WHY I EMBRACED ISLAM ?
                     
By Isa Abdullah Biago

     First  and foremost  I would say  that fundamentally  I  had
been a Muslim without being aware of it.  Historically,
Philippines  is a Muslim country before Christianity arrived and
colonized our land. Very early  in my life I had lost faith in
Christianity  (Roman Catholicism) for many reasons, the major one
is about  the infallibility  of  the Pope and used of the images
for  aid  of worship.  What did I do was to leave the Church and
its  teaching and place my faith in the one true God in Whom it
was much easier to believe . Before I leaved the Church, my
parents, friends and some  of my teachers in High School
encourage me to enter Seminary due  to my religious activeness
and awarenes which they noticed imprinted in me. I join the
Baptist Church which it seems to me nearer to the truth  and
entered the Seminary to fulfill my public  image  as God's
servant. However, I felt doubts and dissapointment as I  go along
the course (Bachelor of Theology). Within six (6)  years in the
seminary and Pastoral work I remained to be faithful while going
into dephs study of the general teaching  of Christianity
especially  Trinity, Original sin, authenticity of the the
Scriptures, Church history, Atonement for sin, and the other
fundamental tenets of Christianity. Before knowing Islam, I
already believed in the first  part of  the Shahada (Confession
of Faith): " I believe in One God  ." Obviously,  my  knowledge
about Islam was not  favorable  to the Muslims.  I  have read the
Bible several asking God  to  help  me understand the truth  with
the aids of Bible helps such as  Bible Dictionary,  Concordance
,Commnetary and Theological books.  With these, did not satisfy
me and only leads me to confusion. To  the last, I study and
concentrate on the origin of  the Bible  that awaken me and
reject almost entirely the  interpretation and infallibility of
the Scriptures. By  the middle of 1984 I was attracted to an
Islamic  books in  one of the bookstore and bought it for
comparative  purposes. While  reading it, I became so interested
in it that followed  it up  with many other books on Islam. After
almost I  finished  all the  books, I became hungry of the truth
and wished to acquire  a copy  of the Holy Qur'an. After a while
I looked up some  Muslims to  satisfy my hunger. I was introduced
to a former  Seventh  Day Adventist  Pastor and now an active
Muslim propagator  (Br. Najeeb Rasul) and  questioned  him on
some of the points that were not so clear  to  me, and  he
answered promptly. Through him I've learned  more  about Islam
and Christianity comparatively. He was able to proved it to me
the  authenticity of the Holy Qur'an and the  Prophethood  of
Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Within  five (5) months with the
Muslim group , I  decided to become a Muslim and join Islam as my
religion and way of  life and adopting the name Isa Abdullah
Biago. After two months of  my reversion (Balik-Islam), I
announced my resignation  among  the members  of the Church and
declared my new found faith. With  the dissapointment  of the
church leaders, they  confronted  me  and prayed  to return back
to my former faith,until  they  discovered that there is no hope
of my return. My conversion cost me  many years of unhappiness
but however inside my heart my feeling is full of  pure happiness
and  joy that  I cannot uttered.  I  recieved  several  insult
from  my parents,friends and companions to cause them so much
regrets. Due to this, I was force to join the Muslim and
Propagate Islam and I am  confident that the present moment is
most  oppurtunities  for spreading  Islam if proper steps are now
taken for the  preaching of  Islam,  and I feel that within a
score of  years  the  entire country can be brought with the fold
of Islam.


Wassalam And Peace Be Upon You !!!


Crisanto G. Biago
Now: Isa Abdullah Biago