American woman Dirilis Ertugrul

American woman embraced Islam after watching Dirilis Ertugrul

A 60-year-old American woman embraced Islam after watching the popular Turkish series, Dirilis Ertugrul. The lady resides in Wisconsin and chose to name herself, Khadija after embracing Islam.

“I looked into it, the details about it. So I started watching,” said Khadija. She added that after watching a few episodes of the series her interest developed in Islam and she started reading about the religion.

Talking about the series, Khadija said, “It was a history that I knew nothing about.” She attributed her conversion to Islam to the inspirational role of 13th-century philosopher, and Sufi Ibn Arabi played by Turkish actor, Osman Soykut, in the series.

The woman asserted that it was the dialogues of the Ibn Arabi that gave new meaning to her life. His words and dialogues made her cry many times.

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Khadija has seen the series four times and is watching the series for the fifth time. “I like learning new history. It was an eye-opener to what I did know … about religion and tried to look for more into,” she added.

She added that she started watching the series due to her interest in history. The series then connected her to the side of Islam that she did not know about.

Before embracing Islam, she was a Baptist Catholic however, the series cleared all the questions in her head. Following this, she started reading Holy Quran in English to learn more about Islam.

Khadija said that after reading Quran she started searching for a mosque. People were shocked to see her when she first went into the mosque, said the lady. But, she said she met “kind” Muslim community in the mosque who taught her how to pray.

“I became Muslim right that day,” she said. The lady said she countered shocking reactions from her friends and family who believed that she is brainwashed.

“I no longer discuss this issue with people. I do not interfere with their beliefs. They shouldn’t have any reason to interfere with me either,” she added.

She is the mother of six children. Her youngest children figured out she has embraced Islam, while others suspected but did not ask her.

She now plans to visit Turkey to see the places where the series was shot and see places where the real character of the series lived. “I even thought about moving to Turkey. For now, I plan a trip in June, if the pandemic ends. Even thinking about this trip makes me cry,” she said. She also plans to visit the burial site of Ertugrul Gazi as well.

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Dirilis Ertugrul is a historic series set in 13th century Anatolia before the establishment of the Ottoman Empire. The series has taken audiences by storm inside and outside Turkey since its first season hit the screens in 2014. The series formally entered Pakistan’s entertainment industry in 2020. Pakistan’s state television channel, broadcasted the series in Urdu dubbing upon the recommendation of Prime Minister Imran Khan.