Imbalances Experienced by New Converts to Islam or... Missing the "Middle Way"

 

     We sometimes see a familiar sight in Western media: a famous person, as a result of their research or an accident, announces their conversion to Islam. However, this process often involves some peculiarities and imbalances. The points we will detail below lead to a question about those who convert to Islam (especially those who make it a priority and a way of life): "Why do some converts, particularly celebrities, experience certain imbalances and even traumas, especially in the early stages?" Let's examine this situation by considering Islam's comprehensive tenets and its principles that turn believers into "men of action," combined with the sharpness and "dizziness" that comes with a fresh conversion.

1. The Lure of Translations

     One of the initial ways people connect with Islam is naturally through translations. It's a method almost everyone uses to see what the holy book contains and to quench their immediate "thirst." The unique eloquence and rhetoric of the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem captivate people and inspire even the most passive individuals (this is evident even in the most perfunctory translations). There is nothing wrong with this. The real problem arises in the next step: trying to continue shaping one's life based solely on these translations.

      A translation is simply a rendition of the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem into another language based on a person's limited understanding, often for financial gain. These translations can lead to people being influenced by unqualified individuals and cause certain verses and chapters to be misunderstood in a way that is the exact opposite of their true meaning, with obvious consequences. Unfortunately, many new Muslims, starting their journey with good and pure intentions, end up in the shallow waters and swamps of these translations. The most painful part is that they are completely unaware of this, believing, "I'm learning Islam from its original source, I don't need anything else." As is well known, there is no cure for this "compounded ignorance," and it's nearly impossible to teach something to someone who thinks they already know.

     Another aspect of this issue became clearer with the rise of ISIS. The Western world was once preoccupied with young people who eagerly went to join these gangs. People couldn't understand why these youths would go to "jihad." However, most of these new converts were captivated after reading jihad verses in a simple, hastily done translation that was put into their hands. Lacking anyone to guide them and pressured by other confused and directionless groups like themselves, they got involved in things that no sane person would. Thinking they were fighting infidels, they found their way to the Middle East, and many died without ever properly learning about Islam.

2. The Focus on Appearance (Beard and Clothing)

    For many striving to make Islam their way of life and fully follow its teachings, another area where they miss the "average" is their appearance, particularly growing a beard. In more advanced cases, there's a tendency toward turbans and robes, but we can summarize all of these under this point. This is often a manifestation of a sincere desire to follow the Our Beloved Prophet and his guidance. However, the mistake here is not fully understanding the place of the beard in Islamic law, and even when they do, the sharpness and dizziness that comes with being a new Muslim leads to a rush to share the newly found blessing with everyone.

                            

Yusuf Islam past & present

     When this well-intentioned fervor is combined with the error of learning the religion from translations (as discussed in the first point), there's a risk of being thrown far off the "average." As we have discussed in another text, in countries outside the Arab world—especially in the West—and particularly after the September 11th attacks, attempting to be an active public figure with a beard, turban, robe will bring many problems and misunderstandings. Trying to display a "non-obligatory sunnah" makes a person seem like a potential terrorist, a boogeyman, or at the very least, unkempt or backward in the eyes of others. They are viewed through various preconceived notions, and people don't even want to interact with them. This doesn't seem like a very wise thing to do.

Hamza Yusuf then & now

     To clarify, of course, it is highly rewarding to follow every Sunnah of Our Prophet, but giving people a reason to mock beards, robes, and turbans while performing a Sunnah that is not even accounted for on the Day of Judgment is not a good deed. It can cause young people to become alienated from Islam and even lead them to become Islamophobic.

3. Broken Relationships with Their Social Circles

     This imbalance often appears in young people who convert to Islam while in a social environment with limited religious practice or one that is entirely secular. The tension between the two sides escalates, and in many cases, there are sharp breaks and separations. Some of these relationships may normalize later, but the pain of "heartbreak" doesn't easily go away.

4. The Haste to "Enjoin Good and Forbid Evil"

     The principle of "amr bil ma'ruf wa nahy 'anil munkar" is one of the famous 54 obligatory duties of Islam, and it can be described as "enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong." It is a duty that Islam places on every individual according to their capacity. However, there are certain conditions for performing this duty, and attempting to do so when these conditions are not met will cause more harm than good. This topic is also directly related to the "lure of translations" we examined in the first point because people who rely on translations often lack the skill to balance the concept of enjoining good and forbidding evil.

5. Following the Wrong People

     This is a particularly noticeable factor today. It manifests through "scholars" who are full of empty words and use flashy rhetoric to trap young people. They target sincere young people who are new to the faith. Young converts fall into the traps of fake mystics, despicable individuals whose lives don't match their words, people who hastily write translations and commentaries for money and fame, and malicious individuals who inject poison into well-written articles. They become victims of severe spiritual poisoning. This often happens especially as a result of the Salafi movement, backed by Wahhabi Saudis, dominating social media. For example, on Reddit, Salafi propaganda is immediately noticeable in most threads related to Islam.

