So to hear my husband say that God told him that it was okay...

So to hear my husband say that God told him that it was okay to mistreat me and the children just made me angry and more confused, because it felt like I was being punished for doubting what the church leaders told me. He finally left and I thought God had left me too. Then one day in June 2001, I met a wonderful Muslim man. I thought he was decreed to be my new husband.

He was not - but rather he was the catalyst that led me to finally opening my heart to the life I should have been leading all along - Islam. So I read everything I could find, trying to understand just what the status of women was and what was a mans responsibility to a woman. Not only was I surprised to find that my mother was incorrect but I was also pleased to find answers to the questions I had…