Heh, I almost forgot.
There have been some real cases of muslims converting to Judaism, I will post them.
http://www.infoisrael.net/cgi-local/text.pl?source=7/a/archives/260820031Sacrificing the Easy Life to Gain Peace of Mind
How a Muslim Arab converted to Judaism at the most difficult of times
By Mayaan Jaffe
IHC Abstract:
Moshe, a Muslim Arab recently converted to Judaism, tells a compelling story of the inexplicable ties he felt ? already from a young age - with the Jewish faith. Defying family expectations, as well as a cultural and religious heritage, which proscribes death for converts to Judaism, Moshe, at the age of 19, finally made a fateful decision to become a Jewish convert. Yet his path to conversion was not made easy by the mistrustfulness of Jews who were expected to play a pivotal role in his conversion. Family excommunication served as yet another deflationary component in his intractable path to conversion. In spite of the odds working against him, however, Moshe finally became a full-fledged Jew. Now married to an American Jew and living in Jerusalem, Moshe knows the beauty and happiness that come from leading a Jewish life. He urges other Jews to learn from his experiences, to be more accepting of Jewish converts and to come to a renewed understanding of what it is to be a Jew.
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?I sacrificed everything in order to be a part of the Jewish people,? Moshe,[1] 26, said. Though pride shown on his face, there was still an edge of sadness peering through his eyes. A typical convert, Moshe spends his days looking for work, learning Torah and enjoying his new wife Batya?s [2] company. He sleeps in his Kiryat Moshe, Jerusalem apartment and passes his Shabbatot [Sabbaths] praying at the Western Wall. However, Moshe?s story is anything but standard. A native of an Arab village in the southern Hebron Hills, Moshe recently converted from Islam to Judaism, and the process was grueling.
The Past
Moshe grew up in a large, wealthy and prominent Arab home. His grandfather sat as the ?elder? of his village, beaming with family pride.
?My family,? Moshe said, ?has been in the area since before the Muslim conquest [3], and we own plenty of olive groves, vineyards and orchards.?
His father, however, made his capital through a highly successful business.
Moshe said, ?We were quite wealthy. My parents made sure we kids got everything. In fact, we were indulged.? Moshe said, for instance, that his father bought him a Rolex at the young age of 19.
When Moshe finished high school his father offered to fit the bill and send him abroad for college. However, Moshe preferred to remain in Israel and begin working with his father. He started managing a good portion of his father?s business, but his curiosity kept him from becoming fully entrenched. At 19, Moshe said he had many questions about the validity of the Koran and he was ?thinking seriously about Judaism.?
?It was like a bee in my head,? Moshe said. ?I could not get the idea that I was meant to be Jewish out of my mind.?
The thought of one day becoming a convert haunted Moshe until he could take it no more. He finally hopped into his Mercedes and drove all the way to Tel Aviv. There, he wandered into a synagogue and asked, ?If I want to be Jewish, where do I have to go??
The congregants sent him to Jerusalem. Once there, he again inquired: ?If I want to be Jewish, where do I have to go??
Residents directed the young Arab to the Rabbinate. He called Information to obtain the number. The Rabbinate, however, sent Moshe to Rabbi David Mamo, the head rabbi of Rabbinate conversion in Jerusalem at the time, whose office was in Alon Shvut, located in the Etzion Bloc, just a hop, skip and a jump from Moshe?s village in the Hebron Hills.
?I drove by the [Etzion Bloc interchange] all the time. One day, instead of going straight and heading home, I took a right and drove into Alon Shvut,? Moshe said. ?There I was, a 19-year-old kid wearing a Rolex watch and a fancy Armani suit ? not your typical Arab teen. I asked the secretary if I could speak with Rabbi Mamo, and she directed me to him.?
Rabbi Mamo took one look at Moshe and shook his head. He asked him why he wanted to convert and told Moshe he had to prove he did not have a police record before he could even discuss the possibility of conversion. Moshe, a model student and honest businessman, did so right away. Still, when Rabbi Mamo was satisfied with Moshe?s record, he refused to help him begin his conversion process.
?He said to me, ?No. You really cannot now. Call me back in a year.??
So Moshe marked the date on his calendar and exactly one year to the day later he phoned Rabbi Mamo.
?I have called you back after a year,? he said. ?What do I do now??
Nevertheless, Rabbi Mamo refused to help him. He said to come back in a couple of months and then another couple of months, until another entire year had passed. When Moshe did not cease to push, the rabbi realized he must be serious and opened a ?conversion? file with Moshe?s name on it ? two years from Moshe?s initial request.
Rabbi Mamo told Moshe he was required to enroll in a conversion program. Moshe wanted to learn in a yeshiva [Torah learning institution] and not just attend conversion courses twice a week - as most converts do. He enrolled in Nahlat Tzvi, located at the time in Kiryat Moshe. [4] It was then that the pain, stress and beauty of the conversion process began to hit home.
