My encounter with a Muslim trying to convert me

Yesterday was Eid and I happened to have an encounter with a Muslim man who tried to convince me to convert to Islam. Many Muslims consider doing Dawa as a religious obligation. The Muslim in this case was a Pakistani Punjabi from Lyalpur, Samundari and was about 50 years old. At first we were just talking (gap shap) about everyday things in the Punjabi language. I had no idea he wanted to convert me. Starting Dawa with small talk is a tactic many Muslims employ to first try to find out about their potential target. When he saw that I am a friendly person he then switched to his Da'wa mode. Below is our conversation:

MUSLIM: Beta(son), I want to give you a gift of the holy Quran, I'm sure if you read it, it will change your life.

ME: (wanting to be polite I accepted) Uncle Jee, if you give it to me I will read it when I have free time. Thank you for the offer.

MUSLIM: You know Beta, my family were also Sikhs many generations ago, but then we saw the light of Islam we converted. This is why so many Pakistanis today are Muslims who were formerly Sikhs.

Vichaar: this is a common myth amongst Pakistani Punjabis that their ancestors were Sikhs who then converted to Islam. Truth is, they are the descendents of those Hindus who were beaten up and forced to convert to Islam by the invading Afghans. Sikhs have always been a small minority in Punjab, never being a majority in any district in undivided Punjab. During the misl period Sikhs were only 5% of Punjab's entire population. Then during Sikh Raaj of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh population grew to about 15-18% of Punjab's demographic share. With the fall of the Sikh Raaj many newly converted Sikhs had reverted back to their old faiths and again Sikh population shrank. There has never been any historically known mass conversion of Sikhs to Islam.

ME: Yes uncle jee, similarly many Muslims also converted to Sikhi. In our history we have examples of many such Muslims who saw the greatness of Sikhi and as Sikhs played a prominent role.

MUSLIM: But Beta, Islam is different.

ME: What do you mean?

MUSLIM: It is the last divine religion on this world, while all religions before it became impure and tempered. So it is the duty of all humans to become Muslims like my Sikh ancestors did.

ME: But Uncle Jee, we also believe our religion, Sikhi is by far the best out there. We believe Guru Nanak Dev Jee was sent for a special mission into this world in order to spread the fragrance of Sikhi where ever he went.

MUSLIM: In Gurbani it says Aval Allah Noor Apaya, Qudrat Ke Sabh Bandhe, Ek Noor Te Sabh Jag Upjea Kaun Bhale Kau Mande. So even in Gurbani it is Talking about the greatness of Allah over other Gods. So Sikhs should believe in Allah and join his Path.

ME: Uncle Jee, do you know What that Gurbani you just quoted means? Aval Allah Noor Upaya means First God's Noor created this world, Qudrat Ke Sabh Bandhe: all living creatures are of his Kudrat, then how can you say one is good or bad based on his caste or religion? So uncle jee, this Shabad is actually talking about the oneness of all mankind who are all created by God.

Vichaar: Many Muslims quote this famous Gurbani Tukh because it has Islamic words like Allah, Noor, Kudrat and they think it must be talking about Islam's greatness but rather it is talking the opposite. It is making the point about the oneness of Vaheguru's creation.

When the Muslim uncle jee realized I am not being convinced about Islam, he used a different tactic. This time he tried to break me off from Sikhi first by attacking Sikh traditions because he knew that it was Sikhi which was preventing me from becoming Muslim.

MUSLIM: Beta, you know no where in Gurbani does it say that Sikhs should have a beard and grow their hair and wear a Pagdi(Turban).

ME: Uncle Jee, our Kesh are an integral part of our faith. Our Gurus themselves kept Kesh and commanded Sikhs to keep them. Just as Muslims rely on the Hadees for much of the Islamic way of life, similarly Sikhs also have historical documents which says Keeping Kesh is a must for a Sikh. We have examples of many Sikhs who became Shaheeds instead of cutting their Kesh. So there is no doubt that keeping Kesh is a must for a Sikh.

MUSLIM: You are a young man, why do you put this bojh(burdan) on your head? you should take it off and shave your beard and enjoy your life.

ME: Uncle Jee, the Sikh Dastar is not a Bojh(burdan). For us it is a crown that we wear with pride. What is a Sardar without is his Dastar? We keep our beard intact because we are men. We don't want to look like women by shaving our beard.

MUSLIM: But just look at all the Sikhs today. 90% of your boys no longer even wear Pagdis on their head. We are in the west you should try to look western instead of practicing this useless ritual.

