Istanbul inspires American tourist to embrace Islam

American citizen Ricardo had held negative views about Muslims due to the Islamophobic news. But his world tour took him through Türkiye. He asked questions to someone he met at the Süleymaniye Mosque, his doubts disappeared, and he converted to Islam by reciting the Shahada.

American citizen Ricardo shared his heartwarming story of converting to Islam on TRT News: "Hello, my name is Ricardo. I was born in Mexico and raised in California. I became Muslim on October 20, 2022. I had a negative perception of Muslims. This was due to the 9/11 attacks and the media constantly portraying Muslims as terrorists. Without doing any research, I believed this.

While traveling through Eastern European countries, I visited mosques in different countries. And I found them very beautiful. I started watching how people worship. What I saw didn't match at all with the people in the news who were portrayed as terrorists. There were different people praying shoulder to shoulder, prostrating. At that point, my thoughts about Muslims started to change.

I came to Istanbul, went to the Süleymaniye Mosque, and was amazed. Its beauty and peace fascinated me. Then, at the Sultanahmet Mosque, I asked a volunteer Muslim woman the questions in my head. Then I said to her, 'I don't like your people because you harmed the Twin Towers.' The woman very humbly said that she understood me. She didn't belittle my belief. She didn't reject what I said. This really impressed me.

At the end of that long conversation where she explained Islam to me, I said, 'You know what, I want to be a good person too, I want to be like Prophet Muhammad.' She was surprised. She offered me to say the Shahada. And I accepted. I was very excited at that moment. It was an incredible feeling to be accepted by a community I previously saw as the worst of humanity.

I came to Istanbul because I wanted to experience Ramadan with Muslims, with this brotherhood. I am happy to perform the five daily prayers in the mosque on time. Being a Muslim and being here with Muslims makes me very happy."