The Deen Show – I’m Greek I love Greece and I’m Muslim

			But I'm telling you that ilaha illAllah Muhammad Rasul Allah. I mean, I just it just like, I feel I
feel great now. I feel like a new person, man. So
		

			yeah, I told his natural human nature. Oh, Theo's in. Yeah, Greeks are smart people, man. Yeah. I
mean, Aristotle, Socrates, these man we got
		

			her, she became Muslim about 10 years ago. And it really
		

			made me feel I couldn't hang around the Greeks anymore. But I realized, I love Jesus even more now,
because I have a purified, clarified, understanding. And I think a lot of Greeks fall into that what
you're mentioning, it allows the creator He created you, you know, you have to acknowledge that at
some point. And once you take the first step where you feel a little insecure, you feel a little bit
unsure about the Trinity. That's actually a good step. You're not you're thinking, right? And this
will lead you to tawheed or monotheism. Yeah. And I felt that, and now I feel twice blessed. I feel
I still feel in touch with my Greek heritage. And I feel so much more happy, even historic. I like
		

			to read now about the things that I didn't like to read about before because I love Islam, and I see
the positive and things now. And I think that it put love in my heart and said it replaced that
hatred I had for people if I loved it, you know. So for all those, I have so many friends now,
Turkish friends, Bosnian would be different people. And it's like, well, I have replaced the hatred
I had in my heart for love. So I feel better now. And I've ever bought a copy of the brain in
English. And remember reading the Fatiha in English. It's okay, this is cool. And I look at the back
book cover and it said the design was from Istanbul and I put it down I said, Do I can't read this.
		

			And I just know you know, when I read this document, he makes this really easy for me. Even when you
just read the fact he said this is religion just for every human being as long as you ask for it's
natural, isn't it? Yeah. What else? Do you ask for guidance? God, you don't have to say a lot. Who
else do you ask for guidance? The Creator? That's a great point. Assalamu alaykum greetings of
peace. Welcome to the deen Show. I'm your host, subscribe if you haven't already. Now the question
is why? Why would this young man is Greek speaking the Greek language eating Greek food. Why would
he accept this way of life this Deen he was seeking to know purpose, the purpose of life. And then
		

			from there, what happened? He went against all the odds. And we're going to hear this wonderful and
amazing story. So if you you're out there, the listener, the watcher and you're searching for
purpose because you understand there's a departure date, we're gonna leave this life sooner than
later. It's common for all of us. And you have an emptiness in yourself in your heart. And you have
had enough of the distractions. You've been distracted with this and that and everything under the
sun, but it still hasn't filled that void. Well, our next guest is going to answer that question
what filled that void that emptiness? And why he went against all the odds. So pay attention to his
		

			answers. And let's go check him out because right now he's with the Greek entourage with some of the
old timers speaking to Greek our next guests Malik let's go We'll be right back here on the deen
show
		

			off the US and
		

			how do you say it again? I always say look for yours God is one
		

			yeah
		

			thanks so we're all together we love each other
		

			yes yes yeah we want to share yeah and I said
		

			yeah guys I told you is natural it's human nature
		

			my god yeah, you see nature no nature a god
		

			yes. We got the practice our grease we're gonna
		

			show you guys
		

			the Greece
		

			Tripoli Greece.
		

			We are here.
		

			We are friends all together.
		

			We got the girl the Greek crew here. May I say my name so you can copy it? Yeah, your splits are
second Luca three Paulo's. kolokotronis. Nice.
		

			Name where he's from. And then when actually, it's
		

			my father. My father comes from California literally, is the town. But my village is wonderful.
lotta lotta Yeah.
		

			Are you from labor? batata. Okay, mostly 2d side. Okay. So yeah, so you see very small country,
beautiful. Everybody knows each other. I'm actually from California. I came to visit Edie. And I'm
so happy to be with you guys. How do you feel? I feel really great. And I'm really happy that you
bring me already and I couldn't feel any better. You know what, I'll tell you the truth.
		

			I didn't say to you guys, but
		

			I'm a Greek guy. I am here to learn from Egypt. I actually became
		

			About 10 years ago, and it really
		

			made me feel I couldn't hang around the Greeks anymore. But I realized it is love. We all love each
other. And I'm so happy to be here and actually, with Tommy, and Angelo here knows my father. And
I'm really happy to be Chicago man and with these Greek people is really wonderful. I feel right at
home and where we should be is where we should be
		

			picking up on some Greek
		

			Greek story here
		

			on the show
		

			smilla salaam alaikum greetings of peace and our next guest Malik Evelyn's lotto Oh man, you got it
man was here right? Oh man, it's close ranking teacher writer author. Thank you brother. It's my
honor and pleasure to be with you man. How are you? I'm doing great man. I'm excited to be here man.
It's a dream for me st Stan busy writing all these books a man just trying to give something fun for
people to read. And actually also you know, kind of present Islam in a fun way. So that's what I do.
Mashallah. Really nice to have you on the program. Dude, I want to thank you man, this show meant so
much to me when I first became Muslim about 10 years ago and I still use it to try to keep my that
		

			fresh kind of enthusiasm I have when I first accepted Islam because it's so nice to hear you know
see interview different guests that talk about their personal experiences. So I think this show has
done a lot of great for a lot of Muslims and I just want to you know, think and you know, think all
you guys involved with this and May Allah bless you guys for this hamdulillah thank you very much
for those kind words of support. Really appreciate it. No problem. We're honored to have you on the
program, especially someone who I just came back from Bosnia. Wonderful. Now there's a tie there
because their neighbours Greece is right there next to Bosnia yet we're neighbors and we want to
		

			bridge some of those misunderstandings break through some of those barriers, and inshallah you can
help us God willing to do that? Oh, man. Well, I'll tell you what, man growing up Greek.
		

			Look, man, I love the Greek people on Greek. I love Greece, all my heart, man, I can tell how much I
love Greece and Greek people. Now we're in Chicago. We're gonna stop by Greek town, hopefully
afterwards. But I will tell you, man, unfortunately, you know, the way the history has set up as the
way that history is, unfortunately, many Greeks have a negative perception of Islam, but like you
said, once we make personal relations with the people, and breaking down those barriers, it will
improve. And obviously, this is because of history of the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire and
all these things, you know, but I definitely think that we meet people, and we break those barriers
		

			down inshallah, the goddess gala, let me lotto sakala linic. I don't speak that. read that. Well,
yeah. But obviously, you can have a nice conversation. Yeah, yeah, definitely. When I go back to
Greece frequently. Yeah. And, you know, my dad was the Greek speaker million my mom who grew up
here, but my dad was a Greek speaker. We have all the Greeks in the Bay Area, too. So there's some
Greeks out there tuning in right now. Oh, man, like how did this happen? Because they intertwine us,
okay? No, no, no, if you're Greek, you can't be Turkey. Or you surprised that you change your DNA or
something. Right. Right. So I want to tell my Greek family and friends out there, they already know
		

			this, though. Yeah. Hey, man, I am Muslim. I am Greek. And there's no contradiction in that. And I
love Greece. And at the same time, I love I love Turkish people. I love Bosnian people now, Hey,
man, I feel like becoming Muslim. I've opened up I have so many more brothers, I've increased my
family not decrease, you know. So I now I appreciate and love Bosnian, Turkish and Arabic cultures.
And all those great things about Islam, you know, as a Greek, so I feel like I have the best of both
worlds. So when I go to, you know, Turkey, I appreciate the ancient Greek history, the Greek history
and the Ottoman Turkish system. Now, what had What had you? I mean, you took your brave individual.
		

