Katerina Nordin-Phillips, a History graduate from Soas, embraced
Islam in 2003 aged 14.
My mum was a lapsed Catholic, and my dad had grown up
Muslim in Malaysia but lost his faith when he moved here.
I was of no religion but had grown up with Christian culture from
my mum.
A Buddhist friend started experimenting with drugs, and we
would have debates about religion and theology. The debates
woke me up and I realised that I believed in God, and started to
study different religions.
Before reading up about Islam, I had assumed that the Prophet
was just a random individual, but the fact that he followed on
from all the other prophets and had that direct link made so
much sense. It reinforced the belief that Islam is for everyone,
and has a place in the wider picture of the world. When I started
to read the Qur’an, a lot of internal questions were answered. I
find it inspiring that it still resonates from 1400 years ago and has
never been changed. It made sense to have a lifestyle that was so
geared to God. Islam had the perfect balance between logic and
spirituality.
Around the same time that I was looking into Islam, my Mum and
Dad were doing the same and we all managed to reach the same
conclusion independently. Following this, my older sisters
embraced Islam too.
As converts, we can bridge the gap using our own personal
experiences, but those new to the faith should take it at a pace
that they can handle, but the most important thing is to try not to
cut people off. We should show them the beauty of Islam, not
run off into some sort of secluded community.