Bismillah,
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!
"I just felt like God was there." - Elizabeth recalling her visit to a mosque just before her conversion.
On September 11, when the twin towers crumbled before the eyes of the onlookers, to Elizabeth, the tragedy cost her eight relatives; one uncle and seven cousins.
The 43 year old American, Elizabeth, a former sergeant first class in the Air Force National Guard, has a Jewish and Puerto Rican ancestry. Elizabeth holds a bachelors degree. Raised by her grandparents in Puerto Rico, Elizabeth grew up in a home of melded cultures and faiths. Her grandfather was a Jew, who fled Germany during the Holocaust. Her grandmother was a Catholic. Elizabeth ultimately chose Judaism, a faith she believed was her birthright. Judaism eventually let her down and she found Islam in 2005 on the third day of a Moroccan vacation. "I just felt like God was there," she said, recalling her visit to a mosque during the call for prayer. Without hesitation, she said, "This is it I believe there is only one God. His name is Allah, and his messenger is Muhammad." Elizabeth changed her name to Safia.
Safia's family did not take her seriously. Some of her colleagues at her banking job were filled with shock and surprise. Sylvia, Safia's eldest daughter, berated her. Her hijab brought much stares form people. However, Safia's 12 yeas old daughter Natalia says that her mother's religion is cool. And her other daughter Ada, 20, appreciates Safia's transformation and does not tolerate people who make fun of Islam or stereotype Muslims. "I say, 'Wait a minute, my mom is a muslim," Ada said. "She is not a terrorist."
Safia went to the Islamic society of Tampa Bay Area and asked to renew her shahadah, the formal declaration of the Islamic Creed. Realizing that Safia was out of work, the Imam of Tampa Bay Area gave her a job of managing the society's office. The group also stocked her refrigerator and paid her rent and bill.
She has been learning about her religion on websites and Islamic chat rooms. She studies the Qur'an and prays five times a day. She married a man from Morocco. The former Elizabeth, now Safia Al Kasaby, lives in Tampa, Florida. When confirmed about her embracing Islam despite losing eight of her own relatives in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre, Safia replied:
I just never hated Islam. I never hated Muslims. For me to be angry about what happened to the twin towers would be like me hating all Germans that killed the Jews
Contact Information:
Sherri Day covered an article about Safia Al- Kasaby in St. Petersburg Times. Sherri Day can be reached at sday@sptimes.com
References: Day, Sherri. "Faith's friction: Tampa woman who lost eight relatives in the attacks converts to Islam: St.Petersburg Times. 8 Sept 2006; "Aljazeera: Jewish and Catholic Women enter Islam after 9/11" youtube.com 29 July 2007. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As8RKqEUOPQ>
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