			Thank you. I gotta say that, because there is some deep rooted history there of some kind of
resentment. There's some there's actually some kind of hatred. Yeah, it's sad to say, but we also
see a positive light because the the more Greeks actually study real history, not as they say, his
history, right, you know, made up history, right, they start to see those who are sincere and
looking for the truth, like you were, yeah, that actually, if they don't take that even bolder step
of accepting submission to the Creator, not the Christian Islam, the same way of Jesus, not the
Messiah, right, but they actually start to befriend Muslims and some of those negative, you know,
		

			thoughts they had, you know, not being able to befriend the Muslim it actually happens. And, yeah,
and stereotypes get washed away. But how did that happen with you? What was the first step? Well,
you know, that's a great question. But I just think, you know, for me, I just believe Islam is
something that is inside of us already. You know, it's a natural feature to believe that a lot a
lot, but we're just looking for that, you know, so growing up, you know, Greek Orthodox, you know, I
have so much respect and love for all my orthodox friends and everything, but it just, I just felt
like it wasn't there. something was missing. There's no connection with my Creator. So eventually, I
		

			found that with Islam, but it did take time, because I felt like I couldn't accept this time because
of my cultural background. And I spent a couple years in that, you know, more than a couple of
years, maybe four or five years in that state. And I still remember when I was 19 years old, in
college, I was reading a copy. I bought a copy of the court and because I had a world religions
course, and I still remember my professor Shem hapa. He was from East Africa. He's orthodox is a
really great guy. And I never bought a copy of the Quran in English. I remember reading the Fatiha
in English. It's okay. This is cool.
		

			Look at the back book cover and it said, The design was from Istanbul and I put it down. I said, Do
I can't read this? If I was to accept this or embrace this, I would lose everything, you know. But
then I realized later on it,
		

			what am I losing? If I lose, I didn't lose everything. I feel like I gained everything with Islam
now. And so that's what people should think about if you're a Greek out there, or if you come from a
culture where you think it's not going to be acceptable become Muslim.
		

			You know, that's not the case. You know, times have changed, people are changing, people are
changing. I like that. for the better. That's amazing. So you were you picked up for people to know
that this is the first chapter of the verbatim Word of God Almighty, Allah, you're reading it, it's
saying all praises to God, you alone, we worship master of the dead judgment, the Most Gracious, the
Most Merciful. It's connecting with what you said is already inside of you the fitrah the natural
way of worshipping only one God. Now, you look at you in design, the design of it, and you're like,
I can't I got to put it right, put it down. So the truth is hitting you. Now you got to make a
		

			decision. Am I going to cover up the truth? Yeah, or go more towards it. It took me like five years
to make that decision. Because you know, where my fear Yeah, man where people man were hard. It's
hard to make these these life changing decisions. But I'm glad I did it. And I just know, you know,
when I read this without running into this religion for me, even when you just read the contents of
this religion, just for every human being, yeah. And I felt that. And now I feel twice blessed. I
feel I still feel in touch with my Greek heritage. And I feel so much more happy, even historic. I
like to read now about the things that I didn't like to read about before because I love Islam, and
		

			I see the positive and things down. And I think that it put love in my heart and said it replaced
that hatred I had for people if I loved it, you know, so for all those I have so many friends now
Turkish friends positive for me different people. And it's like, well, I have replaced the hatred I
had in my heart for love. So I feel better now. What Why did you have hatred in your heart, you
know, just because growing up, it's like, you know, like, for example, you look at history, like,
you know, all those those things like,
		

			like in the Greek psyche, like Istanbul should be Constantinople, it should be part of Greece,
Cyprus should be part of Greece.
		

			The Serbs are supposed to be our brothers, all these things that you just these stereotypes are
layered on generation after generation, you begin to feel that way. But I was fortunate enough to
have a great father who taught me that, as I got older, that you know, a lot of that's not true. And
so I was able to see through some of that was kind of help me along, you know, to be able to accept
Islam, because I knew that he was loving and accepting and, and didn't, you know, didn't necessarily
believe all that was true. So, you know, it worked out for me in that way. So how old were you? In
life, when you start to ask those crucial questions, purpose of life? Start thinking deeper? That's
		

			good, Eddie, thank you for asking me, I would say like, honestly, maybe not until like 18 or 19. But
then again, I'm like in the you know, I was I was about to get into you go to UCLA, mad that I was
so cool. Live in Los Angeles, you know, the Lakers were waiting. Although I'm a Knicks fan, you
know, the Lakers are winning, I was having a great time. UCLA was in the fight, you know, March
Madness, and all this cool things. And kind of, you know, it's hard to do any kind of, you know,
takes over. But I started asking 18 and 19. And, you know, I would meet Muslim students from the
Muslim Student Association every from time to time, and they would pray they would invite me to
		

			pray. So Islam, I felt like a lot capital kind of like, there for me. And finally, when I felt like
I was serious enough, and was able to make a decision and to face the consequences, if there were
any for doing so that I was mature enough and strong enough to do that. But you know, what, I found?
there weren't that many consequences. It wasn't a big deal. Now, people say, okay, that's your
religion. That's your choice. Okay. That's your choice. It wasn't a big deal in the end, you know,
so humbly law. But what would you say? It wasn't more of a big deal? Because you're living here? Oh,
yeah. Great point. Yes, absolutely. I do. Because, you know, I'm born and raised here. So for those
		

			people overseas in Greece, especially, it would be different. And I always, you know, yes. So for
here, we have a different culture here in America. So that's a great point. I did travel to Greece
recently. And I talked to some some friends there from the Muslim Association in Greece, we're doing
great work. And times are changed. It's much more positive. They're about to open up their first
Masjid in over 100 years in Athens. So times have changed or more people accepting Islam, but it's
still not where we are here in the States. So yeah, definitely. Yeah. Yeah. So what happens now So
okay, what what do you what are you going through? What's your mindset? Okay? Lakers. football,
		

			basketball, whatever. So you're going through what most young people are going through, you know,
partying, yeah, all these other things. But now, is there something that happens in life is there
What are you feeling? Is there an empty void? Right? What what is it that that has you because most
nowadays, you can't get young people to even you know, consider talking about some serious life.
Hey, thank you for mentioning that because you know, people some people have like a car accident or
they get Yeah, something happened. Their father passed away something happened where it sparks them.
For me that didn't I didn't have a moment of truth or epiphany, but I just realized, a sense of
		

			emptiness. Like you said, You're You're young you're having fun you're doing the things that young
people are demons but you're empty inside Aren't you you're doing something that's you know, looking
back on it looking back on how much time and energy and effort you spend pursuing things that
weren't even important. Once you realize that after become Muslim you in Islam, you prioritize
allies prioritize my life now, so all those things I thought were really important or important. So
just feeling a sense of emptiness and knowing there's more
		

