In search of the Truth ..

Personal stories of people who have found their spiritual path in Sikhism

Victoria Sheriff

Sukhmani Kaur

More personal stories to come

Personal Stories

Contents

  • Tactics used by Islamic Extremists
  • Claim No.1 : Islam is the fastest growing religion (Source: Faithfreedom)

    Claim No.2 : The Quran is scientifically proven (Source: Faithfreedom)

    Special Feature 1 : Internet Chat Rooms

    Special Feature 2: Letter urging Muslims to convert Sikh and Hindu girls

  • Personal Accounts of Sikh Students who converted to Islam
  • 1) Mother of Sikh Student at University who converted to Islam talks about her pain

    2) Ex-Fiancee talks of her betrayal by boyfriend who kept his conversion a secret

    3) Male Sikh Student converted at Kings College London but later reverted back to Sikhi

    4) Female Sikh Student harrassed and intimidated at Luton University by Islamists

    5) Female Sikh lacking educational support from Parents and Gurdwaras converts to Islam

    6) Natasha Jalota: Suffering in Silence

    MORE PERSONAL STORIES TO COME... WATCH THIS SPACE !!!


    Tactics used by Islamic Extremists

    Islamic Groups tell you to keep 'Allah in your heart', which means keep it a secret from your family. This is a tactic employed by cults whose aim is to isolate the target from the family.

    The word 'al Taqiyya' means concealing or disguising ones belief, convictions, ideas, opinions, feelings and strategies at a time of eminent danger to save one from physical or mental injury

    a) Target Sikh boys and girls especially those who are:

  • non-orthodox
  • poorly educated about their religion
  • enjoy sports, socializing, drinking etc
  • b) Promote low level dialogue

  • Do you believe in God, why not
  • Koran is scientifically proven
  • Invitation to meetings/discussion groups
  • c) Financial incentive

    Financial incentives are provided to recruiters who manage to secure a conversion.

    d) Companionship

  • Promise of Friendship
  • Promise of Love
  • Buying material items (cars,jewellry,perfume etc)
  • e) Provide surrogate ‘family’/immediate group of ‘friend’ for studentsliving away from home

    f) Pretend to be Sikhs

  • Wear karas and change their names to Sikh names
  • Reasonable knowledge of Sikhism
  • g) Organisations to be aware of – constantly changing

  • Change from openly racist/inciting hatred to more subtle mechanisms (Cultural Awareness, Islamic Women’s Society)
  • Active Groups are Hizb-ut-Tahrir ( HUT ) and Al-Majahoroun but these are constantly re-incarnating !
  • Salafi/Wahabbi Sects
  • h) Target Vunerable Groups

  • Living away from home
  • Broken family, child does not get attention or love at home
  • Weak minded individuals
  • Personal problems - Death in family, abusive parent, forced marriage, pressure to wear turban

    Lie No.1: Islam is the fastest Growing Religion

    Islam is not the fastest growing religion. Muslims recruiters are masters of lies and this is one more lie.

    The fastest growing religion is Falun Gong. This Chinese religion was launched in 1992 and by 1998 the number of people practicing Falun Gong reached 70 million to 100 million.

    However, Muslims are polyfiloprogenitive and breed faster than others but that is the characteristic of all poor and uneducated people. The truth is that intellectual Muslims are questioning the tents of Islam and leaving it in huge numbers and only the ignorant and the terrorists are remaining steadfast.

    Despite all these facts the claim that if a belief is popular or has many following it must be true is a logical fallacy.

    This logical fallacy is called argumentum ad numerum. This fallacy consists in asserting that the more people support a belief or a proposition, the more likely it is that that proposition is correct. This is of course a fallacy because truth can never be attained through the consensus of the majority.

    Prior to Copernicus and Galileo everyone agreed that the Earth is flat and the universe is geocentric. This consensus of virtually everyone did not make this belief true.

    Another version of this fallacy is Argumentum ad populum. You commit the fallacy when you claim a belief is true because it is popular, like saying “thousands of people convert to Islam so it must be true”.

    As Bertrand Russell said: “The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.”

    Muslim Lie No.2 : The Quran is scientifically proven

    To Muslims, Quran is a holy book, revealed directly to Mohammed through the Angel Gibrael. To them, it is the absolute truth, the last message to mankind from the Creator of this Universe.

    In reality, Quran is Mohammed's creation and includes collections of stories, very prescriptive rules on how to live your life, general common sense and morals, and some "scientific" statements. All these elements were either common sense, borrowed from other religions sources, or were invented by Mohammed.

    In fact, Quran was written by ordinary MAN 70 years after Mohammed Died. Mohammed could not have written the Quran as he was illiterate. So if the Quran was written 70 years after Mohammed’s death by MAN it is no wander it contains so many contradictions and inaccuracies.

    If the Quran was the word of God, he would have made the Quran timeless so that human beings, no matter how hard they tried, would never be able to point out any defect in it.

    Instead, today, Islam is the World's most criticised ‘religion’, and Quran is being called the "manual of Terrorism". So, could Quran truely be the "last" message to mankind by the Creator of this wonderful Universe ?

    As a summary of what the Quran actually is all about:

    - In most of the verses, Quran keeps praising Allah the non-existent God. When you read the Quran, almost every now and then you'll see familiar verses like 'And Allah is merciful, forgiving' (SURE he is).

    - It gives many threats of Hellfire, as well as gives promises of Heaven- this is to entice the believer into action, using this simple push/pull strategy.

    - Quran contains events and stories of the past. They were mostly copied from other religions.

    Quran contains some 'scientific' statements, which tried to impress the readers 1400 years ago. That was the era in which the Sun and the Moon were thought to go around the Earth. Today we know these 'scientific statements' to actually contain wrong science, as well as stuff copied from other religions and scientists of those time. An example is the idea of sperm being generated in the Backbone[Quran 86:6]. This idea was proposed by Greek scientists, and copied by Mohammed.

    If the Quran was 100% bad, it would die out quickly. For this reason, Mohammed included some good things in Quran, so good people would support the Quran and keep Islam alive. At the same, terrorists act out on the bad teachings of Quran, resulting in global terrorism whose painful effects have been and are being experienced by everyone. It is these bad teachings of Quran that have jeapordized Global peace.

    Special Feature: Internet Chat Rooms (Source Sarabah Panjab)

    The man had introduced himself as a 17-year-old ‘Punjabi boy’ named ‘Jags’ when they first began swapping messages on Internet site www.Hi5.com. A counsellor working for Sikh Awareness Society (SAS), Manjit Kaur, spoke to the 15-year-old girl about her frightening experience that began when she met someone on the Internet.

