I had a large circle of Muslim friends in high school and we were like family in that whatever they owned, we all shared among ourselves. There was no concept of “mine” and “yours.”  I loved the warmth and extension of hospitality we shared, from meals to music.
I learned about Middle Eastern people and culture, as well as Islam during this time from experiencing the friendship in action.  These relationships left a deep imprint inside of me, which in years to come realized, as I built my library and immersed myself in books of a philosophical and metaphysical nature.  As I began to delve deeply into metaphysics and philosophy, questions were forming in my mind, about the meaning of life, truth, and the very substance of reality itself.  I was beginning to glimpse into the understanding of the term “the One.”
This learning is ongoing  and continuous – understanding that God is One, the source from which all of life originates, that oneness being the absence of multiplicity, and seeing that our ultimate search in life results from (fitrah) an innate drive towards “the fitrah”
The more I absorbed from reading, the more “my world” came alive.  Some previous ideas faded away where new truths sprouted.  Some truths merely expanded and encompassed “the universal  truth” that God is One, deepening my thought vistas.  The limitations in my vision of God were melting away little by little as it gave way to a wider understanding of what the phrase “God is ne” means.  As I read increasingly more, I began to remember my experiences all throughout my life – the people, the friends, the joy, and pain also.  I was building a new framework and assembling the pieces in the puzzle to fit the new framework.  I remembered those people I knew in my life who truly meant the most to me in terms of how they demonstrated the truths that I have been learning.  The people who shared the inner workings of their mind with me, the people who shared their possessions,  and who were there unquestionably when they were needed came to mind.  All of these people took clear shape in my mind and they were my Muslim friends I had known in high school.
One day last winter, I visited the library and read the Qu’ran with my son Kevin and found that it resonated within me a deep familiarity with all of my previous knowledge up until that point.  At the age of 45, I took the shahadah and I am so glad I did.
There is an exciting journey ahead to deepen my knowledge of life and the one.

Brenda Cangi took the shahadah at the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove, Calif. on March 14, 2007.
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If you are new to Islam, send us your thoughts on what attracted you to Islam in 500 words. Please submit it via e-mail to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , with the subject “What Drew Me to Islam.” 
Include your name, when and where you took the shahadah.