Priests Embracing Islam - Muhammad Aman Hobohm, former Missionary (Germany) and Viacheslav Polosin, former Archpriest (Russia) Sheikh Abo Karim El-Marakshy
11- Muhammad Aman Hobohm Diplomat, Missionary and Social Worker (Germany)
Audiobook read by Khalid Ibrahim Al-Dossary
Why Do Westerners Embrace Islam?
There are various reasons for it. In the first place, truth always has its force. The basic tenets of Islam are so rational, so natural and so appealing that an honest truth-seeker cannot help being impressed by them. To take, for example, the belief in monotheism. How it raises the dignity of man and how it frees us from the grip of superstition! How naturally it leads to the equality of men, for all have been created by the same God and all are the servants of the same Lord.
For the Germans, in particular, the belief in God is a source of inspiration, a source of fearless courage and a source of the feeling of security. Then the idea of life after death turns the tables. Life in this world remains no more the main objective, and [a] great part of human energy is devoted to the betterment of the Hereafter.
The faith in the Day of Judgement automatically spurs a man to give up misdeeds, for good deeds alone can ensure eternal salvation, although the wrong deeds may prosper here for a limited period. The belief that none can escape the consequences of the judgement of a Just, Impartial and Omniscient Lord makes one think twice before one does anything wrong and surely this internal check is more effective than the most efficient police in the world.
Another thing that attracts foreigners to Islam is its emphasis on tolerance. Then the daily prayers teach one punctuality and the one month of fasting enables one to exercise self-control over oneself and without doubt punctuality and self-discipline are two of the most important attributes of a good man and a great man.
Now comes the real achievement of Islam. It is the only ideology which has succeeded in instilling in its followers the spirit of observing the ethical and moral limitations without external compulsion. For a Muslim knows that, wherever he is, he is being observed by God. This belief keeps him away from sin. As man is naturally inclined towards goodness, Islam also offers peace of mind and heart, and this is what is totally absent from the Western society of today.
I have lived under different systems of life and have had the opportunity of studying various ideologies, but have come to the conclusion that none is as perfect as Islam.
Communism has its attractions, so have secular democracy and Nazism. But none has got a complete code of a noble life. Only Islam has it, and that is why good men embrace it.
Islam is not theoretical; it is practical. Islam is not a departmental affair; it means complete submission to the will of God.
From "Islam, Our Choice"
12- Archpriest Viacheslav Polosin (Russia)
Viacheslav Sergeevich Polosin was born in 1956. In 1979 he graduated from the Philosophy Faculty of MGU and in 1984 from the Moscow Ecclesiastical Seminary. He was ordained a priest and served in parishes in the dioceses of Central Asia and Kaluga of RPTs.
In 1990 he was elevated to the rank of archpriest. In the same year he was elected a people's deputy of RSFSR from Kaluga region and headed the committee of the Supreme Soviet on freedom of conscience. While working in the Supreme Soviet, he graduated from the diplomatic academy of the ministry of foreign affairs and defended his dissertation on the subject: "The Russian Orthodox church and the state in USSR, 1971-1991." From 1993 he has been an employee of the staff of the State Duma on relations with public associations and religious organizations. He was a member of the Russian Christian Democratic Movement and a member of the Council of Christian Organizations.
In 1991 he went on leave from the Kaluga diocese and since 1995 he has not officiated in liturgies. In his interview with the Musulmane journal, he officially called himself a Muslim: "I consider that the Koran is the final Revelation on earth, sent down to the Prophet Muhammed. There is no God but the One God, Allah, and Muhammed is his Messenger."
Viacheslav Polosin is the author of many scholarly works on historical, political, religious, and philosophical subjects. In February of this year he defended another dissertation on the subject: "The dialectics of myth and political myth-making." His basic philosophical ideas are presented in his book "Myth, Religion, and the State" (Moscow, 1999).
In an interview with the journal "Musulmane;" VIACHESLAV POLOSIN said that Islam is not an offshoot from Christianity but a second and great reform of Abrahamic monotheism. Abraham believed in the one God and was the first to express this publicly. He announced it and confirmed it for his successors, becoming the "father" of all believers. Subsequently this tradition suffered deviations. It is known that all of the prophets--incidentally many of them also are called "saviors"--criticized the people for their deviation into heathenism. And the greatest prophet, Jesus, also criticized people for heathenism.
More than that, he himself spoke of himself in parables as sent by God with a special mission. Before this people said: "Prophets are sinners like us." But God sent a sinless Angel of God. In the Bible angels are called "sons of God" (Job 38.7) who really was a pure prophet but he was not obeyed. They conceived the desire to destroy him. He criticized the dominating shortcomings of the time and spread the Good News of the one God beyond the boundaries of a single people, for all people; this was a great reform of Judaism.
Islam is the second reform, cleansing the Christianity of the sixth and seventh centuries from the pagan accretions which has been formed in the period of its acquiring official status and compulsory mass acceptance
What is attractive in Islam is simply Monotheism in its pure form in order not to think of God in an unworthy manner. I like it when there are no contradictions and there is logical consistency.
The Glorious Koran says outright that the truth is not contradictory. There is the doctrine of the transcendental God, the Creator, the Almighty, the Merciful and all the rest should be in agreement with this. If something contradicts this, that means it must be eliminated.
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