And there were many good looking young ladies there.

And there were many good looking young ladies there. The trap was well set for us. And we were single and available, young and healthy. And temptation was always there. I had asked those churches to place my name and address on their mailing list, to let me know when they had a function, and to send their good-looking young ladies to my apartment for the ride to the church. All of that did not happen coincidentally.

In my view, nothing, absolutely nothing, happens by a coincident, not even a stone rolling down a mountain or a leaf falling on the ground. Everything happens according to a plan put forth by the Planner and Executor of the world, the One and Only God Who created it and everything in it. "Accidentally," "coincidentally," and "by chance" are words and expressions which should be eliminated from language altogether; they are intruders. They are sacrilegious.

My visits to churches and Christian homes were never done out of a pure desire to have a good time, to socialize, to have one girl-friend or more as some of my roommates had anticipated, nor to kill time. To me, killing time is one of the worst murder crimes. I had a burning desire to see things for myself. Some promoters of those church programs were more aggressive than others.

They wanted to gauge how serious we were about our religious beliefs in order, perhaps, to evaluate their chances to succeed in converting us to Christianity, and they did so in various ways. There were occasions, therefore, when tempers rose high, accusations flew, and offenses committed.

Yes, there were times when I had to pay a dear price for defending my Islamic creed in the face of attacks launched by those promoters, for not keeping my mouth shut as was the case with my nice Indian roommate Aziz who just did not want to offend anybody. I have never hesitated to offend others, including my closest friends, when I was convinced that they were offending the Almighty. And there was always a price to pay, and I gladly paid it even when it hurt very badly.

This is why I have been called many names by many people, by Muslims and non-Muslims. I still am being called names, but it is O.K. with me as long as the Almighty calls me a good, though far from being perfect, servant of His. I do not care if all people of the world call me bad names. As long as my Lord and Maker keeps the gates of His mercy open for me, name calling does not hurt me in the least.