Greek Convert Story – Yianni from Australia

Yianni from Sydney, Australia

I’m 18, male, living in Sydney Australia, born and bred in Australia with Greek heritage. I reverted to Islam 30/05/08 mash’allah.

As a kid I always was fascinated by the concept of god, and when I was in my early teens I became quite religious, as an orthodox Christian. When I was around 16-17 my life was changing and I was beginning to mature into an adult (as you do at that age), hence my life was beginning to change and my perspective on life was changing, so I began looking for answers such as what my purpose in life was and what will happen to me after death etc etc.

So I began looking for these answers in the bible and in Christianity, however a lot concepts Christianity didn’t make sense to me, I didn’t feel much spiritual connection with god, I also did a lot of research into the history of Christianity and came to the conclusion that the Christianity of today is not the Christianity practiced at the time of Jesus (Isa) (PBUH) and that over time the scriptures had been modified and twisted. I also found the bible very difficult to understand.

so since I couldn’t find the answers I was looking for I became agnostic (is when you believe there is a god/higher power but you don’t know what it is or what religion represents that higher power).
My family were never really religious so they didn’t really have a positive influence on my spiritual life.

At this time that I was beginning to become an adult I was in search of my identity and where I fit in the whole grand scheme of things. So like most teenagers my age I wanted to fit in so I began going out every weekend partying. Hence at this time I began drinking, smoking sometimes at parties, I tried marijuana (mash’allah I only did it once and never became addicted), I began going out with girls, listening to rock music, staying out really late and upsetting my parents because I would come home so late, I began rebelling against my parents, my school grades dropped drastically because I was more concerned with being a cool guy etc etc. I made new friends at this time who I thought were true friends but later I found out weren’t really true friends, they only were your friend when times were good or you had something to offer them, however when it came to tough times or you had nothing to offer them they were ‘dog’ (the word I can think to describe it), like sometimes they’d break promises or they’d say one thing and do another, that type of thing. At this time I also became very ‘cocky’ and developed a big ego as many people my age do. So basically I had gone off the rails like many my age.
But now that I look back something weird would always happen. what I mean by that is that everytime I was about to get myself into any serious trouble or do something stupid that id regret, something would always happen or intervene and stop me from doing that really stupid thing.

Then one party was the turning point in my life. I got to this party and started drinking and smoking as usual, but this particular party I had more than I usually drink, and I ended up being extremely sick and passing out. the next morning I woke up and had permanent marker drawings all over me and found out that while I was passed out all my trusted friends had been playing pranks on me! I was upset as you’d expect and for days afterward I began to ponder on what my purpose in life was and where my life was headed and I began re-assessing my life trying to put everything into perspective.

Meanwhile, while all this was happening I had began developing a strong friendship with this new guy at my school. I found that we had a lot in common, he was from a Lebanese background, came from a good Islamic family (which I didn’t know at the time) and I found that he wasn’t like most of my other so called ‘friends’, this guy was genuine. At this point I didn’t know that he was Muslim, and even though I was quite open minded I didn’t know much about Muslims other than what id herd on the TV. then one day I went to his house and we went into his study. his desk had many books written in Arabic but then I saw one book which stood out the most, titled ‘the holy Quran by Yusuf Ali’. I was shocked when I found this out as up until now I had no clue he was a Muslim. After seeing this I began to ask him many questions about Islam, I was so fascinated because I just thought that Muslims were those extremist people you see on TV, also I just happen to live in area which was predominantly people from Anglo-Saxon secular backgrounds. Plus I had just started tutoring at a company where some of my tutors were Muslims and they had a big influence on me! also I had a teacher at school who was Muslim and also was a huge influence on me. all these people shattered the stereotype of the media’s version of a Muslim.

I began asking him many questions and I started going on the internet, watching video and reading books about Islam as I was very fascinated, and everytime I heard the Quran being recited I got this peaceful feeling in my body and it was like music to my ears. Then one day I found out about all the scientific facts in the Quran and it was at this point that I had concluded that the Quran was way too advanced for any human to compose and that it had to be the word of god mash’allah!

I pondered on the idea of converting for a couple of months but I was reluctant, because I knew that converting would change my whole life and that it was a big deal. I told all my Muslim friends about my intentions of converting and after talking to them and pondering on the idea I decided to do my shahada at this lecture which I used to go to on Friday nights.

My parents unfortunately don’t know about my conversion because whenever I had ever bought up any discussions relating to religion they wouldn’t like it or would change the subject. But Insha’Allah I hope that when the day comes for me to tell them they will eventually able to accept my decision and Insha’Allah support me.

Since my reversion I have been on a very significant journey, I have abandoned all my previous harmful behaviours. I finally have found the answers to life I was looking for, the Quran is very clear in its messages and it has truly given me guidance to life and always has a solution to any problems I face mash’allah. I have many good times, experienced many good things and learnt a lot of important lessons, but I’ve also had a lot of tough times but mash’allah Allah (SWT) has always been with me every step of the way and has always supported me Alhamdulillah! And also my Muslim friends and the local Islamic community have provided me with immense support, mash’allah. And that’s my story.