Van Doorn; from Islamophobe to Pilgrim
Finding Islam a month ago, a former leading member in far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders’ party has visited the mosque of Prophet Muhmmad (peace be upon him) in Madinah to pray and express regret for participating in anti-Islam movie.
“If any person told me that I will visit the land of the two holy shrines, I would have told him that he must be insane,” Arnoud Van Doorn told Al-Madinah newspaper.
“Finding Islam is a dream came true,” tearful Doorn added.
Doorn was among the Freedom Party leaders who produced the blasphemous film, Fitna, an Arabic word for sedition or strife, on the internet in 2008.
The 15-minute documentary, released by far-right, anti-Islam Geert Wilders, accuses Qur'an of inciting violence and intersperses images of terror attacks with verses from the Noble Qur'an.
Last month he reverted to Islam after an extensive study about the religion and the Prophet (PBUH).
His conversion was made public after posting a tweet in Arabic pronouncing the Shahadah (proclamation of faith).
He headed for Makkah to perform Umrah after meeting the two imams of the Prophet’s Mosque, Sheikh Ali Al-Hudaifi and Sheikh Salah Al-Badar.
Both imams enlightened him on how to lead the life of a good Muslim and confront challenges facing Islam in the West.
Expressing joy for being in the holy city of Madinah, he posted different tweets reflecting his feelings.
“Prayer in the Sacred Rawda #Madinah,” Doorn said in a tweet.
“Inspiring meeting with the Imam of The Prophets Masjid His Excellency Ali Al-Hudayfee,” another tweet read.
Concluding his visit to Madinah, Doorn headed to Makkah to perform umrah for the first time in his life.
“Just finished #Umrah. I am really happy and grateful to be here :-),” he tweeted.
Experiencing his life as a Muslim, Doorn was keen on presenting a true image of Muslims in Netherlands.
He also expressed gratitude for the support he received from Muslim brothers in Saudi Arabia.
“I am grateful for all the support and resources we receive from Saudi-Arabia to spread Islam in The Netherlands,” he said in another tweet.
Doorn visit to Makkah and Madinah followed an invitation by the Canadian Dawah Association.
Muslims make up one million of the Netherlands’s 16 million population, mostly from Turkish and Moroccan origin.
The number of native Dutch Muslim converts has risen to around 15,000 from 12,000 a few years ago.
Source: OnIslam
“Finding Islam is a dream came true,” tearful Doorn added.
Doorn was among the Freedom Party leaders who produced the blasphemous film, Fitna, an Arabic word for sedition or strife, on the internet in 2008.
The 15-minute documentary, released by far-right, anti-Islam Geert Wilders, accuses Qur'an of inciting violence and intersperses images of terror attacks with verses from the Noble Qur'an.
Last month he reverted to Islam after an extensive study about the religion and the Prophet (PBUH).
His conversion was made public after posting a tweet in Arabic pronouncing the Shahadah (proclamation of faith).
He headed for Makkah to perform Umrah after meeting the two imams of the Prophet’s Mosque, Sheikh Ali Al-Hudaifi and Sheikh Salah Al-Badar.
Both imams enlightened him on how to lead the life of a good Muslim and confront challenges facing Islam in the West.
Expressing joy for being in the holy city of Madinah, he posted different tweets reflecting his feelings.
“Prayer in the Sacred Rawda #Madinah,” Doorn said in a tweet.
“Inspiring meeting with the Imam of The Prophets Masjid His Excellency Ali Al-Hudayfee,” another tweet read.
Concluding his visit to Madinah, Doorn headed to Makkah to perform umrah for the first time in his life.
“Just finished #Umrah. I am really happy and grateful to be here :-),” he tweeted.
Experiencing his life as a Muslim, Doorn was keen on presenting a true image of Muslims in Netherlands.
He also expressed gratitude for the support he received from Muslim brothers in Saudi Arabia.
“I am grateful for all the support and resources we receive from Saudi-Arabia to spread Islam in The Netherlands,” he said in another tweet.
Doorn visit to Makkah and Madinah followed an invitation by the Canadian Dawah Association.
Muslims make up one million of the Netherlands’s 16 million population, mostly from Turkish and Moroccan origin.
The number of native Dutch Muslim converts has risen to around 15,000 from 12,000 a few years ago.
Source: OnIslam
