Candy Conundrum and The Search for Halal Peeps

May 3, 2013November 25, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 11 Comments

Test kitchened and Written by Theresa Corbin

Those who know me can attest to the fact that I am candy crazy. At one point while in high school I even overthrew the ~~dictator~~ teacher of my French class and became its supreme ruler just so that I could instate a weekly “sugar fest” where all my French class subjects would bring candy to feast on. My love for candy borders on the insane.

All my favorite holidays, pre-Islam, were candy based: Halloween being numero uno in my book and Easter coming in at a close second. Christmas didn’t make it to the top two because some of the gifts were not candy.

My absolute favorite holiday candy treat was the peep. You know what I am talking about. It is the colored sugar covered marshmallow that people either love to hate or just LOVE. I fall in the camp of LOVE with a couple of extra o’s than the normal citizen of peep-land. And even better than a peep is a stale peep. When you open the wrapper of a peep phalanx and let it sit out overnight you will be rewarded with a crispy stale outer sugar coating that adds an amazing texture to the creamy mallow-y filling. *drooling*

Anyway *wipes mouth*, when I started to think seriously about converting to Islam, I started to incorporating the Islamic behaviors into my lifestyle. And one of those behaviors was to stop drinking alcohol and eating pork.

Which was all well and good and my life improved greatly with these changes. Until I started realizing how much food has hidden pork in it. If you are familiar with this, you are probably shaking your head right now in agreement.

Starbursts and skittles and marshmallows OH MY! All had gelatin in them. Gelatin being the boiled down bone marrow from an animal, and in most cases it is from a pig. This constitutes pork. I had given up eating pepperoni pizza and bacon on my burgers, but I had never imagined that this pork prohibition would affect my candy addiction.

Much to my relief, I realized that starbursts and skittles were both made from beef gelatin. I called the company myself and then began to call every company that touted gelatin as an ingredient. Just Born company’s gelatin peddling peeps were 100% pork. Bummer!

Through the peep deprived years, I have thought about activating my Jewish and Muslim candy loving friends to protest the porked peep situation. But I just don’t have that much energy (Candy induced lethargy? Perhaps). So, I decided to take matters in to my own hands.

I ordered a rather large bag of halal gelatin powder online, did some digging around for homemade peep recipes and this is what I came up with …

What follows is my very own recipe for pork free peeps that taste better than store bought. :p to Just Born

Pork Free Peeps Recipe

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unflavored kosher gelatin (i.e. gelatin from beef, fish, and they even have veggie jelly)

1 cup ice cold water, divided by 1/2

1- 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon imitation vanilla extract (without alcohol-I got mine at dollar general)

A few drops of your favorite color food coloring

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

Nonstick spray

another 3/4 cup granulated sugar for sanding

Directions

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.
In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat. Cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes (I don’t have a candy thermometer and 7 mins was the perfect time). Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.
Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes.
Add the vanilla and food coloring during the last minute of whipping.
While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans by combining the confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later.
Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Now turn your marshmallow into peeps: Once the marshmallow is set, cut out peeps with a lightly oiled cookie cutter of your preferred shape.
Put a few drops of your favorite color food coloring into 3/4 cup granulated sugar to make sanding sugar. Shake the coloring and sugar mixture well until all sugar is colored and food coloring clumps disappear.
Sand the cut marshmallows in colored sugar.

Caution: While this recipe is a bit involved, these can be very addictive. Make them at your own risk.

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Not Brainwashed: Converts Speak for Themselves

April 30, 2013November 25, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 13 Comments

Written by Theresa Corbin

Never ever again will I judge a person’s freedom and liberties by the length of their skirt -Yvonne Ridley famous British journalist who converted to Islam.

Recently, news stories about the deceased Boston Bombing suspect’s wife, Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, abound. Reports speculate about her life and her choice to become Muslim.

The media, to its credit have run some article’s from the Muslim women’s perspective, but by and large they are portraying Katherine, and women like her, as having been forced to convert to Islam.

Many news outlets are trying to portray Katherine as some sort of weak woman who fell into the hands of an overpowering force and was brainwashed straight out of Christianity and in the headscarf, Islam, and the arms of a terrorist. Absolutely ignoring the possibility that Katherine may have converted after much soul searching and reflection done of her own free will.

