The only minor concern came about when she asked that I not keep pork products around because she is Muslim. I’ll admit, at the time, the word Muslim carried no meaning in my life.

One night while we were talking on the couch, I mentioned to my roommate that I prayed for her. Apparently, she prayed for me, too. I then stated that we must be praying to the same God. She turned to me and asked, "You think so?" Without a doubt in mind, I set out to prove it to myself.

A couple of weeks later, I came across Reza Aslan speaking on UCTV. While reading Aslan’s book, I could not help but agree with many fundamental Islamic beliefs, and also with other beliefs that conflicted with my Catholic upbringing, which I always have challenged. For those reasons, I never officially confirmed myself as a Catholic.

When I came to the part in Aslan’s book where he explains the history of "No god but God," the search to validate my presumed belief that my roommate and I were praying to the same God was over. I said to myself the following statement: "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is God’s prophet."

Interestingly, when I got to the part where Aslan explains shahadah, I again reaffirmed this statement.

However, for whatever reason, I missed his explanation that this is a critical step to becoming a Muslim. Simply reading the Shahadah does not convert a person to Islam; but truly believing it in your heart makes you a Muslim, you do not need another human being’s affirmation.

I did not know this fact until my "roomie" explained it to me days later, maybe almost a week after I stated the Shahadah.

I did not mention any of this to her because, well, the matter was between me and God, and I needed time to put all of this into perspective for myself and defend my decision to my family.

Converting others to believing in God or Islam is not my intention. No one can force you to feel something you simply don’t feel, no matter how passionate they are about it. I am sharing my choice to educate others, so they do not fear reverts or assume Islamic extremists had anything to do with my decision.

Vanessa Enriquez-Rios took her Shahadah in September 2006 at King Fahd mosque in Culver City, Calif.

If you are new to Islam,