The Sharing Group Discussion: Why are Converts Attracted to Wahhabism?

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following was posted by Dre AbdAlim, on The Sharing Group, on the 23^rd June 2016: “I have pondered why many converts fall into Salafi type of Islam early on.  Perhaps it is the convert's zeal, if you will.  I think it is because it feeds the ego.  It satisfies the ego to be the most correct group, to be practising Islam ‘better’ than the shirk, culture, pagan-infused Islam others do.  Simply, the feeling of being The Chosen Ones. They need to feel pity towards those ‘straying’ and indulge in the ‘joy’ of inviting/converting them.  We can see it in the ‘da’wah’ types.  They take pride in debating the ignorant bystanders.  They conduct jama’ah prayer in plain sight, so people can see.  I think all this satisfies the ego. 

An ‘alim once said, Shaythan knows the best way to tempt humans.  If we consider ourselves religious and practising, Shaythan will not tempt us with the haram.  He tempts us with ‘ujub and riya’.  This is why we see Muslims going to ‘umrah every single year; spend each Ramadan in Makkah while their neighbours go hungry.  The Prophet (s.a.w.) never commanded us to perform frequent ‘umrah.” 

Brother Dre AbdAlim: I mentioned this ‘alim when he passed ago earlier this year.  Shaykh Muswthafa’ Ya’qub, former imam of Grand Istiqlal mosque.  His article condemning the haj and ‘umrah addiction is “Haji Pengabdi Setan”, “The Haj of the Devil’s Follower”. 

Sister Vivi YZ: My Indonesian ustadzah told me that the Qur’an translation has been changed in some versions.  What should be “the sincere ones”, the more accurate translation of the Arabic, has been changed to “the chosen ones”. 

Sister Andra Riddle Goddard: ‘Ujub and riya’ are maybe narcissism?  Pride? 

Sister Vivi YZ: “‘Ujub” is secretly thinking you are better than everyone else.  “Riya’” is showing off.  Yes, both have to do with pride. 

Sister Andra Riddle Goddard: Ah, hubris, the log in our eyes we do not ever see!  Thank you for the translation. 

Sister Naomi Green: I just wanted to know more about Islam, and they were the ones who befriended and showed an interest.  My heart was not into it though - it required turning off too much of my thinking faculties, and on some things, I ended up questioning and fighting their “logic”, which did not go down well.  Thinking their Islam was “real” Islam made me leave temporarily.  A lot of convert guys like to be seen doing what you mentioned.  I guess the sisters’ equivalent is maybe the niqab, but it is not just converts. 

Brother Dre AbdAlim: In fact, those things are not probably why you wanted to learn Islam in the first place.  A lot of non-religious folks who found religion are prone to go this path too.  We can see young people radicalised despite showing no interest in religion before. 

Sister Zoe Fletcher: Sister Naomi, I can really relate to what you are saying.  I am starting to reach my own intellectual equilibrium, though, and meeting different people on the spectrum of beliefs.  This group, I must say, is really refreshing in that people seem to be able to respectfully discuss their own thoughts and interpretations without being judged or insulted. 

Sister Naomi Green: Completely agree, Sister Zoe.  And yes, Brother Dre, I did not join Islam to be a Salafi, but I did come from the Christian equivalent of Salafis, which probably did not help my journey down that path - strict rules were my “normal”.  Just not quite as crazy. 

Brother Khalid Yaqub: A lot of people latch on to “religion” to feel superior to others, or in search of a personal identity.  When one’s knowledge is low, certainty seems easy, and such a state provides a huge head rush. 

Sister Vivi YZ: Yes, many people do not like to live with uncertainty.  They do not like grey areas, but I think mercy comes in the form of grey areas. 

Sister Zana Johnson: No way.  It has nothing to do with ego.  If you are a convert, you simply do not know any different, and you just want to do everything right in order to please Allah (s.w.t.).  Little did we know that Islam is easy, but social media and different types of communities tend to steer you the narrow path, which often ends up being too much too soon for many. 

Brother Yahya Abu Khalil: I guess this correlation is also affected by gender 

Sister Naomi Green: Many of the convert sisters I know still in Salafi mode are in a place of fear rather than arrogance. 