    “I thought the boy I was meeting every night on the Internet was 17-years-old.”

    "After a few weeks we started talking on the phone, nearly every night for hours," said the girl.

    Eventually she agreed to meet him, “He said he would send a taxi to pick me up and that I could stay with him in his hotel room.” It turned out the taxi driver wasn't ‘Jags’; real name Shazad Siraj from Bedford, Beds.

    The Home Office is warning that up to one in five children could be in danger from these Internet abusers. Paedophiles are regularly using Internet chat rooms to lure vulnerable children as young as 13, according to the disturbing report.

    Manjit Kaur from SAS says:

    “We have seen a steady increase in the number of abuse cases originating from the Internet. Older manipulative men are targeting naive Sikh girls. In most cases these men are Muslim, which goes to show that these are racially motivated cases of sexual exploitation. We urge all Sikh parents to lock down certain sites and keep the computer in a centrally located area such as the living room.”

    Manjit Kaur is working with the SAS Victim Rehabilitation Program and has given counselling to over 40 victims of racially motivated sexual exploitation. “It is disappointing to see that the Sikh community at large is still unaware about these problems. This is largely due to the fact that these issues are still very much taboo in Panjabi culture. Therefore Sikh leaders are reluctant to openly talk about them” say Manjit Kaur.

    Warning signs:

    How can you tell that your child may be a victim (or is eing preyed upon) by a computer sex offender ? If you have experienced any of the following, you have reason for concern.

    Spending long hours online (especially in the evening)

    Phone calls from people you don't know

    Unsolicited gifts

    Child turns off the computer when you enter the room

    Withdrawal from family activities

    Reluctance to discuss Internet activities


    Personal Accounts of Sikh Students who converted to Islam

    1) Mother of Sikh Student at University who converted to Islam talks about her pain

    22nd July 2006: A mother's intuition sometimes tells you something is not right. I was due to go to a religious function with friends and for some reason I kept coming back into the house and my eldest son was very jittery and nervous and it just didn't sit well with me. I asked him what was the matter and he said nothing, he was very nervous and said, "Go mum I'm fine" and he shut the door of his room which sent alarm bells. I re-opened the door to look inside, there was a mat on the floor and I just knew, I had a gut feeling, that he was praying. I asked him if he was praying. He got angry and defensive and told me it's nothing forget it. I phoned my father and took my son to see him, he went very reluctantly. There he told us that he had converted to Islam.

    At this stage, I took advice from from anyone who was prepared to help. I went to the Sikh University in Harrow. There they questioned him and he had no answers to their questions. He said that the only way to go to Allah was through Mohammed.

    Through the Sikh University I met numerous educated Baptised Sikhs who agreed to talk to him and his Muslim brothers. His Muslim brothers came to the meetings and badgered, abused and bullied the Sikh boys about their beliefs. Everytime my son was asked questions about his conversion, he had no answers. He would run back to the mosque to find out the answers to their questions. It was clear that he went into this religion with his eyes shut and he was being controlled by his Muslim brothers.

    At that time my relationship with my son was intolerable. I cried night after night, ran out of my house hoping that a car would hit me. I would crawl on my knees and beg him to consider the consquences with an elderly grandfather and hearbroken fiance. He would just sit there like a stone and say come mum I will show you the light. He would never give me eye contact and he would be always be living on nervous energy, he was always conversing with his Muslim brothers who gave him support. He had his henchmen dictating his every action and every move.

    My son said that in Islam we respect Allah, then your mother, then your mother, then your mother .... so why was he causing me so much pain.

    They picked on my son's vulnerability ie, away from home attending university, grandmother's sudden death and he needed someone to turn to. I could not be there for him as I was looking after my sick father and other children at home. He got into debates about death with his university muslim brothers and they would take him into meetings to answer his questions. All the time he was told not to talk about these meetings, even with his girlfriend. From there they gave him leaflets and brochures to educate himself which was kept hidden. Later these muslim brother invited him to play football in their teams.

    He was engaged and due to get married in 2007. It turned out that he told his fiance and tried to convert her and told her to keep it quiet and not to tell me until he was ready. The hardest and most painful thing was to invite his fiance's parents to the house and tell them that my son had converted to Islam. I have never felt so low and this devastated the whole family, especially my elderly father who was looking forward to the wedding. My father wished that he had died intead of having to witness this betrayal. In relation to my mother's death, my father commented,'thank God she did not have to witness this'.

    I have not given up hope, I always believe in my faith. I felt the Gurdwara let me down because they were too busy making money and running for elections. I do feel that I have let my son down and I wasn't there when he needed me the most and I do believe that no mother or family should ever, ever have to go through this. He has repeatedly told me to convert. I get scared to send him anywhere with my youngest son as numerous times he has tried to educate him.

    He has transformed from being warm and loving to being cold and egotistical. He gloats when he hears that another Sikh has been converted. As a muslim boy in a Sikh family he wants to save us so that we will go to heaven with him and not hell without him.

    I felt suicidal I wanted him dead and kept telling him that I wished he'd died at birth so I wouldn't have to go through this. I tried to hold the family together but everything was falling apart and every look he gave me and every action he took was like a knife in my heart. I believe this is hell and my safe world blew up and got destroyed by evil. I felt that my loving, gentle giant turned into a brainwashed robot. If this is his version of love to his mother then I do wish that Allah can have him.

    2) Ex-Fiancee talks of her betrayal by boyfriend who kept his conversion a secret

    I never in a million years thought I would be writing something like this about my life and yet here I am sitting in my room trying to decide where to start. It begin with the fact that my ex-fiancée whom I was with for six years converted to Islam last year- July 2006. I’ll never forget the day (Monday 10th July) when I met him after work, it seemed like any other day and I was just about to go to the gym. He casually said that he had something important to talk to me about later but I insisted he tell me then, as I was curious about what it was. What he said next did not prepare me for the shock and confusion I felt about what he was saying to me, it did not register in my mind at all.

    He told me he was thinking about converting to Islam and how he had been thinking about it for a while. I actually stared at him and started laughing, I really thought he was joking around and would not believe him. For the next five minutes he was trying to convince me he was telling the truth and it was only when he swore on my life and his mum’s that he was being serious, that I realised this was not a joke. At this point he said he was only thinking about it, what he kept repeating was that he did not want to go to hell after death (this was his reason for deciding to convert). My reaction to this bombshell was anger- how could he do this to me after six years together? He said the only thing stopping him was me, that if he converted then he would have to marry a Muslim…I looked at him then and told him I would never ever convert and that I was proud of my religion and being Sikh.