“She was a very sweet woman, but I think kind of brainwashed by him,” reported the Associated Press, quoting Anne Kilzer, a Belmont, Mass., woman who said she knew Katherine and her 3-year-old daughter.

As a wife, I cannot imagine what Katherine is going through. As an American woman who converted to Islam, I am very familiar with the stereotype that is pushed upon women who choose Islam.

When a woman in the West converts to Islam, it is always assumed that she has been coerced. Why else would she leave her life full of every imaginable freedom, right? She must have converted for a man, she must have been brainwashed, or she must have been at gunpoint.

It is insulting. It is a roundabout way of saying that women who convert to Islam are weak minded.

This is not the case by a long shot. Women who convert to Islam are typically outspoken, well educated, free thinkers, and are brave enough to deviate from the path society has set for them.

When I converted to Islam, the sister who was giving me shahada (the statement of faith) asked me why I was converting. She asked me twice if I was doing it for any person or felt forced to do it in anyway. “Because”, she said, “if you say that you believe and someone made you say it, your faith would not be accepted from you. Allah (SWT) knows what is in your heart.”

Brainwash [BRANE wosh] verb- to make someone adopt radically different beliefs by using forcible pressure.

How can someone be brainwashed and sincere? How is it that in Islam your faith will not be accepted from you unless you are sincere? Sincerity cannot be coerced. It is like saying you were forced to fall in love, it just doesn’t work that way.

And where is the follow up to the brainwashing? In order to sustain a state of “brainwashing” you also must isolate the subject from the outside world. You don’t see this with Muslim converts.

They go on to study at universities; work as teachers, scientists, military personnel, journalists and so on; they do charity work; they are politically active and motivated to be productive members of society.

With headlines like the following, journalists are scrambling to find a reason for so many people entering Islam in the West:

CNN WORLD NEWS: Islam is the fastest-growing religion

Why European women are turning to Islam

Washington-Report: The Nation’s Fastest Growing Religion

We convert because we find truth and beauty in Islam. We convert because we find freedom from objectified in Islam. We convert because we don’t let the media tell us what to think. We convert because Islam speaks to our nature. We convert for a million reasons.

We are truth seekers. We are logical, thinking human beings. We are a group of women who are strong enough to face giving up all that we know and have in order to become closer to God. We are a group of women who have faced bigotry daily from loved ones and strangers alike.

We are a group of women who despite how we are portrayed in the media, we hold our heads up high because we know who we really are. We will not be explained away as feeble minded or weak. We can speak for ourselves. And we will:

Fatima, a Canadian who converted to Islam says:

[…] I experienced the absolute power of prayer as I watched on TV for the first time in Tahrir square, Muslims pray.

This was my first call to prayer, I felt a blindness in my life had been cured. Shortly after this a good friend of 3 years I had met on Facebook, who lives in Cairo, Egypt showed me via Skype the Masjid outside his window just as Fajr [pre-dawn] call to prayer sounded.

I bowed my head and in my heart felt this to be the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard. This was my second call to prayer, I felt a deafness I had in my life had been cured. I then purchased a Qur’an [the holy book] opened to Al-Fatiha [the first chapter of the Quran] and first few pages of Al-Baqarah [the second chapter], I knew I was about to find out what I always prayed for, the meaning of life, serenity, and peace of mind. I spent a year and half on a very special journey (that continues by the minute) soul searching leading me to begin studying Islam […]

I received an email inviting me to attend Iftar [the meal that breaks a Muslim’s fast] on 2 Ramadan 1433 H […] This was the opportunity I had been waiting. I had not went to a Mosque since I heard my first call, there was a voice that kept telling me to wait, I would know the perfect time. It was this night I declared, As-Shahadah [the testament of faith].

Immediately upon entering the parking lot of the Masjid and a Sister greeting me at the door I felt a light shine and my spirit jump and was fully awakened realizing I was always a Muslim by heart but did not know until Allah Subana Wa Ta’ala [God] decided it was my time to live and to be given a right to life with dignity through the Muslim way of Life shown to us through the perfected life of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi Wasallam).”

