Kenneth Kapesi, a 26-year-old man from Machinjiri, once believed that Islam was a bad religion. He thought it caused trouble and believed many of the negative things he had heard from other people. Because of these beliefs, he never tried to learn about Islam or understand its teachings.
One day, the IERA Dawah Team visited his village for a door-to-door Dawah outreach. When they met Kenneth, they introduced themselves and explained that they were visiting the community to teach people about Islam. Kenneth immediately replied, “I don’t want to hear about Islam. It is a bad religion, and Muslims pray to Muhammad instead of God.”
The outreach specialist calmly asked Kenneth if he had ever studied Islam for himself. Kenneth admitted that he had not and said that everything he knew came from what other people had told him. The outreach specialist explained that many people misunderstand Islam because of false rumors. He told Kenneth that Muslims worship Allah alone, that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a messenger of God and not God Himself, and that Muslims also believe in and follow Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) as one of God’s prophets.
Learning that Muslims also believe in Jesus surprised Kenneth and made him interested in Islam. He asked how someone becomes a Muslim. The outreach specialist explained that a person accepts Islam by sincerely reciting the Shahadah and submitting to the will of Allah. After hearing the explanation, Kenneth decided not to wait any longer. He recited the Shahadah that day and embraced Islam.