Sister Zoe Fletcher: This is so true; you feel like you want to show God that you are serious and want to do everything right, then you become confused and guilt-ridden when some of the “teachings” you are told about do not make sense to you personally.  Sure, some do get swept up in the preachy ego thing, but they were probably a bit like that before anyway.  Maybe they are the ones that never settle into a more moderate interpretation over time. 

Brother Mohamed Meeranudeen: It is normal to want to be the top student and when we think this is the way to be the top, chances are we will try for it. 

Brother Bilal Cleland: The security of a narrow totalitarian view of the world with only black and white - only attractive if you see Islam as the cause to reject all you have known.  I saw it as a continuation of the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus (a.s.), and thus built on the general Christian ethos. 

Sister Zoe Fletcher: But I think there is still room for an individual to follow their own intellectual decisions about which ahadits to accept and how to pray, without necessarily subscribing wholesale to a particular sect.  I think it is more important to know why you are doing what you are doing, to believe in it yourself, and that it has meaning for you in your relationship with Allah (s.w.t.). 

Brother John Lehmann: Some people are attracted to extreme or totalitarian ideologies.  Had these converts to Salafism been around in the 20s or 30s, they could have easily ended up as Communists, Fascists or National Socialists. 

Sister Naomi Green: How many are converting to be Salafi?  Everyone I know got into that after converting, and because the Salafis are the ones who befriended them when others ignored them. 

Brother John Lehmann: Yes, the Communists and Fascists also offered friendship and support to the disenfranchised and downtrodden. 

Brother Jak Kilby: When we are new to Islam, we are gushing, and we seek answers to so many questions. The so-called purveyors of Salafi da’wah come up with absolutes for everything and provide “proof” in modernist lawyer-styled presentation, without every side to the story or presenting the whole case, just to “win”.  I believe it is also part of today’s world, quick fix and take a pill.  The old better ways require time, consideration, reflection, guidance, understanding, and most of all,that all such things must unfold gradually.  That is not the way of remote controls or Google. 

Brother Dre AbdAlim: For many of us, the culture of Muslims are foreign.  I am Chinese, while the majority of Muslims are either Middle Eastern immigrants in the West, or Indonesian Malay at home.  I fit in neither side.  So, here come these Muslims interested in da’wah of the “pure” Islam with no cultural influence. 

Sister Zoe Fletcher: Yes, I found Salafis did not like it when you ask why, and some give answers like basically do not question, do not argue, that is just the way it is.  That does not gel with me because Islam is a very logical religion and I know there is a reason for everything in it.  If someone doesn't want to know the reason, maybe they do not really understand it themselves. 

Brother Jak Kilby: The thing is, a feature of Islam is that it fits any culture.  I found that as an English/Viking British man.  In many ways, our culture has been under siege for a long time in any case, so Islam was like rediscovering my roots and old core values.  Not foreign.  But when someone comes along telling us we have to wear Arab or Pakistani clothes, or roll up our trousers or something, I mean, ask them if they are crazy.  A good indication of the spread and acceptance of Islam is Africa, for just the reason that culture can remain with a few adjustments, and that has not been the case with Christianity.  Mind you, Wahhabism is something like extreme Protestant Christianity. 

Sister Zoe Fletcher: Brother Jak Kilby, exactly.  I was attracted to Islam because it spoke to the values I held inside, like finally being true to myself.  I actually see a lot of this cultural Islam and Wahhabism and Salafism as verging on the dreaded “innovation”. 

Brother Terence Helikaon Nunis: In many places, converts fall into Wahhabism because the people that welcome them the most are the Wahhabis.  This is an inadequacy of Muslims, particularly in places like Australia and the UK, where many mosques are ethnic based and the religion is equated with a certain culture. 

Another reason is that Wahhabism seems to be simple and clearly-defined.  There is the “saved” and there is the “damned”.  It grants some form of certainty in an uncertain world. 

Brother Zeeshan Mahmood: Modern Wahhabi tactics derive much from Christian missionaries, is how I see it.  Wahhabis make halal haram, and vice versa.  This is a serious matter.  If Allah (s.w.t.) has Decreed something halal, and you make it haram, is that not enough to scare you? 

