Intro
We wanted to post the official conversion story of Atif Mian. He doesn’t give lots of details however, he seems to have gotten disgusted with Islam after the attacks of 9-11-01, and then converted to Ahmadiyya in haste. We have copy and pasted the story from ““”””By the Dawn’s Early Light: Short Stories by American Converts to Islam By the Dawn’s Early Light: Short Stories by American Converts to Islam First published in the United States of America in 2009 Published by: Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya USA An Auxiliary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community 15000 Good Hope Road Silver Spring, Maryland 20905 USA””” (see page 90).
Atif Mian doesn’t give any proper reason for leaving Islam. He has been totally silent on Jesus in India, the eclipses and many other classic irregularities with Ahmadiyya. Just like Dr. Salam.
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The full story
Atif Mian Chicago, Illinois "The greatest gift of Ahmadiyya teachings is that they introduce you to the true concept and reality of God." I was born in Nigeria in 1974 but grew up mostly in Pakistan. Looking back at my life, I have to admit that I have been extremely fortunate in many ways. I had the most loving and caring parents who sacrificed a lot for the education and proper upbringing of their children. I was the youngest in my family, with three older sisters. So you can say I was spoiled once by my mother and three times by my sisters. I would describe our household as moderately religious. My mother constantly taught me the value of good morals. I remember having a sense from a fairly young age that I was expected to do the "right thing," i.e. tell the truth, respect elders, not be extravagant, and so on. My parents paid great attention towards their children's education. They commuted long distances for six years just so we could go to school in Lahore where education standards were higher. When I was finishing my high school, my father encouraged me to apply to the U.S. for college. Luckily I got admitted to MIT and joined there in the fall of 1993 as a freshman. Life at MIT was quite difficult in the beginning. Classes were tough, language was a bit foreign, and culture was very different. There were adjustments to be made at many levels. It was perhaps the result of exposure to alternative ways of life, or perhaps the natural consequence of a maturing mind that I began to ponder seriously about the pre-suppositions of life that a child grows up with. I had been raised as a Muslim with a strong emphasis on the belief in God. I had never questioned what I had been taught thus far, but this now turned out Short Stories by American Converts to Islam 91 to be an uneasy compromise. Should I believe in Islam simply because fate had me born into a Muslim family? Why should one take religion seriously when its primary determinant seems to be the flip of a coin that decides which family one is born into? Why should one put so many constraints on life because of a God that may or may not exist? The questions were many, but I struggled with finding acceptable answers. At the same time the conventional understanding of Islam seemed more and more intolerant and irrational to me. Muslims who advocated on behalf of Islam enthusiastically split hairs when it came to religious dogma, and yet seemed oblivious to the basic tenets of justice, tolerance and human civility. For example, otherwise sane looking people would actively support the idea that anyone who chooses to leave Islam should be condemned to death. I was beginning to be put off by religion. It was around these early years in college when I found out that an old friend of mine from high school, Hamid Sheikh, was an Ahmadi Muslim. I had known him for over eight years but never knew that he was an Ahmadi Muslim. My impression of Ahmadi Muslims at that time was quite negative, formed largely by the general social attitude towards Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan. In my mind Ahmadiyya Community was some weird cult devoid of common sense. Therefore, when I found out that a good friend of mine was an Ahmadi Muslim, I was quite surprised. At this point, however, I was less interested in the finer details of differences between Ahmadiyya Islam and Sunni Islam teachings. I had enough trouble trying to understand religion at a basic level and did not care much about complicated sectarian discussions. So I badgered Hamid with some general questions about God, religion and the purpose of man's creation. We had some discussions, and Hamid gave me two books to read: Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues by the Fourth Khalifa, and his biography, A Man of God. I had been searching for a logical and humane approach towards religion but was disappointed with what I had found thus far. However, reading Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues was a totally refreshing experience. I was not yet ready to say that I believed in a particular religion, but I remember saying to myself after reading the book that if there ever were a religion worthy of following, it must look like the one described in that book. I loved the way the Fourth Khalifa approached religion. He spoke with the precision of a scientist. He always began with "first principles" and then gradually built his case through the rules of logic. There was also a deep sense 92 BYTHE DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT of love, compassion and humanity in whatever he wrote or said. It is hard to express it in words, but I fell totally in love with his personality. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community began to provide me with the answers that I had been searching for. But conviction of the heart and mind are two separate issues. There were always more questions that I could have asked. At what point do I draw the line between skepticism and belief? I did not know the answer to this question. I was also perturbed by the idea of praying for myself. How could I do that if I were not willing to call myself a believer? Wouldn't that be hypocritical? Even selfish perhaps? And then there was the chicken and the egg problem. If one needs to have faith to pray sincerely, and must pray sincerely to have faith, where should I begin? My solution to these conundrums was that I could only pray to a possible God. I would pray that if You are truly there then guide me to what is right and what is true. In my heart I already had the suspicion that the truth might be Ahmadiyya. Therefore, afraid that I might stay away from it because of the social sanctions against it, I would add that I was willing to pay whatever price it took to find and accept the truth. Over the next few years, I continued to read whatever I could on Islam Ahmadiyya. I did not discuss this much with others. I preferred to study on my own instead. The web was a great tool for me. Alislam.org, the Community's website, was just beginning to develop and I must have been one of its most voracious consumers at the time. My greatest attractions were the "Q&A" sessions conducted by the Fourth Khalifa, as well as his sermons. I could spend hours listening to him. While I found the message of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community