From Islam to the Catholic Church: A Turkish woman shares her story of faith

Born 61 years ago to a Muslim family in Turkey, Belkız was the first daughter after two sons. As a child, she went to the mosque and read the Quran in Arabic, but she says she didn’t understand it. After reading materialistic philosophy books in her youth, she became an atheist at age 15.

Belkız (whose last name is withheld for privacy reasons) told EWTN News’ Arabic-language news agency ACI Mena that after graduating from university she became a literature teacher and read books constantly. At the age of 28, she read Turan Dursun’s book This is religion. (Dursun, a former Shia Muslim and scholar who became an atheist, was murdered because of what he wrote about Islam and religion. His book criticizes religious books, primarily the Quran.)

Belkız couldn’t believe what he was reading, so he bought a Quran in Turkish and read it. Then, with the Bible, the following happened: she bought one at the Smyrna Book Fair and was invited to watch a film in a Protestant church about the life of Jesus based on the Gospel of Luke.

Watching the movie completely changed the way he thought about God. The biblical story that moved her the most was the prayer of the publican and the Pharisee in the Temple. Here she saw his own sin. Because she, like the Pharisee, was so sure of her own righteousness that she experienced her first shame before God. “Love your enemies” she became her guide. At the end of the film, Belkız prayed with all her heart: “Lord, please come into my life, I leave my life in your hands, do with me whatever you want.”

After that, he went to the Protestant church every Sunday, read the Bible regularly, and always attended prayer meetings. She was baptized and lived happily in a living relationship with God.

Then one Sunday during a church service in 2005, a young person who was eating bread and wine at the Lord’s table took the bread, put the crust in his mouth, and pressed the inside of the bread in the palm of his hand. When Belkız saw this, she felt uncomfortable because she felt as if the Lord’s body had been wounded. She talked to a Protestant friend about it. The latter indicated to her that she was fine because “it is really not the body of the Lord, we do it in memory; Catholics really believe it is the body of Christ.”

After that, she sought out the Catholic Church and has been Catholic ever since.

After taking Catechism classes, she was confirmed as Catholic on April 25, 2011 and changed the religion on her birth certificate from Muslim to Christian.

“I didn’t choose God, He chose me. What impresses me most about Christianity is the infinite love of the Lord Jesus for us. I have found my best friend and my most beautiful lover,” Belkız said.

When asked if she was afraid of persecution as a Christian, she smiled: “When Jesus was betrayed, his disciple Peter denied Jesus three times. Because she was afraid. But Peter himself, after receiving the Holy Spirit, spread the Gospel from Jerusalem to Italy and when he was going to be crucified, he said, ‘I am not worthy to die, Lord,’ and he was crucified (in reverse).”

Belkız also assured that he has gained a lot in his journey of faith through the Bible: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5:22-23).

“God offers us all a treasure. All we have to do is accept it. And God demonstrates his love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us “(Rom 5,8)”, Belkız added.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in ACI Mena.