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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Converts To Islam Heather Olmstead My Journey to Allah I am a new Muslimah. I took shahada on August 15, 2002. I am so glad I did. Life is much better with Islam. I had been searching all my life for a way to Allah. I was raised Christian. I explored many different faiths looking for Truth and guidance. Now I have found it. First of all, a bit of background about me. I was born and mostly raised in Wisconsin in the United States.

When I was born, my parents belonged to the Quakers. So that was my first experience with religion. The Quakers are very open-minded, so I was exposed to many different people and faiths. I was raised with very few prejudices. My parents divorced when I was 9 years old. I think due to the divorce, my parents both began going through some sort of spiritual crisis. Every weekend my brother and I alternated which parent we were with.

Due to their searching, we went to many different churches, all Protestant Christian. My mother brought us to a group of Pentecostals, where they spoke in tongues (an angelic language believed to be sent through them by God) and healed people by praying. I remember having to stand on the chairs to see over all the people to catch the action.

My father brought us to a Congregational church (the exact opposite of the Pentecostals), a Dutch Reformed (where my new step-mother went), and a group of divorced Christians that met for worship. Eventually my mother worked her way back to the church of her childhood. The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. For any of you that know anything about Lutherans, these guys are the strictest.

They arent allowed to pray with anyone besides other Wisconsin Synod Lutherans, even other Christians, because they do not believe the same. I personally believe they are near cult status (though I would never say that in front of my grandmother!) In that church I went through Catechism classes (where you are taught, once a week after school for three years, what the Church teaches) and was confirmed (graduation). But it all never added up for me. I was still searching.

In high school I made friends with other Christians who actually observed their faith (where I am from, everyone is Christian, they just dont necessarily practice it). We met for Bible study and on weekends visited various churches. I studied every denomination I could looking for the Truth.