Assalamu alaykum, Another new member here mashaAllah. I'm Umm Younis, originally from Canada but now living with my husband and son in Birmingham in the UK. I've been Muslim for only 3 1/2 years or so alhamdulillah, so I'm sure there are lots of you with much more experience mashaAllah

. About me, I discovered Islam whilst living in Japan where I was working for a local government organisation. I worked with a Japanese revert sister who really made an impression on me mashaAllah very indirect da'wah but perhaps the most effective?

I'd met loads of Muslims before then, mostly Malaysian or Indonesian, but a few Arabs and Asians here and there as well, but not all were practising, so I'd not really been that impressed until I met the Japanese sister.

Anyway, I worked with her for a year and then she went off to Sudan, so I sought out other sisters, and found a halaqa run by an Egyptian brother where I met sisters from Turkey, Indonesia, and again Japan mashaAllah. Then I came to the UK (after five years in Japan) to do my MA... I'm a qualified Japanese Language teacher mashaAllah. I went to SOAS and it was one of the sisters there who finally took me to Central Mosque to make shahaada, jazaha Allahu khairan. That was just before Ramadhan of 1998.

I got married the following summer and moved to Birmingham to get out of London and all its fitnah and filth... although I do miss the sisters I met there dearly! Alhamdulillah I'm now doing volunteer work as administrator for a newly set-up Muslim primary school... my parents think I should find a paying job but inshaAllah the reward will be greater in Jannah for the work I do now! :-)

I'm also looking for ways to utilise my somewhat rusty Japanese skills, I'm sure there is an outlet somewhere bi'idhnillah... even if I could just meet a Muslim Japanese sister to chat with! :-)

Anyway, that's me in a nutshell... I'm likely to be a pretty silent member (school and home keep me very busy mashaAllah) but I'm always here reading inshaAllah

Wassalamu alaykum

Umm Younis