US mayor converts to Islam

[Mrmuslim]

The Associated PressPublished: February 2, 2007
http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:VfWhWOCjkqWFqM:http://www.mga-

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/02/america/NA-GEN-US-Mayor-Islam.php


MACON, Georgia: Macon Mayor Jack Ellis has converted to Islam and is now working to legally change his name to Hakim Mansour Ellis.

Ellis, who was raised Christian, said Thursday that he became a Sunni Muslim during a December ceremony in the west African nation of Senegal.

"You do it because it feels right," said Ellis. "To me it's no big deal. But people like to know what you believe in. And this is what I believe in."

Ellis said he has been studying the Quran for years and that his new religion was originally practiced by his ancestors before they were brought to North America as slaves.

At the request of his two of his daughters, Ellis said he will keep his last name the same.
Ellis has not ruled out future runs for elected office after his term expires this year. But he said he had not made any calculations for how his religious conversion might affect him politically. He said he is an American first and is proud to live in a country founded on religious freedom.

In January Rep. Keith Ellison took office as the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress. The Michigan Democrat was born in Detroit and converted to Islam while in college.

Ellis said Muslims should not be painted with a broad brush simply because of a few radicals.

"If anybody wants to know about Islam, I can hold an intelligent conversation," Ellis said. "What I've found is how little we know about the religion."

[stranger786]

The Associated PressPublished: February 2, 2007
http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:VfWhWOCjkqWFqM:http://www.mga-
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/02/america/NA-GEN-US-Mayor-Islam.php
MACON, Georgia: Macon Mayor Jack Ellis has converted to Islam and is now working to legally change his name to Hakim Mansour Ellis.
Ellis, who was raised Christian, said Thursday that he became a Sunni Muslim during a December ceremony in the west African nation of Senegal.
"You do it because it feels right," said Ellis. "To me it's no big deal. But people like to know what you believe in. And this is what I believe in."
Ellis said he has been studying the Quran for years and that his new religion was originally practiced by his ancestors before they were brought to North America as slaves.
At the request of his two of his daughters, Ellis said he will keep his last name the same.
Ellis has not ruled out future runs for elected office after his term expires this year. But he said he had not made any calculations for how his religious conversion might affect him politically. He said he is an American first and is proud to live in a country founded on religious freedom.
In January Rep. Keith Ellison took office as the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress. The Michigan Democrat was born in Detroit and converted to Islam while in college.
Ellis said Muslims should not be painted with a broad brush simply because of a few radicals.
"If anybody wants to know about Islam, I can hold an intelligent conversation," Ellis said. "What I've found is how little we know about the
religion."

mashAllah.........
:muslim_child: :muslim_child: :muslim_child: :muslim_child: :muslim_child:

[Abdul Hasib]

Mashallah. :muslim_child: :SMILY346: :SMILY149: :jumpclap:

Yeah before it was the Isrealis in plotics and now Islam is starting to be part in it.:SMILY335:

[Nazihah]

:ma:

Hopefully the understanding of the True Islam will be widen in the U.S.

Thnx for sharing this beautiful news.

Jazakallahu Khair.

[faizkh65]

It is wonderful to hear officials converting to Islam. Please there is one Islam, and one name, Muslims... for God's sakes, refrain from using, shiite muslim or sunni muslim... lets be original can we? and simple, lets be just muslims... thank u

[nafeesa]

salaam alaykum
Masha Allah, its a good news ,May Allah guide other brothers and sisters with him ,Ameen.

Salaam Alaykum

[alisenay]

Brother and sister, first of all i am sorry that my english is not enough well to be able to explain excatly what i want, so i will try to do my best.
i need help...
if anyone can help me i would be pleasure..
well,i am a muslim, i am married and my wife is not muslim...i often watch the stories about convert people to islam,but usually most of them are in english language..i need some video which is in russian language. I really want to make my wife to watch them, but because of language i cant do it...so if anyone has such video in russian , i greatly ask to put here ..may Allah help us..pls keep us in your prays as weel

[Mrmuslim]

salaam alikom
Brother,

The best thing if you can give her Quran to read and have some lectures about Islam in Russian this way she know the Islam first before she watch any videos.

If you need lectures and books in Russian let us know and I am sure all the member of TTI will help you,

Jazaak Allah Khyran and May Allah guide your wife inshallah.


wa salaam alikom

[LoveIslam]

:bismillah:
assaalamualakum us mayor converts to islam :ma::ma: may ALLAH guide all us on right path Aamen
:jazaak: for sharing
:wasalam: :hijabi:

[NewMuslim]

As Salaamu Alaykum
Masha'Allah wa SubhanAllah!