Sister Naomi Green: That is just it, brother.  Most Muslims in the UK are Asian, but the Pakistani sisters often do not even attend mosque.  Some in England do not permit women to enter at all.  I had quite a few Malay friends who led me to Islam, but they were students and all went back home.  I was in my final years at university when I converted.  There were a few Arab sisters, but the Wahhabis are the main ones who befriend new Muslims. 

Sister Andra Riddle Goddard: Our mosques are North African predominantly, and the one nearest my home told me I can only come for juma’ah.  I said, “If I turn up during the week, you’d turn me away?” 

“Yes.  A woman praying alone in the mosque, her prayers are invalid.  And no, you cannot pray behind us; you are only allowed to pray behind your husband.” 

They were speechless when I started recounting Qur’an and ahadits about how that is just wrong.  Needless to say, I did not darken their doorstep again. 

Sister Naomi Green: I was turned away from a mosque in London during Ramadhan.  I was over on training and missed the prayer as a result.  I was told similar thing.  I did not even know being excluded was something that happened until then.  I was recently converted.  I was shocked. 

Brother Terence Helikaon Nunis: We had a mosque in Singapore that did not allow women, the Angullia Mosque.  A complaint was made, and the authorities stepped in, and the management committee were educated. 

Brother John Lehmann: Most of the mosques here do not permit women to attend, and the ones that do allow women in tend to do it for juma’ah and ‘Iyd prayers only.  With that said, there is little demand for women to pray in mosques here. 

Sister Naomi Green: That is sad.  I would not say there is no demand as such.  I am sure it is a lonely place for female converts and students. 

Brother John Lehmann: Possibly so, I do not know of any female converts, but you could be right.  The community in West Yorkshire is mainly Pakistani Indian. 

Sister Naomi Green: You would not know of them if they have nowhere to meet.  Unfortunately, that means home halaqah with all the dangers that brings from my experience. 

Sister Andra Riddle Goddard: Brother Terence Helikaon Nunis, my local mosque will not like it if they have to mess with this California girl . But they got off easy, the little prayer hall has just moved into a proper mosque building with “a big enough women's room”.  Yeah, but if I am the only woman there to pray, it is still invalid?  Funny, none of the mosques in Paris where I have been the only female ever said a word of this.  But I still consider going in and praying at the back of the main room.  That is just nasty, what they do. 

Brother John Lehmann, yes, that whole “the best mosque for a woman is the inner part of her home”.  Sorry, I tell them, how am I to know other Muslims, to learn from the imam, from home, alone?  And a woman can never be refused entry to a mosque for prayers, she has much right as a man, under God’s Law.  But yes, if West Yorkshire is like Sheffield, and like here in Normandy, it is pretty appalling. 

And what if, after having actually attended juma’ah prayers, I would like to talk to the imam about his sermon?  We would regularly do this at church, free access to the pastor after the service.  But heaven help me if I should loiter at the mosque, ask to talk to the imam!  I will not try that again in a hurry! 

Brother John Lehmann: Unless you can speak Urdu, you would not be able to discuss the sermon with the imam.  Almost all talks are in Urdu in this part of the world. 

Sister Andra Riddle Goddard: Nice for the Brits, eh? Here they are bilingual French-Arabic.  But language aside, my point being that a woman is not allowed to talk to the imam.  Crazy.  One friend’s mosque, in Strasbourg, only lets the women be in the women's room during their own marriage.  But they are an odd bunch.  The imam is nearly annually at haj, paid for by the congregation, and they all bring him food and treats all year, while they themselves toil away living on little, so he can travel.  They are dangerous. 

Sister Naomi Green: Wow.  That is crazy.  I was recently asked to be on the executive committee on my mosque.  Men and women have equal voting rights as well.  Not without controversy but the women have been strong members over the years.  One of three female members (1 Pakistani and 1 Somali).  Our sermons are Arabic and English.  Even Urdu speakers will do Arabic first.  We have our issues but not that. 

I had many arguments with the imam over the years.  I know him and his wife well.  They are Egyptian, but he is only part-time.  He used to do halaqah for women.  There are moves to restrict mixing between the sexes though.  Part of the move towards Salafism pushed by some members. 

Brother Terence Helikaon Nunis: As much as I complain about things in Singapore, the way things are described in those parts of the world make us look positively enlightened. 

