On Being Muslim

At about the age of 11, I made a choice that even at that young age would be a defining moment in my life, I chose to embrace the religion of Islam.
I realize that this may be a touchy subject for some people, so I won't be offended at all if you turn away.
God and religion is such a very personal thing for so many, and following the doctrine of separating church and state it's difficult to want to bring it to the forefront of people's conciousness or their topics of conversation.
Again my aim here is not to offend anyone but merely help people to understand me, and the things that give shape and life to my music.

I want to first share with you the opening chapter of the Holy Qur'an (the book that Muslims are gaged to to live our lives by...hopefully). It will set the tone for this blog.

"In the name of Allah, the beneficent and merciful, all praise is due to Allah the beneficent, the merciful, master of the day of judgement, thee alone we worship, and thine aid we seek; show us the straight path, the path of those on whom thou bestowed thy favor, not the path of those who have gone astray(Al-Fatiha, or the opening, the 1st chapter of Qur'an )."

Many people who know me, know that I can be very passionate about certain things. The things that really give meaning to my life occur in my life on a very consistent basis. My wife Vickie, my children, my family, the Carpenter Ants, my job at the library, and the Bronx all have extreme relevance to me. The only thing that has more prevalance than any of those with the only exception being Vickie is my love for the religion of Islam and greater than that is my love for Allah (GOD), and the holy prophet of Islam, Muhammad (pbuh:peace be upon him).
When I fell in love with Islam, it came without a warning, and found me in the depths of myself and in the dregs of my life. I was at rockbottom emotionally.
No I wasn't going off the deep end per se but I was at a real low point in my life. I couldn't seem to figure out my life at that time and I felt as though I was coming up short on everything. In much the same way that Midas in Greek mythology was coming up short. In his case anything he touched turned to gold including his only beloved son. In my case everything I touched turned away; relationships, friendships, and seemingly my family.
Every time that I tried to connect to something, something in it would go wrong. One year I spent the better part of the year playing music with some people who were on the fast track to nowhere, and I was so wrapped up in it that I failed to really look at all the signs that I was getting. The drummer of the band was a criminal, he'd do things like catch a taxi to our rehearsals and then stiff the cab driver.We had to pay for the space where we rehearsed and he seemed to always come up short with money and so on. All of these things weighed heavily on me, because I just hated the fact that someone who busted their rear end everyday driving people all around the city of New York would have to be subjected to that...it was just unnerving.
Finally, one day I was talking to one of the youngsters in a Boy Scout troop that I knew from where I lived; his name is Sundiata Westcott. I don't why (yes I do) but for some reason I was pouring my heart out to Sundi, and he in turn says "you need to talk to Rashid."
Abdul Rashid Sabur was sent to me by Allah to change my life and that he did.We became fast friends, and he became my mentor, and my path out of my darkness.
As I said earlier, I embraced Islam at a young age, and although I did I was a typical American teenager, and I didn't take my religion seriously, and I took that attitude with me until adulthood; just taking Allah casually.
Now at the time when I started to be around Abdul Rashid he recognized something in me that I didn't see for myself at the time, he saw a person who was just flying by the seat of their pants and not focused, and very much unprepared to deal with life.
Here is the mark of a real friend...Rashid and his wife Desna began to show me things about life and about dealing with people, and they spent time with me teaching me the true essence of Islam. They helped me to see how Allah intends us to live our lives, and how, when we stray from that path it can lead us to nothing but darkness. Allah wants us to have the things that we are desirous of, but we need to ALWAYS put him first.
I spent the next 10 years studying intensely with Abdul Rashid. On Sundays he would come to my home at 7am sharp and we would study Qur'an and decipher it's meaning. When I made the decision to leave New York and move to West Virginia, I felt confident to meet life head on...and I did.
The day I arrived in the Charleston area was the first day that I was tested to see if I was truly prepared. My first wife (who is deceased, pbuh) was extremely ill at the time which was one of the reasons that I moved here. When i walked through the door of my home she informed that she no longer wanted to be married to me and that I needed to find somewhere else to live.
A big blow to say the least, but I found the Mosque, I found Muslims, and I found other friends who took me in. From there, as painful as it was, I began to retool my life, and with Allah's help I made it through. I found the library where I'm proud to say that I've been employed for going on 12 years, I found a band who has the same dream I have, and we're working together to see our goals, and I have found a wife/ friend /everything who has stood by my side when I didn't have a red cent, I have found an Uma (Muslim community) and Imam that mean everything to me, and who continue to add to my knowledge of al-Islam, and last but not least I have memories of my life in the Bronx and how one man who is a true believer in the Lord showed me through example that all things are possible when when you're intent on being Muslim.

Here is a link to see our glorious Islamic Center of West Virginia.
To learn more about the religion of Islam here is a wonderful website:Islamicity.org
There is a wonderful book which gives a very concise, but down to earth explanations about the religion of Islam entitled:"The Joy of Sects: a spirited guide to the world's religions." by Peter Occhiogrosso. It was the first book that I read by a non-Muslim who painted a non biased picture of Islam. Check it out at you local library.
This blog is dedicated to Abdul Rashid Sabur (Marshall), Desna Westcott Marshall, Sundiata Westcott, Imam Jamal Daoudi, Imam Samuel Majied, and Vickie S.Tuitt, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your love for me.
To all who read this blog: may peace be upon you always.