[basheerpkm]

:salam2:
Brother and sister, first of all i am sorry that my english is not enough well to be able to explain excatly what i want, so i will try to do my best.
i need help...
if anyone can help me i would be pleasure..
well,i am a muslim, i am married and my wife is not muslim...i often watch the stories about convert people to islam,but usually most of them are in english language..i need some video which is in russian language. I really want to make my wife to watch them, but because of language i cant do it...so if anyone has such video in russian , i greatly ask to put here ..may Allah help us..pls keep us in your prays as weel
brother, assalamualikkum,
May our members can help you :)
:wasalam:

[Kayote]

Salam, thankyou for sharing this. MashaAllah thats wonderful news & its always a wonderful feeling to read of new reverts. May Allah give us all the strength.

Salam

[abdulione]

http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=46513

[w.alzaher]

jazakAllah khaer brother .......

[Globalpeace]

Asslamo Allaikum,

Masha'allah; I am wondering as to why none of the Islamic organisations in the US have confirmed this? Interviews etc.?

[BintMuhammad]

Asslamo Allaikum,

Masha'allah; I am wondering as to why none of the Islamic organisations in the US have confirmed this? Interviews etc.?

Well what else could be the reason? Ofcourse they're ashamed of that and that would make a very big impact on a lot of people to find out one of their officials actually embraced Islam. May Allaah swt make the number of Muslims even more numerous ameen.

[Mrmuslim]

salaam alikom

They did confirmed it and CAIR did published in the daily email send by CAIR
its been in news papers all over but the MEDIA will cover it ofcourse and wont show it on news..!.

jazaakom Allah khair

salaam alikom

[BintMuhammad]

Well what else could be the reason? Ofcourse they're ashamed of that and that would make a very big impact on a lot of people to find out one of their officials actually embraced Islam. May Allaah swt make the number of Muslims even more numerous ameen.


Oops..I'm sorry I thought you were referring to the media and the government.

[Globalpeace]

Asslamo Allaikum Brother & Sister,

You have both answered my question.

[Mrmuslim]

By Matt Barnwell
TELEGRAPH STAFF WRITER

The Middle Eastern television network Al-Jazeera was in Macon on Tuesday for a lengthy interview with Mayor Jack Ellis, discussing his time in office and recent conversion to Islam.

A Washington, D.C.-based crew from the network's recently launched English-language channel sat for two hours with Ellis behind his closed office doors. They later took a stroll down Poplar Street with the mayor to capture his interaction with city residents.

"Al-Jazeera finds this a fascinating story because it celebrates the diversity - racial, religious, certainly cultural and ethnically - that the United States stands for," said Viviana Hurtado, the network's North American correspondent who interviewed Ellis. "It is a story about tolerance and about diversity in all of its incarnations."

Ellis, who was raised as a Christian, late last week said he had become a Sunni Muslim during a December ceremony in Senegal, a country on the western coast of Africa. He is working to legally change his name to Hakim Mansour Ellis, keeping his last name at the request of two daughters.

Al-Jazeera English hit the airwaves in November as the first English language news channel headquartered in the Middle East. It has broadcast centers in Qatar, where it's parent network is based, as well as Malaysia, London and Washington, D.C. The network, whose content is delivered to subscribers by satellite, claims 80 million viewers worldwide.

At this point, Al-Jazeera English is not nearly as widespread in the United States as are American-based, 24-hour-news channels CNN, Fox News or MSNBC. Al-Jazeera gained some notoriety in the United States following the Sept. 11 terror attacks, when the television station began broadcasting tapes produced by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Hurtado said in addition to U.S. subscribers, viewers in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East will watch her interview with Ellis. She would not specifically say when it would air, other than "soon."

The mayor has in the past month started attending Friday prayers at the Macon Islamic Center. Ellis has said his conversion - which he also calls a "reversion," because Islam was practiced by his West African ancestors - was not undertaken lightly, and came after years of studying the Quran.

Tuesday, he reiterated his belief that Christianity is compatible with Islam.

"Christ was one of the prophets. Muhammad, peace be upon him, was the last prophet," Ellis said.

He also continued efforts to make clear that he was an American first, citing his status as a Vietnam veteran. It is "beyond the pale" he said, to question his patriotism.

Ellis said his office has received more than 5,000 e-mails from around the world since his conversion was made public. Most of them are encouraging, he said, although some from the Middle Georgia area have not been as positive.

A glance at a few of the e-mails reveals their range in tone: One writer from Colorado simply states, "Get out of my country." Another from Sweden begs Allah to bless Ellis, before offering paragraphs of encouragement.

Around noon Tuesday, Ellis, with Al-Jazeera camera crew in tow, stopped in at Edenz Vegetarian Restaurant on Poplar Street. The network's intent was to capture the mayor among his constituents.