Sister Naomi Green: It is the Malaysian and Singapore Malay sisters who changed things for us here.  We have a lot who come here to study medicine and were really active in the community when I converted.  My old friends moved back now.  They transformed attitudes.  Sadly now, they tend to stick among themselves more as the community has grown.  But they are still involved in some ways, and they left their mark in terms of space for women. 

Brother Terence Helikaon Nunis: We have slightly different problems with our convert communities.  Our issues are community outreach and governance.  No group can come in and start some ethnic-based mosque, and run things their way. 

Sister Andra Riddle Goddard: Sister Naomi Green, Wow, I dream of such a thing here!  But in these parts, they refer to that kind of “mixity” as “innovation”, and “American Islam”, which of course they do not consider “real Islam”.  Bless your congregation for their open hearts and minds! 

Sister Naomi Green: I just hope it does not change.  There are many who would love it to.  Another smaller mosque is more liberal with the mixing, but they also had a sort of marriage for visa scam tricking local girls.  Some link the “liberal” attitudes as an excuse to be more strict. 

Sister Andra Riddle Goddard: I pray not, Sister Naomi! 

Sister Jamil Mahfoud: I have been Muslim for almost 4 years now, but I seem to be different.  If my heart did not agree with something, I would not take it on.  There were extreme types attempting to get me to follow their way, but I would use verses from Qur’an to show that what they were saying goes against the book, but they would refer to a hadits, as if to imply that ahadits supersede Qur’an.  In the end, I became a Qur’an-only Muslim, and consider ahadits innovations, much to the chagrin of all Muslims around me.  I have been threatened with being beheaded twice. 

Sister Florence Monique Hilgers: I do not know about you, but this has caused me to be called a “hypocrite” on quite some occasions, and avoided by several at the masjid.  Hijab-shaming looks and talks coming in first place.  So be it. 

Sister Jamil Mahfoud: Yes, I have copped it all myself.  They try to argue with me and I remain calm, diplomatic and peaceful, and use Qur’an to explain my reasoning.  They feel that because I am only a new Muslim, and still very much a novice, that I am uneducated.  They say that 85% of the world's Muslims claim that I am wrong, and who am I to be different, so I share a verse that says something along the lines of “do not follow the masses as they will lead you astray.”  Then the threats begin. 

Sister Florence Monique Hilgers: Sister Jamil Mahfoud, I am sorry you have been threatened.  I do not know where you live, but this is unacceptable and certainly not Islamic behaviour. 

Sister Jamil Mahfoud: I am in Melbourne, Australia, and you would not expect such extremism here, but it certainly exists.  I kept screenshots in case my body turned up somewhere with my head missing. 

Sister Florence Monique Hilgers: Sister Jamil Mahfoud, if they threaten you like that, can you not report this to the authorities?  This is severe. 

Sister Jamil Mahfoud: I could have, but I would not want to bring further animosity to myself.  And the police do very little once they know you are Muslim.  If anything, they will treat you worse. 

Sister Florence Monique Hilgers: Sister Jamil Mahfoud, I am very happy with my decision to keep my faith to myself for that very reason.  I do not need the lectures, the hijab shaming ... it is unproductive, but I need to be left in peace to pray and stay God-conscious my own way.  So, at times, I just do not go to the masjid when it gets overwhelming.  I take a break from them.  That said, no one has ever threatened me and that is a whole other level.  Insha’Allah, you will remain safe. 

Sister Jamil Mahfoud: Insha’Allah.  However, I am curious about the hijab thing.  Where did a head covering become known as a hijab?  Where does it say to cover your head?  I mean, I know it is in the bible, but where is it in Qur’an for all women and not the wives of the Prophet (s.a.w.)? 

Sister Florence Monique Hilgers: Sister Jamil Mahfoud, well, I have not found it to be stated in the Qur’an.  Really, you will have to look at older posts about the whole hijab issue.  There are good ones, or ask this as a new question.  I still have this question, and so far I have not seen or felt the answer to be that I must specifically cover my hair. 

Sister Jamil Mahfoud: When I have come across the word “hijab” in Qur’an, it refers to a veil.  It is used such as a veil over one’s heart or a partition like a screen to divide.  However, in saying this, I do feel it to be okay to wear a head covering while praying.  There is another word phonetically pronounced “khumira”, that is in reference to females covering their bumps, so to speak, to not bring attention to themselves.  Then again, in another part of Qur’an, Allah (s.w.t.) tells of a story of Moses (a.s.) who married a girl and worked for the father and the way the girl approaches him appears to sound sexual in that she swayed her hips.  I would probably need to look this up again.  I am still a novice, after all.  What I do not understand is the segregation of men and women.  Where does this come from? 