     When we pile these elements up, we encounter figures and ideas that have strayed far from the center—claiming to be Muslim yet failing to grasp the essence, without a firm grounding in Sunni tradition. You can see nearly all of these imbalances in people like Yusuf Islam and more recently, Sinead O'Connor (Shuhada' Davitt). Yusuf Islam's change in appearance and rhetoric is a perfect example: when he first converted, he completely quit music and disconnected from his social circle. Over time, however, he returned to the music scene, took off his turban, trimmed his beard, and picked up his guitar again.

Is It Beneficial to Read the Translation of Al-Qur'an al-Kareem?

 

     Our current age is, as we know, the age of "speed." The concept of speed is active in every area of our lives and, naturally, affects our spirituality (if there is any left). But this speed is not always to our advantage. When the obsession with speed and quickness pushes us to consume information that should be spread out and learned gradually over the long term, taking it in the form of a "concentrated" pill in a short period of time, it often settles in our systems as permanent and effective "side effects." One of the areas that speed and the desire to be fast have permeated is, unfortunately, "religion." When we say "religion," we are of course talking about Islam, not Christianity, which has been "robbed of its spirit" by Westerners.

one of the many translations

     When learning about religion without being "left behind" by the rest of life, the disease of reading the "Meal" (translation) and giving meaning to Islam according to it, exactly as required by "hamburger culture," comes into play. Furthermore, for those who are introduced to Islam for the first time, the effort to understand the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem manifests itself in resorting to translations. This is essentially a very natural action because when you start to get interested in Islam, the need arises to examine the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem, and somehow, someone immediately shoves a translation under your arm. There is nothing wrong with "this," but what comes "after" this is a bit complicated.

     A meal is a translation made by someone who knows a certain degree of Arabic, based on his own understanding. A person reading a translation understands not the divine will in the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem, but the explanation in the mind of the person trying to translate it into any other language. However, the person with little knowledge who reads the translation reads it as if it is the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem itself. In fact, the translations circulating on the market today are mere translations. That is, they are word-for-word translations. However, there are explanations in places where explanations are needed. It is not possible to briefly translate the verses anyway; it would lead to many misunderstandings.

     In reality, the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem cannot be translated into any language, including Arabic. To understand the meaning of the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem means to understand what Allah wants in any given verse. Nothing is gained from a translation made by a religiously ignorant person who does not even practice the basic commands and prohibitions, other than harm that could lead to blasphemy. Translations written for money and fame sow seeds of doubt in the minds of readers. However, misunderstanding the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem or doubting it can lead to apostasy. Unfortunately, some young people who are fed by translations think of the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem as a book consisting of mythological stories and meaningless thoughts that is "not so noble." Especially when they try to derive judgments from these translations that contain personal opinions and build their faith and worship on what they have understood, it is outright leaving the Islamic faith and following their own "-ism." Books sold with gilded words like "Read the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem in your own language" or "The commentary of the age" cause incurable illnesses in their readers.

     The love for making Muslims read translations is not actually very old. The Ottoman Empire, even though it was ruled by a non-Arab majority and governed very large and diverse non-Arab communities for centuries, never had the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem translated and read into any language, including its own. This is because our ancestors knew very well the method of learning and teaching the Islamic religion. Instead of translations and commentaries, basic books on Islamic theology (kalam), creed (akaid), and jurisprudence (fiqh) were taught (for example, the famous Mizrakli İlmihal). The Ottoman Empire handled religious matters with such sensitivity and without corrupting their origin that it even had the Friday sermon (khutbah) read only in Arabic because it could not find permission for it in religious sources, and to make the sermon understandable, it established the sermon (va'z) before the prayer.

     In the last years of the Ottoman Empire, especially after the deposition of Abdülhamid II and the declaration of the Second Constitutional Era, with the great decrease in competent and authorized religious scholars, a lot of deviators emerged. It is a historical fact that the first translation efforts in the geography of Turkey came from the hands of non-Muslims (you can imagine how much these efforts would be to the benefit of Muslims). Instead of books on kalam and fiqh, efforts were made to produce an environment where everyone would derive their own rulings. In this way, just like with the distorted Christianity, everyone would have their own path, and the path of unity would be broken.

     Today, those who get into this "translation" business are generally alienated from Sunni Islam and follow their own philosophical thoughts. A lot of so-called "theologians" who think of themselves as "world scholars" get into the "translation writing" business in a race against each other, and they do not neglect to slander each other. Since there are people who think of everyone who writes a book that looks like a translation or a religious book as a scholar, those who are eager to earn money and fame from these works are increasing every day.