			There has to be more to life. I have to I want to know who my creator is and what he wants from me.
And how do I, what am I supposed to do? So I did kind of, you know, you know, going back to the
Orthodox Church a little bit reading about it more, but it wasn't there. So for me, just, you know,
Islam was the one you know, basically not according to him, it's so simple. There's a beautiful
truth to it, you know, it's like a sense of, you know, it's like a profound, it's simple but
profound, you know, and I think a lot of Muslims forget that, because they've been with them a long
time, we kind of forget that. But I'm telling you that ilaha illAllah, Muhammad Rasul Allah, I mean,
		

			I just it just like, I feel, I feel great. Now. I feel like a new person, man. So I just feel that
emptiness, that void, doing the same thing over and over again, not achieving happiness. So it's
like, you know, where am I going? You know? So that's kind of what happened in my college years.
Yeah, for the Greek tuning in for the Serbian for Italian polish. And they heard you say, like, you
know, how would you translate that, you know, what is nothing foreign? To you, you can even say, in
your language. So in Greek, it would be something like Fe, OC, and en us. God is one, you know, and
I want all the Greeks and all the Serbs everything. No, it's not a form of things. We just use
		

			Arabic words, because now we've learned Arabic and the brand is in Arabic. But all this can be said
in our language. And it's already said in our language, we already know it right. Or fails. I don't
even say a lot when I speak with the Greeks. I say all figures because it means God in Greek and I
want them to feel what do you mean? Oh, Theo's. Yeah. How do you translate this? Well, they would
just say, V God, the God. So it would mean like the god mean, like the only God, you know, only got
to be worshipped. Yeah. Oh, CEOs of those inner n us. CEOs in us. Yeah. He's one man. That's it. Oh,
Theo's in ns. Yeah. The Greeks are smart people, man. Yeah, I mean, Aristotle's Socrates these now
		

			we got that.
		

			I've spoken to some Greeks we don't they don't believe in a lot of like, when I disagreed that I
spoke to you. They're not down with this Trinity thing. Yeah, I'm telling you. Yeah, yeah, they're
not I mean, they taking people in but what happens then? Is it more like now intertwined with the
culture and just like nationalism, thank you. That's a great point. Because what happens is, hey,
you're not in. You're not in tune with the trend. You don't feel it. Right. But then where do you
go? Yeah, you can't do anything. Your mom's your dad's with your cousin is great. You own the pizza
shop. You own the chicken.
		

			You got the pizza shop, you know, you're working with your dad, you know, your dad's at the coffee
shop. It's like a big community. Yes, I'm really, you know, and that's how it works. So it's like,
Where would I go? Now? I can't, I'll be ostracized, I'll be blackballed. But it's not like that
anymore. But times are changing. And I want to let all the guys out there, Greeks now there's a lot
of Greeks becoming Muslim. Don't be shy, if you're in Greece, contact a Greek in Greece will be able
to advise you better than me, because I was raised and born here. But not many times are changing.
It's not a big deal. You know, religion is something that your personal, it's a choice that you have
		

			to make in your life at some point.
		

			A lot of the Creator He created you, you know, you have to acknowledge that at some point. And once
you take the first step where you feel a little insecure, you feel a little bit unsure about the
Trinity. That's actually a good step. You're not you're thinking, right? And this will lead you to
tawheed or monotheism. There's some deep history when I went to the heart of Europe, the Balkans,
Bosnia, and I learned like how did the Bosnian How did they accept Islam? Now, this is an important
point because it connects with Christians, even if today because they were actually Unitarian
Christians. They were Christians who rejected like, what we're talking right now about that most
		

			Greeks reject, you know, in their nature does Trinity. The Bosnians at that time, the Unitarians,
they were actually considered heretics by the church, because they didn't believe Jesus was
literally the Son of God, that Jesus was God, but they believed that they love Jesus. So there are
many Greeks, there are many people out there, they love Jesus. But they're like, if you ask them, Do
you believe Jesus is God or he was sent by God does I believe he was sent by that just flows more
naturally. So the Bosnians of that time, that's what they believe. They were disconnected from going
to the church, they would go out and make such that they would pray outside in nature, not to
		

			nature, not Mother Nature. They say today, they were prayed to the one God. And then when Islam came
to him, it fit like a glove. And they're Muslim today, once you have submitted to the will of God,
dude, that's beautiful. And that's how I feel. That's how a lot of Greeks feel, and I totally
believe that Greeks loved. He said, we call him Jesus very much. And I tell them, when they asked
me, I said, You know what? They said, You can't leave a religion because Jesus was the Son of
someone. I've heard that and I tell them, I love Jesus even more now, because I have a purified,
clarified, understanding. And I think a lot of Greeks fall into that. What's your mentioning it that
		

			says, You said, Jesus? Yeah. You know, and then you said, Isa, yeah, I mean, you point out things
like, obviously, in the Semitic languages. There's no J's Right, right. English language didn't
exist. And if you take just do this experiment, you say how you spell it. J s us? Yeah, just take
the J How do you pronounce it then? So b is useless. Yeah, yes. Go deeper. Isa. Yeah, yeah,
definitely. Yeah. Yeah. You got his name. This is who we're talking about. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. No,
a lot of people would fall into that. Yeah. What did how did they call his name and well, in Greece,
there's lots of different ways but they didn't we say opening stores. I don't know the linguistic
		

			backgrounds, but he referred to them as the
		

			Christ crystals. Yes, I uh that's almost time. Yeah, yeah. So a lot of people name that my my cousin
named nights a name in Greece also. That's how they refer to him as a great love for him. And I just
Oh, so they say crystals. Yes. And I think that a lot of people that want to make dabble in Greece,
this is a great board for you to open and walk through. Yeah. Door of Jesus of crystals of Lisa,
this is the way to approach I believe Greek people. If you want talking about Islam, let them feel
comfortable with you. I love we I love him too. He's a major part of our religion, too. That's what
I that's what i i think that you know, it's a great opportunity of speaking to these people. Yeah,
		

			yeah. When you break down because this is when you say, okay, we're followers of crystals. crystals
is basically you know, when you look, it's named after Christ. Yeah, you have Christians cut off the
end of it. Yes, man. Then you have crystals. And this actually just Messiah and we believe he was
the Messiah, something like that. Exactly. And we call him that too. Yeah. So there's so much things
in common, but it's almost like we're talking past each other. When you talk to a Muslim or Greek
person. It's like, you know, there's so much things in common, you're talking past each other. If
you just clarify the terms a little bit like Messiah, the Christ, Jesus, all those things that we
		

