US woman tells the story of her conversion to Islam

She has changed her name, left the sunny beaches of her Florida in the US and bracing to learn a new language as a last step of her conversion to Islam. Echourouk reporters met her in her new town in Oum Bouaki, eastern Algeria.

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• We have asked her numerous questions concerning her brand new life and why did she chose Islam as a new religion instead of another one? The lady masters her mother tongue and some Arabic.

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• Echourouk: Could you please introduce yourself?

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• Johnson: – ( smile) I’m Johnson Owen Haymer and I’m 28. I was born in Puerto Rico ( south America) but now I’m living in Tampa, Florida, I’m the youngest child among my 6 brothers and sisters; I’m working as a nurse in my home town.

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• Echourouk: What do you know about Islam?

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• Johnson: I know that there are many Muslims in America who practice their religion in secrecy to avoid persecution in some areas. Most of them pray and do fasting in hiding; their wives are rarely seen in the streets because the veil in the US carries various political connotations. By and large, Islam in Florida is widespread.

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• Echourouk:: How did you turn Muslim?

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• Johnson: I was keen on reading religious books since my childhood , though Islamic ones were very scarce in the US but I turned to internet to enlarge my scope of studies. I met Youcef on the internet last August 11 and our conversations were turning around religion and more earthly matters. I felt like leaning towards Islam so I asked Youcef to marry me.

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• Echourouk: Did you convert by conviction or for love?

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• Johnson: ( smiling) I was convinced by the religion but my husband helped me to do it. He was regularly teaching me new concepts and the basic principles of the Islamic religion using convincing methods based on logic, because it’s not easy to change your religion all of a sudden.

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• Echourouk: How did your relatives react after your conversion to Islam?

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• Johnson: They were astonished first, but that was my decision after all .

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• Echourouk:How did you visit Algeria ?

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• Johnson: I was little bit startled first especially that I’m an American who never visited an Arab country. But I decided to come.

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• We left Imane ( the Islamic name of Johnson) to focus on the figures that reveal that more than 180 thousand US citizens converted to Islam over the year 2010. Amazingly enough this period coincides with the Koran burning event and the veto over the building of the mosque of New York