The phenomenal growth in the number of adherents to Islam in the past 10 years has occurred at an unprecedented rate. In the United States where Muslims number six million, the religion continues to draw followers at an estimated rate of 135,000 converts or reverts per year. The term "revert" is often preferred over convert because "revert" defines one who was a Muslim by birth but was mislead by their parents’ religion, while "convert" is felt to insinuate one that was conned into the religion.
Muslim leaders estimate that half the number of American reverts to Islam are African-American. American women also make up a large percent of reverts to the Islamic faith. Islamic leaders also estimate that approximately 15,000 reverts come from the Latino community.
Demographers predict that Islam will enter the 21st century as the second largest religion in the United States.
"I have been a Muslim for 28 years. I was introduced to Islam by a family friend," said Luqman Abdullah-Wajid, a 48 year-old African-American. Abdullah-Wajid never believed in any religion or that God existed until he was introduced to Islam at the age of 20. Abdullah-Wajid, formerly Everett Ferguson, was intrigued by Islam’s logic and reasoning. "Islam’s clarity, logic, and authenticity leave me feeling very grateful. It is, and was, very important to me to make sense out of things," said Abdullah-Wajid.
"Probably the most impressive aspect of Islam to me, was the emphasis on humility, brotherhood, and community…Islam was a total way of life, with logical beliefs and an emphasis on good character…."
For some reverts, the path to Islam came only after a period of trial and error with other religions. Dani Black, part Native American Indian, is a recent female revert to Islam. Her search for truth took her from one religion to the next until she found Islam. "I started out as a Catholic, attended Catholic school and everything. Then I became a Buddhist since I was really disillusioned with the whole Catholic belief system. Then I became aware that Buddhism was definitely not the truth, I joined up with the Pentacostal movement." Black found that she could not accept that Jesus was God, and did not want to belong to a religion that taught the triune belief system. "I just knew that there is only one God."
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