Adnan (formerly known as Adrian Smith) was born in 1988 to an American mother and a British father. From a young age, he harbored a childhood dream of becoming an FBI agent, a dream that would unexpectedly lead him to embrace Islam in an extraordinary spiritual journey.
The Beginning: A Professional Pursuit Leads to the Language of the Quran
In the eighth grade, Adrian took a career aptitude test and scored highest in law enforcement. He considered becoming a police officer but saw that "the pinnacle of law enforcement was the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)."
He asked a family friend who worked as an investigator cooperating with the FBI: "What should I study? Criminology or psychology?"
The pivotal answer was: "No, study Arabic and Persian. The FBI currently needs speakers of these two languages."
University: Beginning Arabic Studies and the First Encounter with Islam
In his first year at Dartmouth College, he began his major in Arabic. In an "Introduction to Arab Culture" course, he watched a documentary titled "Islam: Empire of Faith." There, he heard the Islamic call to prayer (Adhan) for the first time in his life.
He recalls: "I was walking through the snowy landscapes of New Hampshire and felt for days—perhaps weeks—that everything around me echoed the Adhan. I felt it resonating within me, and I felt that something was calling me."
Research and Discovery: From Christianity to Islamic Practices
Adrian began researching Islam and picked up a booklet about Islamic prayer (Salah) from the Muslim Students Association room. He thought: "I'll learn this prayer that Muslims perform and become a better Christian."
During a volunteer trip to New Orleans, he would seek the Qibla (direction of prayer), puzzling his colleagues. During prayer, he felt "like that little boy Adrian who was desperate to find answers to his existential questions, as if he had finally found peace."
The Transformation: The Moment of Reciting the Shahada
After two months of his initial practices, he attended Friday Prayer (Jumu'ah) for the second time in the Muslim Students Association room. He says of that experience: "I felt the sermon was directly addressed to me, and I felt the prayer connecting me to my Creator."
After the prayer, he sat thinking: "It seems I have become more connected to Islam than I am to Christianity. I believe this means I am a Muslim." He stood up, went to the Imam, and said: "I want to become a Muslim. I want to recite the Shahada (declaration of faith)."
Why Islam and Not Christianity?
Adnan explains: "I never felt I left Christianity. My decision was to be a better Christian through these practices and beliefs I found in Islam."
He continues: "The true follower of Christ, the true Christian, is a Muslim. Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, was a Muslim and called to Islam. What I left was not Christianity itself, but the tribalism that defines religion by allegiance to a specific person."
Between the Old Dream and the New Reality
After converting, he applied for several jobs at the FBI, secured two internships, worked in Washington D.C., and obtained a Top Secret security clearance.
But he began to realize a deep contradiction: "I saw my professional future within the organization, but I began to understand aspects of discrimination and systemic oppression."
The Crossroads: Marriage or Career
When he spoke with the father of the woman he wished to marry, her father told him: "I think we need Muslims like you in the FBI, but I don't think that person can marry my daughter."
In that moment, Adnan realized: "If I had to choose between this inspiring, wonderful woman as a life partner, or a specific career path, I would choose her."
Career Transformation: From Federal Agent to Imam and Guide
Adnan left his career path with the FBI and moved to Providence, Rhode Island, where he became an Imam and Muslim guide at Brown University. He is now a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University.
The New Challenge: Facing a Grand Jury
Years later, he found himself in a completely opposite situation: where he once worked for the FBI, he was now before a federal grand jury for refusing to provide information about individuals in the Muslim community.
During the session, a juror asked him: "You mentioned you were a spiritual guide to this brother, and now you are in this situation where you have to provide his personal information to us. Did that affect your relationship with him?"
He replied: "May God bless you. Of course it affected it. It is truly a regrettable situation."
Influence on Others: Even a Grandmother with Dementia
Ten years after his conversion, he visited his grandmother who suffered from dementia. She noticed how he would go upstairs to pray and asked to do it with him.
He says: "I asked her: 'Do you mean the prayer?' She said: 'Yes.' I said: 'Alright, you can pray with me.' Then we prayed together."
On another day, she asked him to tell her about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), which he did, and she recited the Shahada there.
Why the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)?
"When I read about his life, it was clear to me that he was a flawless person who only did what was right in his life. It was like seeing what it means to be the best version of myself."
Why the Quran?
Adnan grew up as an accomplished classical pianist, so music and rhythm were very important to him. He says: "The Quran was not of this world. Having grown up in a musical environment, then listening to the simplicity and precision of Quranic recitation made me fall in love with the art of Tajweed (Quranic recitation) immediately."
From Seeking a Job to Seeking Truth
Adnan concluded his journey by saying: "My ambition to work for the FBI is what ultimately led me to Islam. Because of my desire to join the FBI, I studied the Arabic language, and through my study of Arabic, I learned about Islam, and then I became a Muslim."
Story Source: Interview with Adnan (Adrian Smith) - Imam and Muslim guide at Brown University, detailing his journey to Islam.
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