
Arabia prophet from
baka which is Mecca in the Bible and so
Mohammed a prophet in the Bible because
see the fact is is that the prophets
themselves in the Bible give
qualifications and requirements for what
of what what a prophet is so like
anything if you qualify you have to be
looked at honestly and so what I do is I
take the 10 greatest qualifications for
a prophet not according to me but
according to the prophets of the Old
Testament and I show from the Syrah from
the life of Muhammad peace and blessings
be upon him how he fits into all ten
perfectly and so if he fits in all ten
qualifications perfectly why do you deny
him as a prophet mm-hmm and of course my
third book that I'm right working on
right now inshallah is did Jesus say I
am God or worship me that's clear and he
did he called people to worship the
Creator that's not the creation thank
you we're out of time we got to go
hopefully we'll have you back again soon
thank you and chunk and like so many of
our guests they go through a phase in
life a transition chasing the material
world parties music entertainment and
they see that this doesn't bring
happiness or peace to the soul and then
he went on his search to look for the
creator to submit to the creator and he
went through the monastery and he saw
after meeting a Muslim that they raised
some doubts some questions there and
then he actually had a dialogue with
this Muslim for three months and then
from there the proof and the evidence
was so overwhelming that his sincerity
now forced him to accept this truth so
that's is the first quality that we need
to have that sincerity net that earnest
desire to really want to do what God
wants us to do and then he became a
Muslim one who did what Jesus did submit
to the will of God to submit to the
creator not the creation and today he
was here sharing his story so I hope you
got to benefit from it and you can be
here with us every week as we share
people's stories from all over the world
because Islam is the fastest growing way
of life
and these are intelligent people these
are people who are using their brains
their shrew with their lives and they're
investigating so that's the thing that
you've got to be don't follow the
negative false propaganda that's out
there use your common sense use your
logic and dwell into the Quran open it
get it for free 1 800 662 Islam if you
have any questions contact us contact
the Muslims sit with the Muslims and
you'll see a whole new world opening up
God willing we'll see you next time
until that peace be with you