false I was born a Roman Catholic, so for me at an early age this programmed the belief of the existence of God, Jesus, being the son of God, Mary the mother of God, the Holy Spirit and a whole host of saints to hear and answer my prayers. At the age of sixteen I left home to join the British Army. Little did I know at the time that I would spend the next fifteen years travelling the world to many of the major hotspots. At times what I saw made me question my own beliefs in God, and the true benefits that religion had on communities that I had seen torn apart by evil deeds and pain. However, throughout my travels I realised that religion was not to blame in many cases. Rather it was political intentions and not religious beliefs that were fuelling these divisions. Over the last few years I realised that there was part of my life that was missing, and I started to examine my own spiritual needs and beliefs. As a Roman Catholic there were for me, a number of grey areas that unsettled me and with further understanding made me question my beliefs further. I looked at a number of different religions during this time, but many unanswered questions were raised, at every turn. It was just over a year and half ago that I moved to take up a new position in West Yorkshire. This put me in touch with a number of communities and faiths that I had very little dealings with previously. I was compelled to learn more about the spiritual side to these communities to better understand them. The more and more I read about Islam, contrary to what was being reported in the media at the time, the more I became inquisitive about the religion. I work in a very diverse environment, so I was blessed enough to have Muslim brothers and sisters who, as and when questions would arise, I could approach for answers. It was during this time through continuous research that I came to realise that Islam gave me everything I was looking for; clarity, guidance, and a far clearer understanding of the true relationship that we should have with God and God alone. At this time, I was sure that I wanted to embrace Islam and take my Shahada, but was apprehensive about how to first make contact with Muslim brothers in my area. Fellow colleagues recommended IslamBradford as a starting point, who from the first moment have been welcoming and made those first uncertain steps very easy. I thank God for this every day. On Friday the 24th November 2006, I took my Shahada [after Jumuah prayers at the IslamBradford Centre in front of more than two hundred people] and embraced Islam as my way of life. With the blessings of Allah, I intend to take an active part in spreading Dawah within my community." <strong>You can see Brother John's Shahadah to Islam by <a href="http://www.islambradford.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Shahadah.mp4">clicking here.</a> Please note you will require <a href="http://www.real.com/freeplayer/?rppr=rnwk">RealPlayer.</a></strong> We pray to Allah that he keeps our Brother John strong and makes him an example for many others to come. 0 2006-12-08T14:46:39+00:00 2819 0 2 old_approved

"My journey to Islam was born out of my roots and upbringing in a small town in the west of Scotland, where you fell into one of the two dominant communities, Catholics and Protestants.

2007-04-29T13:12:50+01:00