    I think that day my whole world fell apart, it felt like my heart had broken into a thousand pieces…the pain I felt was indescribable….I would not wish that kind of pain on anyone. I kept going over and over in my mind if there were any signs I didn’t notice but nothing came to mind, he told me he had been reading up on Islam for about four months and yet he did not say a word to me or anyone else about it.

    He kept it hidden from me, his family and his friends…all the people that were supposed to be the most important in his life. This is the reason I feel he was influenced in his decision although he kept denying it and a week after he told me; he had gone behind my back and converted. I only found this out a week later when his mum caught him praying in his room, he was trying to hide it from his family, his excuse for not telling me was that he wanted to convert and tell me after two weeks to show me he had not changed as a person. This seemed like the ultimate betrayal to me because he kept saying I was the most important person in his life and yet he did not tell me he was going to go and convert which hurt the most, how could he make a life-changing commitment without talking to me about it?

    The guy I knew and loved changed from being kind, sweet and always putting others before him to someone who allowed his mum and grandfather to beg and plead with him not to do it while he just sat there with a blank expression, I couldn’t believe how selfish he had become. He seemed indifferent to what he was putting his family and me through, I just couldn’t understand it…when I told my family and friends they too were in shock as to the people who knew him would know that he would be the last person that would do something like this.

    He never stopped preaching about the religion to me, trying to make me read up on the religion and watch dvds about the “truth”, I did not know much about the religion which is why he would always be questioning me about what I believed and did I want to end up in hell for eternity? His mum tried everything she could think of to change his mind, always bringing someone to the house to talk to him, myself and his friends also tried in vain to make him learn about his own religion first but he just did not want to know. The sad thing is that I thought we would be together forever, but the person he has changed into is so far removed from how I knew him that I knew deep down I had to let him go. Being with someone for six years is a long time and letting them go because of something like this is hard to accept, I can’t put my feelings into words because there are none to describe what I was going through at that time. I have felt like I cried endless tears throughout the whole situation but my anger has got me through and I am a strong person which is why he didn’t break me and try and convert me too.

    I am telling my story so as to warn others that this does happen, as I believe Muslim friends he knew through playing football influenced him, he was an easily influenced person, which is why I think he was an easy target for them. As his girlfriend I was able to walk away from him, however, his family are still suffering and it is because of this I decided to write this.

    It is a new year and I have now moved on with my life, I would not wish the pain and hurt I have been through on anyone so if I have helped even one person in anyway by writing this then it was definitely worth it.

    3) Male Sikh Student converted at Kings College London but later reverted back to Sikhi

    When I was eighteen I left the security of my old school and parents, and started University with countless others in the same boat. Along with the demands of my course came all the usual traits of University life: new friends, new surroundings and more time to spend how I wished.

    I soon made some friends on my course with whom I began to spend much time. Outside of lectures we would chat casually, but eventually the conversations progressed onto subjects such as my beliefs, and my views on the world and its creation.

    We would spend hours debating what little I knew about Sikhism, but the discourse would always conclude with them belittling me, as I did not have enough knowledge to justify my views. As I had not given much thought to religion before, this confused me greatly, but it also prompted me to start questioning myself, my purpose in life and what I actually believed in.

    Just as the time I spent with my new friends increased, so did the influence of their religion on me. I started friendships with the girls, and began visiting their place of worship and reading their holy book in an attempt to fulfill the questions which they had prompted me to ask myself. I was led to believe that by converting to their faith, I would benefit greatly and enjoy many advantages.

    Despite losing much contact and becoming very distant from my family, I eventually told my parents that I was considering conversion, which upset them greatly. In order to try and answer the questions I had been asking myself, I began reading books on Sikhi. From within that pile of books, I discovered one jewel; Japji Sahib, which answered all the questions that I had been asking myself on the subjects of God, the world’s creation- and more.

    In my halls at University, I was awoken early at amrit vela one morning I started reading Japji Sahib, and did not stop. The state of bliss and peace which I was exposed to was better than any drug, party or club, and completely incomparable to anything which I had come across before.

    From then on, I wanted to experience all the things which I had discovered in Japji Sahib practically. As I had already tried to live the lifestyle as a member of another religion, I now wanted to try and live my life as a true Sikh. I wanted to practice my own faith before deciding on another, as I felt that it was a duty which I owed to my ancestors and all the martyrs in Sikhism.

    Slowly with this intention, every day became a continuous exploration into Sikhism. Inevitably I started spending more time with Gursikhs, which began to enhance my own spirtituality. My ‘friends’ at University had tried to convert me on intellectual grounds, with the only selfish intention that my conversion would benefit them in the hereafter. However, I felt that these attempts at conversion were an unnecessary interference against Divine plans. The sadh sangat which I found through Sikhism not only gave me their time, but also their unconditional love. Guru Granth Sahib Ji states that ‘without this (Sat Sangat), people are stained with filth and pollution.’ (Raag Maajh, Guru Raam Daas Ji, Ang 95.)

    Subsequently I visited the Gurudwara more often, and enjoyed the free food available in the langar regularly! On one particular occasion, the kirtan (singing of Gurbani) which I heard, left me in a state of indescribable shanti (inner peace).

    Eventually, the visits to the Gurudwara became a daily occurrence so that I could fulfill my obligation to do darshan of my Guru; the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Many Gursikhs had encouraged me not to cut my hair, but I only wanted to stop if it was within my own will to do so. However, during the exam period, I had had no need to cut it, and had grown a pony-tail and beard. To my surprise, when the exams finished, I was offered some work over the summer despite my appearance.

    At these crossroads I had the option to either spend money for a dodgy haircut at the barbers, or to tie a dastar as Guru’s roop for the first day of my new job. I did not know which direction to follow, so I went to the Gurudwara. In the presence of Guru Granth Sahib Ji, I felt the Guru’s hand on my head, and started crying; I had never experienced so much pyar. The next day I tied my dastar and went to work. The games of intellect which had been played on my mind a few months before proved to be futile, as I learned that the essential base of religion was simply love.

    4) Female Sikh Student harrassed and intimidated at Luton University by Islamists

    I took one look back at my bedroom, closed my eyes shut and asked waheguru to guide me in the right direction then stepped into the passenger seat of Dad’s car.

    The journey of my first ever day of moving out of my parents house to a life of independence, a life of standing on my own two feet. My heart was pounding with part butterflies in the stomach and part happiness…

    Got to the flat – moved everything in – the second day I was on the phone to my parents crying to bring me back home – That’s one thing probably almost every student does.