ME: Uncle Jee, if the majority of the world drinks alcohol, smokes cigarettes and fornicates you think I should follow their example? who cares what the world thinks. For a Sikh all that matters is what his Guru thinks. Just look at all true Muslims who follow the examples(Sunnah) of their prophet, they all have beards and many of your Mullahs-Maulanas even wear turbans, why don't they follow the western lifestyle by shaving and removing their turbans? I am not a cultural slave of the west that I will abandon my religious traditions. In fact I'm surprised you as a Muslim don't even keep a beard! what kind of Muslim are you?

When he could not break me away from Sikhi, he ended his Da`wa and changed the topic and left after 2 minutes. Sikhs in the west need to be aware of cleaver people of other religions trying to convert us. They see us as a soft target since most Sikhs are not very knowledgeable about Sikhi, so they think it will be easy to break a Sikh from Sikhi and convince him to convert. In the west Christian missionaries and Muslims are very active in targeting Sikhs. Sikhs need to gain knowledge about Sikhi in order to counter them if such a situation arises.

beautifully countered - exactly how a sikh should respond

Good response SIngho!

I remember a SIngh was once narrating a story between him and a Muslim. The Muslim too was trying to convert him and question Gurmat so the Singh turned the tables and put the Muslim on the spot. The Singh said" I just have one question if you can answer this I will be satisfied. According to your religion the soul raises out of the grave on Judgement day if so where does the soul reside between death and judgement day?" The Muslim became perplexed with this question, and said I don't know I will get back to you with an answer. The Muslim came back a few weeks later and said I don't know I will give you the number of a Professor of Islam and he will give you a satisfying answer. The Singh then called the professor and asked him the same question. The Professor too was dumbfounded by the question and could not find a suitable answer at the time and told the Singh I will refer you to an Imam and he will for sure give you an answer. The Singh then asked the Imam the same question and the Imam could not give a suitable answer at the time and said I will call you back when I find the answer. The Imam never called him back hahaha.

Brilliant answer Singh1699! Once I was asked by my Muslim friends "You know about Islam more than many Muslims around here. Why don't you join our faith?" I was a mona back then and had just started getting into Sikhi. My response was "Now you know I got something much better to go after!"

Excellent discourse! Thanks for sharing with us.

The key is knowledge. Every Sikh should be knowledgeable about basic Gurmat philosophy and then should be aware of other religions as well.

Kulbir Singh

Good vichar and response. I think Sikhs need to have discussion groups locally.

The responses Pehli Paatshah gave to the Muslims in his journeys are out of this world. I think if we study Bhai Bala Janam Sakhis we should be able to counteract those who try to convert us.

One thing I noticed about Christian missionaries and Muslims doing Dawa is that their strategy is very systematic. At first they will try to convince you about their religion, but when they see you are not being convinced they will then try to put doubts in your head about your religion. Because they know that if they can put doubts in your head about your religion it will be easier to then convert you. So a Sikh should have knowledge about Sikhi related topics. Having knowledge about other religions is also an asset to successfully counter them, because if you have knowledge about their religion, you can turn the tables and put them on the spot.

But one thing you must make sure in such a situation. You should never cross the line by insulting the other person's religion or it's founder or their scripture. Always keep the dialogue respectful and courteous.

Sikhs in the west need Sikhi centers for Sikhs like a Taksal type of school. By Taksal I don't necessarily mean DDT. I mean seminaries where Sikhs can go and gain knowledge of Sikhi in a systematic way. That is what Muslims in the west have done. They have not built so many big grand mosques like we have built big Gurdwaras in the west. Instead they have invested their money by building Islamic centers all over the western world so their youth know and practice Islam. I was talking to a Muslim friend and he told me that almost every Muslim youth can read the Quran because they are taught this since childhood. He said there are as many Hafiz as their are ants on this world, meaning it is extremely common amongst the Muslims that you will find people who have the entire Quran memorized. Compared to that our Sikh youth know nothing. Even so many Amritdharis don't even have the Nitnem Kanth. We need to change that.

Good points Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji gave us Hukum to learn about other religions and a good religious education was very important to Sri Guru Ji thus the reason of building Talwandi Sabo ( Guru Kanshi) and Paunta Sahib. Unfortunately, nowadays we are more concerned with a secular education as opposed to a religious education. God willing, things are going to change though. Sri Anandpur Sahib will be the glorious center Sri GUru Ji wanted it too be.

Fact is no religion can equal to Gursikhi...www.akjfaq.com
only Gurusikhi forbids eating from non-baptized Sikhs, cutting hair, consuming meat, alcohol, tobacco, indulging in too much sleep, food....which
none of other religion do noyhlloi

Bhul chuk muaf for last word typo error..should be other religion do indulge in regardless of how holy..