Muslims are praying in Wan Chai Mosque. (Photo by Benita Zhang)
One day when we die, what will happen?
At the age of 9, when teachers started to ask what you would like to do in the future, Fatimah Wong had her own puzzles in mind and tried to figure out the life after death. It was the thinking about death made her struggle more to understand this life.
“When I was young, I really wanted to know who creates me,” Wong said, “I’ve always believed there is a God, and I wanted to find the true one.”
Finally, she came to Islam when she was 14. “Others suggested me to convert after 18, but I had already accepted Allah is the only true God. I couldn’t wait.”
Fatimah Wong is performing Asr prayer. Ritual Islamic prayer includes five times a day: Fajr (at dawn), Zuhr (midday), Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (sunset) and Isha (evening). (Photo by Benita Zhang)
Fourteen years after 9/11, another terrorist attack by Islamic terrorist group occurred in Paris last month, with 130 people died. When the anti-Muslim sentiment has become a global issue, the fears towards Islam are not the only things growing. The converts to the religion are too, with the number of Muslims soaring 67% in the U.S. since 9/11, according to 2010 U.S. Religion Census.
“People want to know why Muslims are so bad, so they start to search. But when they begin to know, they find Islam is beautiful,” said Shah Kirit Bin Kakulal Govindji, the chief Da’wah officer of Yayasan Islamic Information and Services Foundation.
In Hong Kong, the number of converts to Islam remains stable, with around 100 people each year, according to Uthman Yang, the Imam of the Islamic Union of Hong Kong. “But the number has increased this year, with about 130 converts by now,” Yang said.
Uthman Yang is in his office, Wan Chai Mosque. (Photo by Benita Zhang)
Last Sunday, two weeks after Paris attack, 34 new converts joined the Declaration of Faith Ceremony in Hong Kong. Joyce Ye, a graphic designer, is one of them.
A new convert is declaring she believes Allah is the only God during the ceremony. (Photo by Fatimah Wong)
When asked why she chose Islam while the religion’s image has been going down, she said, “Those are gossips, like speaking ill of others behind their back. The Islam I know is knowledge. We cannot refuse knowledge simply because of gossip.”
Useful knowledge
Wong is the office coordinator of Hong Kong Islamic Youth Association.
Born in a village of mainland China, she began to have memories when she was four. Before that, the only thing she can remember is holding her grandmother’s hand.
However, she was forced to leave her grandmother and taken to Hong Kong by her parents at the age of four. “I kept crying. They were strangers to me.”
Living with parents, she always saw them fought each other. The drunk father kept reminding her he would die soon. “I was a child, I wanted to live with my dad forever.”
It’s the starting point Wong thought about death. “Only religion can give me the answer.”
After learning Buddhism and Christianity, she came across Islam in secondary school because of a Muslim classmate. “The God is the most attractive thing for me. It’s the only God, who is powerful and has no ending,” Wong said, “I found this is the religion I was looking for.”
“Islam can tell me everything. All the answers are in Quran. Why does the God create us? Why do we have to die? How will we die?” she continued.
“Islam is very useful,” Wong said, “It can give me guide in every aspect of my life. It is the way of life.”
Peaceful inside
Falling in love with a Muslim girl arouse the interest of Shah Kirit about Islam. “But when I know what’s Islam, I fall in love with Islam more than the girl,” he said.
Finally, he converted from Hindu to Islam in 1996. Afterwards, he’s engaged in making public speech for Islam and his book Ask Brother Shah has published in 2009.
Shah Kirit said no matter how successful he used to be, he’d never got satisfaction before. “I always wanted more and wanted to take everything in control.”
“But Islam told me the God set up the consequence, after that, I know my job is just to put in the effort, the consequence is from the God, then I feel peaceful and satisfied,” Shah Kirit said.
Even born Muslims have struggles in lives and they can achieve peace and harmony only when they truly understand Islam, according to Jeffrey Alexander Moosa, the founder and the adviser to the Hong Kong Islamic Youth Association.
Moosa was born in a Muslim family, but he knew little about the religion until he got 20. He had no job for half a year, keeping applying without any result. “I waited and made effort.” Eventually, the last one came out the best. “It is a government job. Best-paid job.”
“Until that, I started to understand,” Moosa said, “Quran told us to be patient, and good things will come later. It is true.”
“After I understand Islam, I’m peaceful inside,” Moosa added, “If you don’t learn and practice, the religion means nothing even if you are a Muslim.”
Scientific evidence
Rashidad Ma, a teacher of Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College, was a born Muslim. Since her father died early, she seldom practiced the religion when she was young. “I don’t know why I should believe in it.”
Rashidad Ma is working in Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College. (Photo by Benita Zhang)
After graduated, she became a religious teacher in an Islamic college. By teaching students, she learnt herself. “The more I learnt, the more I found Islam is the truth,” according to Ma.
“Now we know everyone has a unique fingerprint, but you know, Quran, from 4,000 years ago, had already mentioned that everyone’s fingerprints are special,” Ma said.
Having been a Muslim for 22 years, Wong said the more she learnt about the religion, the more touching she felt.
“What’s in Quran is really what I saw in this world. You know, it shocked me. How come? I read more, then I cried more. It is true. It is really true. I cannot see any book similar to that one.”
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Benita Zhang 