Western women who convert to Islam have chosen a different path that takes commitment, courage of conviction, and strength of character in today’s world. Never assume a women is brainwashed simply because she is choosing her own path.

Proof of Life for the Apostate in Islam

April 24, 2013November 24, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 33 Comments

Written by Theresa Corbin

Recently, I was questioned about my position on the death penalty for the Muslim apostate. I am embarrassed to say that I had until recently blindly followed what I was told. And what I was told was that the Islamic scholars agree: the death penalty is prescribed for the apostate, that the apostate in an Islamic state is like the the one committing treason in a democracy.

Even though Islam had liberated me from taking the word of people as my religion, apparently, I continued to do so in some things.

As far as Islamic knowledge goes there are clear sources. Something unique to Islam. The Quran has never been altered, something we unfortunately cannot say about the Bible or the Torah. And the hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him-PBUH)) have been recorded and verified by authentic chains of narration. Something that has been lost for all other prophets.

And even with these sources available to me, I had neglected them. And took what the people said in their place.

And when it is said to them, “Follow what Allah has revealed,” they say, “Rather, we will follow that which we found our fathers doing.” Even though their fathers understood nothing, nor were they guided? (Quran 2:170)

I no longer looked to my forefathers for my religion. I have no Muslim family other than my husband who also has no Muslim family or forefathers, so we look to those who have more Islamic knowledge for some answers.

This is a slippery slope and a dangerous path to be on if this is the only place you look to for your religion. Because like doctors, scholars can make an incorrect diagnosis. While scholars deserve an immense amount of respect, they should not be followed without question. And sometimes we may need a second opinion.

Seeing the flaw in my logic for accepting this platitude of “the scholars agree on the punishment for the apostate” I began my own research and these are some of the reasons why I changed my position on the death penalty for the apostate: Read more ›

A Challenge of Qur’anic Proportions

April 3, 2013November 24, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 5 Comments

Written by Theresa Corbin

The Bedouins (nomadic Arabs) of the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were known for their mastery of poetry. There was a Shakespeare or Chaucer in every corner in every tribe. They took great pride in composing and refining every word and line of their art.

When Muhammad (PBUH) told these poets about the message of Allah, they asked him for a miracle to prove his prophethood. And Allah answered them in a revelation.

And they say, “Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?” Has there not come to them evidence of what was in the former scriptures? (Quran 20:133)

And these seasoned poets were in awe of the Arabic recitation that is lost in translation. Those who were enemies of the Prophet (PBUH) and Islam would even hide in places where they could sit and and listen to the Quran. How could Muhammad, an illiterate Arab, in a land of pagans–a man who had never produced poetry or prose of any kind–suddenly produce the most eloquent speech of the Quran?

The answer is he could not and did not. Muhammad (PBUH) did not produce the Quran. The Quran is from God and is in itself the miracle the Arabs asked for. It is a mastery of language that even the most skilled poet from among poets could not approach.

In the Quran, God sets forth a challenge to those who doubted the message and its chosen messenger:

And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a chapter the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful. (Quran 2:23)

And it was not [possible] for this Quran to be produced by other than Allah, but [it is] a confirmation of what was before it and a detailed explanation of the [former] scripture, about which there is no doubt, from the Lord of the worlds. (Quran 10:37)

Or do they say [about the Prophet], “He invented it?” Say, “Then bring forth a chapter like it and call upon [for assistance] whomever you can besides Allah , if you should be truthful. (Quran 10:38)

It is important to note that when the Quran is translated into another language, even though the general meaning can be understood, sadly the actual miracle is lost.

The Arabs who were at the pinnacle of their poetry and prose during the time of revelation of the Quran could not even produce the smallest chapter similar to it (the smallest chapter in the Quran consists of only 3 verses).

Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot, who was a notable British translator, said:

That though several attempts have been made to produce a work equal to it as far as elegant writing is concerned, none has as yet succeeded.

Even Goethe, a famous German writer, has been quoted as saying that the Quran:

[…] soon attracts, astounds, and in the end enforces our reverence […] Its style, in accordance with its contents and aim is stern, grand – ever and always, truly sublime – So, this book will go on exercising through all ages a most potent influence.