			just said, it helps, definitely. And I think it'd be more and more people in Greece accepting Islam.
So what so what happens is, obviously, this was not an impetuous rash decision that you made. So you
go through the feeling of emptiness, having a void, you pick up your reading the opening of the
Quran, which we just encourage everyone just pick it up. It's not like you'll be like, Man, I'm
going to get like, effective with some kind of disease or some if I pick up the book, pick up the
book. Yeah, I think I paid a little less than $5 for it. Yeah, life, pick up the book and do what
you did, then you put it down because of this, all of the negativity that was associated with it,
		

			right? But then so what happens then? So now, obviously, you you you spend some time, nobody wants
to go towards something that is not the truth. And they accept it. And they're going to get all
imagine you're accepting something false. And you get all this pressure from family friends culture.
Yeah. What was your what were the steps after that? You have to come back towards picking up the
book again. And how much time to actually took his Shahada. Yeah, good quote, you know, I spent four
or five years pondering this, and I wouldn't discourage anybody who wants to become Muslim right
away. But for me personally, it was like, like you said, I don't want to be rash. I didn't want to
		

			move too fast. I want to make sure I'm doing something that I that is correct. So let me get this
timeline. Okay, you pick it up. You're on 18. Then you said you left it for five years? Yeah. Well,
how did you how did you come back? Oh, like I said, after community college, I went away to UCLA.
Okay. You know, being an undergrad having fun. That kind of after doing that for a while, that kind
of emptiness kind of led me back to Islam because at the same time, I did have some like, you still
remember that? Yeah, cuz I still had some friends. Yeah, friends, okay, from the MCA who invited me
around. That's why so important. If you're Muslim, you have a non Muslim friend. He don't have to
		

			like pound it to him. Yeah. But invite him once in a while. Invite them once in a while. Now. Now
what what finally did it for you because this is not a blind acceptance. I mean, this is not blind
belief. Islam provides all of the rational logical evidences that it is D and D, someone who looks
at its authenticity to prove beyond proof. Yeah. evidence. What were some of the key points that you
remember? You know, yeah. Oh, that stood out from No, good. That's a good question. Thank you for
asking. I will say, I know perhaps, maybe, you know, to be quite honest, maybe, you know, making
some bad decisions in college. Yeah. And then and coming out unscathed from that. Yeah. And
		

			thinking, wow, that could have went the wrong way. You know, stuff like that, you know, like, well,
maybe someone must be looking after me. Yeah, you know, I mean, there must I must be an important
person, somebody must have got a Muslim must be creative. I've, you know, made some bad decisions on
and things are still going well for me. And like I said, You know, I mean the empty the general
emptiness there, but I couldn't nail it down to like one event, but I could say that making bad
decisions and feel like, wow, I lost to watching me someone's protecting me. I still have a
connection with my Creator a lot is forgiving. You know, we make bad decisions in life. And we
		

			think, oh, we can't go back now. I messed up now. Yeah. Oh, that do a lot is He is the Most
Merciful, the most forgiving, as we say, because that was so we have a lot has mercy, forgiveness.
And, you know, we're humans, we're in need of that. Yeah. And so I never disappear of the mercy of
Allah. And even before I became Muslim, I felt that was one thing also never disappeared, that God
is there and he's merciful, and he loves me. I just have to find how do I connect with him? Yeah.
And that's kind of how it happened. But what if someone says, Look, man, I was an alcoholic. I was a
druggie. But Jesus saved me from all that was the difference. Now, I would tell him, you know what,
		

			you should be Muslim, for sure. Now, a guarantee, because Jesus is is someone that we love. He's
part of our religion, too. So I would tell him that, you know what, if you say that, then you're
gonna make a great Muslim up with us, come with come with us. We love and honor to have you because
it was also about peace and love, and forgiveness and mercy has all those things. And you know,
you're in need of that. And I'll bring you through the door of Jesus because like we said, Jesus is
a great prophet of Islam. A lot of Muslims named Jesus has a great verse of the Quran about Jesus.
And that's how, you know, that's what that's what I would say, Well, what what are what are some of
		

			the the few points that some Greeks bring up that they stick to, but are easily refuted? And then
maybe we move those out of the way to have them open their heart more, what are some of the things
that you've come across, and you're really getting
		

			Have you ever met a great question, man, I like I didn't think about that's a great point. I'm going
to use this in the future. You know, first of all see number one history. Okay? Like any race,
ethnic group, did you guys fight some wars? And you want some and you lost some right? Yeah, I
wouldn't take it. So personal, so much hatred, hate history has an ebb and a flow. You guys Greeks
have a great history of Greek civilization. From ancient classical times, through the Byzantine
period, there was great things and even during the Ottoman period, and even now you guys are doing
great things. So don't look at it so negative don't take it personal history is history, and just
		

			move on from it and build a better future. So I wouldn't say I would say to Greeks, don't be trapped
by history, you have a whole future inshallah, in front of you. Don't be trapped by history, you
have a whole future inshallah build the new Greece, a better Please don't be trapped by what you
perceive as negative. That'd be number one. Number two, I would say research history yourself and
read.
		

			That'd be number two, and number three, which maybe should be number one is meet a Muslim, meet
Muslims. And once you do that, you're going to feel it, you know, have you when you finally made the
decision, you said Okay, that's it. This is the truth. It's from the Creator. The Quran is what it
claims to be divine guidance. You accepted it. What was about any backlash from family and how did
you deal with know what at the time I thought it was serious? Like maybe some co workers say
something, you know, lose some friends, but you know what? It's like pouring water through the
filter. The friends that I have now beautiful, the friends I have now, man, those guys are my
		

			friends, my American friends. My white Christian friends, man, they're still friends with me. I got
so much love for filtration. Oh, man. Some friends. You just don't need Yeah, they're not really
your friends. Right? Right. Right, right. Now some of those guys come back and call me up because
they're so happy. You know, I'm leaving. They see Oh, hey, look, look at me. He's living a clean
life. He's so much fun to be around. He's a nice guy. And now they want to come back and do what I'm
doing. You know, and I'm hoping some of them accept Islam. As far as family, you know, a little bit
shocking at first, but you love conquers all. And family comes first and is never a problem. A
		

			family, you know, beautiful thing I was explaining to you and kind of the same thing happened there
in Greece, where the Serbians the Croatians there in Bosnia, when the and obviously human beings
make mistakes. We're not here defending a whole, you know, the human beings. But Islam is perfect,
right? So when Islam is implemented, in its pristine form, how it should be, there's justice, for
all there's peace, there's the most beautiful things start to blossom. So now in every part of
history, there's dark periods, of course, but overall, what I remember one historian saying that
refuting this, and this was specific, particularly to the Serbs, given an example of when the French
		

			went and conquered, you know, different parts of world Algeria, for instance. Yeah, they and the
people from Algeria, and now they're speaking French. Now, you still have in Serbia, when the
Ottomans came, they ended up preserving their culture, they still speak. They don't speak Turkish.
Yeah, you can equate the same thing with the Greeks, right? Oh, dude, this is my one argument. This
is one thing to help me except this time, by the way, okay. I've been told, like growing up growing
up that Greeks weren't allowed to speak Greek, and they weren't allowed to go to church. And I
believe that growing up, I don't blame the people that told me that because they're older. And
		