very attractive, I was extremely repulsed by the attitude of orthodox clerics towards the Community. How could they lose all sense of humanity and prevent Ahmadi Muslims from practicing their faith in Pakistan? How could man become arrogant enough to decide who is a Muslim and who is not, as a matter of law? It was because of such attitudes of orthodox clerics that I never took them seriously in their allegations against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. After finishing my undergraduate education at MIT, I decided to pursue a doctorate in Economics, also at MIT. I finished my PhD in 2001 and moved to Chicago to start my first job as an Assistant Professor at University of Chicago. While I was in Boston, I had stopped going to the local mosque for a long time because I could not pray behind an Imam who condoned an intolerant interpretation of Islam. There was an Ahmadiyya mosque near Boston but it Short Stories by American Converts to Islam 93 was far and I did not have a car. So now that I had a car in Chicago, I thought I should look for an Ahmadiyya Muslim mosque. Once I found the local Ahmadiyya Muslim mosque in Chicago, I began going for Friday prayers. I might have done so for the rest of my life without becoming an Ahmadi Muslim. I had already acknowledged that the Ahmadiyya interpretation of Islam was the only one that made sense. Why then go through the hassle of conversion and all the social conflicts that come along with it? After all, what is the line beyond which one says, "I believe"? The human mind is a specialist when it comes to making excuses. However something changed in March of 2002. 1 cannot say how and why. The Holy Prophet Muhammad said that the key to a person's heart is in Allah's hands. So one day Allah changed my heart. There is no other explanation for it. I felt a strong desire that I must sign the initiation form. I had to do it. There was no other option for me anymore. Like a kid in the candy store, I had to have it. My parents were quite unhappy at my decision to become an Ahmadi Muslim. This trial has been the most difficult for me since the last thing I ever wanted to do was to upset my parents in their old age. It is all the more difficult given how much they have done for me. But life ultimately owes its existence to God, and I pray that we may all find peace in Him. While there are sacrifices in the path of a convert, these are overshadowed by the fact that man at his core is a moral being. There is nothing more rewarding than being truthful to one's conscience. The greatest gift of Ahmadiyya teachings is that they introduce you to the true concept and reality of God. Everything that is pure and good is to be found in God. Therefore one can never be truly spiritual unless one tries to get closer to God by developing attributes that are in His likeness: developing compassion for humanity, being sincere, treating everyone with absolute justice, and saying the truth even when it may have negative immediate consequences. When one struggles to become better only to attain closeness to God, God never leaves such a person alone. This is the ultimate lesson of Islam Ahmadiyya and the ultimate gift for a convert. I have been fortunate to serve the Community in various capacities. One of my greatest joys has been the many friendships that I have formed through MKA. I have had the privilege of meeting many remarkable individuals whose sincerity, desire to serve humanity, and selfless dedication to work tirelessly for the good of others, leaves me awestruck. At a time when religion has been distorted to create mayhem in many parts of the world, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community provides a true picture of what Islam is supposed to be.
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2023
He is still a Qadiani and working as the National Director of Education for the Ahmadiyya Jamaat.
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Links and Related Essays
Can @AtifRMian be trusted by the Pakistani government and Muslim people?
Dr. Abdus Salam liked white women, alcohol and a busy British lifestyle
Abdul Sami Zafar tells the inside story on the May 29th, 1974 Rabwah train attacks
https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/?s=Zafrullah+Khan
Dr. Abdus Salam liked white women, alcohol and a busy British lifestyle
Abdul Sami Zafar tells the inside story on the May 29th, 1974 Rabwah train attacks
Mirza Nasir Ahmad claims that he was not in Rabwah during the train attacks of May 29th, 1974
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Tags
September 11, 2018 at 6:30 am
Mr Atif appears not to tell the correct story of his conversion.
The main differences between the main stream Muslims and them is that the mainstream believes firstly Mohammad (SAW) is the last of the Prophet and that Holy Jesus Christ was resurrected.
Ahmedis believe that Mohammad is not the last Prophet. And that Jesus ( SAW) is dead and will not be resurrected.
With these two differences in founding and basic believes they are considered apostates by Muslims.
Having said that – all the remaining aspects of Islamic faith are the same. So when he spoke of the belief in God and the purpose of life – then how was the mention of one Almighty God or Allah in Islam any different than what the Ahmedis believe in? And if not then how come he started belief in God by the Ahmedi script which is the same as the main stream Islam? It is possible that the Ahmedi cleric may have dwelled on the existence of Allah in a more profound manner – but he could not have changed the remaining common aspects that describe the existence of God. The basic difference was not on the God but the finality of Prophet hood and the resurrection of the holy Jesus. Where is the discussion of God that comes between his long winding experience.
In between Mr Atif has tugged in phrases which endeavour to preach in a subliminal manner the greatness of Ahmed is thoughts – rather tha what was factual.
September 11, 2018 at 5:51 pm
@nmalik
I agree with you sir. Jesus in India is different also, the concept of the mahdi is also different.
IMHO, Atif Mian left Islam after 9-11, he was embarrassed with being a sunni.
ADMIN
December 13, 2018 at 11:29 am
There is no mention of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in his writing. Do he consider him a Prophet? a Mahdi? Maseel e Maseeh? Krishna? or do he consider all claims of MGA truthful?
I understand that he is impressed by explainations to various beliefs given by ahmadiyya but did he contemplated if those explanations are solely product of Ahmadiyya or Sunni Islam. He clearly mentioned that his inability to search answers from orthodox islam was prejudiced by the attitude of Ulamas but should the change of belief be pursued with such a subjective mindset that you give no consideration to others party’s point of view. His clearly presented skewed picture of Islam. An MIT graduate with PhD doctorate couldn’t help finding good names in Sunni Islam? What was Imam Abu Hanifa point of view on Khatam e Nabuwat? Havent he heard of scholars like Molana Maududi or Ghamdi from this age to find answers from sunni islam perpective?
December 14, 2018 at 2:42 am
I agree sir, its strange that he has never commented on MGA academically.
ADMIN