     In fact, how harmful and misleading the "translationism" is can be clearly seen from the current state of the Christian world. As is known, in the Christian religion, after the distortion of Christianity, the Gospels began to be rapidly translated into other languages. Especially after the Protestants, who were angry with the Catholics, charted their own course, the place was overrun with Bible translations in every language. This caused everyone to act according to their own capacity and understanding, and the unity was broken. In other words, the love for reading translations and acting according to what is understood from them clearly smells of Christianity.

     Anyone who wants to understand and learn the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem should read the books of the old scholars on kalam and fiqh. This is because the books of these religious scholars were taken from and written from the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem and hadiths. The religious books and ilmihal prepared by righteous Muslims as a result of their years of strenuous efforts are already comprehensive and deep translations and commentaries.

     If everyone understood the Al-Qur'an al-Kareem correctly, could the Islamic world be so fragmented? Aren't there so many ridiculous and bizarre paths because everyone does what they want and misunderstands?

Celebrities Who Carry the Flag of Immorality at the Forefront

 

     Since the 20th century, new communication tools have made it possible for events on the other side of the world to enter our lives in a very short amount of time. People "updated" themselves and quickly adapted to these changes, which led to a situation where we started hearing the names of well-known "celebrities." In particular, representatives of fields like cinema and music (and sometimes fashion and "contemporary art") were pushed into our eyes and ears through television and radio. This brought with it an ever-increasing number of fan bases for certain celebrities. Especially young people, who admire their voices, stage presence, acting skills, and success in their fields—and, of course, their "handsome" or "beautiful" looks—started to let these celebrities into their private lives and, as if enchanted, began to follow them.

     Of course, this kind of blind love and imitation also produced a great danger. Some of those brilliant actors and magnificent singers could be immoral in their private lives. In many areas, from substance abuse to various sexual orientations, they didn't present a profile that one should follow. What was even stranger, and more sobering was that the mass media would promote those who were the most immoral, showed the most perversion, and were the most brazen in talking about and showing their vulgarities, trying to push them even more into the eyes of young people. Under the guise of combating the "AIDS plague," which is more common among those who have perverted relationships and for which there is still no cure, activities that were made to look "innocent" have gone so far as to popularize the perversion of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) as a "legitimate human right" with widespread public support.

     In connection with this, events such as the legalization of same-sex marriage in so-called "developed" countries, the ability for same-sex couples to be married in churches, the praising of LGBT advocates with gilded words as "unrelenting human rights defenders," and the great respect given to members of parliament and opinion leaders whose gender is unknown are increasing as part of the relentlessly pumped-up disinformation. On the other hand, those who stand against these shameless people and try to prevent them from setting a bad example are labeled as homophobic, reactionary, or close-minded by the same media and are tried to be isolated.

     Therefore, let's give a few names of people who were the most audacious in immorality, insolence, and illegitimate acts and relationships, and who, of course, were the worst examples for the young people who followed them.

     Freddie Mercury: One of the most immoral figures in recent history. He was adored by millions of young people, and his early death has been exaggerated more and more. He had countless relationships with men during completely out-of-control, drug-fueled party nights and finally contracted AIDS, which is more commonly found in homosexuals and those who are prone to illegitimate relationships, and died from it. He is one of the leading characters that Western immoral people try to use to trap young Muslims. Because when you describe this guy as a "great artist" or something, you are opening the door to AIDS, homosexuality, and all kinds of immorality. As for his religion, he was a Zoroastrian (a religion of fire worshippers fabricated by Zoroaster). When he died, his body was burned. He was a product of Britain! Had he lived a little longer, it wouldn't have been a stretch for him to get the "Sir" title from the Queen! Now that his movie has been released, he will probably be completely taboo and made into a saint.

Freddie Mercury with his lover
Jim Hutton

     Salvador Dali: The first person who comes to mind when you say "surrealism." With his strange poses for the cameras, his upward-pointing mustache, the paintings he drew, the scripts he wrote, the illegitimate and "perverted" relationships that were very common with people he brought to his wife's house despite being married, his homosexual tendencies, his arrogance, and his inclination towards sadomasochism... In short, with all those unusual things he did to become famous, he was one of those who corrupted the 20th century and started the moral erosion. His buddy Luis Bunuel was also a prime example.

     Rock Hudson: A person who wrote letters to the men he was with, saying, "We were together, and my doctor tells me I may have contracted AIDS. Please go to your doctor and get yourself checked." One of the men he had a relationship with sued him after his death, claiming he had a relationship with him for months even though he knew he had "AIDS." The court ruled in his favor and awarded him compensation. He is the person who paved the way for concepts like "AIDS" and "homosexuality" to be discussed more freely, as if they were ordinary things. Because after his death, such immoralities and, more painfully, the acts of openly doing and announcing such immoralities began to get out of control. He was a member of the Church of Scientology.

