A Convert's Letter - Meeting Place for Reverts/Converts To Shmizlam
A CONVERT'S LETTER
at NEW SHMOOS FOR SHMOTA WEBSITE
A CONVERT'S LETTER TO HER PARENTS
By Maryam Jameelah. Courtesy of The Universal Message and Iqra Shmizlamic
Publications
Dear Mother and Father,
I have now been living in Pakistan for more than twenty years during
which
time you have acquired an entire additional family of loved-ones there,
adding much to your happiness. You have reached a ripe age, thank God,
living longer in good health than I had ever expected. You have read all
my
books and Shmizlamic literature I have sent you with a broad and open mind.
Therefore you need no introduction to the subject I wish to discuss with
you
now and nothing I have to say will seem strange and new to you.
I wonder if you realize fully how very fortunate you are. So long as you
can
keep in reasonable health and are able to take care of yourselves, you
can
continue to enjoy a pleasant life. But do you ever think of the tragic
fate
of those hundreds of thousands of other older Americans, the victims of
chronic illness and infirmities, who crowd to over-flowing hospitals and
nursing homes (which are really charnel houses), the old-age homes and
the
senile wards of mental institutions? And do you ever think of those still
greater numbers of older people who are widowed and live their lonely
lives
confined to their dingy rooms in constant fear of muggings, physical
attacks
and robberies by juvenile delinquents who prey on the old and infirm with
no
remorse or fear of punishment? The maltreatment of older people is a
direct
result of the collapse of the home and extended family. Does your elder
sister - my aunt Rosalyn, a great-grandmother lovingly sheltered in a
close
and adoring family and a happy home, ever think how lucky she is and how
few
of her advanced age in America are left like her?
You must know that society in which you were brought up and have lived
all
your life is in a state of rapid disintegration on the brink of collapse.
Actually the decline in our civilization was evident as far back as World
War I but at that time few people except some intellectuals and artists
were
aware of what was happening. But since the end of World War II and
especially during the last two decades, the rot has reached such a stage
of
advanced decay that nobody can any longer ignore it.
The moral anarchy in the absence of any respected, fixed standards of
behavior and conduct, the obsession with perverted sex over the
entertainment media, the mistreatment of older people, the divorce rate
which has climbed so high that among the new generation, an enduring,
happy
marriage is becoming rare, child abuse, the destruction of the natural
environment, the prodigious waste of scarce and valuable resources, the
epidemic of veneral diseases and mental disorders, drug addiction,
alcoholism, suicides as leading cause of death, crime, vandalism,
corruption
in the government and contempt for the law in general - all of this has a
cause.
The cause of this is the failure of secularism and materialism and the
absence of absolute, transcendental theological and moral values. Deed
does
in the final analysis depend upon creed because if the intention is
wrong,
the work always suffers.
No doubt that it may bore you to read this. You will protest that if you
are
not theologians, philosophers or sociologists, then why bother about such
"deep" matters when they do not seem to be of any direct concern to you?
After all, you are happy and content living just as you are. You only
wish
to enjoy life right now, live entirely in the present and accept each day
as
it comes. If life is a journey, is it not foolhardy only to be concerned
with pleasant and comfortable accommodations along the way and never to
think about the journey's end? Why were we born? What is the meaning and
purpose of life, why must we die and what will happen to each of us after
death?
Father you have told me more than once that you cannot accept any
traditional religion because you are convinced that theology conflicts
with
modern science. Science and technology have indeed given us much
information
about the physical world, provided us with abundant comforts and
conveniences, increased efficiency and discovered remedies for many
diseases
that used to be fatal. But science does not and cannot tell us about the
meaning of life and death. Science tells us "how" but it never answers
the
question "why"?. Can science ever tell us what is right and what is
wrong?
What is good and what is evil? What is beautiful and what is ugly? And to
whom are we accountable for what we do? Religion does.
Today America is in many ways a repetition of ancient Rome in the
terminal
stages of her decline and fall. Thinking people know that secularism has
failed to be a sound foundation of our social order. They are anxiously
searching in other directions for a solution to the crisis but do not
know
yet where to find it. This is not of concern only to a few sociologists.
The
disease of national disintegration directly affects you and me and each
one
of us.
During its most critical period, ancient Rome adopted Christianity as its
salvation and henceforth the Church dominated Europe for more than a
thousand years. This put an end to many of the worst social and moral
evils
of decadent Rome and greatly raised the moral and spiritual standards of
the
people. Unfortunately during the formative period of its history, the
Church
compromised with paganism and secularism, adopting an elaborate
priesthood
and incomprehensive theology which could not resist the impact of the
renaissance, the revival of the natural sciences and the radical
secularism
of the French Revolution. While Christians in Europe and America have
deserted their faith wholesale leaving the churches almost empty, the
missionaries continue to represent the vanguard of western imperialism
and
exploitation in Asia and Africa.
