[vforvandetta]

Was the shop assistant in the store concerned? Would you like a glass of water - you look like you might faint?

This is interesting similar to your experiences:
http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16004

Reading the Qur’an
I will never forget that day (the day I first read a translation of the Qur’an). Ever. I can still see it happening. Little did I know what I was in for-that my life and total world-view would be changed - that I myself would be changed. I read the whole translation through in one sitting. I don’t think I even changed position.

Right from the start it grabbed me. The very beginning called Al-Fatiha is a prayer. I immediately liked it as a prayer. It was, in essence, what I already prayed: You are God the Creator. Guide me, make me into one of those You love. I certainly couldn’t argue with those sentiments!

Then, in the beginning of the second chapter, it gave the description of who this book was addressed to: people who believe in God, establish prayer, give in charity, believe messengers were sent to us, and that we will return to God. Well, that was me, that this book was not to be doubted, that it was truly and sincerely from God to these people; like me; precisely, to guide them, which was what I had wanted for years. So right off, it was speaking directly to me as an individual.

Right off, it wasn’t just some ancient, 1400 year-old-text. It really grabbed me and did not, would not, let go. As I read a thought began to form and then started going through my head over and over and over: Oh my God! This is from God! It was like being slammed in the head with a brick or a hard wooden plank. I was stunned. It was real. Not the inspired writing of the Bible. It was direct revelation - it really was the Word of God. Literally. Oh my God! This really IS from God.

Floored
Well, needless to say, I was floored. I knew there was something very extraordinary here. Quite amazing. Something was happening. Imagine how bizarre it would be to really see a UFO. How unusual and fantastic something like that would be. Or what if someone just started to truly levitate and fly around right in front of you. Or what if you really truly did see a miracle? Your view of the world would necessarily change after such a non-ordinary experience.

What was happening to me as I read the Qur’an was beyond that. Way beyond that. There was nothing that gave me pause. I kept saying ‘yes’ to all that I read. One thing pulled me up short and that was that Jesus did not die on the cross. But by that time, the evidence was so overwhelming to my heart, my soul and my mind that this Book was indeed EXACTLY what it claimed to be, that I had no trouble accepting this as the truth from God Himself. And none of this is the slightest exaggeration whatsoever. I am not sugar-coating or embellishing my story to make it more attractive, or pious-sounding, or dramatic, or whatever. I am telling the truth. (I was especially struck by how contemporary the Qur’an is - remember my academic background. Everything about it is just absolutely brilliant!)

I don’t know why Muslims are so afraid of contemporary philosophy, psychology, or textual criticism. There is nothing to fear. The Qur’an is very true today. Actually, it is very true tomorrow. Two weeks later I declared in public that I bear witness there is no god but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is a messenger from Allah.

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