{"title":"Jamal Jordan","author":{"id":2263,"name":"Jamal Jordan","slug":"jamal_jordan","image":"\/uploads\/users\/non-profile.jpg","role":"Author","about":"","promote":0,"status":1,"created_at":"2014-08-25T08:00:00.000000Z","updated_at":"2014-08-25T08:00:00.000000Z","language_id":1,"parent_id":null,"i18ns":[],"image_asset":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/uploads\/users\/non-profile.jpg","get_name":"Jamal Jordan"},"books":{"current_page":1,"data":[],"first_page_url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?books_page=1","from":null,"last_page":1,"last_page_url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?books_page=1","links":[{"url":null,"label":"&laquo; Previous","page":null,"active":false},{"url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?books_page=1","label":"1","page":1,"active":true},{"url":null,"label":"Next &raquo;","page":null,"active":false}],"next_page_url":null,"path":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263","per_page":25,"prev_page_url":null,"to":null,"total":0},"videos":{"current_page":1,"data":[],"first_page_url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?videos_page=1","from":null,"last_page":1,"last_page_url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?videos_page=1","links":[{"url":null,"label":"&laquo; Previous","page":null,"active":false},{"url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?videos_page=1","label":"1","page":1,"active":true},{"url":null,"label":"Next &raquo;","page":null,"active":false}],"next_page_url":null,"path":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263","per_page":25,"prev_page_url":null,"to":null,"total":0},"audios":{"current_page":1,"data":[],"first_page_url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?audios_page=1","from":null,"last_page":1,"last_page_url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?audios_page=1","links":[{"url":null,"label":"&laquo; Previous","page":null,"active":false},{"url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?audios_page=1","label":"1","page":1,"active":true},{"url":null,"label":"Next &raquo;","page":null,"active":false}],"next_page_url":null,"path":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263","per_page":25,"prev_page_url":null,"to":null,"total":0},"articles":{"current_page":1,"data":[{"id":1550,"title":"Jamal Jordan, Ex-Christian, USA","slug":"jamal-jordan-ex-christian-usa","word":"\/uploads\/articles\/en-Jamal Jordan, Ex-Christian, USA.docx","pdf":"\/uploads\/articles\/en-Jamal Jordan, Ex-Christian, USA.pdf","mime_type":null,"type":"node","path":"\/nodes\/view\/type:article\/slug:jamal-jordan-ex-christian-usa","hint":"","body":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span>Jamal Jordan, Ex-Christian, USA<\/span><\/h1>\r\n<h1><img style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRpCdbgX2GyUZe_tobNu_gi4npkN6nuFTV5FRWI2KKaY1U90Ii-\" alt=\"\" \/><\/h1>\r\n<p class=\"w-body-text-1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">My name is Jamal Jordan, born and raised in South Carolina, USA.&nbsp; My family raised me Baptist (Christian) and I was an avid, active Christian up until about a month ago when I embraced Islam.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"w-body-text-1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">I was born down in Florida in 1995 to a family of nothing but Christians.&nbsp; We then moved to South Carolina, and we currently reside in the region known as &ldquo;the Bible Belt&rdquo;.&nbsp; As the name hints, there is a lot of Christianity around here.&nbsp; There are churches everywhere, and churches are always holding events and dinners.&nbsp; Pretty much the whole community is Christian.&nbsp; Needless to say, I was raised in a Church, and thus adopted the beliefs and never really questioned them.&nbsp; I enjoyed the Church.&nbsp; &nbsp;I joined a local youth group and a choir.&nbsp; I attended many leadership conferences and other seminars, and I eventually obtained a leadership position in my church&rsquo;s youth.&nbsp; We launched many mission trips across various under privileged areas to help &ldquo;spread the good news&rdquo; and build churches. &nbsp;I considered myself lucky, and proud to have been a Christian, and not born into any other religion.&nbsp; Little did I know that we are all born as Muslims.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"w-body-text-1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">This leads me to the next part, Islam.&nbsp; Growing up I didn&rsquo;t know anything about Islam, except that they called God &ldquo;Allah&rdquo; and followed a man named Muhammad (may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him).&nbsp; And the only exposure I had to Islam was the through the media in the wake of 9\/11.&nbsp; I remember my dad telling me that &ldquo;Muslims are your enemy&ldquo;.&nbsp; I didn&rsquo;t really know what to think, but I avoided Islam all together.&nbsp; And then a Muslim family moved here from Jordan.&nbsp; I became friends with the boy who is my age, when we had a class together earlier this year.&nbsp; When he mentioned that his religion was Islam, I was intrigued, and asked him a few questions.&nbsp; That&rsquo;s when I found out that they are very similar to Christians.&nbsp; This little revelation interested me, but not to the point that I was motivated to study.