In the Name of Allah, most Compassionate, most Merciful
Leo

Assalam alaikum wa rahamatu Allahi wa barakatuhu

Bismi Allahi Arrahmani Arrahimi

Hello, my name's Leo. I'm glad to be able to witness among other muslim about their faiths and how they come to Islam.
As far as I can remember, my very first thought to God was when I was sick. I was then maybe 15 or 16 and had fever and couldn't sleep well. Suddenly I woke up, believing it was in the darkness before the morning. I heard voices and I thought my mother was dead in a accident. Then as I was suffering from this terrible news and from fever, I asked God sincerely to make it not be the truth, that I was to believe to Him if so. When I stepped down the stairs, I finally realised it was only the late evening and that voices I heard were coming from TV my mother was watching. Alhamdulillah ! (God be praised !). Indeed I came back to bed, slept and surely forgot about what I told to God for a while.

Since I could read, I've always been reading a lot. I was reading a lot of books, especially novels. When I was at high school, I was reading mostly novels of French literature. As I was eager to learn and understand more in many fields, I someday decided to read Bible as a fundamental part and writing of our judeo-christian society. I must say that I was naive and thought most of
people believed in God and were Christians. By reading Bible I found a nice, clever, full of goodness book. But I didn't understand many paraboles and trinity was something my mind couldn't accept. How a man could be at the same
time God and the son of God and dying ? I couldn't understand such a mystery. But at this time I think I was already believing in God.

I've always been sensitive to coherence and logic. As well as impartiality and integrity. The day I decided to read Bible, I also decided next book to be read was Qu'ran. Indeed it was obvious it was the same message. Bible contained Torah, the book of Jews and Qu'ran remembered about them. Not only message of Qu'ran is the most coherent and logic and fair, but also clearing misunderstanding of Bible about Jesus. And that was a great relief. Jesus was to be a man and a prophet. It is easy to understand he was created the same way as Adam and insuffled into Mary (peace and blessings upon them). Or people don't think that God can not do what He did before an other time ?

Some other facts influenced my life and my coming to Islam. One is the first love I felt for someone. I've always fought against what I could call flirting or untrue love until feelings struck me. But I was unlucky ;)) and I knew from that that I would have two choices in love as well as in way of life. Either easy search of my own pleasure for this life, or having some right rules in which resides something greater but constraining for whom is weak (everyone is weak). I had this last choice.

At that time, I did not know any muslim, but one school mate and I wasn't curious to ask him, as my way was inner. The only thing that struck me indeed is one of our common friend who wanted to try fasting of Ramadan month as a challenge. Later on, I get graduated from high school and went to Paris to study in preparation school. Indeed studying was very hard and I had two hard years. I can distinguish some factors which urged me to come deeper into Islam.One is as I was in scientific school, I become aware of the arbitrary and axiomatic nature of science, as well as its degree of interpretation. As well as other scientific and rational matters who has always been busying my head, I was trying to elaborate an evidence of God. But I couldn't
connect the creator attribute of God to who decides our rules in right and wrong, as well as feelings which make human so wonderful and so miserable. A second point is muslim school mates whom I could talk too. At least by being muslim they
showed me the way of next step I should do. Indeed I've been brought on right way by any muslim I've been meeting, all in different ways. Lastly, I must confess that my grandfather influenced me too, but I don't really remember if it was before or after I considered myself as a muslim. Anyway I think I bare something with him.

At that time, I decided to ask my grandfather about what he lived during second world war when he's been enrolled against his will in the Wehrmacht, the German army. My grandmother was dead a year ago and I knew maybe I wouldn't see him the next year. So when I visited him with my family, I asked him and he told me a bit about it. My grandfather was a great believer and a Christian. He was going to church every Sunday morning. His farmer's life has been hard I think. Then I was surprised when in the late evening he asked me about what he was taught at school about Adam and Eve and the snake, if it was true. I already thought about this matter as I was in a scientific class. I told that I believed in Adam and Eve and humanity from them. And that science has its own interpretation. But I regret not to have been more categoric. This man was doubting about what he had always believed in this life. And touched by the leaving of his wife and coming to the end of this life, he was wondering about it. It is only years later that I learnt from my father that that year my grandfather stopped to take his medecine. But I didn't know
anything.

In preparation class and after days and reflexion, I someday was trying to prove God's involvement in good and evil. Suddenly, I thought to myself that I didn't need any proof to believe in God if I wanted to believe in God. And then all these useless attempts were meaningless. I decided that day or some days after to begin to become a muslim, indeed to apply Qu'ran, because my heart was already muslim. I would stop to eat pork and drink alcohol. So did I. My family was rather shocked at first time. My parents were thinking I was manipulated by some extremist. I wasn't making it easy for them to understand
it, because I was making reference to Qu'ran for each argument opposed. My sister understood this choice as logical though, since I explained Islam was the last one of the three monotheist religions. But my parents are very kind and tolerant and always told me they would accept our choices for my sister and I. They did ;)) and I'm still a muslim.

Though sometimes I failed and fail, little by little behaviour can be changed to better. I've been to mosque, though nowadays I don't have one near me, I met some muslim people, I have some muslim friends from school very kind, I learnt prayer, I did ramadan 3 times, and since 2 weeks I'm doing prayer 5 times a day. Insha Allah may I keep on striving on right way. I did zakat and I try to pay it completely on all what I possess. I intend to always learn more to deepen my knowledge should it be by learning arabic or names of God or striving on the way to God by going to Mecca for pilgrimage insha Allah. I didn't change my name, since it is a gift from my parents and its meaning is one of well known arabic muslim names. I'm now 22 years old.

Being muslim is a life effort. It shouldn't be thought as easy but nothing is impossible and God is paving the way to Him. I've been hurt and still get by some non muslim and muslim people by their behaviours which don't respect Islam. I simply hope God put me on right way and that justice will be rendered. Islam is worth to be known and learnt. Its consequences not only
affect inner being but also any aspects of life and way of thinking, making one willing to improve any knowledge, practice, feelings and reasoning in any field mankind has ever known.

May God guide me and give me His light to guide me to Him. May God forgive and bless my two parents, muslims and muslimahs, people striving on His way, and those I love. May He be merciful to me. Praised be His name. May He be blessed by Himself And may Muhammad be blessed by Him

Peace and blessings upon you.
Thank you for listening.

Wassalam alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuhu

Leo