Love Challenge Leads American to Islam

7/30/2019 Love Challenge Leads American to Islam

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Non-muslims who revert to Islam

May 22.

Love Challenge Leads American to Islam:::

Growing up to hate Arabs, Islam and Muslims,

a Washington young man meeting with a

veiled Muslim girl at a 2007 Washington campfor scholarship winners was the first step

towards finding Islam.

"I... grew up in Tacoma, and I'd never seen aMuslim," Carlos Sandoval, a graduate of Mount

Tahoma High School, told The Bellingham

Herald."To me at the time Arab, Islam, Muslim it

was all the same."

Seeing Bashair Alazadi, a 16-year-old Muslim

who donned the traditional headscarf, thethen 17-year-old Catholic man wanted to dig

deep into her character to know about her

beliefs.

Born in Iraq, Alazadi relocated with her family

to Everett at age 4. She was used to questionsabout Islam, especially after the events of

Sept. 11, 2001.

"He asked why I wore the scarf," Alazadi said.

"He wanted to see my hair."

As he kept to ask her out, the answer was

always no, leaving him only campus limits totalk to her.

At this moment, Sandoval decided to go on a

challenge to prove that she wasbrainwashed.

"Initially, I hated Islam. I tried to convince her

she'd been brainwashed, that her religionwas oppressive," he said.

"I bought a Quran so I could read it andstump her with questions. The more I read,

the more I learned, the more I came toappreciate Islam."

A relationship that began as a challenge,Sandoval admitted, changed his life.

"Bashair was smarter than me, more

articulate. She was more assimilated to thiscountry than I was," he said.

"I grew up a Mexican, and there was a stigma

attached to that. She grew up Muslim, and


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there was a stigma for her, too."

Falling in love, Sandoval and Alazadi askedher father for permission to marry on Aug.

29, 2009.

"I converted to Islam just before thewedding. I didn't do it just to marry Bashair. I

considered it the final step in my study of

Islam," he said.

"It's not the right path for everyone. It wasthe right path for me."

Finding Islam with his wife, Sandoval is morelikely to defend his new faith against

misconception rather than her.

"If someone says something that isn't trueabout Islam, I might ignore them. Carlos will

take them on," Alazadi said.

"I grew up Muslim, but he knows more aboutit now than I do.

Alazadi graduated in December and is

working as an accountant in Seattle, studyingfor her certified public accountant

credentials.

Sandoval graduates next weekend and wantsto work in juvenile detention.

The happy couple appreciated the way their

parents accepted their decisions."My father didn't like him when he first met

him, but now he treats him like a son," Alazadi

said.

As for Sandoval, his wife made an impression

with his parents from their first meeting

together."My parents love Bashair, too," he said.

"We're proud of the way both our parents

accepted us and our decisions."

The United States is home to a Muslim

community of between six to eight million.According to a 2011 study by the Pew Forum

on Religion and Public Life, about 20 percentof US Muslims are converts to the faith. Of

those converts, about 54 percent were menand 46 percent were women.

An earlier Gallup poll found that the majority

of Americans Muslims are loyal to theircountry and optimistic about their future in

the United States.


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Photo:

Love Challenge Leads American to Islam::: Growing up to hate Arabs, Islam and Muslims, a Washington young m

meeting with a veiled Muslim girl at a 2007 Washington camp for scholarship winners was the first step towards

finding Islam. "I... grew up in Tacoma, and I'd never seen a Muslim," Carlos Sandoval, a graduate of Mount Tahom

High School, told The Bellingham Herald. "To me at the time Arab, Islam, Muslim it was all the same." SeeinBashair Alazadi, a 16-year-old Muslim who donned the traditional headscarf, the then 17-year-old Catholic man wa

to dig deep into her character to know about her beliefs. Born in Iraq, Alazadi relocated with her family to Everett a

age 4. She was used to questions about Islam, especially after the events of Sept. 11, 2001. "He asked why I wore thscarf," Alazadi said. "He wanted to see my hair." As he kept to ask her out, the answer was always no, leaving him

campus limits to talk to her. At this moment, Sandoval decided to go on a challenge to prove that she was brainwash

"Initially, I hated Islam. I tried to convince her she'd been brainwashed, that her religion was oppressive," he said. "Ibought a Quran so I could read it and stump her with questions. The more I read, the more I learned, the more I cam

to appreciate Islam." A relationship that began as a challenge, Sandoval admitted, changed his life. "Bashair was

smarter than me, more articulate. She was more assimilated to this country than I was," he said. "I grew up a Mexicand there was a stigma attached to that. She grew up Muslim, and there was a stigma for her, too." Falling in love,

Sandoval and Alazadi asked her father for permission to marry on Aug. 29, 2009. "I converted to Islam just before twedding. I didn't do it just to marry Bashair. I considered it the final step in my study of Islam," he said. "It's not the

right path for everyone. It was the right path for me." Finding Islam with his wife, Sandoval is more likely to defendnew faith against misconception rather than her. "If someone says something that isn't true about Islam, I might igno

them. Carlos will take them on," Alazadi said. "I grew up Muslim, but he knows more about it now than I do. Alaza

graduated in December and is working as an accountant in Seattle, studying for her certified public accountantcredentials. Sandoval graduates next weekend and wants to work in juvenile detention. The happy couple appreciate

the way their parents accepted their decisions. "My father didn't like him when he first met him, but now he treats h

ike a son," Alazadi said. As for Sandoval, his wife made an impression with his parents from their first meetingtogether. "My parents love Bashair, too," he said. "We're proud of the way both our parents accepted us and our

decisions." The United States is home to a Muslim community of between six to eight million. According to a 2011

study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, about 20 percent of US Muslims are converts to the faith. Ofthose converts, about 54 percent were men and 46 percent were women. An earlier Gallup poll found that the major

of Americans Muslims are loyal to their country and optimistic about their future in the United States..

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Love Challenge Leads American to Islam