Joy of Islam Blossoms in Philippines

JUST a few weeks after four Filipinos said shahada, my wife Aishah and I were invited to witness another conversion. We were delighted to welcome three new Muslims into the universal Ummah. One was Paula, a twenty-year-old Catholic woman who converted to Islam because of our radio programs. She accompanied Deena, a woman she had met at a local debate between Muslims and Seventh-Day Adventists. Deena was a long-time listener of the radio show “Women in Islam.” When Paula decided to convert, she wanted the cast of “Women in Islam” to be there to witness her first steps as a Muslim.
A few days after taking her Shahadah, she chose the Muslim name Jannah for herself because she thought it meant “gardens,” and we were happy to inform her that it specifically meant the Garden of Eden.

Deena’s ten-year-old nephew also said shahada. At age nine, he had decided to pursue Islam although no one in his immediate family is Muslim. Over the past year, he has learned to read Arabic and has already memorized nineteen Surahs of the Qur'an. He has suffered abuse from his brothers and sisters, but he remains strong in his faith. One night his mother prepared supper, and he told her, “Oh, mother, I cannot eat this meat because it is not halal, so I will just have some rice with salt instead.” His mother spanked him for refusing to eat the meat, but still he did not give up Islam. Despite such abuse, he feared that his shahada was not acceptable since only his aunt witnessed it, and he asked us to please witness his confession of faith. In one week of his video being on YouTube, over 360 people have witnessed his shahada! His Muslim radiance eventually became so endearing to his mother that finally she too is interested in discovering Islam for herself.

Deena’s nephew had a twelve-year-old friend who also said shahada. The two boys have been helping each other memorize Qur’an, and they have been meeting in Sister Deena’s house for prayers.

Heidi and Cecille are two more converts who just entered Islam from Catholic families. They are both in their early twenties and are eager to exemplify Islam for their friends.

Aside from the excitement and blessings of witnessing more and more people embracing Islam, we have begun new adventures in the radio shows. Firstly, I've been trying to send out “The Message” to various Muslim radio stations around the world so that anyone anywhere can hear the program. Secondly, we’ve been seeking sponsors (both commercial and private) to help cover the expenses of the shows and future livelihood projects. It is amazing though that we can produce the three existing shows (“The Message,” “Women in Islam” and “The Message in Tagalog”) for a grand total of $500 a month. Thirdly, we are creating the first Muslim radio drama in the Philippines. The first four episodes were written by my mother-in-law and directed by her friend Rallam Muhammad. The radio drama is using experienced voice talents from the Philippines, both Muslim and non-Muslim. The scripts involve real-world problems and provide Islamic solutions as found in the Hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him). This radio drama will have a polished sound and really captivate the audience to teach morality of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. We recorded four programs one night, working for twelve hours straight to get the voice work down perfectly. We captured video of the first drama and will be posting it to YouTube soon. It is in the Tagalog language. We can produce a month of this high-quality drama for only $1000, and that includes all the allowances and fees for the studio, voice actors, sound editing, and airtime.