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April - June 2003, Other

Finding God in Texas

By Juan Galvan

During high school, my strong belief in Christianity was shaken when a friend told me that the Holy Trinity did not exist and that Jesus was not God. “He’s wrong,” I told myself. Jesus has to be God because God and humanity were disconnected when Adam and Eve committed original sin. Reasoning later, I thought that God has sent the only son whom he has forgiven because of the great love he has for us. God is the only one who forgives and that is why Jesus has to be God. I had the Bible references with me so I could defend my belief. Being a devout Catholic I read almost the entire Bible. During high school, he led conferences, helped in church, was a Eucharistic clergyman, church Bible teacher, and godfather to a nephew and niece.

I am a Mexican-American who comes from a modest family. I spent my teens and puberty years in very small cities in North Texas, such as Quitaque, Turky, Lakeview, and Memphis. These cities are so small that none have a mall, a movie theater, or a McDonalds. The city of Memphis, located in Texas, has a population of 2,300 and is said to be the cotton capital of the world. In this city, if the siren of the fire department or a police car is heard, it is because your neighbor’s house is on fire or because your neighbor was arrested. That’s how small the city of Memphis is. Growing up in such small cities gave me a greater appreciation for the concept of God’s creation.

I graduated in 1994 from Memphis High School, went to Texas Tech University, and graduated with a Bachelor of Information Systems Administration from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001. Not bad for a kid I come from. a city so small that summers during high school were spent picking cotton and during high school sold clothes and school supplies. My dad was a cotton expert. Now, he works in the cleaning department at a high school in Pampa, Texas. I have 8 siblings, in 2000 my 17-year-old sister died in a car accident.

I have always respected other religions. He often went to other churches and attended Bible study groups. In one such group, I told my friend Chris that I was a Catholic and he deliberately replied that Catholicism was a “false doctrine.” As you can imagine, I defended my religion tooth and nail. Chris accused me of venerating the Virgin Mary, the Saints, and the Pope, I replied that Catholics only respect and adore them, they do not venerate them. Around this same season, I came across a person who was praying. His knees, hands, and forehead touched the floor; he was barefoot. When he finished, I introduced myself to him. He told me that his name was Armando and that he was Muslim. Right away I thought: Let’s see, dude, you’re a Muslim. You cannot be Muslim. What is this Latino doing praying to Al-lah1? Later he told me that Spain was a Muslim colony for approximately 700 years and that thousands of words in Spanish come from Arabic. Some ancient mosques with engravings of the text of the Qur’an have been found in Cuba, Mexico, Texas, and Nevada. But the most important thing was that Armando explained the religion of Islam to me. I began to realize that my adoration of the Virgin Mary and the Saints was more than just adoration. Chris was right. Yet we were both worshiping Jesus. Armando stressed that Jesus was only a Prophet for Muslims and that nothing and no one is worthy of being venerated more than Allah. Some ancient mosques with engravings of the text of the Qur’an have been found in Cuba, Mexico, Texas, and Nevada. But the most important thing was that Armando explained the religion of Islam to me. I began to realize that my adoration of the Virgin Mary and the Saints was more than just adoration. Chris was right. Yet we were both worshiping Jesus. Armando stressed that Jesus was only a Prophet for Muslims and that nothing and no one is worthy of being venerated more than Allah. Some ancient mosques with engravings of the text of the Qur’an have been found in Cuba, Mexico, Texas, and Nevada. But the most important thing was that Armando explained the religion of Islam to me. I began to realize that my adoration of the Virgin Mary and the Saints was more than just adoration. Chris was right. Yet we were both worshiping Jesus. Armando stressed that Jesus was only a Prophet for Muslims and that nothing and no one is worthy of being venerated more than Allah.

Many of my questions became clearer. What is the purpose of life? How is it that the Father can be the Son at the same time? Why can’t God forgive whoever he wants to? What happens if a baby dies before being baptized? In the Koran (Sura 5:83) Allah says: “and when they hear (in this case the Christians) what was revealed to the messenger (Mohammed) you see their eyes shed tears, when they know the truth and they say: Lord Ours! We believed. Enroll us among those who testify (who testify to the truth of the Qur’an.) “

Truly, my eyes filled with tears when I read that verse. Even so, I did not accept the religion of Islam until three years later, because I did not want to change. It is a continuous fight against everyone, daily, and everywhere. We strive to achieve what is most important to ourselves. By taking Islam, we tell Allah that he is the most important and that we are prepared to fight for what is right and to avoid what is wrong. I am a Mexican-American Muslim.