An older couple finishing their meal reacted with some surprise as reporters crowded into the small dining space. Still, the woman seated at the table gamely carried on a conversation with Ellis about having to stockpile wood in their younger days to heat their homes.

Said her male dining companion afterward: "Al-Jazeera, huh? That's interesting." The couple declined to give their names, expressing hope they would not appear in the televised segment.

The mayor said he considers his decision to switch religions a personal one, although he recognizes the public interest it generates because he is an elected official.

He compared the attention his conversion has drawn to the national media focus that turned to Macon when former Atlanta Braves pitcher and Macon native John Rocker made disparaging comments to a reporter about minorities and homosexuals.

Interest in Ellis' conversion did not appear to be fading Tuesday. Fox News has requested interview time, city officials said, and Ellis said The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has asked him to write a piece for the newspaper's opinion pages.


To contact Matt Barnwell, call 744-4251.

[khir al-syazwan]

Assalamualaikum. alhamdulillah. new brother from day to day

[dianne]

Salam,

Thanks for sharing.

Wassalam

[Abdi Alfattah]

Brother and sister, first of all i am sorry that my english is not enough well to be able to explain excatly what i want, so i will try to do my best.
i need help...
if anyone can help me i would be pleasure..
well,i am a muslim, i am married and my wife is not muslim...i often watch the stories about convert people to islam,but usually most of them are in english language..i need some video which is in russian language. I really want to make my wife to watch them, but because of language i cant do it...so if anyone has such video in russian , i greatly ask to put here ..may Allah help us..pls keep us in your prays as weel

brother, why don't you take a look on kavkaz, i belive they have some Islam stoff in Russian.
try it bro, and I will aslo pm you the link, insha allah.

www.kavkazcenter.com

wasalaam

[BrotherZak]

MACON, Georgia — The mayor of Macon in the American state of Georgia, a practicing Christian, has reverted to Islam, saying he went back to his roots after years of soul-searching.
"Why does one become a Christian? You do it because it feels right. . . . To me, it’s no big deal. But people like to know what you believe in," Jack Ellis, who changed his name to Hakim Mansour Ellis, was quoted as saying Saturday, February 3, by the American Boston Herald newspaper.

Ellis noted that he studied the Noble Qur'an for years and found his destination in Islam following a trip to the African country of Senegal, saying that his new religion was practiced by his ancestors before they were brought to North America as slaves.

"I did revert to Islam in December of this past year in the country of Senegal," he said in statements carried Saturday by WMAZ-TV, a local television in the City of Columbia, South Carolina.

The father-of-five said he started praying five times a day and regularly frequents the Islamic Center on Bloomfield Road, proud of religious freedom in the United States.

He said although he reverted to Islam, he does not rank religions.

"I'm not saying that one is better than the other," Ellis said.

"We do believe that the prophet Muhammad was the last prophet as well as we believe Moses was a prophet," Ellis added.

Born on January 6, 1946 in Macon, Ellis holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from St. Leo College in Florida.

According to his website, Ellis served two years of combat duty in Vietnam as a paratrooper platoon sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division.

He was awarded three Bronze Stars, the Army Commendation Medal for Valor and Heroism, and the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat.

Ellis will complete his second consecutive four-year term, as a mayor of Macon, in December and isn't eligible for re-election. But he said he might run for Georgia's 8th District congressional seat in 2008.

Ellis was first sworn in as Mayor of Macon on December 14, 1999 becoming the first black Mayor in the city’s 176-year history.

He is the 40th mayor of Macon and currently serving his second term.

Back to Roots


Ellis has made Macon one of the most viable cities across the United States.
Ellis said felt home when he accepted Islam.

"I went back to my roots I guess you could say," he said.

He said that although his reversion is a personnel affair, it is the right of voters, as long as he is a public figure, to know his decision.

"It's a personal decision, a private decision as to how one worships. But I do understand that I'm not a private person," Ellis said.

"But being the mayor of the city, I think people have a right to know what I believe in, that I am a man of faith, and the faith I'm now a part of is the faith of Islam," he added.

Voters reelected Ellis as he made Macon one of the most livable cities in America.

He used his Federal and State grants to assist the youth in job training, mentoring, tutoring, after-school programs and crime reduction programs.

He built over forty affordable houses marketed to first time homebuyers.

Ellish is presently constructing hundreds of affordable and market-rate houses in the Beall’s Hill area, according to his website.

"Now, I'm sharing with my broader family, the Macon community who supported me when I was a Christian and trust that they will now," Ellis said.

"I'm the same person even though I'll be changing my name," he added.

[Zarra]

Alhamdilah. I love hearing stories like this. Jazakallah, brother!