Many linguists, poets, thinkers -whatever their faith- speak about the style of the Quran with veneration.

When it is read aloud or recited it has a hypnotic effect.

This effect became even more clear to me while on a road trip. My husband and I, both American converts, were driving from New Orleans, Louisiana to Mobile, Alabama with three of his Christian nieces in the back seat of the car. These young ladies were in their early teens, and all were their usual hyper, talkative, and boisterous selves.

We feared that our small car would not be able to contain the teenage energy until the loudest niece shouted from the middle seat that she had heard my husband praying. She said that she liked the way it sounded and wanted to hear more. So we told them that if we played the Quran for them they would have to be quiet and listen.

They all agreed and within 20 seconds all three of them were sleeping peacefully. My husband and I looked at each other with astonishment. Up to this point we had only heard rumors that they did in fact sleep from time to time.

The Quran is the speech of the Creator. No one can bring rest to the hearts of the creation but the one who has created it.

Life is not like box of chocolates, as Forrest Gump has so famously claimed. To me, life is like a ship sailing on a stormy sea. When we have nothing to guide us we become fearful and stressed. Allah has given us a guide in the Quran, and when we let it lead our lives, those lost in the storm can be at ease.

The challenge of the Quran does not mean that we should not write prose or craft poetry. We should use the creativity and ability to communicate that Allah has given us. The challenge is put forth simply as proof that the Quran is the word of God. It has never been met and will never be met.

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Jihad Is Not The Problem

March 28, 2013November 24, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 16 Comments

Written by Theresa Corbin

Jihad! Yes, I said it *looks over shoulder to see if the FBI is going to pounce*.

Jihad is a source of fear and loathing the world over. It is embedded in popular culture as something crazed Muslims do in the name of their religion. But what does it really mean? Should we rely on the media to learn our religion or to learn about other’s religions?

Nah, prolly not a good idea. Unless you like being ignorant and led down the path of bigotry. Is there a place we can go to find out the truth about such things? Is there a source? Somehow? Somewhere? Yes, and in the case of jihad it is the Quran. The source is the Quran. Not those who take Quranic verses and explain them out of context.

Jihad does not mean to blow oneself up and kill innocent people in the process. This is NOT allowed in Islam. Period! Jihad does not mean holy war –the Arabic term for holy war is harbun muqaddasatu. Jihad is not even pronounce GEE-had.

Jihad [jee HOD] n.- 1. As a Quranic concept, involves resisting the base desires and struggling against all that would take one away from good. 2. It is to resist, to defend oneself if attacked. 3. As an Arabic term, it can mean to struggle in any way. It can be a jihad to study hard and make good grades.

Struggling and fighting are two separate but often related terms. The word most people mean when they use jihad is “qital”, which means to fight. One may have to struggle (jihad) against their desire to run and hide when they should fight (qital) an armed aggressor who first fights them.

It’s semantics. The problem is not with struggling or fighting, but with those who twist the Quran.

Yes, qital or fighting is prescribed in Islam when it is against armed aggressors:

Permission to fight is given to those who are fought against because they have been wronged -truly Allah has the power to come to their support- those who were expelled from their homes without any right, merely for saying, ‘Our Lord is Allah’ […]. (Quran, 22:39-40)

Those who twist the meaning of the command to fight often quote the Quran as stating, “slay them wherever you catch them”. (Quran 2:191) But these same people leave out the most important part. Who is the them? The rest of the passage states:

Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for God loves not transgressors. And slay them wherever you catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than death. And do not fight them at al-Masjid al- Haram until they fight you there. But if they fight you, then kill them. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers. And if they cease, then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. Fight them until there is no [more] fitnah and [until] worship is [acknowledged to be] for Allah. But if they cease, then there is to be no aggression except against the oppressors. (Quran 2:190-193). [emphasis added]

Another trick of detractors is to quote part of chapter 5 verse 9 of the Quran:

Fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war).

But it somehow slips their mind to mention the context in which this was revealed.

This verse is referring to the early Muslims who had entered into treaties with neighboring tribes (Jewish, Christian, and pagan), Some Jewish and pagan tribes violated the terms of their treaty. They secretly aided an attacks against the Muslim community.