Converting via Nahlat Tzvi
Moshe enrolled in yeshiva just as the second Intifada broke out and - to put it mildly - not all of the students ?accepted? him.
?They accused me of being a terrorist. They destroyed my notebooks? and made things very difficult for me,? Moshe said.
Rabbi Wasserman, director of the Nahlat Tzvi conversion program, worked closely with Moshe. He said he witnessed how emotionally challenging the program was for him, and how cruel the other students could be. He said Moshe took his situation very hard.
?First of all, [Moshe] is an emotional person,? said Rabbi Wasserman. ?This in itself makes the situation more difficult. You can imagine the obstacles he went through: He thought people were suspicious of him, overly discriminating against him or judging him? The fact he is an Arab who started his conversion process the same time this war started three years ago made it difficult for him. People made comments in classes and sometimes there were verbal exchanges.?
Adding acutely to his suffering, Moshe?s family turned against him when he told them of his decision to enroll in Nahlat Tzvi and convert.
?They cut off all contact with me,? he said. ?That was so difficult since I come from such a close family. [Telling my parents about my decision] was probably the most painful experience of my life? I nearly fainted after I hung up the phone with my father??
Though Moshe said he does not believe his parents would harm him if he attempted to contact them, doing so could be very dangerous. According to Muslim law, converting to Judaism is punishable by death without witness or warning. He said it would be perilous if some ?right-wing fundamentalist? found out what he did.
?If someone wants to make a hero out of himself, he could do so just by killing me ? killing a traitor,? Moshe said, adding that with the current security situation it is not just a question of religion, but also of nationality.
Still, Moshe trudged through the curriculum. According to Wasserman, Moshe studied halacha [Jewish law], Jewish thought, chumash [the Five Books of Moses], acquired various learning skills and delved into Rabbi Tzvi Moshe Kook?s philosophy and approach to the Land of Israel. He said the program was meant to help Moshe think like a Jew.
?We don?t want them [converts] to learn the three hundred terms of halacha required in order to pass the Beit Din [Jewish Court] examination,? said Rabbi Wasserman. ?We want them to think like Jews and look at reality like Jews? [We want them] to put on Jewish eyeglasses? and act like Jews.?
Moshe worked hard. Rabbi Wasserman said he was very diligent, always writing down notes and reviewing the rabbis? remarks and observations.
Moshe also eventually managed to make friends ? some that he is still close with today ? and to connect strongly with the Rosh Yeshiva [head of the school], Rabbi Ya?akov Shimon.
?He took me under his wing,? Moshe said of his Rosh Yeshiva. ?When he heard my parents cut themselves off from me, he said, ?I am going to be like your father.? And he really has been.?
Moving On
One-and-a-half years after enrolling at Nahlat Tzvi, Moshe passed his examination at the Beit Din. Though obtaining citizenship and the appropriate permits via the Ministry of the Interior has been a hassle, Moshe has begun a new life.
Last March, Moshe married his ?soul mate,? Batya, an American-born immigrant, in a small ceremony on the Talpiot Promenade in Jerusalem. Batya said she is very proud of her husband and the process he went through. While she noted that sometimes differences between her Western and his Middle Eastern mentality crop up, they continue to work with each other and try to understand the other?s point of view.
?He is a brave, proud and thoughtful person,? Batya said.
Around 4,000 people convert to Judaism in Israel each year. According to Rabbi Eliyahu Maimon, director of the Jewish conversion court, the majority of people who convert have no religious background. Rabbi Maimon said the majority of converts in recent years have been Ethiopian; however, others of Soviet, American and Asian origins have also been counted among them.
Moshe recognizes he is now technically one of the Rabbinate?s statistics ? a name on the establishment?s list of people whose conversions are accepted. However, he sees all converts as unique and special and says that while he wants to blend in and move on with his life, Jews-from-birth could learn a lot from him and other converts.
?I hope the Jewish people will fulfill the mitzvah [commandment] of loving the convert ? a mitzvah that is mentioned many times in the Torah. If Jews realized how much converts have to go through to be a part of the Jewish people, they would respect them much more,? Moshe said.
Moreover, he said he hopes all Jews can discover what he has learned. ?True Judaism ? Judaism based on the Tanach [the Jewish canon] ? is the most beautiful thing in the world. Those who truly follow it will experience ultimate happiness??
Notes:
[1] Name has been changed for security purposes.
[2] Name has been changed for security purposes.
[3] This took place in approximately 635 C.E.
[4] Nahlat Tzvi moved just over one year ago to a new location in Pisgat Ze?ev, Jerusalem.
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Source: Original text submitted by the author, an IHC Feature Reporter, 20 August 2003.
Edited by IHC Staff.
Copyright ? Israel Hasbara Committee 2003.
Permission granted to reprint this article provided the IHC is properly credited and those copying it are non-commercial enterprises./quote]
Topic: Converting from Islam to Judaism