Madinah, Apr 23: Tears rolled down the eyes of Arnoud Van Doorn, when he entered the Prophet's Masjid in the holy city of Madinah in Saudi Arabia and offered Namaz.
The former Dutch politician who always passed aspersions on Islam had never imagined that he would one day accept Islam and glorify Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him).
Doorn, was not only a leading member of extremist Dutch politician Geert Wilders' anti-Islamic 'Freedom Party', but also a part of a blasphemous film 'Fitna', which had triggered chaos around the world a few years ago. He was one of the producers of the 'Fitna'.
Last month he reverted to Islam after an extensive study about the religion and the Prophet(pbuh).
Explaining his amazing journey towards Islam, Doorn says that the worldwide outrage against the film made him study about the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and this eventually led to his conversion.
He headed for Makkah to perform Umrah after meeting the two imams of the Prophet's Masjid, Sheikh Ali Al-Hudaifi and Sheikh Salah Al-Badar, who enlightened him on how to lead the life of a good Muslim and confront challenges facing Islam in the West.
A member of the Dutch parliament and The Hague City Council, Doorn announced his decision to accept Islam on his Twitter profile. He also posted a tweet in Arabic declaring that “there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet.”
At first, other users took the news as a joke. After all, an active supporter of a notorious Dutch hater of Islam, Wilders, he repeatedly approved Islamophobic statements and public actions, and personally participated in them.
But Doorn, who now serves as a regional adviser at the City Hall in The Hague, personally confirmed his decision to practice Islam in an official letter to the city mayor.
Most recently, the politician filed a formal application to the mayor of the city to allow him to perform prayers obligatory for Muslims during his working hours.
“I can understand people are skeptic, especially that it is unexpected for many of them,” Doorn told an Arabic television channel. “This is a very big decision, which I have not taken lightly.”
“In my own close circle people have known that I have been actively researching the Qur'an, Hadith, Sunnah and other writings for almost a year now,” he said.
“In addition, I have had numerous conversations with Muslims about the religion.”
Driven by his party's anti-Islam discourse, Doorn decided to dig in for the truth about the religion himself.
“I have heard so many negative stories about Islam, but I am not a person who follows opinions of others without doing my own research,” he said. “Therefore, I have actually started to deepen my knowledge of Islam out of curiosity.”
The 46-year-old has continued on The Hague Council as an independent candidate since splitting from Wilders's party. Doorn's decision to embrace Islam has won mixed reactions in the Netherlands.
“According to some people I am a traitor, but according to most others I have actually made a very good decision,” he said.
“The reactions are generally positive and I also received quite some support via twitter.
“It feels good that people who do not know me personally have understood my situation and supported me in my choice.”
Asked if he now regretted joining the Freedom Party, he replied: “I have learned that every experience in life has a purpose. However, with the knowledge I have today, I would have undoubtedly made a different choice.”
For the Dutch politician, finding Islam was finally guiding him to the true path in his life. “I have made mistakes in life as many others. From these mistakes I have learned a lot,” Doorn said.
“And by my conversion to Islam I have the feeling that I finally found my path. I realize that this is a new start and that I still have much to learn as well,” he says.
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