00:00So because I didn't know any Muslims, I looked online how to become a Muslim
00:06and obviously learned about the Shahada, the declaration of faith.
00:10I decided to read the Quran. Basically, it was just the very first page,
00:13so Shruta Fasihah, an introduction page that had me,
00:17that made me want to become Muslim, basically.
00:23I'm Amanda, UK born, born and bred in the United Kingdom in England,
00:27and I was raised Christian from a very practising family.
00:32My name is Tiara Kelly. I am a Jamaican girl living in the UK because I was brought up Christian.
00:39So I started looking into the faith and things didn't make sense
00:43and the more I researched what Christianity taught, the more it did not make sense.
00:47I was asking lots of questions to the elders of the church. They weren't able to answer.
00:52And I started to, from a young age, I started to, like, at a moment,
00:58it just really hit me. I just decided to take it right then and there.
01:01So that's when I became a rebel.
01:04I became Muslim in July 2023. I felt I'd come home.
01:09My soul felt at peace. It made sense.
01:12It was clear to me. It was beautiful.
01:15My mum, she's elderly, and I, you know, raised me Christian,
01:19and I knew that would be the biggest challenge.
01:21The biggest issue, I would say, is my dad.
01:25He's a very strong Christian man.
01:29I will say it has been the hardest three years of my life
01:32just because of how my family have reacted to me becoming Muslim.
01:36I lost a few friends over time, and I've gained a lot more, I would say.
01:40A lot more friends, a lot more women that were more aligned to who I am
01:45and who I want to continuously try to be.
01:47I think I saw it on, like, social media and advert
01:50that they support revert sisters, and I reached out to them.
01:54Their support has been a lifeline for me.
01:56I heard about Solace a few times
01:58through many of the Muslim women I had interacted with since reversing.
02:03And I have got someone there who understands the faith
02:06and understands the struggle as a revert sister, what you go through.
02:11I had a bit of difficulty with that
02:13because it's a huge change to go into learning how to pray five times a day,
02:18learning how to pray in Arabic and all of that kind of stuff.
02:20You don't feel as lonely on the journey.
02:23And working with the support worker, the sister,
02:26it gives me a lot of strength to keep going.
02:28They allow me to recuperate myself a bit better mentally, emotionally, financially.
02:34and, like, they, one of the courses I went with them is a business school.
02:38So, inshallah, I'll be able to try and become a little businesswoman soon.
02:42Being patient with revert sisters, we can't do it all overnight.
02:47It's different for people who've been born in the faith.
02:49And for me, you know, you've lived 50 years and not in a certain...
02:52...