    Before I got to Uni I had just discovered the one thing that changed my thinking, my attitude, my way of life for ever – I discovered Sikhism. The A LEVEL in Sikhism was a God send for me. I became attached to reading up on every resource on Sikhism that I could get my hands on: Gurbani reading, History, Stories, shabads.. anything. I became ultimately in love with God, Guru and Sikhism. The last 21 years of my life seemed like nothing up until now. My parents were shocked on my change, but I didn’t realise how I’d been swept off my feet and how hungry I was to meet God.

    So now at university I still continued to research Sikhism. I went to London Society meetings not knowing anyone or anything about them. I went to any local kirtan and was practically at the Gurdwara every other evening to listen to the katha and kirtan.

    I came across just ONE gursikh, not only in my course but within the WHOLE University. I felt as if I was the only Sikh at the uni and this made me feel slightly upset at times. I was used to seeing the group of islamsists walking around the campus and discussing religion, I saw Hindus and Christians but no Sikhs….?

    The next day I was at the Student Union discussing the opening of a Sikh society and filling in paper work. Me and Mr Singh ji (my fellow student) now promoted the new Sikh society to others of the university, there were other Sikhs whom we had not yet met.

    Soon after this the Islamic Society became aware of the new Sikh Society and president (me). From that day on I was receiving hoax calls from unknown numbers and getting indirectly harassed from Muslims who were threatened by the Sikh society.

    We did not retaliate but kept our heads up continuing to make posters and organising regular meetings. With an amazing turnout of 30 Sikh students it was obvious that Guru ji had this all in place well. We were so happy and held a bigger event later in the year. Our posters were continually pulled off the walls, ripped up and either left on the floor or thrown in the bin. But yet we continued producing posters and sticking them up around the campus.

    It got worse when I started getting a black car following me home and to uni every day. It was scary and I had doubts at one point of whether “I should continue what I had started?” But for some reason I felt compelled and even stronger to continue the Sikh Society and build my network. The aim became to unite Sikhs within and around Luton.

    This way the Sikh Society grew and we got more problems with Muslims in Luton. We had threatening emails, Muslims men would come to our Sikh Society meetings and sit at the back in disguise (wearing a kara) observing the content of our discussions. They would attempt to talk to the female youth at the Sikh societies. The Muslim students would frequently stop me after lectures and challenge me to questions and ask me what I found in opening a Sikh society? I just smiled and replied with “I have found my life and my path”.

    I think that at the end it was the unshakable faith which they witnessed within me that scared them and made them want to put their guards up. They would try anything to distract us from the Sikh Society: send Muslim boys and girls to make friendships with us and other members of the Sikh Society but by that time I had already warned others as a caution. They would pester Sikh youth for going out for drinks and parties and say things like “hey sister/brother come to lunch with us- its on me” – notice the words “sister/brother” attempting to sound like they are the same as you. This is yet another tactic used to make you feel like your part of a huge family- their family. They will also try to be too familiar with you another warning signal!

    Obviously during all this happening I did not tell my parents as they would naturally get worried and encourage me to keep out of it all.

    But throughout all this, throughout the three years at Luton University of ups and downs there was a driving force behind us which kept us continuing the sewa that we could. WE DID NOT GIVE UP. I was scared yes, I was harassed, I was followed, I was threatened and confused but we continued the Sikh Society.

    That driving force was perseverance, motivation and most importantly it was the love for Gurbani which grew inside me stronger and stronger just like a fountain over filling with water..

    I think now that we were lucky and I realise that wherever we go in life Guru is with us ‘ang sung’ he always preserves our honour. I met people from all walks of life during my time away, good and bad, that’s something we all go through - its how we maintain ourselves during that time which is important.

    60-70% of all female students who go to study at the University of Luton or Bradford have either returned home converted to Islam or have returned home a different person. It’s so tough to survive the world of conversions and I can proudly say that having returned home after 3 years at Luton uni I did not convert, but returned home stronger. It’s much harder for girls in a way as we can sometimes be vulnerable and those whom lack knowledge on Sikhism are especially weak targets. Having learnt this I self-taught myself and I advise all other young girls and guys to do the same. Every religion is lovely in its own way and we should be open minded to all of them. However before you get taken into another religion or asked questions be prepared, learn about your own faith, dig deep and keep digging like I did until you find your answers! You’ll find a treasure that no other person in the world can offer you.

    5) Female Sikh lacking educational support from Parents and Gurdwaras converts to Islam (source WhyIslam.org)

    First off I just want to start off saying to anybody who might be thinking that I am a fake and pretending to make this story up. That in fact I am not, and I know sikhs will say alot of stuff, and I know my muslim brothers and sisters(some not all) will think inside their head good haha a sikh converted to islam.

    But my conversion is nothing to rub in others face or to discriminate against. I have posted this story for those sikhs who might be thinking about reverting but are not sure or need somebody to relate to. Because I sure know if I had that it would have made things clearer to me earlier.

    I grew up in a very religious sikh family in Canada. Although my parents were not amrit shak they were pretty religious, and so was I. I went to the gudwara regularly did my seva, prayed. But I wasn't a full practicing sikh (i ate meat, cut my hair) but despite that I was more religious then most young sikhs.

    Growing up I absolutly hated muslims. I cannot even begin to emphasize how much i actually did hate them. I hated Islam and everything that it stood for. I use to tell everybody to hate them as well. And it actually worked, my cousins my family friends. I would tell my younger cousins if they ever made friends with a muslim I would kick their ass.

    I picked on young muslim girls who wore Hijjab. I would find muslims online swear at them and at Islam (may allah forgive me). When ever I would have to write a paper it would be on Oppresion of women in Islam, and or how muslims are devil worshippers. My hate for them was extreme I was gonna get a tatoo on my back in arabic writing saying all the muslims are gonna die.

    I think about it now as to why I hated muslims and islam so much and it seems clear to me. I was a proud Sikh Jatt girl, extremley proud. Whenever I would hear about what the guru's had to go through because of the Mongols or that era I'd wanna kill a muslim. I would sit in the gudwara listen to the baba tell stories of the guru's and just get pissed.

    I don't know about gudwara's around the world but in Canada in the langar hall they ususally have so many paintings of muslims killing sikhs and the guru's. So one would sit there and stare at this and be like #%*@#$%%^% while eating their rotti.

    One day I met a Muslim guy at university,and we began going out. I don't know why I even went out with him but I did. Eventually we got married, my parents were okay with it. We Had a really nice wedding. I had already told him that I would die before becoming a muslim, and he was okay with that.