Sister Vivi YZ: The majority view in the Muslim world, strengthened by a few ahadits, is that it is mandatory.  The minority view is that it is cultural.  Orthodox Christian and Jewish women cover their heads too.  One Christian lady pointed to a verse in the Bible.  Whether you want to cover your head or not, is entirely up to you. There is no compulsion in religion, as the Qur’an Says. 

Sister Jamil Mahfoud: Over their heads or over their bosom?  What translation are you referencing?  You lost me at “strengthened by ahadits” as well. 

The word, “hijab” refers to “veil”, in Qur'an but that word is not in that verse.  Although my Arabic is certainly not perfect. 

You mean a hadits from Sayyidatina ‘Aishah (r.a.)? The same source which claims a part of Qur’an was eaten by a goat, and lost, in another ahadits?  If you believe that, then you cannot believe Allah (s.w.t.) when He Says He will Protect the Qur’an. 

Sister Vivi YZ: Sister Jamil Mahfoud, the Qur’an Says to follow it, and the example of the Prophet (s.a.w.).  That is why we use ahadits - because they are recorded sayings of what the Prophet (s.a.w.) said or did.  Those who study the ahadits will tell you about the long, laborious and painstaking process that goes into verifying one hadits.  There are 6 conditions - three has to do with the person who recorded it, such as character and strength of memorisation; another three to do with the content.  Not meeting even one condition lowers the rank of the hadits.  The same experts will also tell you ahadits must be read in terms of the context and the necessity of having a good teacher. 

Sister Jamil Mahfoud: Yes, I agree we should follow the example of the Prophets (s.a.w.) and Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w.) was graced with the book for us to follow.  The Qur’an is what Muslims should follow.  As for the science of ahadits, what if I were to use the same rationality for following ahadits?  That being that if I find something from Swahih al-Bukhari that conflicts with Qur’an, could I then dismiss everything that comes from Swahih al-Bukhari? 

Sister Vivi YZ: Sister Jamil Mahfoud, as I said above, if you want to learn more, you will need to get a good teacher. 

Sister Jamil Mahfoud: A good teacher?  Is not the Book of Allah the best teacher? 

Sister Vivi YZ: Are you saying studying the Qur’an on your own is sufficient?  Muslims accept the Qur’an and ahadits, as legitimate forms of sources for deriving Islamic laws.  Both are considered a guidance from Allah (s.w.t.).  This is the reason Muslims today pray the way they do.  The details are not found in the Qur’an.  If you were to study the ahadits from a teacher, you would know which ahadits were falsified, the various categories of ahadits, how they should be read.  Quranists or those who only follow the Quran and reject the authority of the ahadits are not considered mainstream Muslims. 

Sister Jamil Mahfoud: Ahadits were outlawed by the swahabah following the death of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) due to them worrying that people would follow ahadits, and forget Qur’an.  Ahadits writing did not surface until 200 years after his death.  As for prayer, the Qur’an does mention how to pray, but does not go into ritualistic detail.  And if it is important to pray in a ritualistic fashion, then why are there differences between sects?  If ahadits were so important, then why did Allah (s.w.t.) not mention that Muslims should follow another book written by men?  In fact, Allah (s.w.t.) Tells us, in the Qur’an, in many places, not to follow books of ahadits or other books.  I am happy to change my mind if someone can show me where, in the Qur’an, it tells us to follow the books of men. 

As for Qur’an-only Muslims being called kafirun, I am well aware of that.  However, did Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) follow other books written by men?  If ahadits were so important, then why do many contradict the Qur’an?  And if they do, then why does the Muslim world follow them?  Again, I am more than happy to be proved wrong.  I earlier mentioned that I go with my heart, and the first ever ahadits I read was about innovation and all innovation is in the hellfire.  I remember thinking, well is this not an innovation as it is not Qur’an Itself?  I will never forget my first instinctual gut feeling thought, and I have had trouble believing ahadits ever since.  Many have tried to sway me otherwise, but they fail to use proof other than quoting ahadits, and they tend to just call me kafir, which generally shows a lack of knowledge and debating skills. 