			that's what they learned, you know, then I come to find, I start to ask myself, okay, there's 10
million Greeks in Greece, and how many in Australia, America, Canada, and everywhere else, right.
But they all speak Greek. Right? There's no shortage of Greek Orthodox churches in Chicago and in
Greece and around the world, right? So a lot of them are still Muslim 90% are still orthodox and
100%. All speak Greek. So that goes to show me the Ottoman leniency Then am I learned that the
Ottomans were lenient in with regards to these types of issues. Well, it makes sense, doesn't it?
Well, the whole country, still speaking Greek. So that means they let you speak Greek, you guys are
		

			all mostly Christians still. So that means they allowed you to go to church. So so this is easily
refuted. And I think once Greek people hear that, the it would be very helpful and beneficial to
them. You know, like, look what happened to Latin America. You know, in California, we have a lot of
Spanish speakers was Spanish was a European language that was brought by Europe, right? Yeah. And
enforced in force on those people. So the native languages are almost gone. Although they're, I
mean, there's a Mayan community. But I'm saying there's no comparison to what happened in Greece or
the Balkans with the Ottoman rule. So that's a great point. You're just another proof when I look at
		

			I've interviewed a lot of people from all walks of life, and showing that this is indeed a universal
way of life because you have many other religions that are just so divided. And then you know, Islam
brings people from all over unifying them in the worship of just the one God in Greek you said, this
is an endless Oh, Theo Sienna, simple, easy. Another beautiful example. Oh, you know what, I just
was shocked when I would go down to before I used to visit the Santa Rosa Islamic center. And when I
first became Muslim, and just walking in at first, okay, this is really cool. People from the
Balkans, Arab countries, subcontinent. This is pretty neat. And we're all different languages,
		

			cultures, ages, color of our skin, you know, but when we get together, we pray together, we shake
hands, we hug each other and brothers.
		

			You know, it's good man. It's a worldwide brotherhood. And that's how life is supposed to be. It's
not take the racism.
		

			out of us, we all have a little bit of presidents and racism sometimes, you know, I think it's
natural little bit sometimes, but it's not really takes out of us in the streets, you know, puts
everybody on an equal playing field, which is so beautiful. You know, so that's important. You've
also been spending some time writing now. So thanks, man, thank you, no, I just, I'm not a shake, I
can't call to slam in that, you know, when I first became Muslim, I wanna talk about, you know, be
like, talk about these PETA and fake and all these big topics and be like a shake. And, you know, a
lot didn't put that in my path. I'm not a qualified scholar, I'm a regular Joe. And I do like to
		

			read and write, I was English major. And so what I do is I like to write, I like to call people to
Islam through my fiction writing, but by doing so I don't present it to them, like directly. I kind
of like, you know, put it out there for people to know about. And, and so that's what I've done with
my with my books here. This book here, what this one caffeinated journey through the Ottoman Greece.
So yeah, so I titled this book, a break, which is in Greek, we have a small pot that we make coffee
with. It's also used in the Middle East, in Turkey, and other places, maybe even Bosnia. So I was
just, it's really, I'm so happy. It's only 26 pages, okay. And I just wrote a story about a Greek
		

			man who becomes Muslim. And as a result, he becomes energized and are more about modern Greek
history is where he travels to Greece, and all the old historical sites,
		

			talking with people and drinking coffee, that is want to show look, Islam is something that brings
people together, it makes people happy and loving. And it makes us embrace, you know, living life in
a happy way. It's a positive change. So this Greek is a story about a man who becomes Muslim, and
travels through Greece with his cousin, and talking about that, and ultimately, you know, leaving a
good impression about Islam with other people. And I wanted, you know, I wanted to share that story
with people. So I titled that e boutique, which is the coffee pot, which is people make coffee with
decent Turkey. Yeah, this is one of those other things that nowadays, a lot of history is hidden.
		

			People don't know the origins of many things. Yes. But when you look deep, you see like coffee, just
it just came to mind. Yeah, right. Somewhere in Yemen. Right. Right. Right. Coffee. Yeah, right.
slums were the ones right and introduced. So people by all by all your viewers should know his look,
coffee, and a lot of wonderful foods and cultural practices were introduced to Greece, via the
Ottoman Empire, whether they were Turkish or not, but so there's so much positive to look at. And
that's what a brief was about being positive about being Muslim. You're Greek, you're Muslim. And
yes, there's a lot of wonderful positive things in historical things in Greece. So for example, I
		

			went to the Acropolis a couple months ago in Greece, and I did not know this idea. My whole life.
I've been going to the Acropolis. I was very cool. Well, there's a history to it. there's what's
called the the Parthenon that sits on top of the city. Yeah, there's a measure down below it that
was built. That's where again, that's in an area called placa block that's in Greece, Greece. And
there's a it's a city is called Athens. It's an ancient Athens. Yeah. And the area area is called
placa placa, which was there's two measures there that are now it's the Greek Museum of folk art.
Yeah, I went inside, it's perfectly preserved. It's so respectful. They even let people take
		

			pictures. It says La ilaha illAllah. Muhammad Rasul Allah, all my viewers when you go all the Greek
people watching when you go to the Greek Museum of Flipkart in Athens, that's actually a Masjid.
Yeah, it's right below the Acropolis, the Parthenon, a lot of people think that Turkish people
destroyed the Parthenon. That's also not true. It was a Venetian general, I believe that shot the
cannonball that damaged it during some war, but it was not the ultimate, the Ottomans actually
preserved Greek historical sites. So for example, when Greek people or people would come to take
columns and sell them, and to take them to museums, the Ottomans did not like that. So they actually
		

			did. The Ottomans actually preserved ancient Greek culture in many ways. And it's important for
viewers to know, you know, yeah. Did you met our friend also? He was Yes, stuff. Yes. He's my
brother. Yeah. Our brother. Yes, yeah. He's like my big brother, I look up to him actually so much.
I had the opportunity. When Allah blessed with the opportunity to work at the channel, in Egypt, I
really wanted to do something for Greece, you know, and I find him online doing history. And I like,
I'd like that because it like you said, we all have our roles in this oma, not everybody can be a
shake. He's a historian that has a very valid, important role. And he's so knowledge about this
		

			stuff. He's written a lot of books about it. He's a wonderful guy. I'm still in touch with him. Dr.
Steph Curry. So he's a Greek man who became Muslim, and has written books about this. I think he's
done a lot of good for people. Now he's another person that he spoke about his interaction with
Muslims. And then he was also questioning some of the beliefs that he was brought up in. He was a
true seeker. And then he went up against the odds, he started to dig into many of these things that
are brought up through history, he he found that they were lies. Nobody likes being lied to. He went
deeper and deeper. He became a historian. Yeah, he accepted Islam. Yeah. And this and to this day,
		

			now he's writing more books, educating people. Yeah, he's a great example of somebody who
transcended nationalism and yeah, and did something positive with his life. People thought, Oh, if
you become Muslim, it's gonna be there's gonna be negative consequences. Well, he went for
continuous education is doing great things. He goes around speaking and educating. You know,
everybody, not just
		

