Testimony of Tania - A Druze from Lebanon I grew up in a happy home but I do not remember being happy.  My parents had always provided me with everything I needed however I never felt happy or satisfied.  The most striking memory from my childhood was of me lying in my bed in the middle of the night and crying because I wanted to go home.  I was very confused at that time because I didn’t understand why I felt so out of pla…

Walid's Testimony My name is Walid. I was born in Bethlehem, Israel. On the day that I was born it was one of the holiest days to Islam, the birthday of the Muslim prophet Mohammad (Al-Mauled Al-Nabawi). This was an honor to my father. For that, he named me Walid which relates to the Arabic word (Mauled) and in English (The Birth) to always remember the birthday of the Muslim prophet. My father was a Palestinian Muslim who taught English and I…

The Testimony of Hilda From Beirut I was born in Beirut in 1965. When I was 9, the war started, and with it, the long devastating years of all the Lebanese started. With this war, and my house in the midst of demarcation line, questions began to haunt me day and night. Is this life? Death was our daily bread, tears and destruction everywhere. My parents, being from Christian background, could not answer my questions as they themselves did…

  I grew up with my grandparents in a devout Muslim home. From a very early age I practiced fasting in Ramadan and on the Islamic holy days, read namaaz daily and read my Quran, even memorizing large parts. Because we lived in South Africa which was under apartheid in those years, we were “non-white” and classed as Indians/Asians. As a result of apartheid we were not allowed to go to a school or college of our choice and were forced to attend sc…