In the Qur’an, Allah (s.w.t.) Tells us that when we argue or debate that we should do it in a way that is better than our opponent, and ahadits followers always seem to forget this.  However, I do not consider this a debate but rather an educational discussion.  I do hope that I can learn from you and others, insha’Allah. 

Sister Vivi YZ: You might want to start a separate thread altogether on this if you want to discuss this.  Brother Terence Helikaon Nunis knows more about it than I do. 

Sister Vivi YZ: Hence, the importance of learning from good teachers.  The majority of Muslims believe that bid’ah al-hasanah, good innovations, are allowed.  It is Wahhabis who say it is not allowed, and that only ahadits that are swahih can be followed.  The majority of Muslims believe ahadits that are not in the swahih category can be followed - innovation that is good is fine to do. 

Regarding the differences in ritual prayers, it is minor.  There is not much difference between the four main schools of jurisprudential thought.  The same prayers are recited and the same movements performed. 

The Muslim world does not follow the “books of men”, or works of imagination.  Ahadits are records of what the Prophet (s.a.w.) said or did.  They are compilations. 

Anyway, that was Brother Terence’s comment on another thread: Anyone who denies the corpus of ahadith is regarded as kafirun, because they are also denying the Qur’an.  This is because the Qur’an Itself was compiled through mutawatir narrations among the swahabah, from the Prophet (s.a.w.), then written down.  The rejection of individual narrations does not constitute kufr, since individual narrations are not part of the articles of faith. 

Only those learned enough will know the difference, the technicalities that make one kafir.  Brother Terence used to handle apostasy cases.  He should know. 

Sister Jamil Mahfoud: Apostasy?  How can there be such a thing if there's no compulsion in religion?  That is the problem with ahadits.  They make people extreme.  According to ahadits, if someone leaves Islam, then they are to be killed.  Is this representative of a religion of peace?  I think not. 

Sister Vivi YZ: Killing for apostasy was discussed, and rejected, in another thread. 

Brother Bilal Cleland: Sister Jamil Mahfoud, you are mixing with the wrong people.  I am also in Melbourne and have not encountered this behaviour in 40 years, but I would not tolerate it for one minute. 

Sister Jamil Mahfoud: Actually, Brother Bilal Cleland, these people who threatened me are in Sydney.  But there are extreme types here also. 

Sister Zafirah Lenore Jeffrey: The Qur’an was compiled based on mutawatir ahadits.  If you do not accept ahadits, you are not accepting the Qur’an either.  There being no compulsion in religion is in reference to the shari’ah.  The issue of ‘aqidah is not to be compromised.  It has been made clear who is considered within the fold of the Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah and who is not.  Further, the death penalty for apostasy is not the mainstream opinion.  The logic I put forward was as sound as it gets.  It was the result of 12 years I spent learning Arabic and the religious sciences. 

Brother Keith Esa Washington: They have more powerful media. 

Sister Naomi Green: And more money.  There is a brother here.  I do not know who he is in person - the community is small, but I do not know the convert brothers.  But he comments on a local muslim group.  His Facebook profile is just plain scary.  I just looked at it today as he follows the Arabic name system, and I was curious: Abu something al-Irlandi.  There are lots of dead people, and calling for Muslims to act in Syria.  I assume in jihad, but it is more implied.  He was saying the local MP killed last week, is in hell, and condemning Muslims, who she did a lot for, for praising her.  Scary stuff.  It is a big problem in England.  But I did not think it had reached Northern Ireland.  I hate these people becoming strong here. 

My worry is he is being quite prominent in local forums, spouting this.  We are just about to try to build the first mosque, a refurbished building, not an Eastern-style one, and have a lot of Far Right, White Supremist types here opposing us.  They will use this as ammunition against us.  Or worse. 

Brother Keith Esa Washington: Agent Provocateurs sometimes slip in and try to push buttons.  Then have a second agent move in softer on targets they think can become assets to them.  I ignore them and report them.  They work in teams, so be careful. 

