Edward Mustafa from Neno grew up following the Christian religion of his parents. While he was in secondary school, he used to spend time with a friend who was a Muslim. His friend would often teach him about Islam and tell him about its good teachings. Edward was interested in what his friend was saying, but he did not become a Muslim. After finishing secondary school, they lost communication because they moved far away from each other, and Edward continued practicing Christianity.
As time went by, Edward heard many negative things about Islam from other people. They told him that Islam was a religion of war and that it was not a good religion. Although he remembered that his Muslim friend had always been kind and respectful to him, these false claims made him believe that Islam was not what his friend had described.
One day, the iERA Dawah team visited Edward’s village and met him during their door-to-door outreach. They asked him, “Have you heard about Islam?” Edward replied, “Yes, I had a friend who was a Muslim, and he used to teach me about Islam.” The outreach team then asked, “What stopped you from becoming a Muslim?” Edward answered, “After I stopped communicating with my friend, I heard many bad things about Islam. People said it is a religion of war and not a good religion, even though my friend was always kind to me.”
The outreach specialist explained, “Those things you heard are not true. You saw how your Muslim friend treated you—that is the true character Islam teaches. Islam is a religion of peace. It teaches us to worship Allah alone and to follow the guidance brought by all the prophets.” After hearing this, Edward changed his mind and realized that Islam is indeed a good religion. Without hesitation, he took his Shahadah and embraced Islam.
