Greek Cypriot converts [Archives:2006/1011/Letters to the Editor]
By: Abdul Wahed Mawlawi
[email protected]
A Greek Cypriot who converted to Islam 10 years ago reportedly has written a letter of invitation to Islam to Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos. Yusuf, a former resident of Qatar who worked at Al-Ahli Hospital, has made the formal invitation as a sunnat of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), when he invited rulers of nations to Islam.
Yusuf, who wishes his full name to remain anonymous, is worried about the reprisals of such an invitation because Greek Cypriots who convert to Islam are humiliated in Cyprus and harassed by both the police and MATH (equivalent to the U.K.'s CID, the Criminal Investigations Department involving plainclothes police detectives). His struggle to help Cypriot Muslim converts is an uphill battle. His love for Islam is like no other I've seen and his perseverance is second to none.
The number of Greek Cypriot Muslim converts is increasing, all of whom are living under the hatred of the Greek Cypriots, receive no help from any Islamic nation, so they're left to fend for themselves as orphans.
He's currently helping another convert, Khatija, make others aware of the importance of the mosque near Larnaca Airport, where the prophet's aunt, Umm Haram Bint Milhan, is buried. Using all of her own time and money, Khatija stands outside the mosque and informs visitors about its true history.
The mosque has been used as a tourist attraction and Greek Cypriots working there mistreat it by continually walking through it with their shoes on and even taking uncooked pork there and cooking it on the premises.
Yusuf and Khatija used their own finances and knowledge to free the mosque from its non-Muslim “owners” and returned it to the ummah. The mosque's land stretches for acres, but slowly has been eaten away by the Cypriot government.
Khatija passed away this week, while the now jobless Yusuf used the last of his finances to print a pamphlet containing the history of Umm Haram.
It's a shame that these converts to Islam continuously strive on the path of Allah but seem to receive no help from their Muslim brothers and sisters.
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