			Muslims, but everybody about Ottoman Greece in Ottoman history in Islamic history, more importantly,
more specifically in Europe, I was really happy to meet them, I'm glad to be in touch with them. And
I just, you know, love to see people like that doing good for the cause, but in the way that they
know how. So he's a historian. So we serve in Islam through that, you know, I like to write a little
fiction, I try to serve Islam through that you're doing the show, it's a great service or 70, all
contributing what we have for the greater cause. So, at the end, at the end of the day is like, who
do you love the most? Yeah, and nationalism, and these material things that's not going to save you
		

			when you pass. And you hit that departure date when we leave this world. He loved God Almighty, the
creator the most the ones that again in Greece. Yeah. The Oceana's he loved his creative the most.
Yeah. And how can you find blame and someone who wants to do what God wants him to do? Or her to do?
Just like you? Yeah, that's a great point. Because look, nationalism, this is something separate.
What do you love the most? All this stuff's gonna come and go these flags and these, what are we
fighting for, you know, there's these national, these identity things that we have kind of created
on ourselves, you know, these divisions? Who do you love, that's a great way to put it you love the
		

			most and who's gonna be with you after you pass away, you know, and you still love Greece, I'm your
Greek. I love it even more than you know what's fun, as a Muslim you love Oh, even more, and I even
know more about it. And the fifth thing is Greek Americans, all these guys are going to know this.
When we go back to Greece, we kind of go back just for fun, like in the summer, it is go to the
beach and have fun and do that kind of thing. Now I go back, I have a genuine appreciation for the
history and the people more than I did before. You know, absolutely not. There's no, no way around
that because it goes it goes back to being people of Accra, being people of knowledge. I mean,
		

			Islam, obviously, you didn't make this decision impetuously. rationally, you went and you looked
into it, using your mind the faculties that the creator law gave you? Yeah, because you got a lot to
put on the line. You put a lot on the line, right? So now obviously being this is one of the things
that Islam motivates us, me, you everybody has to be people of knowledge. Right? That's a great
point. And you know, it could I, you know, that's a great, great point to say, you know, I know a
lot of Greeks, we're very proud of our past. Aristotle and all these great philosophers in this
great classical civilization. That's a great opening to AC what the first word we've done, the grant
		

			is equal to read. That's really good. So you made some other good points that now you go back,
you're studying the history of and more you're more into the culture. And this is as a Muslim. Oh,
even my kid and I feel like you know before like, I go to you go to the beach, you go to drink
coffee, you go to have fun, you go to euros in Swift like and that's all good. And you know How fun
is like a summer vacation. But now I go back as a Greek person who loves Greece, you know, like when
I took my kids to the Parthenon into placa all those years I tell them the history about it, the
ancient history, the Byzantine history, the Ottoman history, and Oh, I love Greece more definitely
		

			become richer now. Yeah, yeah.
		

			What have you so now if you if you say because a lot of times amongst the Greeks Serbians and other
people in the Balkans hopefully we can we can by them watching programs like this. They can
transcend again that nationalism some of that hate when they label Muslims as Turks. I'm not a Turk.
You're not Yeah, definitely. You've heard this also. Oh, you become a Turk? Absolutely. Yeah. Oh,
absolutely. So I'm praying for this moment, because I love the Balkans like you so much. Albania,
Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Bosnia, Serbia, we should all be brothers, our culture's are so similar
and so close. There's no reason to let these things a vitesse can hurt each other. Hey, man, Islam
		

			is bigger than anything. No offense to our Turkish viewers, is that much bigger than Turkey? It's
bigger than Greece. Mine is bigger than Bosnia, there's nothing to Allah lecrae all these things, we
are the ones who divided on each other amongst these. So when we're talking about, you know, the
country that you come from, that's cool. We're talking about the stuff we're talking about the
salvation of your soul in your afterlife. I mean, it's like two different things. I mean, one is so
important. And one is kind of like, I don't want to say petty, but it less significant. By far, it's
almost insignificant. In front of, you know, your religious choice. You know, at the end of the day,
		

			we mentioned a few of the things that are brought up and the counters to that. But let's say for
argument's sake, let's say that the rule there that they were under, it was the worst, right? Yeah.
Let's just say for argument's sake, yeah, right. Yeah, we know it wasn't. And just like yourself,
when you studied the history, when our doctor Steph was Greek, he studied the history people can
watch that program I did with him. But for argument's sake, is that an excuse to not go further to
look for the truth? And now do you reject God and Islam because of that? Because human deficiencies
because let's say humans didn't rule or implement Islam the right way. But what's stopping you now
		

			from going above and beyond that to see like, really, if we're, if the Quran is claiming, is the
only book out there in the world look, that's making a claim
		

			to directly that it is from the Creator, and that it lists everything that we need to be successful
in this life, the consequences of rejecting it. There's nothing like
		

			I get to this is a great point. This is a wonderful point. I'm glad that you mentioned this. I mean,
I can, I couldn't even say it better than you. So I will say to my family to my Greek family in
France, okay. Let's say that the Ottoman rule was bad to the Ottoman people to the Turkish people
create Islam. No, of course, not. only did the air people create Islam, I traveled I had opportunity
to travel to Lithuania, Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, I've traveled hamdulillah throughout the Muslim
world. No, nope. Nobody created Islam. You know, Allah, Allah revealed this religion, these are
those people. So I just feel like it would be incredibly unfair to yourself to judge somebody, their
		

			religion, a religion by a person or a collective group of people's behavior doesn't make sense. So
okay, let's say this group of people were they were misbehaving and they were not good. What does it
matter? What does I mean? I don't know. We don't judge people.
		

			I would never judge like my, the Christian beliefs or Christian church, according to the behavior.
Some of people that I know, for me is totally separate. I would never do that. I have too much
respect for them. People are human. They make mistakes, man, I would never judge Islam because I
know Oh, I know one guy who was not a good person or something. It doesn't make sense or, or the
ultimate rule is no good for Greece. Well, this is history is politics. And this has nothing to do
with Islam anyways. Yeah, there's some mail I mean, just a simple example. The mail is being
delivered to you it's for you, it has your name written on it right and now the the the mailman he's
		

			not supposed to be drinking, not supposed to be, you know, right drink doing drugs and alcohol. But
that letters for you, right? You're gonna collect all that you want to see what that message is
about that? Even though we have the best of examples with the last and final messenger? Who's the
best, the most pristine character problem? How many peace and blessings be upon them? So why are you
going to reject? Yeah, the message that's for you? Yeah, that's a great point. Yeah. Don't reject
the package because you don't like the delivery man. Yeah, I mean, we would do that would you would
have said back then was on package isn't like the good guy delivering it. Now, that's a great point.
		