    As I stayed in their home the first few months of my married life. I began to see them as people. They were actually nice people. They never once asked me to convert which surprised me. His father was very religious, I use to often see him praying or having religious talks with my husband.

    Even though I had decided okay maybe muslims are nice..but i was still like hell no Im a Proud Sikh girl, I use to wear my Kara with pride, never ate halal brought my non halal meat for myself.

    One day I was like hmm let me find out what islam is. I began reading about it. found it very interesting. It was nothing like I thought it was. It made so much sense to me. But that wasn't gonna change me being a Sikh.

    One day I asked my husband to have a debate with me about sikhism and islam. My husband never wins debates but he won this one. So i thought maybe im not that knowledgable in sikhism. I began taking classes and studied it day in day out.

    The more I studied it the more I got scared, the fact that Islam might be the right religon shook me. I couldn't give it up, my pride this is who I was a sikh, my anncestors faught to their death so they could keep their faith.

    Here is some of what i learned.....

    Sikhism doesn't believe in prophethood since i was little I asked my mom why did muslims kill our gods?

    Incorrect The Sikh Gurus were prophets, ie. messengers of God, and are not worshipped as Gods. Out of ignorance some people believe that the Sikh Gurus were the incarnation of God or gods themselves. This is totally incorrect. It is very important to understand that in Sikhism God is beyond birth and death. In Japji Sahib, Guru Nanak Dev says that God is ‘Ajooni’, meaning beyond incarnation. The Sikh Gurus were the messengers of God. They were human beings just like you and me yet they were different as they had divine qualities in them. Their bodies were mediums of God’s Light and they were ordained to take birth to deliver God’s message to humanity The Sikh Gurus are still alive in the hearts of their devotees through Gurbani.

    If he was god mom why didn't god kill the muslims ?

    The Gurus were not against any religion; they were against injustice and cruelty. Guru Gobind Singh fought a number of battles in the course of his life against the hill rulers and Mughal rulers for the survival of Sikh Panth and he attained victories in every battle. None of these were in the interest of power or land but for defense and self preservation. The Sikh Gurus were not against anyone or any religion. Their objective was to teach people ‘to live in peace without hatred.’

    My mom's answer was he wanted to show them.. show them what mom? her answer was shut up u ask to many questions! I did further research and found out that this was part of guru's plans if they wanted they could have done magic but did not want to.. sureee okay.

    The Sikh Guru's rejected the use of miracles to win converts, to convince others about their Prophethood or to protect themselves from penalties or calamities. They claimed that the message should speak for itself. The Gurus believed that the use of mystic powers is against the law of nature and it is disobeying God.

    why would god allow mere humans to kill him?

    So god can die?

    If god can't protect himself how is he gonna help me?

    god bleeds like me?

    Then some say they were sent down from the akal purakh to show the way they had a part of god in them. first off thats wrong guru granth says that it denounces prophethood. Secondly if only a part of god is with them then why do we worship his creation why not worship the almighty himself. Thats like saying imma go worship my mom.

    Each and every one of us has a part of God in us, that is called ‘Jyot’ which the Gurus had in them. Firstly, it is fair to say that the Gurus never claimed themselves as gods. Guru Gobind Singh claimed himself the servant of God and the dust below the feet of God. Secondly, God is manifest through His creation. We can not see His Jyot in persons but we can see Him in His creation. All the creation is the image of God. Some examples are given from Gurbani:

    Among all lights, I behold Your Form; all the worlds are Your Maya. Among the tumults and forms, He sits in serene detachment; He bestows His Glance of Grace upon those who are engrossed in the illusion. (GGS, p351)

    Chant, and meditate on the One God, who permeates and pervades the many beings of the whole Universe. God created it, and God spreads through it everywhere. Everywhere I look, I see God. The Perfect Lord is perfectly pervading and permeating the water, the land and the sky; there is no place without Him. (GGS, p782)

    Although God lives everywhere in His creation but Sikhs do not worship His creation such as moon and sun etc. instead worship Akal Purakh in abstract form (Light) by Surt. Sikhs do not worship any idols or statues, but pray to God in abstract form.

    Don't even deny it you know ur parents are sure enough to have pictures of guru Nanak and guru gobind singh ji somewhere in the house. And u know ur parents fold their hand and pray to them.

    It is true that every Sikh has some pictures of the Gurus in their households as they love their Gurus. Everyone keeps pictures of their loved ones in their homes. Sikhs keep the Gurus pictures as they respect them, not worship them.

    When i use to read Nitnama Bani, I use to read passages which said I seek protection under guru gobind singh ji's sword. Guru Gobind singh ji died, if he couldn't protect himself with his own sword i don't think that sword is gonna do much for me or anybody else.

    Guru Gobind Singh was a human being and he came to this world with a mission. At the completion of his mission, God asked him to come back. As far as the protection is concerned, a Sikh is spiritually alive by following the teachings of the Gurus recorded in Guru Granth Sahib. He feels the presence of Guru with him at all times. A Sikh is not scared of worldly death.

    Sikhism is confused about believing in one god. Guru Nanak Dev Ji was the one who said ik onkar (there is 1 god). But Asking my parents and varoius Baba's at the gudwara and even discovering it myself. that in fact Ik onkar means all the guru's are one. Maybe Guru Nanak did mean there is one god but afterwards something happened along the way ?

    Ik Onkar refers to ‘One God’. Guru Nanak Dev claimed that there is only One God who is All-Powerful and self created. He has no associates or opponents like Satan (in Islam). Some people, with little knowledge, may say that Ik Onkar refers to ‘all the Gurus are one’ but it is not true at all. As a matter of fact, the Sikh Gurus had different physical bodies but they all contained one Jyot (spirit). The spirit of Guru Nanak Dev was transmitted to Guru Angad Dev at the time of nomination and he became ‘the Second Nanak’. Similarly, Guru Amardas is called the third Nanak and so on.

    Guru Nanak was a muslim!! Guru Nanak's chola which is kept by a chosen Gursikh family has in arabic the words written on it La illa ilallah muhhamdur rusool allah. It is said he gave it to his followers. There are pictures of it on the internet if you think I am lying.