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"w-body-text-1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">One day, when traveling to a church conference, I was discussing Islam with another friend of mine, a Christian, and he said that he wanted to read a Quran, so that he could see what it said for himself.&nbsp; I agreed with him.&nbsp; While at the conference, I contemplated about how to convert my friend to Christianity.&nbsp; I came to the conclusion that I would first build a relationship with him, and then start the process.&nbsp; I continued with this plan for a while actually, but one day I went into my school&rsquo;s library, and it changed everything.&nbsp; I saw a book entitled &ldquo;Islam basic beliefs and teachings&rdquo; and decided to check it out.&nbsp; Later at home when I read it, everything I read amazed me for some reason.&nbsp; There was literally something inside of me making me want to believe what I was reading.&nbsp; It all made sense.&nbsp; I read about the prophets, peace be upon them, and the biography of Muhammad, (may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him).&nbsp; Also, the book displayed how to pray, and I thought it was beautiful.&nbsp; That same day, I did some searches on the internet, and learned all I could about Islam.&nbsp; I was still a Christian, but whenever I read articles from www.answering-christianity.org, or listened to debates, I found myself pulling for the Muslim side.&nbsp; At this point, I had already been convinced about Islam, but I still needed background information&hellip; So I studied for about 6 months.&nbsp; I studied every topic in Islam at least twice.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"w-body-text-1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">At about 5 months in, I was basically a Muslim.&nbsp; I knew how to pray in Arabic, I had memorized 4 surahs (chapters) of the Quran and I owned 3 copies of the Quran.&nbsp; But I was still having identity issues.&nbsp; Eventually I mustered up the courage to go online and convert.&nbsp; I used the site &ldquo;Chat Islam online&rdquo; al-hamdulillah (All praise and thanks are due to God) it was great! The sister I converted with was very nice and helpful, and sent me more valuable information.&nbsp; And the next day, I told my Muslim friend about my conversion, and he was extremely happy for me.&nbsp; He welcomed me as a brother, and even got me a prayer mat.&nbsp; &nbsp;Allah made it easy for me, and for that I am most grateful.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"w-body-text-1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Although there is one problem that lurks over me today&hellip; I am practicing Islam in secret.&nbsp; I am only 16, and still live under the jurisdiction of my parents.&nbsp; They would probably harm me if they found out I converted, not to mention I would be ostracized and maybe disowned.&nbsp; I have faith that God will guide me and protect me.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"w-body-text-1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Anyone considering Islam that is in a position similar to mine should have the same faith, that God will help you out if you embrace Islam.&nbsp; I hope my story can serve a good purpose for anyone out there who is considering Islam.&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;<\/p>","excerpt":"","terms":null,"visibility_roles":"","comment_status":1,"comment_count":0,"read_counter":9469,"lft":2879,"rght":2880,"promote":1,"sticky":0,"status":1,"publish_start":null,"publish_end":null,"created_at":"2014-08-25T20:54:00.000000Z","updated_at":"2026-05-07T07:01:12.000000Z","language_id":1,"user_id":7,"author_id":2263,"publisher_id":0,"category_id":10,"parent_id":null,"author_name":"Jamal Jordan","category_name":"Why I became a Muslim!","category_slug":"Why-I-became-a-Muslim!","get_date":"2014-08-25","pdf_asset":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/uploads\/articles\/en-Jamal Jordan, Ex-Christian, USA.pdf","word_asset":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/uploads\/articles\/en-Jamal Jordan, Ex-Christian, USA.docx"}],"first_page_url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?articles_page=1","from":1,"last_page":1,"last_page_url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?articles_page=1","links":[{"url":null,"label":"&laquo; Previous","page":null,"active":false},{"url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?articles_page=1","label":"1","page":1,"active":true},{"url":null,"label":"Next &raquo;","page":null,"active":false}],"next_page_url":null,"path":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263","per_page":25,"prev_page_url":null,"to":1,"total":1},"fatawas":{"current_page":1,"data":[],"first_page_url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?fatawas_page=1","from":null,"last_page":1,"last_page_url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?fatawas_page=1","links":[{"url":null,"label":"&laquo; Previous","page":null,"active":false},{"url":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263?fatawas_page=1","label":"1","page":1,"active":true},{"url":null,"label":"Next &raquo;","page":null,"active":false}],"next_page_url":null,"path":"http:\/\/www.islamland.com\/mac\/api\/authors\/2263","per_page":25,"prev_page_url":null,"to":null,"total":0},"books_total":0,"videos_total":0,"audios_total":0,"fatawas_total":0,"articles_total":1,"q":"","count":1}