The proceeding verse instructs the Muslims to continue to honor treaties with those who did not betrayed them. The verse continues to say that those who violated this treaty have declared war, so fight them. Islam does not advocate pacifism in the face of injustice. Without justice, peace IS an illusion.

So, who is to blame for propagating this “jihad” misinterpretation/ misunderstanding?

First and foremost, ignorant Muslims are to blame for giving Islam a bad name because they themselves do not understand their religion.

This is very important to note- the actions of Muslims DO NOT define Islam. Islam is complete, does not change (Shariah), and can be traced to its source. Muslims are imperfect human beings, who sometimes do not practice jihad against their own desires.

Why and how is this misconception propagated?

The Muslims: Muslims see their brothers and sisters in Islam being insulted, degraded, oppressed, raped, and murdered all over the world. As anyone with a heart will do when they see their loved ones hurt, they get emotional. When you mix emotion with uneducated minds, you get irrational and often violent behavior.

These ignorant Muslims will twist the Islamic right (and human right) to fight in self-defense defense of as permission to commit suicide bombings and other atrocities. They blatantly ignore the strict Islamic rules in defensive fighting that forbids harming civilians, their property, and even forbids destroying crops, trees, or livestock.

They search for an “Islamic” ruling to meet their desires, and when they find something in their culture or find someone who has distorted the Quran, they run with it. But the Ummah (the Muslim community worldwide) does not benefit from this. If you think this is OK, there are better and actual halal ways to help your brothers and sisters in faith!

The Ummah needs to take a good look at itself. We need more personal jihad and less fighting:

Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. (Quran 13:11)

It is obligatory on every Muslims to learn his/her religion for a reason. If we do not understand our religion, who will? If we don’t fix ourselves, how will Allah change our condition?

The non-Muslims: There are those who portray Islam as a religion that condones the use of “jihad” to kill innocent people. And these same people will claim that all Muslims are terrorist.

This is not so. The acts of a few do not define the many.

Can we call Christianity a religion of brutality because of The Crusades and The Inquisition? Certainly not. Can we call all American men wack jobs because of the Oklahoma city bombing, the numerous school shootings, the Batman movie theater shooting, and so on? No, because the actions of a few, deranged people do not define the motivations and actions of everyone in that group.

Those who propagate stereotypes of all Muslims as terrorists do so for many reasons, some of which include fear, ignorance, and hatred. But those who do it to control the masses are usually after power and/or wealth.

Whatever the ends, the dissemination of false information about an entire group is the means. So anti-Muslim propaganda is disseminated in the media, in popular culture, and all over the internet. It is easy to view a group as evil if it is the popular thing to do.

Those who twist the Quran and spread lies about Islam and the Muslims, you are creating injustice which will make peace impossible. It would be more prudent to make alliances with the 99.9% of Muslims who also believe the actions of these few, fringe, deranged Muslims are wrong instead of demonizing all Muslims.

Peace out!

Muslim Crawfish Boil

March 25, 2013November 23, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 5 Comments

Written by Theresa Corbin

Hey, y’all! I have been having a pretty busy couple of weeks with my other writings and family stuff. But I did have time to squeeze in a crawfish boil.

In case you haven’t heard of such a thing, the crawfish boil can be described as a party in a sack. Crawfish come in a sacks the size of a third grader. They are then boiled in a large pot (like huge) with corn on the cob, potatoes, garlic, sausage, and seasoning. And everyone gathers around, rolls up their sleeve, peels the crawfish, stuffs their face, talks, and has a good time, washing it all down with beer.

When my father (who was born and raised in Missouri) married my mother (born and raised in New Orleans), he refused to partake in her crawfish boils. Until one day she brought home a sack of already boiled and spicy crawfish. She insisted that he stop being such a sissy (she was sassy like that), and try just one.

Well he did. And she regretted it. He proceeded to eat the entire sack, leaving none for her. She nearly divorced him for this travesty against humanity, but instead decided to train him to do all the hard work of a crawfish boiling, now that he was an enthusiast.

My father went on to become the best crawfish boiler, peeler, and consumer this side of the Mason Dixon line. (pardon my folksy-ness)

Spring time denotes the beginning of crawfish season in New Orleans and surrounding areas. With the weather not so hot yet, and the crawfish on sale, people get together to enjoy the bounty of the area and some friendly spice both in food and conversation.

