My Great Love for Jesus Led Me to Islam Simon Alfredo Caraballo Introduction

1. My Great Love for Jesus Led Me to Islam Simon Alfredo Caraballo Introduction As a Catholic, I was led to believe that Catholicism was the only true religion and that Judaism was only preparation for Christianity. Hence, the other religions were all false. In fact, I only heard about Islam for the first time in 1978. I had learned that Muslims believed in the divine origin of Christianity and Judaism. The Qur’an indicates that Allah (the proper name for God in the Arabic language)1 had sent prophets to every land in order to guide people to the path of truth and righteousness. In order to carve the Christian message into the depths of my subconscious, the Catholic Church designed a program which, when applied from childhood, had a very high probability of retention. This program affected people's beliefs and their behavior for the rest of their lives. In this scheme the central figure is Jesus, and the rites are mostly related to events surrounding his birth, supposed death and resurrection; from his birth, assumed to be in December, to his alleged crucifixion on Easter. These religious rites were introduced by human beings many centuries after Jesus' departure rather than by divine revelation. According to tradition in Venezuela, at midnight on December 24th I used to wait for the arrival of Jesus to bring the gifts that I had requested in my yearly wish list. Being from a poor family and having several brothers and sisters, I understood that it was very difficult for the "Child Jesus" to bring me what I had asked for. But I was often confused and puzzled because if Jesus had performed so many miracles, as I had learned from nuns and priests, why was he not able to bring me a tricycle? Wasn't that request easier for Him than bringing dead people back to life? Thus, for several years the concept of the "Child Jesus" left me disappointed. • As Easter was approaching, I used to watch televised stories of how Jesus was abused until he was hung on a cross to be crucified. I really wanted to climb inside the TV set and help him somehow. I asked God to help him, and asked Him not to let His "son" be crucified. In the end I would hide and cry because I was taught that "men do not cry." I could not understand why such brutality was inflicted on such a good man. As a child, this incident cultivated in me an intense love for this great prophet of God. As for other children, perhaps the toys they received on Christmas – as an answer to their wishes – was the cause of their affection towards Jesus. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • 1 "Allah" is the same word that Arabic speaking Christians and Jews use for God. It is a unique word grammatically, since it cannot be made plural or given a gender (i.e., masculine or feminine), which is consistent with the Islamic concept of God.