    Please refer to Q1 in Q&A's

    He went to mecca medina which everybody knows. If u are a muslim u very well know no non-muslims are aloud there. It's strictly for believers only. There is story which says Guru Nanak was sleeping with his feet towards the Kabbah when he arrived at mecca and a man asked him to move his feet. When the man would turn the feet of Guru Nanak his feet would go back in the same place facing the Kabbah. And supposably the man was shocked and thought Guru Nanak was a saint. This story cann't make sense at all!! First off If that were true and Nanak had his feet in the direction of the kabbah they would have killed him no questions asked. Its tottal disrespect, and besides why would he come all that way to do hajj and then disrespect it like that. It just makes no sense. Mecca is an extremly religious place u can't just expect to do that and nothing happen to you. If Guru Nanak thought the Kabbah was nothing then he would not have made the trouble to do pilgrimage there. If he claims there is no hindu no muslims why did he go perform hajj. When you perform Hajj your very lucky if you get some string from the Kabbah which he did and those very strings are in a gudwara in India. I've seen them for myself.

    Guru Nanak Dev visited many places outside India during his missionary tours (Udaasi) to preach the divine message and Mecca is one of them. The objective of his visit has been manipulated by Muslims who connect his visit to Mecca with Hajj (the Muslim pilgrimage). Sikhs totally disagree with the Muslim views as the philosophy of Guru Nanak Dev rejects the ritualistic practices. The Guru recited:

    I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.

    I serve the One Lord, and not any other.

    I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.

    I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there.(GGS, p1136)

    Guru Nanak Dev was against futile rituals of visiting the pilgrimages. It is evident from the verses of Guru Nanak Dev that he did not make it mandatory to make a pilgrim to Mecca for any of the subsequent Gurus. If Guru Nanak Dev favoured Islam as his religion then surely he would have insisted and encouraged others to visit the same pilgrimage. He instead declared that Naam is higher than visiting 68 places of pilgrimages. Some evidences are given from Guru Granth Sahib for clarification:

    Bathe at the sacred shrine of Truth, and sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord. Reflect upon the essence of reality, and lovingly focus your consciousness on the Lord. (GGS, p1030)

    The Sikh Gurus declared that it is futile to visit the pilgrimages when God can be realised in your home-heart. Gurbani affirms

    Bathing at sacred shrines of pilgrimage, filth is not washed off. Religious rituals are all just egotistical displays.(GGS, p890)

    This proves that Guru Nanak Dev did not visit Mecca to pay homage instead his objective was to enlighten people and show them the right path. As visitors, Guru Nanak Dev and Mardana stayed in the city, Mecca where there is no restriction on non-Muslim to stay. The restriction only applies to visit the Kaaba. Mullahs were of the view that God resides in the West towards Kaaba and loves only Muslims. To disprove the fact, at night, he lay down to sleep with his feet facing towards Kaaba. One of the Mullahs (priests) called him a Kafir (non-believer) and asked him, “Why are you sleeping with your feet facing towards Kaaba, the House of Allah?” Guru Nanak Dev politely said, “Turn my feet in the direction in which Allah does not exist”. The Mullah angrily dragged his feet in the opposite direction, and saw the Kaaba moving along with his feet, so that the Guru’s feet were still facing towards it.

    The Qazis and the Mullas crowded round the Guru and asked whether he was a Muslim or a Hindu? The Guru replied that he was neither of the two. Then they asked,” Who is the superior of the two, the Hindu or the Muslim?" The Guru replied,” Without good deeds, both will repent. The superiority lies in deeds and not in mere creeds." The chief priest was a seeker of the Truth and the incident opened his spiritual eyes as he could see God in every direction. He asked for Guru's blessings. The Guru preached him the doctrine of Naam. He then gave him instructions to the priest in the art of true living, to practice to live in His presence day and night and to glorify the Lord and thereby to rub out the dirt of sins from the tablet of the mind. The Mullah requested Guru Nanak Dev to leave something of his and the Guru left his slippers behind. The priest kept his slippers inside Mecca until he was retired. He took them with him back to his village where they still are preserved with his descendants.

    Guru Amar Das changed things. Its believed by many that he changed a lot of guru Nanaks writings around and or added his own thing in.

    Guru Amardas was the ‘third Nanak’. In his third form why would he change the writings of Guru Nanak Dev. He, in fact, contributed 907 hymns of his own to 974 hymns of Guru Nanak Dev and 63 hymns of Guru Angad Dev. He had them bound in Pothis, called Mohan Pothis.

    Why is it all the sikh gods died ?

    As mentioned earlier, the Sikh Gurus were human beings like us. Every human being who takes birth is bound to die one day. There has been a clear misconception right at the start when you claim that the guru’s were ‘gods’. This is totally incorrect. As stated, the Guru’s were not gods or God, but vessels for the light, or jot of God.

    Sikhism and Hinduism very alike. For those who do not already know the geeta has very digusting things in it, hindu's don't like to admit it but Kama sutra is considered religious text. Hindu's are idol worshipers. There are stories of their gods jerking off we dont need to get into detail. Guru Granth praises the Hindu gods, talks about them. Why is this that the guru granth can even have these idol gods and perverted gods in a sikh book. There are passages that talk about hinduism and thier gods and their worships basically not denoucing it saying it too is a way of worship.

    Nowhere in Guru Granth Sahib you would find the praises of Hindu gods. Guru Granth Sahib condemns the idol worship. Many examples can be quoted, such as:

    Those who call a stone their god - their service is useless. The stone does not speak; it does not give anything to anyone. Such religious rituals are useless; such service is fruitless. (GGS, p1160)

    You worship gods and goddesses, but you do not know the Supreme Lord God.(GGS, p332)

    Gurbani says that Hindu gods are deluded by Maya. How can you expect them to save you? To quote Gurbani verses:

    Why worship gods and goddesses, O Siblings of Destiny ? What can we ask of them ? What can they give us ? The stone gods are washed with water, O Siblings of Destiny, but they just sink in the water. (GGS, p637)

    Sikhs believe all religons is a way to god. If this is so then why were the guru's so against islam? I mean wasn't it them wou said follow whatever they are all the path to god ?

    A Sikh trusts in God and feels that God is with him at all times to guide him and protect him. In Sikhism, God is without hatred and fear. God created everyone and loves you no matter what religion you belong to. God’s love is like rain which falls on earth equally. God’s love is for eveyone whether you worship Him or not.

    In contrast, God, in Islam, is described as someone who only likes Muslims so called chosen people. In Islam, God does not like ’non-believers’ or non-Muslims. To God, in Islam, women are inferior who are created to serve men. If you don’t worship God by being a Muslim you will be burn in the fires of hell. Also, if you are not Muslim then you go to hell and it does not matter if you have done good things all your life.

    Sikhs are not against Islam. Sikhs oppose extremism, tranny and oppression which ever source it comes from. During the time of our Gurus, India was under Islamic Mogul rule which exercised extreme oppression and tyranny in its attempts to Isliamise India.