			And I think oftentimes, a lot of us do that. It's really unfortunate. Actually, I've seen a lot of
older people, our community in the community, they they fall just and young people, I should say,
you don't like to deliver the person giving you the message, or you have a certain or you have a
certain stereotype about a certain group of people. So for example, in this case, oh, Islam, it's an
Arabic religion. And I'm not an Arab. Yeah, I know. You know, I hate to say it like that don't want
to scrape the air. He was, you know, but I will say, look, Islam is bigger than any one group of
people. Yeah, that's for sure. And, you know, he's had to let people know that. Yeah. And obviously,
		

			at the end of the day, we're not the judges God as a judge, but it just delivering this because the
Dean of Islam, it makes it clear that the way of life that is acceptable to the Creator is
submission to his will not submission to the will of Mohammed, or submission to the will of Jesus,
you're following Jesus, Jesus would lead you to Muhammad. He's the example that we take as the last
and final messenger. But if you're looking for all these different isms and ways you have it laid
out and in in it has a clear outline, explaining that there's nothing else that God will accept,
except that you obey Him submit to Him on His terms, not your own, making up things as you go along.
		

			Do this is a great point. And it makes me think, listen, you know, we're just human beings trying to
follow these great examples of the great profits. And like you said, our greatest example Prophet
Muhammad peace be upon him. We're trying to please our Creator, in this actually has nothing to do
with what country or what color our skin is or what country we come from, because Allah is not going
to ask you are you from Greece? No, you from Bosnia? Are you from Cyprus, or doesn't matter in the
end, in this regard, this is a great point in only when we want to serve our Lord and doesn't matter
you know, what country you come from, or what color the skin your skin is just, it's irrelevant,
		

			really. It's insignificant. Now this is beautiful, because in this day and age, you see a lot of
this white nationalism you see a lot of this racism coming out. Islam crushes all that man and
that's why I believe would be great for Greece because unfortunately there's a little bit of a far
right movement here and in the United States and there but it's them crushes that because like you
said, he met now a black man or a Turkish man or whoever wherever you're from, you're like my
brother. Now I see you as a human being now and not as somebody I'm supposed to hate. So Islam
really took that takes us out of unit but it replaced I really hope people really learn understand
		

			this. It's time for me but loving, loving my heart for people and forgiveness and mercy for people
understanding and empathy, not hatred. Actually, the Ottoman just this is another thing that came to
mind the Ottoman Empire most of the the leaders they were, they were part Greek doctors that told me
this and I didn't know that I read up Honestly, I love this part. A lot of the A lot of them spoke
Greek. They married Greek women. So a lot of the salt ons were half Greek. There's a the respected
Greek culture. I mean, what else do you what do you see we asked for right. Some of them were
Serbian also. Yeah, right. They had the mix. Yeah, definitely. So that means they respected your
		

			culture, your language. Your children were half Greek. They I mean, what else you want? I mean,
it's, it's an expression of appreciation. Yeah. And I mean, that's wonderful. And people I know in
many, many Bosnians, even Serbians, they actually rose up into the rank in that government system,
and they became great leaders. Yeah, and a lot of those. They weren't like illegal aliens. Yeah,
right. They were like a lot of administer
		

			Yeah, they call it the I'm not sure what the ministers voyeurs they were there. Yeah. They rose up
the governors. They became Yeah, like the grand visors. Yeah, these guys always get your Greek man.
Yeah. Or Bosnian or Serbian or whatever. And it's, it's great. And I like them. I love autumn
history. Now, because of that mix the variety. It's beautiful. In Britain, as a Muslim, that's, I
can tell you, I embrace diversity. I like it. I thrive and I like it. We've I'm not saying that I
didn't before. But let's say before, I had certain stereotypes around some things. So before I meet
somebody, or when you meet somebody, you have a negative kind of feeling about them perhaps before
		

			and as a Muslim, I embrace diversity. I love it. I know so many people from so many different
places. And I think it's beautiful. It's meant that and that's why no, this is a religion of a law
of God or force, because he's bringing us together. He's not dividing us. So that's how I feel. You
actually spent some time also, you were an interviewer? Yeah, yeah. Working, interviewing many
scholars and people of knowledge. And
		

			one thing I made an example, because I've interviewed people who are, let's say, shifts of different
religions. Yeah. And what what, what really fascinated me was, I remember key points, that they told
me that the more they would look in to their religion that they were upon, it would drive them away.
But the more they started to investigate Islam, the more convinced them that it was the truth.
Wonderful point. And I want to thank you for sharing that. And because working as an interviewer, it
was a great experience in my life. I know how stressful and hard it can be, you know, when you have
to ask questions in front of the lights and all that. But the result was great, because I just felt
		

			like a fly on the wall. I'm not a personality. I'm not a shape. People ask me a question all the
time. So you know, I have very little information, you should talk to your Imam or whoever you
respect and trust. But what I mean I was I just got to benefit so much. It was really a blessing
from Allah to be around these great people and just listen to them being it makes my like you said
your demand goes up, not down. So it's increasing. And it was a blessing from Allah just to be
around them. And it was a great experience. So how do you see now when you when you speak to some of
some of the Muslims now who are questioning their Deen? Yeah, right beginning to wane. And now you
		

			as someone who's coming from this background that resents Islam, you came to Islam. And now when you
see them, and you see their level of knowledge is you're like, what are you doing? Now? How are you
spending your time? Right? Well, that's a great point. I want to tell you this, you know, a lot of
guys 100 young guys, you they come to me.
		

			Because they maybe they think I'm someone that they can talk to or relate to, because like you said,
I'm coming in to this religion I chose to come into and I don't care. You know, what trouble you got
into what you've been doing in high school and college. And you know, your Eman is so low, and
you're into some things that you know, we shouldn't be doing. I'm telling you, man, just take a
moment. ask Allah for forgiveness. Allah forgive, you know, he's going is the Most Merciful, the
most forgiving.
		

			There's never a time that you've gone too far away from the deen or questioning thing. There's an
answer for everything. But before you know, there's an answer for everything. There's nothing to
quit, you know, there's no reason to feel that way. And there's no reason to feel like don't despair
at the mercy of Allah, there's, there's always a way back in. And, you know, I chose to come in. So
I feel sad when I see people kind of confused or youth kind of like, you know, in the dunya here in
America, you know, I try my best to try to give them a positive message to bring them back in. Yeah,
you know, you were you were working with the hood of TV. Right? Yeah. And I want to thank them, that
		

			was a wonderful opportunity. You know, they're great brothers. You know, sometimes in the media, as
you know, you probably receive a lot of criticism sometimes. But the positive feedback was, was more
overwhelming. They gave me an opportunity to work with them and to, like I said, to meet those great
people. And I saw that great memories man with them, you know, with the scholars there. And did you?
Did you have a lot? Do you remember key points where like, you would be excited? You're about to
interview someone? And now you can ask any question something maybe that came up, maybe a doubt
Something came up. And now you can actually ask someone right in front of you of knowledge. And yes,
		

			and you know what that was? That's a great point. And that's why it was a great blessing. I wish
everybody had that. You know, there was a lot of great people there.
		

