La Bianca: A Country Girl Turns to Islam
- From: ISLAAM -THE FASTEST GROWING RELIGION IN THE WORLD - <truth_stands_out@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:35:21 -0700
La Bianca: A Country Girl Turns to Islam
By Selma Cook
This article is based on an interview with Sandra La Bianca, a Muslim
revert who lives in Perth, Western Australia.
La Bianca is a country girl; she was brought up on a farm in Western
Australia. When she was a child, she had a pet kangaroo and helped
with taking care of the cows and sheep. She used to go hunting rabbits
and foxes. There was not much religion in her upbringing, but she
believed in God and she was taught traditional Italian morals. In an
Italian household, girls are protected and quite sheltered.
She used to go to church with her family on Sundays, but it was
superficial; she didn't really understand anything. When she thought
about Holy Communion, all she knew was that she would get a white
dress and have to recite some words - it was all expected of her and
she did it. As far as La Bianca was concerned, Jesus and Mary (peace
be upon them) were just statues in the church. Still, she used to pray
to God.
While she was growing up, she had no knowledge of Islam or Arabs; she
did not even see a city until she was 16 years old! She acknowledges
the fact that she was gullible and naïve. Of her own admission, the
positive part of this is that it has made her more open and natural;
she says that she wears her heart on her sleeve. She has found that
city people are emotionally tougher and are often more stand-offish
and critical, whereas country people tend to take people as they
are.
In the country, men mostly stay on the farm and enjoy the country
life. With its trucks, motorbikes, shooting, and horses, the country
life is a man's paradise! Young women usually look for the city life -
pursuing fashion, being hip, getting excitement, and partying. La
Bianca left the country when she was 16 years old looking for the
bright city life. Having a big Italian family spread throughout
Australia, La Bianca had no difficulty finding an aunty with whom she
could stay in the city.
La Bianca got her first job working as a receptionist, and there she
met a Muslim girl named Tasneem, a South African Muslim, albeit not a
practicing one. Tasneem did not wear hijab or pray but always made
sure that the meat she ate was halal. Even though she neither did
anything immoral nor drank alcohol, Tasneem would still go clubbing,
and she was allowed to by her parents as long as she came home early.
The main thing La Bianca learned from Tasneem was fasting in Ramadan.
La Bianca reminisces that she always felt attracted to Muslims because
the people she met were warm, friendly, and accepting with gentleness,
directness, and a love of family. She enjoyed socializing with her
Muslim friends and the atmosphere in the family reminded her of her
country girl upbringing (good food and hospitality). She comments that
she feels comfortable with people who are comfortable in their own
skin. She further observes that people often pick on others a lot
because they do not like themselves.
She especially likes African people because of their warmth and
sociability but finds European culture to be quite cold with a lot of
barriers between people. She observes that when she was growing up she
and her siblings loved the Aboriginal people more than the Europeans.
Her father respected anyone who worked hard and did the right thing.
He was not at all racist. However, La Bianca's mother was racist and
thought that Europeans were superior to others, and she easily
criticized other people.
As La Bianca mixed with more and more Muslims, she learned that
Muslims pray five times a day, but it was not until she met her
husband that she really learned what Islam was all about.
La Bianca remembers that as soon as her husband met her, he took her
home to meet his mother (his father had died some years before). Both
he and La Bianca wanted a long-term commitment - the whole package;
marriage and family. She started going to Islamic classes and changed
the way she dressed. She donned long skirts and loose shirts. She
observes that as she was learning about Almighty Allah, everything
made sense; everything was beautiful and harmonious.
She comments that she liked the idea that there are consequences for
what people do; that every one should try to do the right thing. This
was unlike the Catholic religion whose teachings she was raised upon:
People can do anything and that Jesus will cover for them.
Every one has a test, and La Bianca's big test was wearing hijab. She
reveals that it was changing her image that affected her most. At
home, in the country, on the farm, or in the workplace, people would
ask her why she was wearing "that." Nevertheless, La Bianca wore long
dresses and a scarf.
At first, her Dad felt she was not respecting his friends if she did
not dress in a way that would please them. She admits that in the
beginning, she felt guilty for making him feel disrespected, but her
growing consciousness of Almighty Allah made her realize that she
wanted to please Allah more than she wanted to please any human
being.
She had told herself that she did not want to make any concessions,
because she knew she was doing the right thing and she knew that if
she started to make compromises, it would never stop and she would be
left with no Islam at all! She certainly did not want that to happen.
Despite her initial difficulty in wearing it, hijab made so much sense
to her. She found that after she started to cover up, she was not
approached by men and she felt much more respected. It just felt right
in her heart. La Bianca observes that she loves the idea that women
are a treasure and that they should be protected and seen only by
those who deserve to see them.
La Bianca made Shahadah in the company of a small group of friends.
She felt that Islam is the truth, and she was hungry to learn more.
Her husband and his family encouraged her to wear hijab, but it took
some time for her to wear it properly because she had to wean herself
from being defined by how she looks to the outside world.
When asked about the reaction of the Muslim community to her
conversion, she said that at first she was "flavor of the month"
simply because she was a new Muslim. After some time, however, people
became critical because they just could not accept her as she was.
Most of the Muslims were either of Arab or Turkish descent and they
found it difficult to accept someone who could practice Islam without
reflecting their culture.
Over the past three years since La Bianca embraced Islam, she has had
a circle of close and true friends. However, generally speaking she
has found that many Muslim women are competitive and find it extremely
difficult to accept people who are different from themselves.
La Bianca wishes she could advise the community of Muslim women that
women come to Islam from all walks of life and we have to be
understanding and patient as they make the transition into Islam.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Selma Cook is Managing Editor of the Youth Section and Volunteer Youth
Resource Network at IslamOnline.net. She has written a number of books
including: Buried Treasure (An Islamic novel for teenagers), The Light
of Submission (Islamic Poetry). She has also edited and revised many
Islamic books.
http://tinyurl.com/2t4hm4
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