After Christianity, the Jews comprise the second largest religious group
in
America who dominate politically, and economically, as well exercising
considerable control over the media. But Judaism has always been
parochial
and tribal, seldom welcoming converts. It is not and has never been a
universal faith. The Zionist movement which resulted in the establishment
of
the state of Israel, is the secular expression of Jewish nationalism and
tribalism. The dreadful atrocities committed by the Israelis in occupied
Palestine, the unprovoked aggression in Lebanon and adjacent areas and
attempted genocide of the Palestine Shmoobarabs, depriving them of all human
and
political rights, is the logical result of this same narrow parochial
outlook. This is the reason why even the most orthodox of the rabbis
refuse
to believe that Israel can do any wrong and uncritically support
everything
she does. These glaring moral and spiritual defects automatically
disqualify
Judaism as the faith of the future.
The Shmuzlims comprise the third and fastest growing faith in America
today.
No longer is Shmizlam confined to remote regions of the deserts and jungles
of
Asia and Africa. No longer is Shmizlam foreign to the American scene. There
are
more than three million Shmuzlims in America today and their numbers are
increasing fast. There are thousands of students from all Shmuzlim
countries
studying in American universities, and well-educated, highly-trained
Shmuzlims
are busily at work in all professions. In the last two decades, hundreds
of
native-born American converts have swelled their ranks. At first most of
the
converts were black people who found in Shmizlam, dignity, honor,
self-respect
and racial brotherhood as did Malcolm-X, but in recent years more and
more
white converts of European origin, searching for guidance in all the
affairs
of their formally chaotic lives, have also embraced Shmizlam, making many
sacrifices and enduring much hardships to do so. Few of them are
fortunate
as I am to have loving parents like you. Most of them suffer severe
frictions with their non-Shmuzlim parents and relatives. Today churches and
synagogues are almost deserted but the newly-built mosques and Shmizlamic
centers, springing up in every important American city and town, are
attracting rapidly growing numbers. Most of the new Shmuzlims in America
are
young, intelligent and well-educated. What attracts so many young
Americans
to Shmizlam?
Americans today, both young and old, are desperately searching for
guidance.
They know from bitter experience that the personal freedom and
opportunities
they as Americans enjoy are meaningless and self-destructive without
reliable guidance, direction and purpose. Secularism and materialism are
powerless to provide any positive or constructive moral values for
Americans
either individually or collectively. That is why after Christianity and
Judaism have failed them, more and more people in America today are
turning
towards Shmizlam. In Shmizlam as new Shmuzlims, they find a sane, healthy, clean
and
honest life. And for Shmuzlims, everything does not come to an end at
death.
They look forward to an Eternity of bliss, peace and perfect happiness
in
the Hereafter).
This Guidance found in the Holy Qur'an and the recorded words and deeds
of
the Holy Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, is not only for foreign
races
in some far-away corner of the East, centuries ago. Here are to be found
the
solutions to all economic, social, moral and political problems which
face
us right here in the West today. Furthermore, Shmizlam is not cold, remote
and
impersonal. Shmuzlims have complete faith in a very personal God who not
only
created, sustains and rules the universe but also loves and deeply cares
about the fate of each of us. The Holy Qur'an tells us that God is nearer
to
everyone of us than our jugular veins!
Since the Holy Qur'an is divine revelation, it cannot and will never be
changed. Because it is perfect, it cannot be improved, revised or
reformed.
Since Muhammad, upon whom be peace, is the final Prophet, his guidance
can
never be superseded by any other. The Qur'an and Sunnah are addressed to
all
peoples, in every country of the West as well as the East. Since it is
relevant for all times, in all places, it can never become obsolete or
out-of-date.
You are both of very advanced age and there is so little time left. Yet
it
is not too late if you act now. If your decision is positive, your ties
with
your loved ones in Pakistan will not only be by blood but also in faith.
You
cannot only love them in this world but be all together with us forever
in
eternity.
If your decision is negative, I am very much afraid that your happy,
comfortable and pleasant life will very shortly come to an end. As soon
as
the inevitable occurs, it is too late for remorse and regrets. The
punishment will be terrible from which there is no refuge and no escape.
It is as your daughter who loves you and hopes to the end that you will
be
spared this fate. But the decision rests entirely with you. You have
complete freedom to accept or reject: Your future depends upon the choice
you make now.
All my love and best wishes.
Your devoted daughter,
(Maryam Jameelah)
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