By [abdelkader bachir/Staff Writer]
In a quiet corner of Cairo, in 1998, a 17-year-old girl was preparing to make a decision that no one thought she was capable of. Ragaa, a Christian girl raised in a large and prominent family, was hiding a secret in her heart that she had told no one: her decision to convert to Islam.
The Vision That Preceded the Decision
Ragaa recounts, "Before I declared my Islam, I had already made the decision within myself. I was convinced. But the vision I saw of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) was the strong push that made me trust in God and go through with it." The vision was not the cause, but it was the light that illuminated her path at a critical moment.
The Morning of the Final Farewell
Ragaa remembers that Sunday morning with a sadness that still lives within her: "I woke up very early, which was unusual for me. My mother looked at me with surprise while she was still in bed. I went to her and hugged her. I kissed her warmly. Her eyes were asking: What's wrong with my daughter today? That night was the last time I ever saw her."
Ragaa couldn't tell her mother the truth. She couldn't say that this was goodbye. She says, with tears welling in her eyes, "I never once made my mother sad in my entire life. I held back my tears as if my heart was being torn apart. I went up to my room, packed my school bag as usual, with my books inside, as if I were going to school. But in reality, I was heading into the unknown."
The hardest part for her was saying goodbye to the little children in the house, especially her sister's young son, to whom she was immensely attached. She picked him up while he was sleeping, held him close to her chest, and cried silently before leaving him forever.
The Destination: Al-Azhar Sheikhdom
Her goal was clear: the Al-Azhar Sheikhdom, the place she had heard welcomes those wishing to embrace Islam. She arrived at dusk, at Maghrib time, only to find the doors closed. She was told, "Come back tomorrow at nine in the morning." One question echoed in her mind: Where would she spend the night in Cairo, all alone?
She wandered through the nearby streets, knowing no one, with no place to seek shelter. She was afraid, terrified, but the thought of retreat never crossed her mind.
A Sheikh on the Road and a Hotel Without ID
While she was wandering, a bearded man noticed her. He approached and asked, "I've seen you walking around for a while. Where are you from?" She didn't tell him the whole truth, only that she had come to Al-Azhar to declare her Islam. The man understood the situation and offered to take her to his home, but she firmly refused: "No. I don't go into people's homes. I'm not used to that."
He then suggested a clever idea: going to a hotel. In those days, a girl alone could stay in a hotel without an ID, just with money. He gave her the address of a simple hotel. She went there, told the receptionist she needed a room for just one night. When he asked for her ID, she said she had forgotten it. The man believed her.
She slept that night, but didn't close her eyes. Every time she shut her eyelids, she saw her mother, her siblings, the home she had left behind. The waking nightmares were more brutal than sleep itself.
The Morning of a New Birth
The next day, Ragaa stood before the sheikhs at the Al-Azhar Sheikhdom. Their investigation was thorough: "Why do you want to become Muslim? Your religion is good, your religion is comfortable. Do you know we pray five times a day and fast for Ramadan?" These questions were a true test of her conviction. Her answer was clear and decisive: "If this religion pleases you, I am happy for you. But it does not please me, and I want to become Muslim."
They brought out papers and asked her for personal photos. She went to a nearby studio, took two black-and-white pictures to save money. She returned, and pronounced the two testimonies of faith (Shahada). She disavowed everything that contradicts Islam. She left that room holding her certificate of conversion, carrying a new name: Ragaa Muhammad Ibrahim.
The Surprise: You Are Kidnapped!
But the real battle had just begun. When she went to the Security Directorate to issue her new ID card, she was shocked by what awaited her. The surprise was that her family had filed a police report claiming she had been "kidnapped" for three days. Even more shocking was that the police had arrested five young Muslim men from her neighborhood, and even the local mosque's sheikh, on charges of kidnapping her.
Ragaa says in denial: "Young men who were, God bless them, among the best of people, people of faith. I had never even spoken to the mosque sheikh in my life. All of this was to cover up my departure." The family used their influence and money to defame her and prevent her from completing her path. The kidnapping charge fell through quickly, but the family had a more potent weapon.
The Police Report: "Pregnant in Her Third Month"
A few days later, the biggest shock came. Ragaa and the man who had taken her in received a summons to the Security Directorate. There, she discovered that her brother had filed a report against them, accusing her of being "pregnant in her third month." The goal was clear: to defame her and intimidate those who had sheltered her. Ragaa says, "My family, who raised me, accused me of something that touched my honor. Not to get me back, but to defame me. So that any girl thinking of converting would hesitate."
The church was orchestrating the battle from behind the scenes. "The Church fights any girl who converts. They have to defame her. The one who goes back doesn't return willingly; the one handed over to the church, dies there," Ragaa warns.
The only way to prove her innocence was a forensic medical examination. A horrific moment for a young girl. She had to undergo an intimate medical examination in front of everyone. The result was the word of God: the medical report confirmed she was a virgin. This was, in her words, a grace from God, to humiliate those who had doubted and slandered her honor.
A New Father and a New Family
Amidst this storm, a man stood by her side whom she will never forget. A venerable sheikh, a director of an educational administration, who held a respected position in his town. He offered her to live with his family. Ragaa says, "I consider him my father. God compensated me with him and his children. They treated me like their own daughter. I enter their home freely, his daughters call me 'sister,' and his wife, a very respectable woman, I call her 'Mom'."
Ragaa continued her legal struggle. She obtained her national ID card with her new name, "Ragaa Muhammad Ibrahim." However, Egyptian law does not deny lineage. She was surprised to find that the card also bore her Christian father's name underneath her Islamic name. In her passport, the number of Christian names following her Islamic name reached nine, tracing back to her ancestors. This was a legal compromise, but also a constant reminder of the roots she had left behind.
The True Victory
Ragaa completed her education after years of suffering and threats that never truly stopped. She says, "I truly felt the meaning of the verse: 'And never will the Jews nor the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion.' They will never be pleased with you. I touched that verse within myself."
Years later, Ragaa emerged from all these trials with an unwavering strength of faith. She concludes her story: "The most important thing for me is that God takes me while He is pleased with me, and that He enters me into Paradise. That is the true victory. The real victory is to die with God's pleasure upon you."
This story is not just a narrative of religious conversion; it is a human epic about the struggle between truth and falsehood, between an individual and their family and community, and about steadfastness to one's principles regardless of the sacrifices. Ragaa's story is a model for thousands of Egyptian girls who fight similar battles in silence, searching for the truth their hearts have believed in.
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