    Then why is it that Sikhs don't allow to cut hair and eat meat and others faiths allow it but they still can go to god ?

    Please refer to Q 10 and Q13 in Q & A's

    Guru's lies, the guru's say that all religons lead to the path of god. If this is so why is it if your not amrit shak (baptized sikh) and did not lead a good life you don't go to heaven, in fact you are re-incarnated and this is an ongoing cycle until u become amrit shak and lead a good life!! So whats with the contradictions. No religon is perfect if so thing contradict with other then they are not the words of god.

    This question can be answered into two parts.

    Firstly, Amrit Chhakna is the name given to the Sikh initiation ceremony. Amrit Chhakna and wearing the five K’s signifies the discipline set by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru. But to become a true Sikh, one has to understand Gurbani and live in accordance with the instructions given by the Sikh Gurus, contained in Guru Granth Sahib. A true Sikh transforms himself internally. He follows the teaching of the Gurus to attain unity with God as he is aware of the fact that human life is precious and rare to obtain.

    Secondly, Sikhism strictly condemns the existence of heaven and hell in the seventh sky; both heaven and hell are imaginary. Desire of salvation or imaginary heaven leads one astray from the objective of loving God and being one with Him. The cycle of life and death comes to an end by performing good Karmas and by the grace of God.(See section on Heaven and Hell in comparison)

    I just want to say to all the sikhs out there that U cannot be mad at the muslims for what happened all those years ago. The ones that are to blame are those mongols who commited the crime. Allah will punish them for what they have done.

    in the quran it says:

    "If someone kills another person,it is as if he had murdered all mankind. And if anyone gives life to another person, it is as if he had given life to all mankind. Our Messengers came to them with Clear Signs but even after that many of them committed outrages in the earth. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 32)

    If that is true then why does it say:

    Know that paradise is under the shade of swords - (Hadith vol4,p55)

    I am with you, give firmness to the believers. I will instil terror into the hearts of the Non-believers: Strike off their heads and strike off their finger tips (Quran 8:12)

    Soon we shall cast terror into the hearts of the Non-believer (Quran 3:151)

    Lo! Allah is the an enemy of the Non-believers (Quran 2:98)

    Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and Allah's religion reigns supreme (Quran 8:40)

    Mohammed is God's Apostle. Those that follow him are ruthless to the Non-believers (Quran 48:29)

    Also think about it u can't force convert anybody. Faith is what is already in you it what u are. If I came to you and said convert to Hinduism or u will die, and u said okay sure.

    Then i leave, how am I suppose to know if u did it from the heart or not u can show something on the outside and be something else on the inside. also in the quran it says that u cannot force anybody to convert allah guides whom he wills and sets astray whom he wills.

    If you say you can’t force convert anyone, then why are there fanatic Muslims out at schools and universities etc, trying to convert innocent children by persuasion and by force? Why are they using all means to brainwash them? Why are they frightening them into embracing Islam? If you say, it says in the Quran you can not force anybody……..Why was there a mass conversion in India during the fifteenth century during the reign of Aurangzeb? Guru Teg Bahadur sacrificed his life to protect the Hindu community at the request of Kashmiri Pandits who were being forced to embrace Islam. The Guru gave up his life to protect the religious freedom of a faith he did not practice. Guru Teg Bahadur was not against any religion but he was against the tyranny of the rulers. He was against spreading religion through war or by force. In fact, he was in favour of freedom to worship according to one’s own belief.

    If there is no compulsion in Islam then why do the Hadith (vol9 p45) say Whoever changes his Islamic religion, then kill him. There are countless contradictions in the Quran.

    I wrote this to show sikhs the truth not to disprespect anybody or hurt anybody. Im very glad allah SWT has shown me the right way Alhamdillah. I pray he opens others heart as he has opened mine. you can't escape the miracles of the quran, there are no miracles in the sikh book.

    I know Ive read it, i've studied it. So i know what im talking about. But the pride away just for a moment and think about what i said. Then everything will become clear to you

    Aaliyah Khan

    CONCLUSION:

    We feel extremely sorry for this girl and wished that she had a good understanding of Sikhism before she chose to convert to Islam. She clearly has not researched her own religion. We believe there are many other children like her who are lacking basic knowledge. We would advise them and their parents to get proper guidance and hope some knowledge can be attained by reading the answers given in this article. For any specific questions please do not hesitate to get in contact with us using the CONTACT link on this website.

    6) Natasha Jalota: Suffering in Silence (Source: Hindu Voice)

    About to start University, I was really excited. This would be a fresh start with new friends and a new beginning. During the first term I was nervous to talk to people, but this would be the only way I could make friends, so I made an effort to be friendly. I joined some societies such as the NHSF (National Hindu Students Forum).

    All the people I met seemed so helpful and friendly. I assumed that this was because they were in the same situation as me, as new students on campus.

    After lectures one Friday an Asian guy approached me. I didn't think anything of it apart from "He's just being friendly". His name was Wasif. We got chatting; he seemed like a nice guy. Even though he was a year older, he was in the first year, because he was re-sitting the year. Wasif gave me his number soon after meeting him and not thinking much of it I also gave him mine. We met up for Lunch on a few occasions; always chatting about usual things like how University was going and whether we've been out anywhere good. So yes we got on really well. But there was nothing more to it. Just like with my other friends, we used to text each other and spoke on the phone once in a while.

    On the whole I had a good first semester. Before I knew it, it was the Christmas holidays. Doesn't time fly! It only felt like I moved to University not long ago and was already on my first vacation. With exams on their way in January, the stress started to pile! University actually started to feel real now. Everyone went home for the Christmas holidays, with loads of revision to do and deadlines to meet.

    Wasif carried on texting me in the holidays. It was just general stuff; "How you doing?" "What you been up to?" "How's revision going?" And so on. So I just replied generally. Soon after that we started speaking more on the phone. Before I knew it he began to call all the time. After a while I started feeling really uncomfortable, because some questions he was asking started becoming a bit personal. I started ignoring some of his calls. It felt as if he wanted to know everything I did. It was really strange. Holidays were nearly over and I was getting a little worried. "Oh my god how do I avoid him during lectures," I thought to myself. It wasn't that I didn't want him as a friend, but just didn't want him calling me every minute.

    University started. The first couple of days were spent settling back in. I didn't see Wasif around much, but then a week or two later suddenly he started texting me to meet up for lunch with him. I sometimes made excuses like "I've got loads of work on", but I couldn't do this forever. When I bumped into him, he would always pester me to come for a drink with him, even though I didn't drink alcohol. Sometimes I said I couldn't make it, but once in a while I got roped into going along. I'm sure he must have known there was something different with me.

