Muslim convert to Catholicism?

Fatwah! Fatwah!

Lamin Sanneh, a professor of divinity, was raised Muslim in The Gambia and converted to Catholicism. I recommend his book Whose Religion is Christianity?; IIRC he does share some of his personal experiences there.

As long as the individual goes to classes and does the sacraments, he/she is good to go.

Captshady said:

Fatwah! Fatwah!

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LOL. I think you mean Apostate! Apostate!


Pink Ink, I've never heard of that. It's usually the opposite.

I don't know any Muslims who converted to Catholocism, but I do know some who've converted to various flavours of Christianity.

It's perfectly doable from the Catholic side, probably regarded in horror by the Muslim side. This kind of thing typically happens when someone marries a person of a different religion. At least the Philippines wasn't a Muslim nation where such conversion would be illegal.

I don't know what you need for your story, but be prepared for the character's family/ friends to be really angry and unable to understand, and perhaps abandoning him/ her. (Or if that's not what you need, they could have any reaction up to refusal to accept it happened, bored indifference, or secret curiosity.) On the incoming side, perhaps some suspicion because the person wouldn't have been raised in Cathloic traditions.

On the part of the character, some embarrassment at having to be baptized as an adult (usually done for infants), and an heightened awareness of what the words and rituals mean - an outsider's view.

I'd imagine there would be a good amount of culture shock in unexpected areas, possibly well after the conversion. Statues/saints is one that comes to mind, since (as far as I know) images of living things are frowned on in Islam. Adjusting to a different religious language (Latin, at that time, instead of Arabic). (Though there are Catholic traditions that use Arabic, but not in the Phillipines, I would think.) Possibly tripping over similar-but-not-the-same beliefs or history, since the two faiths share a lot of background -- the story of Abraham, maybe, or the role of Mary. (Pure guesswork on the specifics there.)

See if you can get hold of 'I Dared to Call Him Father' which is one girl's account of her conversion from a Muslim background to Christianity.

Bear in mind, though, that Asian Islam would not have been identical to Arab Islam. Not sure what the Philippines was like, but in India, there was a rich Islamic culture including poetry, music - and painting, including paintings representing people.

Depending on where you're going with this, you may need to research Islam in the Philippines in the era you had in mind. You may (or may not) find differences in culture and clothing, which also the convert would have to adjust to.

Hmm. I could help on South Asian Islam, but it may not be the same thing. Perhaps you could ask someone with Phil expertise? Some Muslim groups there now are separatists, but going back to the 18th century, things might well have been different.

Muslim in Philippines, at the time you choose??!? if this thing happen my dear lady , he or she will not talk but keep her new religious in her/ his heart... and as one said put in you mind that the time you choose the Islamic countries were in their glory..

Plus family relations were likely very much tighter than they are today. Modernization in Western families has caused a loosening of ties which were once very much tighter.

I know someone who was born & raised in a Muslim country (Iran), though his family was not particularly religious. (The mother was very religious but the rest of the family was not religious at all.) He came to the USA at age 18 and at age 39 became a Catholic.
This is something he has not told his mother about though.

The Qur'an says that whoever picks a religion other than Islam is of the losers and will be an inhabitant of the Fire. The four schools of Islamic law (I only know about Sunni's so I'm not too sure on the Shi'a) regard apostasy as grounds for execution.

However, there are alternative views. My mother argues pretty strongly that:

-There is no temporal punishment mentioned in the Qur'an for apostasy, in the case of other crimes such as murder suitable punishment is given (varying degrees of as a matter of fact, not all cases of theft must end with a dudes hand being cut off).
-The word "Islam" means "submission to non other than Allah (God)", it does not neccesarily refer to the religion founded by Muhammad. Just like Abraham is not a Jew or Christian, (how could he have been?), he was a Muslim, the word meaning "That which submits to the will of God". As a result Christians, Jews, Bah'a'i could all be described as Muslims. The same is also true with Bhuddists, Hindus and Shintoists, pretty much all religions submit to some concept of God.
-In the Hadith there are accounts of Muhammad executing apostates, however, in these that was not the main cause. The main reason for their execution was that they had gone over to the pagans sides. In the early days, Islam was a religion, a state, an army, a way of life. They were active enemies of the Ummah and so the punishment was more political than anything.

Of course, this is seen as a lunatic, fringe view within the conservative elements of Islam.

Pink Ink said:

You are right, Mewoone; I know of at least one situation in 18th c. history, where a Phil. sultan and his children converted to Catholicism, but for the most part commoners didn't bandy around their conversion.

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mmmmmm Sultan? I never heard about A phil Sultan?? Can you please give me more information. I am really confuse because to be Sultan you should be Muslim and if the Sultan become something else and the public knew he will be asked either to convert or to be killed (and historically I never hear such story) and if he converted secretly but the consult (Group of Showra) found they will ask the Sultan to step aside and put his son or brother or cousin in his place??!

Scrawler said:

I know someone who was born & raised in a Muslim country (Iran), though his family was not particularly religious. (The mother was very religious but the rest of the family was not religious at all.) He came to the USA at age 18 and at age 39 became a Catholic.
This is something he has not told his mother about though.

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it happened today , and i notice it happened more for Shia but i rarely hear Snie people convert ..

Captshady said:

Fatwah! Fatwah!

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This is like going to a white house meeting and screaming "POSITION PAPER! POSITION PAPER!".

The word is just an opinion of an Islamic scholar, usually (but not always, it seems) based on Qur'anic verses and other pieces of Islamic scripture (Hadith, or words of the Prophet, actions of the Prophet's companions, history or science). Most are really dry and boring, nitpicking over grammar of the Qur'an. Some demand the death of all Kafirs or say Pokemon is turning our children into Jews (seriously).

Of course, because they are similar to academic journal articles, the fact they are used to raise mobs is quite against the original concept.

Kurtz said:

-The word "Islam" means "submission to non other than Allah (God)", it does not neccesarily refer to the religion founded by Muhammad. Just like Abraham is not a Jew or Christian, (how could he have been?), he was a Muslim, the word meaning "That which submits to the will of God". As a result Christians, Jews, Bah'a'i could all be described as Muslims. The same is also true with Bhuddists, Hindus and Shintoists, pretty much all religions submit to some concept of God.

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That is false. Abraham, zt''l, was the first Jew. The Lord made a covenant between Himself and Avram, changing his name to Avraham; Avraham then circumcised himself at 99 years old. Although he is a convert--the original convert--he is, in fact, the first Jew.

The lack of calling him a "Jew" in the Bible is probably what threw you off. However, the term Jew is not used until 2 Kings 16:6 where it refers to the "Jews" or Yehudim, after Yehuda. Elsewhere in the Torah, we are referred to as Israelites or Sons of Israel. Avraham is referred to by another term used in the Torah known as Ivri, which means Hebrew. His grandchild, Jacob, has his named changed to Israel--hence, Sons of Israel, referring to our descent from Yaakov (Jacob).

Some Muslims will tell you Avraham was a Muslim. Now THAT is absurd, considering Islam was started by Ishmael, Avraham's other son.

There are different types of Muslims, tho. I know an interfaith couple in a VERY conservative society. A predominantly Muslim society. They did not have a religious home. Two of the children grew up and chose Islam and to live in a Muslim country. One grew up and took Christianity. Who knows what the future holds.

Just mentioning because ... there are different Muslims in different places. And, of course, different Islams.

Among which is the little known Alevi Islam, which is quite unusual and very much *not* what one expects of an Islamic stream.