A Small Intro

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim

Assalaam alaikum

My name is Amina Webb. I was given the name Amina by a tearful Afghani woman after I reverted to Islam not long ago. Most people know me by my legal name, Leah, but for a blog about Islam I am going to stick to my Islamic name. For my first post I am just going to do a small intro. Hi. I'm Amina.

I was born in Michigan (USA) back in the '80s (1989 still counts) to some very loving parents. I did not grow up with religion, though I think I had some vague concept of God just from existing around religious people (or maybe it's because my grandma used to say "Oh God" all the time). Anyhow, my childhood isn't all that important. The important stuff starts about a year ago, probably almost to the day when my boyfriend at the time called and said he had succeeded in getting us an apartment in Lethbridge (Alberta, Canada). This was good news because I was going to university there.

Now, I had met this boyfriend of mine while in France on exchange during my grade 10 year, which was when I lived my teenage years, having been pretty much angelic before then (sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll weren't really my cup of tea). Yes, I did some (many) things that I'm ashamed of, but ultimately I have no regrets.

So, in August I moved in with said boyfriend and all was good in life. Come November or so, however, due to a petty little memoir (of a non-Muslim) we were reading, we started talking to some Muslims in the community. First Ahmed, then the Khan family. Before we knew it, we were hooked. Islam was the answer. Though at first we had planned to revert to Islam and get married in July, our friend convinced us that it was better to do sooner rather than later and all of a sudden I was standing in front of a small masjid full of people taking shahadah and becoming a Muslim and not soon after I was married. This is the short version.

People always want to know why I reverted, and I can never give a good answer. Mostly I tell them about the memoir that my husband and I read and how that led to us talking to Muslims around Lethbridge, etc etc etc. But how satisfying is that? Pretty much not at all. I mean, drinking is fun, right? Sex is fun! Who would want to cover herself up all the time just because some silly 1500-year-old book alludes to such a thing? Why would anyone choose a restrictive religion over the easy and free life of an agnostic?

Because.
Inshallah (God willing), in my further posts I will be able to clear up these questions and explain to any reader who happens upon this site a little bit about Islam. If you have any questions you want answered or if there are any topics you want discussed, please let me know. But remember, I am only a woman. I am not God, therefore I am vulnerable to error. Sometimes, I just don't know things. But inshallah, if you are patient we can make this a really interesting blog. Please, tell your friends (Muslims and non-Muslims alike) about this site.

JazakAllah Khair

Amina