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From: Media Watch
To: IslamCity
Putting their faith in Islam; Around 30,000 women Converted in
Switzerland Putting their faith in
Islam
Thursday 31.03.2005, CET 08:43
Around 30,000 women in
Switzerland have converted to Islam, according to a recent report by an
organisation for Muslim women.
In an interview with swissinfo,
Monica Nur Sammour-Wüst, one of those to have made the switch, speaks about her
beliefs and her life as a Muslim in Switzerland.
Although raised as a Protestant, 35-year-old Nur Sammour-Wüst feels she
has always been a Muslim. She converted to Islam over a decade ago and looks back to an
event in Sunday school as a harbinger of the change that was to come.
“The teacher told us that God
sees and hears everything, but that he sent his son Jesus as an intermediary to
the world,” she recalls.
“I went home and told my mother that if God sees and hears everything, I don’t need a mediator.” “Now, as a Muslim, if I pray for help, I pray directly,” says Nur Sammour-Wüst. “Direct communication with God is a basic tenet of Islam.” Fear of
death:
In 1991, at the age of 22, she
met and married her first husband, a Lebanese.
“During that time I was always asking myself questions, especially about death. I didn’t find the answers I sought in Christianity – there, death is a taboo subject.” Her husband, on the other hand, who had lived through war, did not understand the Western fear of death – although, like her, he was only 22. “For him, everything was clear, because in Islam death is clearly defined,” she says. “I started to learn more about Islam, and at one point suddenly I knew. I already believed in God, in the prophets, in the angels, in predestination, in resurrection. I was already Muslim, I just had never realised it. In 1992 I officially converted.” After her first husband died in a car accident, Nur Sammour-Wüst remarried – again to a Lebanese. But after six years they divorced. Muslim
family:
Now a single mother, she is
raising her son and two daughters as Muslims.
“I am responsible for them – also religiously – until they are 18 years old,” she says. “At home we live and practise Islam, and the children accept it. I think it’s normal for them.” And should one of her children no longer want anything to do with Islam? “My most fervent wish to God is that this does not happen. It would be awful for me, because to me Islam is a way of life. It is not like a shirt that you simply change.” Still, she feels religion and belief cannot be forced on anyone. “If, in the worst case, a child no longer wants anything to do with Islam, then upon reaching adulthood he or she must take responsibility for that decision.” No
exception:
A common preconception is that
Muslim women sit at home and are not allowed to go out in public. Nur
Sammour-Wüst, who leads an active life, denies she is an exception because she
is Swiss. “In the time of the prophet Mohammed, 1,400 years ago, women were politically and intellectually active. The notion of house-bound women tied to the stove is patriarchal, not religious.” According to Nur Sammour-Wüst, Muslim women in Switzerland often complain that they face more problems than their Swiss counterparts who have converted to Islam. She puts much of this down to a failure to learn the language. “They absolutely have to learn German,” she says. “The prophet Mohammed also said that when you live somewhere, learn the language that the people speak so you can communicate.” “In my view, if Muslim women live in Switzerland, they should be able to speak the language. If they learn German, constructive discussions can take place.” swissinfo, Jean-Michel Berthoud *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! Groups Links
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