In one of the most moving conversion stories ever shared on The Deen Show, a former Irish Catholic priest describes how Allah guided him from the seminaries of Rome to the prayer halls of Islam. Ordained as a Roman Catholic priest, he spent years baptizing babies, hearing confessions, saying Mass, and anointing the sick. He was happy in his faith and had no plans to leave. But Allah had a different plan — one that had been written from the beginning of time.
From the Priesthood to Islam: How Allah Guides Whom He Wills
Loneliness led the priest to leave his role, though not his faith. With no money, he booked the cheapest holiday he could find — to Egypt. Knowing nothing about Muslims except what television had told him, he was terrified. But his first encounter with Islam was not through a scholar or a book. It was through a little boy in the street who greeted him with “Assalamu Alaikum” — peace be upon you. That simple greeting planted a seed that would change his life forever.
“My introduction to Islam came from a little kid cleaning shoes in the street. He saw my white skin and said: Assalamu Alaikum — peace be upon you. And he meant it. That little kid truly meant peace be upon you.”
The Journey That Led to the Shahada
- After returning home, he took a teaching job at a school with many Muslim students and began studying Islam to teach them about their own faith
- The more he read about Islam, the more he was moved — tears would come to his eyes whenever he mentioned the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him
- During Ramadan, his students asked to pray in his classroom — the only room with a carpet and a wash basin for wudu
- By watching them pray and learning the Arabic words from the internet, he learned to pray. He also fasted the entire month in solidarity with his students
“Yusuf Islam looked me directly in the eyes and said: ‘Brother, you are Muslim already. Who are you trying to fool?’ And with those words, the call to prayer sounded, and I knew the whole journey of my life had led me to that moment.”
When he finally took his shahada at London Central Mosque after a talk by Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), everything came full circle. As he says himself: “When I look back at my life, I see a straight line. I wasn’t training to be a priest — I was training to be a Muslim.” His story is a profound reminder that Allah guides whom He wills, often through the most unexpected means. A little boy’s greeting, a classroom carpet, a month of fasting — all were stepping stones on a path that the Most Merciful had planned from eternity.