Even though the crawfish boil usually entails some un-halal aspects (pork and alcohol), those can easily be switched out for their halal counterparts.

So, if you have access to crawfish, even if it isn’t from the Gulf of Mexico, you need to think about having a boil. It is an amazing delicacy in my neighborhood, and I don’t want anyone to have lived in this world and have never had a boiled crawfish. Some may be squeamish because it looks like a bug, but I guarantee it is worth the gross factor. You will first thank Allah, then thank me!

Halal Crawfish Boil:

1 lb Beef sausage, sliced to bite-sized pieces (vegetarians who eat fish: you can just leave this out)
6 onions, cut in half
5 lemons, cut in half
5 heads of garlic, whole
1 c salt (yes, one cup. You don’t drink the liquid it’s boiled in and the salt needs to get past the shell of the crawfish)
10-12 small red potatoes
5 ears of corn, shucked and cut in half
60 oz of Zatarain’s crawfish, shrimp, and crab boil
5 lbs live crawfish per person (this recipe is for 25 lbs- or 5 people)
softened butter
Barq’s root beer (http://barqs.com/)

How To:

-Bring a larger than life stock pot of water to boil (preferably outside if you can. The spices will make everyone in the house cough).

-Add garlic, onions, potatoes, lemons, corn, sausage, and Zatarain’s boil
and boil for 20 mins.

-Add crawfish and salt, cover, and cook or 5 minutes.

-Turn off heat and let set for 20 mins (the longer it stands the spicier it will be 😉 ).

-Drain water and pour out the deliciousness onto a table covered in several layers of newspaper.

-Bandage any cuts you have on your hands (these spices burn).

-Place a full roll of paper towels on the table (you and your guests will need the whole roll. It gets messy).

-Drench potatoes and corn in butter.

-Peel (how to peel crawfish:

-This is the most important step: Say Bismillah (In the name of God).

-Eat!

-Quench the spice with Barq’s root beer.

You don’t need pork or beer to have a great crawfish boil.
(you can also use this recipe for shrimp and/or crabs, as the zatarain’s boil suggests)
P.S. Make sure you wear clothes you are not overly fond of because stains happen, and throw your crawfish shells in the outside trash. It gets smelly quickly!

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Memories from the Dorm: A Conversion Story

March 18, 2013November 23, 2016 by Corbin ♥ 10 Comments

What follows is my old roommate’s response to I Bear Witness: How I Came to Islam Parts 1 and 2.

Written by Gracie Lawrence (the roommate)

You know it has been at least 16 years since we had those talks, and reading about it reminded me how I am still trying to “figure it all out”.

I remember it was a time of a lot of questioning, we were free from both conservative Christians AND Muslims – where we could just THINK and we had the time to do it.

I don’t recall thinking that it was strange to think those things- but I use to have the bad habit of thinking everyone must be the way I am (got screwed over a lot for it, lol).

I remember during that time your mother had passed away. That impacted me a lot. I think I remember that more than the details of our talks exactly (I was a bit of a chatterbox, I think you once referred to me as a puppy and you were the cat. And a lot of times you just needed some peace and to be left alone- and I didn’t understand that).

I know one thing I struggled with as I became Muslim was wondering if I could make that cultural leap/ sacrifice and I would take a few steps forwards, and then a few steps back- then I just dove in and became extreme- then balanced out, made more mistakes, etc.

Ultimately, I became Muslims to become a better Christian- I think you remember us speaking about that. I think even from a cultural viewpoint we both saw something lacking, even lonely in our modern North American existence and I saw Islam as the natural progression to fill that gap.

Nowadays, I see Christians and Jews as very close to me. Christians and Jews are easy to understand us, as we have the same background- are just like siblings that bicker.

Anyway, one things that is great about Islam, even if people are reluctant to believe in anything divine, is that it makes for a great play-book on earth i.e. you are much less likely to F-up your life than if left to your own whims or faulty logic. You are more likely to win the game if you are given the instructions of how to play. Ya know? I think that for something like this to exist- is, by itself, pretty awesome.