Testimony of Tania - A Druze from Lebanon I grew up in a happy home but I do not remember being happy.  My parents had always provided me with everything I needed however I never felt happy or satisfied.  The most striking memory from my childhood was of me lying in my bed in the middle of the night and crying because I wanted to go home.  I was very confused at that time because I didn’t understand why I felt so out of pla…

  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…

In the Valley of Tears I am Ibrahim who, for the sake of my family's security, go also by the nickname Timothy Abraham. I am a simple Egyptian from the Delta region. Farms surrounded me from every side with streams of the luxurious Nile River endowing life with fertility. I had a strong Islamic upbringing in my childhood, studying in the village shop for teaching the Quran (al-Kutaab). They taught me to fear God (Allah in Arabic) who created th…

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…