     Rudolf Nureyev: One of the immoral people who is tried to be kept on the agenda as "one of the greatest dancers." He was an open pervert who had countless illegitimate relationships and was declared a "hero" by some circles just because he openly talked about his perverted relationships. He was born into a Tatar family during the Soviet Union, and as the saying goes, "the water jug breaks on the way to the water," he died because of AIDS. Despite coming from a Muslim family, he became an Orthodox Christian.

    Madonna: With her life, her songs, her illegitimate relationships, and what she does on stage, she is one of the leading carriers of the flag of immorality who manages to occupy the agenda in some way. She is praised for fighting the supposedly imaginary monster called "homophobia." She is the standard-bearer of the movements called LGBT. And, unfortunately, such people are applauded as "Human Rights activists." When this woman was just trying to enter the market, a manager she met with praised her, saying, "I thought I was looking at a prostitute." Naturally, she is also distant from monotheistic religions.

     Woody Allen: An American director and screenwriter of Jewish descent. He is known for his brazen films about male-female relationships. In his films, illegitimate relationships are as common as bread and butter, and no moral or spiritual standards are recognized. Claims that he sexually abused his adopted daughter have become public knowledge. Despite being Jewish, he defines himself as an Agnostic.

     Michel Foucault: A homosexual pervert who died of AIDS-related causes. An atheist philosopher that immoral, anti-religious circles never get tired of praising. When people who pretend to be "intellectuals" mention his name, they almost change dimensions!

     Charlie Chaplin: One of the unrivaled actors of the "Silent Cinema" era. He had illegitimate relationships with what is said to be thousands of women. The kind, helpful personality of the black-and-white films was an immoral man who raped young girls and then forced the victims to have abortions. Those who know his private life a little say that he approached every female being who knocked on his door with the thought of "how can I get her into bed." He was British and an atheist. He was the "Harvey Weinstein" before Harvey Weinstein! In fact, he himself said, "Chaplin is my idol."

     Sigmund Freud: One of the most despicable perverts in history, adored by the atheist, anti-religious crowd. He came from a Jewish family but became an atheist. He supposedly subjected things that a normal person would be disgusted to even think about to psychoanalysis and put them in his books, writing unbelievable nonsense about babies and small children. Most of what he said arouses disgust in people with a slight moral backbone. He shows what the West, which was trying to escape from corrupted Christianity, can become without religion and morality.

     David Bowie: One more of the immoral people who are exaggerated more and more. Like almost every "influential" Briton, he was inclined to homosexuality and bisexuality. With what he did and what he was, he tried to lead astray young people who still had some fragments of morality and religion. He wandered between Atheism and Agnosticism.

     Stephen Fry: Here's another British atheist, and his mother was Jewish! He married a man much younger than himself! He accuses those who look at the group called LGBT with a side-eye of being barbarians and Nazis. He used drugs for years.

     Mick Jagger: David Bowie's buddy! He has one more thing than him, and that's the "Sir" title. The rest is almost the same.

     John Lennon: A British man with distorted religious views and a foggy mind. In his song "Imagine," which is praised to the skies, he imagines that the world would be a more livable place without religion and that people would live in peace. To understand how idiotic he was, it is enough to look at the lyrics of this song.

     Iggy Pop: A drug-addicted, foul-mouthed rocker who usually appeared on stage semi-naked. In his youth, he committed all kinds of obscenities on stage.

     Elton John: British, atheist, and homosexual... Oh, we forgot, the guy is "Sir," by the way! The allegations about him are unbelievable.

     Andy Warhol: One of the devil's soldiers who worked to lead young people astray and spread immorality with everything from his sexual orientation and beliefs to what he called art and his private life! In some circles, to be known as an "intellectual," you have to like and appreciate what this despicable guy did! Imagine an even more extreme version of Bedri Baykam!

     George Michael: British atheist and homosexual singer. He died in a state of depression from drug and alcohol addiction, chasing one-night stands. One of the men he slept with also died of AIDS.

     As can be seen, when you look at just a few of these well-known names, it seems easier for British citizens or those who have passed through the "British mold" to be included in this list. In addition, those who are homosexual, atheist, brazen, and "vociferous" enough to build public opinion have the potential to write their names in history with golden letters!

     Those who say, "But sir, aren't you attacking these people too much? Are you so pure?" should take this into consideration: The main issue is not that the targeted people had perverted relationships or did very terrible things in their private lives. The main problem is that they did these illegitimate things in public, that they did them in front of everyone in a way that would corrupt the morality of societies, and that they even took pride in them and defended their actions.