In the Valley of Tears I am Ibrahim who, for the sake of my family's security, go also by the nickname Timothy Abraham. I am a simple Egyptian from the Delta region. Farms surrounded me from every side with streams of the luxurious Nile River endowing life with fertility. I had a strong Islamic upbringing in my childhood, studying in the village shop for teaching the Quran (al-Kutaab). They taught me to fear God (Allah in Arabic) who created th…

"Born to a Saudi family, in Saudi Arabia, and living very close to Mecca, I grew up with strict principals and traditions of Islam and the Arab culture. As a teenager I went to the mosque five times a day in obedience to my parents. One night, while I was asleep, I had this horrible dream of me being taken into hell. And what I saw there brought me real fear and these dreams kept coming to me almost every night. At this point I was really wonder…

The Story of M A Gabriel The former professor of Islamic history at Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt Disillusioned at Al-Azhar Fifteen years ago I was the imam of a mosque in the city of Giza, Egypt, which is where the famous Egyptian pyramids are located. (Imam of a mosque is a position similar to pastor of a Christian church.) I preached the message of the week on Fridays from 12 to 1 in the afternoon, as well as performed other duties. On…

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…