Ifthikhar,

I was invited to go to visit the masjid with my brother's friend and my brother and I happily accepted. These days mentioning the word Islam is like me telling somebody that my house is burning down ---a plain emergency. When I was 16, I remembered being depressed and just looking for some kind words to hear from somebody. I guess god answered my prayers because a very kind Imam came to my rescue. He was very inspiring and so motivating that it made me want to be a Muslim( By my choice, he has nothing to do with my mind at that time). I rememered coming home telling my mother about it and then telling her that I wanted to be one. Unfortunately, that was out of the question because she thought that I wouldn't like it. Needless to say that I was disappointed with her response.

I'm now a Christian, by faith and practice, but I had to wonder what my life would have been like if I would have became one. Though I'm content where I 'am, I decided to take this "field-trip" to his friend's masjid. Not only I'm I going for a visit, but it also has me asking questions of " what-if", like what if my mother would have let me become a Muslim. These days, to be a Muslim has angered many people and that is a crying shame because were blaming a whole religion on what some idiotic extremists did in 9/11 and on top of that some of these Christians are no better than them( the extremist) because of their attitudes toward it. Although my mother respects people's religious choice,she's not crazy about me going to the masjid because of what Muslims might think about a Christian coming there. I've thought about that, but on the side of the coin, I've also known Christians to say the same thing about Muslim. I'm not stupid, I'm quite sure that there are some people at the masjid who may not like the idea of anon-Muslim coming to their masjid, butI'm quite sure that there are many other Muslims who will embrace them like a memmber of their family. That's life. Media always tell us that we should be scared of Muslims? I'm more scared of people like our president who make the Muslim would and others hate us because of ourblantant disrepect of their religion.

I think about newly elected congressman Keith Ellison ( D-Minnesota). All the man want to is serve our country and our so-called diverse government are already telling him to get lost. He has received over 100 letter asking for his departure from the house of representatives( Interestingly, He said that Thomas Jefferson supported Islam and he's not joking. Ellison proved his point by going to the library of Congress and whosename/letter is written in supprt of the Koran?). I'm a Christian, but I could care less about his religious background. He has every right to be there just like the rest of them. It doesn't matter if he's a muslim, he's still my brother. According to the book of Galatians it said that God doesn't thin of one religion being more than the other.