Sister Naomi Green: Who to, though?  They have not done anything actually illegal.  Even the ones who tried to get me, they say a lot of stuff that is not actually illegal but close to the wire. Plus, while most do not agree with bombs in the West - some are sympathetic to jihadis in Syria for example, but they will not say ISIS.  It is hard to know when that line is crossed.  They may have extremist views, but not actually be “extremists” in wanting to blow people up. 

Brother Keith Esa Washington: They target certain individuals, then try to recruit or incite.  The Black Panthers had not done anything illegal, either.  Freedom of Information act shows who entrapped who and how.  Learn from history. 

Sister Naomi Green: I know I certainly was targeted, along with another sister who was a close friend then.  I rebelled.  She is still embroiled in that stuff.  But I know little about her.  I got involved in community; she has isolated herself, only communicating with some milder Salafis.  But I am kafir in their eyes for rejecting Wahhabism. 

Brother Brandon Tan: Salafism offers what most converts who are lost are looking for - certainty!  Just the same in Christianity. 

Sister Naomi Green: Salafis are very black and white on everything.  Sometimes that certainty seems comforting. 

Sister Becca Kaoukine: I fell into it.  Just my experience, but the extreme nature of Salafism, the rigidity and all the rules made me feel this was a way to somehow make up for my “bad” past, and do a complete 180 from who I was before Islam.  I already wanted to live as a Muslim, so why not try and get rid of your bad past, was my thinking.  It gave me a reason to say I was better than this or that person and actually feel like what I was saying was true.  I hate this the most, I became a very judgemental person during that time.  They were not any more or less welcoming of me than other groups in the area at the time.  But in hindsight, I realise it was my own mental issues that drove me to find and into Salafism. 

Sister Vivi YZ: A cousin of mine is born Muslim.  He did not have much religious education when young.  He became a judgemental “born again Salafi” in his 30s.  I think Sister Becca has a point.  It probably is to make up for his past in his case. 

Sister Naomi Green: Well, there is extremism in two forms.  One Saudi Salafi state-sponsored which demands loyalty to authority and the state which is “officially” peaceful and the even more extreme form that demands people take things into their own hands, ISIS-style.  There is a thin line between them.  The former tend to be more academic and the latter reactionary,  I think a lot of the latter follow your pattern, and join ISIS to satisfy their violent urges. 

Brother Dawood Robinson: If you control the media, or are the loudest voice, you get noticed. The da’wah guys in my area, who I am friends with, are very staunch black or white type Salafis.  They have everything slotted into a box so they feel comfortable in any situation.  That said, they put up with my gentle teasing and trolling questions about what type of male footwear is haram.  Converts often see Salafis first, so think that is the only or best Islam, especially since the Salafis tell them so.  Me, I was exposed to Islam first by non-practising Bangladeshi kitchen hands who got drunk and frequently visited brothels.  They however would not eat pork, and if I asked any questions about the diyn, would quickly say, “Please do not judge the religion by our behaviour”. 

Brother Jak Kilby: One who influenced me a lot in my early days before I became Muslim was a Ghanaian who was alcoholic, but was adamant in speaking out for Islam.  I remained friends with him until he died.  Also, a South African Muslim who used to make a lot of da’wah to me but who was a total crook, heavily involved in the drug world and in defrauding people, not least the Saudis who would visit London at the time for everything haram.  His South African Muslim friends would tell me that if I saw him in the mosque, he would appear to be the most pious Muslim in this world, yet we all knew another reality.  In some ways, both of these opened my mind to Islam, as did travel.  But it was not until I met serious practising Muslims, happily who were mostly Sufis, that I took Islam seriously and accepted it.  Muslims need to know that the best da’wah is their good behaviour. 

Brother Chard Richardson: Funny, no pork, but anything else is rife!  Yet often, if the boot was on the other foot, would be quick to blame somebody eating pork who was religious in other ways. 

Brother Dawood Robinson: Brother Chard Richardson, they took pains to not label others.  They self-identified as bad Muslims.  Insha’Allah, today they have returned to the haqq.  Sometimes, we learn more from observing what not to do! 

Brother Jak Kilby: I had one Sierra Leonian Muslim friend, a musician.  Visiting him at home I was amused to find in his living room some sort of display, prominent on one side was a beautiful picture of the Ka’bah, then “Allah” and “Muhammad” in Arabic each side, and next to these some brand of extra class malt whiskey.