Ingrid Mattson – Muslim leader woman journey to Islam
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses their past experiences as a Muslim, including their belief in Islam and their ability to regain faith and values through their community. They also mention their positive experience with treating others with respect and building a community of supportive people. The speaker expresses gratitude for their past wealth and the opportunity to continue pursuing their passions.
AI: Summary ©
I didn't know any Muslims,
growing up. I grew up in Canada, and
the first Muslims I met were,
from Senegal and Mauritania
when I was, studying in France.
Wonderful people,
they're from,
very solid communities,
caring, compassionate communities,
and I I saw in them the spirit
of,
generosity,
patience, compassion
that really appealed to me,
just as from a friendship point of view.
But because they were such kind people,
I wanted to know more about their life,
about the country they lived in, their cultural
context.
And because of that, I realizing that they
were Muslim,
and they were very low key about it.
I mean, they weren't trying to push their
religion on me by any means.
I read about their religion.
I didn't know anything about Islam,
and, so for the first time I opened
up a Koran. And it was really the
Koran
that brought me to Islam because when I
at that point in my life, I didn't
have any faith in God,
and by the time I had spent some,
some time reading the Koran,
I found that I had regained my faith
in God. So it was really,
out of gratitude to the Quran
that I felt that I should continue to
learn,
you know, what is this tradition that brought
me
this, sacred book that allowed me to regain
something so valuable in my life.
And how difficult has it been here in
the last to actually accept?
Well, I think that I mean, the first
hurdle
for, certainly for my friends and family was
just, understanding the implications of Islam. You know,
I became a Muslim in the mid mid
eighties, and at that time,
Islam wasn't in the news like it is
now, for better or worse.
So there was a lot of fear about
what that would mean, with respect to my
life,
And of course, many of my friends and
family
felt that at least, putting myself in a
position where,
I was affiliated with a group about which
there was little known,
and certainly now it would be little known
or a lot
known that's untrue,
would make my life more difficult.
You know, I can only say that that
my life has been filled with blessings.
Being a Muslim means that I
not only that I have this
this long tradition
of, teaching of spirituality and ethics that I
can draw upon and learn, and my life
has been in scholarship,
but also a community of people who are
supportive.
And of course, there are some people
who will treat anyone who is different
in in a negative way, people who have
prejudices, people who have fears, but my experience
has has,
you know,
mostly been positive.
I think most people simply want to know
that that you will treat them with respect,
then they'll treat you with respect.
If
you are a kind person and
try to be helpful,
to anyone, try to contribute positively to your
society,
then others will value that.
And, you know, no matter who we are,
we're going to face obstacles.
We're going to face some people who are
ignorant,
whether, you know, for whatever reason.
They they they might treat you that way.
But if you have if you have a
community and if you have
values and principles,
that can support you and you can draw
upon to at least hold on to your
own sense of dignity,
and value,
then then you'll be able to get through
that. And and I'm so grateful
that I have all of that that wealth
that is within Islam,
to allow me to continue to go forward.