			For example, I had the opportunity to interview you know, Shakib Ramsey den, hey Ma'am, crew members
aid,
		

			you know, Dr. Pillai, of course, and all these people, and there's nothing that you can ask, and
you'll find your answer. And sometimes honestly, the answer isn't in words, or delille, and proofs,
it's in their behavior and mannerisms. And when you see like a living example, then you have
something to model because if you're just you know, asking these kind of like, theological
questions, and you're looking for a certain answer that you already kind of looking for, I don't
know, it's not going to work. But when you see a great example of what it means to be able to stump
someone who's trying to embody the spirit of Islam, and they're knowledgeable it's really a blessing
		

			to be around them and I wish we had more here in America and I you know, for the youth to be able to
contact and be in touch with so that I considered my time there among the greatest blessings that
law has given me. Yeah, how was your from when you accepted it to now How has your family come
around? Have they got to see now Islam in action and now things have changed quite a bit? Well, you
know what, I hope so. I think so. I'm not I'm not perfect. I still make whatever
		

			As a human, you know, but I think they know. And I know I still love them, they still love me. We're
stronger than ever. I think I feel like I'd become a better son, a better husband, a better father,
a better
		

			sibling because of Islam, because I feel like I think I hope I'm more considered, I'm more aware.
		

			I hope so I hope I think I'm a much better son than I was before. I love and respect after my
parents was there before, but what I mean is Islam amplifies it, and I understand how much they've
done for me and how much I love them how how important our parents are to us, and how valuable that
relationship was. Before it was like, Well, yeah, this mom, dad, whatever, you know, it's taking
things for granted, as but I think as Sam prioritizes things, I hope I become a better friend and
family member. Yeah. What advice would you have I had not too long ago, a former alumni from the
		

			bears, Tim, his name is Tim. He's also from the Greek background. Now he's not and he got hit by a
drunk driver ended his career. And then he got some news, he had some kind of some kind of disease
that they diagnosed him with that gave him only six plus months if I'm correct. To live. So he's
staring death in the face. It's not a coincidence that towards the end of his days now, Allah, the
Creator of the heavens on Earth, put him around some Muslims. And he likes what he's reading. But
now he's torn between what are they going to say? Still? Right? Yeah. Family, friends, culture. And
then the truth. Yeah, he gets to tune in. Whoa, tell them what what advice would you give that you
		

			know what, I just think that whether you know, even if I'll give you six months or six years, 60
years,
		

			don't worry about what people are gonna say what, what people are gonna think your parents, the
people that are important in your life still gonna love you. My mother still loves me. My father
still doesn't my siblings still love me. The people that still love you now they're gonna love you
whether you're Muslim or not, I whether you whether you accept them, they're going to love you. So
don't worry about that should be the last thing on your mind. And this seems like a great brother,
Mashallah. I wish him all the best I'm making to offer him it'd be my honor and pleasure to meet
with him one day. And I would just tell him, brother, don't think about follow your heart. You know,
		

			a law is leading you to him. There's no coincidence at this point in your life at this critical
juncture that was calling on you. Your mom and dad are gonna love you, your siblings are gonna love
you. Love conquers all. Family conquers all Don't worry about it. Don't worry. But, you know,
sometimes we think about myself, I think a lot of my friends gonna say, what are the guys at the
coffee shop gonna say? What's my second cousin getting to say? All those people, I love them. I love
my cousins, my second cousins. I love those guys. I love everybody. But it's not. It's it's more
important. What I feel is right with regards to my spiritual health and where I'm going to where my
		

			afterlife is going to be. You know, so that's what I would say to life. The afterlife is more
important. You know, all this is going to go for all of us. At some point. People don't take that
serious. Yeah, I mean, these are the things that we do for fun. This is all going anyways, at some
point, I just lost my father. Everything's going to be a lot worse and everything's going but what
I'm saying is, is going to go anyways. But don't worry about that. Think about your parents. Think
about your spiritual health and your afterlife. And your parents in your family are going to love
you because you're you know, it's family family conquers all love conquers all. Yeah, that's deep. I
		

			had a guest and he went from being a fashion model. Oh to being former fashion amount to actually
accepting Islam becoming an Imam. Oh, cool. And he said that one of his friends just gave him the
the Kadima to see on his lips and he found himself it was so easy to recite that La la la pretty
much saying that I love you the creative the most. There's nothing that I love more than you There's
nothing worthy of worship is up You the one guy like you said there and he found himself in
Manhattan. He was just saying this.
		

			In a law you can start saying ilaha illa la start with that. Yeah. And then God Almighty and then
start being sincere. I usually give people homework, do the homework. Ask the creator alone for
guidance. It's so simple, man. That's what that's it. That's a great point. That's what we did.
That's what I did. That's whatever he does. So yeah, as long as you ask for it's natural, isn't it?
Yeah. What else do you ask for guidance? God, you don't have to say oh, Lord, who else do you ask
for guidance the creator that's a great point. If you can't if you can't do that, come on, man. What
was wrong man? If you can't do that simple say the one who created me guide me if this Greek and his
		

			Bosnian he's Americans here Yeah. If they're on the trip, guide me to the way of life that you want
me to be upon and the beauty beauty of saying there is no God, the God is one or let you feel alone,
or God is one. It doesn't contradict anything. You don't say you don't feel weird about saying it
doesn't contradict my my feeling in my heart and soul. God is one we are you already know that as a
person. So it's perfect. There's no contradiction. And he comes easy, like you said, so yeah, that's
a great point. Just start by saying that and ask the creator for guidance. No matter what your
background is. Don't worry about any of that. All that's not related to our background, or ethnic
		

			backgrounds. That's a great point. You know, law where can people get these books if they
		

			you know what, I just would like people to read it, you can actually contact me, I'll send you a
free copy and I'm not. I'm not here trying to make money off you guys. That's for sure.
		

			My story on the books. He breathed salt on secret. It's on Amazon just Google my name. Yeah, thank
you guys so much. Thank you ready for sharing though that gift is for you. Thank you very much. I
just want to share my story and share a little bit about my background with with with everybody.
We're very happy elated to have you on the program. Hey, Vance, my honor to be with you, man. Bless
you. Thank you, brother. Thank you so much. And thank you guys for tuning in. Continue to tune in
hopefully God Willing is convinced some benefit for you. Leave us your takeaways in the comments
below. And we'll see you next time here in the D show. Until then, don't forget La ilaha illAllah
		

			there's nothing that you love more than the one who created you. You're not going to worship
anything other than him. Not the money not the fame not the stick not the stone at a man at a woman.
No one except the one who, what? Who created you. That's what I mean. La Ilaha Illa la start with
that simple homework as the creator who created you, guide me, guide me guide me. We'll see you next
time. Until then. Peace be with you. I said I'll make him