The Story of M A Gabriel The former professor of Islamic history at Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt Disillusioned at Al-Azhar Fifteen years ago I was the imam of a mosque in the city of Giza, Egypt, which is where the famous Egyptian pyramids are located. (Imam of a mosque is a position similar to pastor of a Christian church.) I preached the message of the week on Fridays from 12 to 1 in the afternoon, as well as performed other duties. On…

  I grew up with my grandparents in a devout Muslim home. From a very early age I practiced fasting in Ramadan and on the Islamic holy days, read namaaz daily and read my Quran, even memorizing large parts. Because we lived in South Africa which was under apartheid in those years, we were “non-white” and classed as Indians/Asians. As a result of apartheid we were not allowed to go to a school or college of our choice and were forced to attend sc…

From Beirut to Boston! Born and raised in Beirut Lebanon until the age of 15, I was raised in a very strict Catholic family and attended both Catholic elementary and high schools. As a result, I had a deep religious conviction based on my self-righteousness (pleasing God by my works). I was heavily involved in worshipping the saints and Mary and yes I served as an altar boy. During the civil war that raged Lebanon from the years 1975 to 1978, m…

From a Nun's Convent to Biblical Conversion Forty five years of my life were spent as a Roman Catholic; twenty-two of them as a nun in an enclosed convent dedicated to adoration, reparation and suffering. I believed it was a nun's calling to be a miniature savior of the world like Jesus Christ. After attending Catholic elementary school for eight years and memorizing catechism which is the Roman Catholic textbook, I believed in my heart that a…