O Sruthi from Kerala, who has written a book titled “Story of a Reversion”, in her interview with The Organiser said that returning to the Sanatan fold was an act of repentance for her. Furthermore, she said they were taught anti-national and anti-Hindu ideas during her learning stint at Maunath-Ul-Islam Sabha.

Sruthi said her brush with Muslim girls at her Muslim management college nine years ago created an inferiority complex towards Hindu Dharma and pushed her towards Islam. Their targeted ideological questioning and degrading Hindu Dharma, made her leave swadharma to study Islam which she did for five years with the help of her Muslim college mates and later Islamic colleagues.

“I studied Islam for five years. I accepted and practised Islam strictly for one year. I offered Namaz and took Roza. My appearance and way of behaviour and everything changed. I turned into a real Muslim woman. In order to be a true Muslim of Iman, there are some regulations to be followed. If Allah has to accept my Namaz and prayers and I had to observe rituals religiously, I had to convert myself legally to Islam, and compulsorily wear the burqa and hijab”, she says.

She enquired about conversion centres through the Internet and with friends. She learned that there were only two legal conversion centres in Kerala; Therbiyathul Islam Sabha in Kozhikode and Maunath-Ul-Islam Sabha in Ponnani. She chose Maunath-ul Islam Sabha in Ponnani for converting to Islam legally as she followed the Sunni way of Islam.

Sruthi pointed out that initially, the Sabha refused to accept her as she was alone. However, later they admitted her after taking away her valuables which were later retrieved by her father with the aid of the police. A girl escorted her to the teacher in the women’s section who Sruthi was very rude while adding she endured it ‘for Allah’. She says she was taken aback by the cruel manner in which the advocates of Islam were behaving with a stranger who had left everything for Islam but she was so deeply influenced by Islam that she decided to continue.

Regarding the teachings in the Islamic organization, Sruthi highlights they were taught an ideology that was against the nation and Hindu Dharma. Furthermore, according to them, Bharat is a land of ‘Kafirs’ and Muslims should reside in nations like Saudi Arabia where Muhammad lived and died. Their teachings included saying vulgar things about Hindu Dharma and culture. Sruthi says their teachings only added to her hatred for Hindu Dharma and increased her liking for Islam.

“I took an oath of spreading knowledge of Islam, Allah, Prophet. I felt that I became more pressed than a believer by then”, Sruthi highlighted. They were taught the five pillars of Islam, the concept of monotheism, the method to perform namaz, and the importance of Roza (Islamic fasting). “My earlier studies on Islam, speeches of Muslim preachers especially Zakir Naik, speeches emphasizing jihad and the classes in conversion centre had turned me into a woman jihadi by then”, Sruthi added.

Her experience with the organization clearly indicates that people are indoctrinated against Hindu Dharma using false claims such as Hindus going to temples and holy places not to pray but for deriving sadistic pleasure.

Explaining how she got out of Maunath-Ul-Islam Sabha, Sruthi says her father had filed a missing complaint as they were unaware of her whereabouts. Her father and brother arrived with the police in Ponnani to take her back. Sruthi, however, was firm in her decision to ‘serve’ Islam and said she would never forsake Islam and fight for Deen and Allah. The police said she would have to appear in court.

Sruthi received encouragement from the Sabha’s Ustad and other members. “Don’t be afraid. Allah, Din and all of us are with you. Go and come back bravely. Your family and Hindus will perform black magic on you. They will try to change your mind. Never give in. Even if they ask you to tie threads sanctified by chants around your wrist, do not agree. Tell the Court firmly that you want to come back here” the Ustad told her.

“Your parents might pretend that they are fainting. There are chances that they may get hospitalized. Come what may don’t budge. Din is before everything else. Allah is the only God. I’ve arranged accommodation for you in my friend’s house when you return. You must come back. It is wise to get married to avoid further complications. A suitable boy for marriage is ready. He has come seeking Din. We will perform the Nikah as soon as you return. Then no one can do any harm”, Sruthi adds quoting what the Ustad told her when she left with the police.

Sruthi says she was taken to Karnataka from the Magistrate’s residence by her parents and Hindu organizations. They wanted her to meet Acharya Manoj ji of Aarsha Vidya Samajam but she decided to fight back. However, her debate with Acharya Manoj was an eye-opener for Sruthi. She understood that because various concepts of Sanatan Dharma that provide the highest knowledge aren’t reaching people across the world, spurious ideologies are winning acceptance.

“As I learnt more about Sanatana Dharma, and the greatness of its originator Sri Parameswara, and the Guruparamparas, I felt culpable, as I had been disgracing God who is so compassionate, so generous, that he always showers and bestows blessings on His children (all creatures) so as to lift them up to His greatness. I had abused Him. He was the same God upon whose thought I had once spat. In a state of religious stupor, I had no sense of what I was doing, thinking, or saying”, Sruthi lamented.

Sruthi became a disciple of Acharya Manoj ji and began atonement (Prayaschitha) as a Sadhika. She rues that most people who have been brought back to Dharma by Aarsha Vidya Samajam don’t attempt to rescue others and keep their experiences under wraps. She decided to use her personal experiences to bring back those misguided people who had converted or were on the verge of converting.

“God has given us such a great Dharma, yet, we are not able to understand its greatness, because we have not learnt and we don’t have a system in place to teach this. This is called Swadhyaya Rahityam (lack of self-study)”, she points out.

“Duties to God, Guruparamparas and Sanatana dharma, duties to great men who enlightened this world, which also includes duties to knowledge, culture, nation and tradition, duties to parents, ancestors, our lineage, duties to humanity extending to individual, family, community, nation and world as well as to species below man in the evolutionary hierarchy like flora and fauna, duties to nature and environment, everything is included in this great vision”, Sruthi says these and several other concepts beneficial to humanity at large are a part of Hindu Dharma alone.

(Featured Image Source: The Organiser)