photo: The National
23 Soccer players decide to convert to Islam after visiting Dubai for a soccer training camp.
There have been numerous stories of citizens of non-Islamic countries converting to Islam after experiencing the culture firsthand. Recently, another of these stories has emerged that provides an excellent insight into the conversion experience.
23 Cameroonians, all members of an academy dedicated to poor, orphaned, and homeless youth, attended a two month long soccer training camp in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Embracing Islam
During their stay in Dubai, they became interested in the Islamic faith after the positive reactions they had with Muslims. The team attended the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities, also known as IACAD, where they spent two days learning about Islam. Much of their lesson was devoted to understanding Halal and Haram, which are two categories of objects and actions. Halal means permissible, and denotes any object or action that a Muslim is allowed to partake in. Haram indicates which of these things are forbidden.
After receiving their two day long lesson on the Islamic religion and being exposed to the culture and customs of its people, all but two members of the team, including the coach and a female priest, made the decision to convert to Islam. Many of these players were previously Christians. The players attributed their decision to convert to Islam to the kindness they received from the citizens of Dubai, as well as the peacefulness preached by the religion. These poor young men, some of them orphaned, were treated as brothers in Dubai. After witnessing the true nature of the Muslim culture, they decided to convert to the path of Islam and head back to Cameroon as changed men.
Islam: a Peaceful Religion
While the United States and many other countries continue to battle terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda and ISIS, many U.S citizens have come to associate the entire Islamic religion with these radical extremists. Contrary to this fairly wide-held belief, countless Muslims have defended their faith as one of peace and tolerance.