Introducing the Revert Support Network.

The network committee consists of Muslims, many of whom are reverts and have undergone their own journey and believe that they individually and collectively have an obligation and genuine desire to assist others to help make their journey easier than it was for them.

The RSN is based in Melbourne, Australia and upcoming activities include a six week course for new Muslims.

More YouTube conversion stories (I can’t help myself, I’m a conversion-story-junkie):

Tony
Southern Baptist lady (didn’t catch the sister’s name)
Julie
Louise

Yesterday I posted my first vidcast “Tips for New Muslims: Approaching the Qur’an,” but I thought I’d do a written post on the topic as well. This is for those who can’t/don’t want to view vidcasts and also to make the content searchable in the future.

Introduction

The Qur’an, the holy scripture of Muslims, was revealed in the Arabic language to the Prophet Muhammad , peace be upon him, over fourteen hundred years ago. Muslims believe the Qur’an in its Arabic original is literally the word of God (not the word of Muhammad). As such, the English texts we read are really translations of the meanings of the Qur’an.

This post assumes that readers have little to no knowledge of Arabic, and is designed for those who have never read an English translation of the Qur’an.

Purifying intentions

Traditionally, Muslims perform ritual ablutions (a ritual ablution), purifying the bodies and souls, before touching a copy of the Qur’an. This isn’t a concern if you are simply reading an English translation, but it is good to make an intention that you want to read the translation of the Qur’an for the sake of Allah . This is because the intention behind any action is extremely important according to Islamic belief.

The holy Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “Actions are only by intention, and every person shall only have what he intended.”

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My very first vidcast. This week I talk about approaching the holy Qur’an for new Muslims or people generally interested in gaining a better understanding of Islam through reading a translation of the Islamic scripture.

Ages ago I was interviewed by journo Anna Krien for The Big Issue.  I had completely forgotten about it, until I was ego-surfing (I swear I was just testing out the Google widget in the Dashboard) and came across the article “Filling the God-Shaped Hole“.

Along with yours truly, Krien interviewed Marian Daltan, a theology historian and convert to Paganism; Sam a Muslim convert and regular on Muslim Village; Jonathon who embraced Christianity and others.