"I did not want to meet this Moslem man"

[Nadia_H]

A Guppy informed me of an upcoming talk being given by this man, it was extremely interesting. This autobiographical piece is off of his website: http://www.islamtomorrow.com/yusuf/p..._preachers.htm i can't stress enough how much of an excellent speaker he is. Just posting excerpts; the entire article is acessible via the link. Sheikh Yusuf Estes used to be a Christian preacher.

~ ~ ~
I did not want to meet this 'Moslem' man. No way.

My father insisted that I meet him and reassured me that he was a very nice person. So, I gave in and agreed to the meeting.

But on my terms.

I agreed to meet him on a Sunday after church so we would be all prayed up and in good standing with the Lord. I would be carrying my Bible under my arm as usual. I would have my big shiny cross dangling and I would have on my cap which says: "Jesus is Lord" right across the front. My wife and two young daughters came along and we were ready for our first encounter with the 'Moslems.'

When I came into the shop and asked my father where the 'Moslem' was, he pointed and said: "He's right over there."

I was confused. That couldn't be the Moslem. No way.

I'm looking for a huge man with flowing robes and big turban on his head, a beard half way down his shirt and eyebrows that go all the way across his forehead.

This man had no beard. In fact, he didn't even have any hair on his head at all. He was very close to bald. And he was very pleasant with a warm welcome and handshake. This didn't make sense. I thought they are terrorists and bombers. What is this all about?

Never mind. I'll get right to work on this guy. He needs to be 'saved' and me and the Lord are going to do it.

So, after a quick introduction, I asked him:

"Do you believe in God?"

He said: "Yes."

(Good!) Then I said: "Do you believe in Adam and Eve?"

He said: "Yes."

I said: "What about Abraham? You believe in him and how he tried to sacrifice his son for God?"

He said: "Yes."

Then I asked: "What about Moses?" "Ten Commandments?" "Parting the Red Sea?"

Again he said: "Yes."

Then: "What about the other prophets, David, Solomon and John the Baptist?"

He said: "Yes."

I asked: "Do you believe in the Bible?"

Again, he said: "Yes."

So, now it was time for the big question: "Do you believe in Jesus? That he was the Messiah (Christ) of God?"

Again he said: "Yes."

Well now: "This was going to be easier than I had thought." He was just about ready to be baptized only he didn't know it. And I was just the one to do it, too.

I was winning souls to the Lord day after day and this would be a big achievement for me, to catch one of these 'Moslems' and 'convert' him to Christianity.

I asked him if he liked tea and he said he did. So off we went to a little shop in the mall to sit and talk about my favorite subject: Beliefs.

While we sat in that little coffee shop for hours talking (I did most of the talking) I came to know that he was very nice, quiet and even a bit shy. He listened attentively to every word that I had to say and did not interrupt even one time. I liked this man's way and thought that he had definite potential to become a good Christian.

Little did I know the course of events about to unravel in front of my eyes.

First of all, I agreed with my father that we should do business with this man and even encouraged the idea of him traveling along with me on my business trips across the northern part of Texas. Day after day we would ride together and discuss various issues pertaining to different beliefs that people have. And along the way, I could of course interject some of my favorite radio programs of worship and praise to help bring the message to this poor individual. We talked about the concept of God; the meaning of life; the purpose of creation; the prophets and their mission and how God reveals His Will to mankind. We also shared a lot of personal experiences and ideas as well.

One day I came to know that my friend Mohamed was going to move out of the home he have been sharing with a friend of his and was going to be living in the mosque for a time. I went to my dad and asked him if we could invite Mohamed to come out to our big home in the country and stay there with us. After all, he could share some of the work and some expenses and he would be right there when we were ready to go to out traveling around. My father agreed and Mohamed moved in.

[armughal]

posted here before.... in full....

[Nadia_H]

i should have checked prior to posting. Sorry.

[anand]

Dear Nadia,
What complexes you have that you always like to bring in some propaganda material, and off course you do it without any counter enquiry?

A good person does not need to shout day and night that he is a good person.

Yesterday, there was a reportage on PTV on the Pak citizens joining Al Qaeda in Afghanistan…. all faces shown were very ugly, unshaven and satanic…and you know very well that these religious people went to Afghanistan to defend Islam!

Best rgds

[714]

what? i think Nadia was just trying to make a statement about non-muslims...its not a reason to get accusatory. i think its a sweet story. thank you hun.

[Nadia_H]

714 - Thank you, your response was so sweet. Really appreciate it. Thank you.

Anand - It's a relatively simple equation. If one does not like it, one chooses not to read it. Cheers,
nadia

[Munni]

Thank you for sharing Nadia, it was an interesting read. Thanks for the link. *smile*

[Lajawab]

Thanks for sharing...

[Nadia_H]

Munni and Lajawab, thank you both of you so much


hehe, i think this will go down as one of my more unpopular threads in the Religion Forum hehe, i don't know why but i thought it was a good read. ah well, you win some, you lose some!

[Changez_like]

Originally posted by anand:
Dear Nadia,
What complexes you have that you always like to bring in some propaganda material, and off course you do it without any counter enquiry?
......

its not really about "complex" of any kind. whenever a Muslim finds such story it strengthens his belief, it touches his/her heart and so he/she shares it with others. is this board not about "sharing" material that you think could be interesting for others. "others" is not only you, it really means "others".

if you wish so, why don't you go and find out if this guy Yusuf Estes is a real person or fairy-tale type creature for propaganda purposes? for me, he exists.

[Nadia_H]

Thanks, CL.

Just to clarify - he is a "real person". He has been invited to speak all over the world; i and about 200 others had the privilege of hearing him speak in person last week at a uni.

If Anand has something specific to criticize regarding his comments, then well and good Otherwise, it is my hope that this thread will refrain from the regular bashing of anyone's beliefs.

[Maniac]

reminded my dad of the various different things that we had heard about these people, how they are -
Terrorists; hijackers; kidnappers; bombers and who knows what else?

Not only that but:

They don't believe in God

They kiss the ground five times a day and

They worship a black box in the desert.

LOL!

[little human]

Thanks for sharing that...it was nice........

[anand]

No Dear Nidia, no bashing at all.
I am not interesting in analyzing this article and tell you what is childish here as per journalistic and literature point of view…..gaps usually left while making some cheap propaganda.

Yes, you started this thread dt 26th of Jan and suddenly you remembered that you listened this guy one weak before at some unknown Uni (Re yr post dt. 27 Jan.).


rgds

[Changez_like]

Originally posted by anand:
No Dear Nidia, no bashing at all.
I am not interesting in analyzing this article and tell you what is childish here as per journalistic and literature point of view…..gaps usually left while making some cheap propaganda.

Yes, you started this thread dt 26th of Jan and suddenly you remembered that you listened this guy one weak before at some unknown Uni (Re yr post dt. 27 Jan.).

rgds

that is not impossible. I hear a guy talking, I'm impressed, some days later someone sends me a link about that guy and I share it with others. sounds logical? go smell a coffee.