Matt Lennox, a 16-year old American of Scottish-Irish descent, who was
raised in a nonreligious family, found himself amazed by what he
learned about Islam in hisfreshman history class. Fascinated by it
all, Matt continued to research Islam, along with many other religions
to educate himself further.
To his surprise, he found that Islamic theology has much in common
with the Christian and Jewish faiths. Growing up, Matt had always
known Christians and Jews had similar beliefs, but Islam, the world's
fastest growing religion, was practically alien of to him. However, as
Matt was introduced to Islam, he was interested in it and continued to
learn.
When asked "What interested you the most about Islam?" Matt answered
confidently,"The Qur'an." He says everything he read in the Qur'an
left him thinking,"Oh, man. Wow. I can't believe all this info that
seems so wise and correctis all in one book." Matt claims many things
in Christianity didn't make sense to him. Many of these aspects dealt
with the Trinity, Jesus as God, priests and churches. One of the main
things which bothered him was the idea that you had to be Christian to
be saved fromthe Hell-fire.
In Surah Baqara verse 111, it states, "And [the Christians and Jews]
say: 'None shall enter paradiseunless he be a Jew or a Christian.'"
Noticing this was true of Jews and Christians, Matt was somewhat
perplexed."How can only one type of people be right?" he questioned.
If this were accurate, then only peoplefrom one geographical region
would be right -- everyone else would be wrong.
After studying many different religions deeply, Matt understood this
could not be true. However, Matt was not just interested by the
Qur'an; he was fascinated by Malcolm X. "[He was] very, very smart,
and the reality is that he was also very, very honest [although] all
the people around him for the most part were not⦡mp;#8364;?His book,
his movie, everything he says is so true," says Matt.
Matt was not only drawn in by Malcolm X, but also by Cat Stevens. He
enjoyed and still enjoys Cat Stevens' previous music, such as "Peace
Train". Peace, knowledge, God, and going back to God were all
reoccurring themes in Stevens' music as Matt saw it. Intrigued by
this, Matt read the story of how Cat Stevens came to accept Islam,
becoming Yusuf Islam.
In the 60's and 70's, Cat Stevens was looking into different religions
and beliefs, but when he cameto Islam, it changed everything for him.
"He changed his whole life and everything and that's weird 'cause
people don't change their whole life when they're pop stars and
everything," says Matt. And many would agree with this. It seems quite
perplexing that a pop star that had everything he wanted would change
his whole life around. Perplexing as it is, it continues to happen
over and over again. Why? For one reason.
Matt explains: "Some people, even celebrities, find that there are so
many complications with spirituality, politics, economics, society and
philosophy in the"modern" world that when they find something so true,
simpleand natural as Islam, and they feel Allah's guidance towards
Him, they find a great sense of meaning."
Although Matt used to be a strong believer in evolution, he now
understands how advancements in science have affected people's belief
in God. Noticing the general lack of faith in God, Matt claims, "Most
people have given up on religion. As science progresses, people are
going to look at science and say 'Where's God?' People will drift
farther and farther away. " Matt's father, seeing evolution assimply a
theory, was keener on the idea of Mattbecoming Muslim, rather than
believing in evolution.
Being raised a Jehovah's Witness, Matt's father sawthe similarities
between Jehovah's Witness ideas and Islam, making it easier for him to
accept. His mother, fully supporting Matt, told him,"Whatever religion
you want to have is good." Surprisingly, both his mother and father
supported him and his interest in Islam. If it weren't for the
understanding of his family, and the good communication between them,
Matt's conversion toIslam would probably have been extremely
different. There are still a few obstacles, however. Matt's parents
may be supportive of him, but his father also believes Matt won't stay
Muslim his entire life. Hearing this, Matt laughs and says, "I
absolutely disagree."
Matt found an unexpectedsource of support in not only his parents, but
also his "new-age hippie" friends. Sitting around doing nothing, Matt
and his friends usually end up talking about anything and everything.
Before Matt accepted Islam, he talked about his interest in Islam when
the topic ofreligion came up. Although his friends' reactions were
mainly"that's cool" and "that's really good to do that," :->
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