My Story (Part 2)

After talking with the guy I met at Disney, I became very curious as to what Islam really is. All that anyone said about Islam was that it was filled with hate for non-Muslims and the West, they didn't eat pork, men could have more than one wife, and if they die a martyr they would be greeted in paradise to 40 virgins. Bizarre to say the least! Fortunately, though, never did I look at a Muslim with the hatred so many non-Muslims do these days.

I was determined to find out that Islam was not this barbaric religion so many thought it to be. To begin my quest I made a trip to Books-A-Million and purchased my first copy of the Qur'an. I was so excited to get home and start reading! As I opened the first few pages I delved into it's words. To my disappointment, though, this translation I had purchased was written in a very "Shakespearean" style. Never could I really grasp this style of writing. Often times I had to reread one sentence numerous times to understand its meaning. I continued on hoping it would get easier in time, but eventually I put the book away and let it sit pretty on my dresser.
From what I did grasp from this translation, though, I truly enjoyed. Not once did I read anything about hating others who are not Muslim or taking over the world by the sword. On the contrary, I did read about worshiping only one God, translated to Arabic as Allah, and being kind to the less fortunate. Also, I was surprised to find out that in the Qur'an Christian's and Jew's were mentioned as people of the book and there's even an entire chapter about the Virgin Mary! This was all pretty exciting, but. . .

For the next couple of months I kind of put my Islamic studies on hold.