Her name is Cristina. She lived near a mosque in Ecuador, and the dawah team had invited her many times to learn more about Islam. After several invitations, one day, she finally accepted.
At first, she had many doubts. In a Latin American country, it’s quite common for people to hold a negative, misunderstood, and prejudiced image of Islam. But gradually, Cristina started to discover that Islam wasn’t what she had been led to believe. It wasn’t just a religion for Arabs, nor did it involve worshipping a different god.
Due to religious syncretism, many religious groups have developed their beliefs with fragmented parts of Islam. When Cristina understood that Islam is the original essence, when she put all the pieces together—like a puzzle where now everything fits, everything integrates and makes sense—she decided to take her shahada. From that moment on, she prefers to be called Kareemah.
It also often happens in Latin America that when one person embraces Islam, other family members follow. That is also Kareemah’s story, as her two children have now also become Muslims. Allahu Akbar.
It’s not just one life that has changed, but three. And only Allah knows how many more will be transformed through them. Kareemah not only performs her prayers and is frequently at the mosque, but she also invites others to visit, to see the place that transformed her life.
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