    Soon it was March, with my birthday approaching! A few weeks earlier, he asked me what I wanted. I was shocked, because I didn't know him that well that he should get me a present. I just told him "I don't want anything…don't be silly." This ended up in a big discussion, and he said he wanted to talk to me over a drink I just said "Yeh", thinking to myself that a quick chat wouldn't hurt.

    We met up in the evening at about 6ish and started chatting. He was complimenting me on what I was wearing but it was only jeans and a normal top, which is what I usually wear at Uni. The evening flew by and it was nearly 10pm; I couldn't believe how a 'quick' chat turned into something that took a few hours! I told him its time I went back to my flat. Just as I was leaving he said "Hey Nats can I ask you a question", I just replied with "Yep sure," thinking in my mind, "What's wrong, what is this leading to". I was nervous. It felt like he took ages to ask, but that was probably because of me being so worried. He finally said "Nat's I really like you as a friend, we get on really well," and stopped there. I knew there was something strange going on with all the calls and text messages. I said "Yeh I know were good mates", he then stopped me and said "But can we not be more." I was so shocked. Even though I knew it was coming, I still wasn't prepared. I didn't know what to say, so just said, "Hey I better get going it's getting late." He told me to call him later in the night.

    All my way home I was thinking, "Oh my god, what do I say, what do I do, what am I meant to call him about". Just as I reached home, my phone started ringing. I was thinking, "It's not even been half an hour since I left and he's already calling me". I didn't answer the phone. After an hour or so passed. I kept getting calls and messages from him saying "Nats why are you ignoring me?" I did feel bad not giving him a straight answer. I knew it was going to be a definite "NO", but wasn't sure how to let him off lightly. I text him and said "Wasif I'm really sorry but I can't, you're a good mate, but just a mate, sorry". A few days went by, and he kept calling and texting me. Then he asked me what were my reasons for not wanting to be with him. Even though I was frightened I told him the truth. The fact was he was of a different religion. I didn't want to have a relationship with someone from a different religion. That's the way I am. On top of that, my parents and family would be very hurt and disappointed; I couldn't do that for a guy I barely know. Wasif wasn't happy with this, but I was not one to be swayed.

    A few months went by, he was still contacting me loads and sometimes the way he spoke to me was as if he thought we were more then friends. I felt really uncomfortable around him, and didn't want to be round him alone ever. I didn't think my first year of Uni would stress me out so much! But things were soon to get worse, much worse.

    It wasn't too long before the Summer Vacation, and I was relieved to be able to get away from Wasif. He had begun texting me saying "I'm going to have you no matter what, just watch". I was initially worried, but then thought to myself, "How can he have me when I am saying no, obviously he's talking rubbish". But he carried on pestering me. Wasif told me I had to meet him during the holidays, but there was no way I was going to meet him alone". He started threatening me, saying that if I didn't meet him he would find out where I live and come to my house. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How can all this happen just because I didn't want to be with him? I was getting scared of going back to Uni because although I could avoid him over the summer, what happens when I'm back at Uni with him there? Messages kept coming from him, with threats too. One particular message has stuck in my mind. It said "Hey, if you don't have a relationship with me I'm going to tell your parents you're going out with me and I stay over at your flat". I was worried sick and couldn't believe this was happening. Most people look back at Uni as the best days of their life? But for me it was turning the total opposite. He stressed me out so much that it began to show. My family started asking me "What's wrong, why are you so quiet." They noticed that I wasn't eating properly. It was all down to this situation. But I kept quiet about it. I was too afraid to tell them about the nightmare I was going through.

    Back at Uni, I thought that he may have forgotten about it over summer, and I could start afresh. How wrong I was! It was the total opposite. He became more and more aggressive. I was suffering in silence. I didn't tell anyone about this - not even my best mate. People were always asking me what was wrong. I tried to act as normal as I could, but obviously there was a change in me. I became withdrawn and lost focus. I began to loose weight because of the stress I was in.

    This carried on. A few months passed on, and one day, Wasif hit me with a new and even more shocking bombshell. He told me I had to convert to his religion. I was about to die of shock. Convert??? Why??? I would never do this. He brought me some religious books, with titles like "How to be a true Muslim" and so on, and said "You best start reading them." I refused to take them and told him to leave me alone and that being friends with him was the biggest mistake I had ever made. He became really aggressive and forceful. I was very scared and wondered how long this would go on and what I had done to deserve this. I thought to myself "How can this guy who seemed so down to earth and normal have turned out to be a religious fanatic and a psycho?"

    Soon after, he threatened that he would go to my family and show them pictures of him and me together - sexually. I thought to myself "How can he do this, we haven't been together in any other way apart from at Uni". But something came to mind. He was very talented with graphics, including manipulating photographs. I had seen some really good pictures of him with celebrities, that all looked so real, even though they weren't. I couldn't put it past him that he could use the same techniques to make pictures of him and me. Now I was totally scared. What if he carried out his threat? What would my family think of me? What would everybody thing of me? Surely they would think it was somehow my fault.

    Wasif then started asking me to pay him off. "Oh my God - pay him off?" All I did was tell him I didn't want a relationship, are you meant to pay guys off who you don't want to be with? How was I supposed to pay him off? I had a student loan myself and was frequently in overdraft. Surely if I was rich I wouldn't have had to have a student loan or be in overdraft.

    Finally I ended up telling my sister, after nearly two years of going through hell. She told my parents. I was in tears while she was telling them. "I've really let them down", I thought to myself.

    However, my parents were supportive. My fear that they would blame me was unfounded. They told me I had to tell the police because this guy shouldn't be allowed to get away with this. I was very afraid of what he might do and going to the police was the last thing I wanted. But my dad wouldn't take no for an answer. As parents they were obviously doing what they thought was best for me.

    I finally went to the police to resolve this matter. I knew that Wasif would tell them a different story to mine. And yes, that's what happened. He said that it was me who asked him out and that he never asked me to pay him to leave me alone, but rather that he just wanted to borrow some money. After so many interviews we both had different stories, which meant the matter would have to go to court, which I couldn't handle. I just wanted my normal life back. So the police involvement ended there. But since the police became involved, it meant Wasif no longer contacts me in any way. And since then my life has finally changed for the better.

    I know that there are other girls who are going though similar situations. If anyone is suffering or has suffered what I did - speak out. Please don't suffer in silence. If only I spoke sooner I wouldn't have lost my health, peace of mind and the first few years of my Uni, which could have been the best years of my life.