Interview with a Belgian Convert: Stijn Ismail Ledegen
Stijn Ismail Ledegen, through extensive research, discovered Islam at a young age. His book and speeches have resonated across Europe, and we’ve been following his work online. When he came to Turkey for Erasmus, we couldn’t miss the opportunity to interview him. Our intention is for everyone to learn his story.
We’ve also posted the video version of our interview on our YouTube channel. Before we delve into the article, we extend heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers who helped with the video production. Now, let’s get into Stijn’s story together!
Hello Stijn, could you introduce yourself briefly?
My name is Stijn Ismail Ledegen. I’m 23 years old, studying Law. I came to Turkey for an exchange program, but I usually study at Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium. In my free time, I write articles and occasionally op-eds. I’ve also authored a book, “Through the Eyes of a Convert.” I worked as a political research assistant at the European Parliament. Hopefully, I’ll graduate soon and resume my activities in Belgium. For now, I’m focusing on my studies here.
Why and how did you convert to Islam?
How and why did I become Muslim? This is quite a long section, but let me start from the beginning. When I was 14-15 years old, I was already pondering questions like “Why do we live, and what happens after this life?” But, of course, I grew up in Belgium, a predominantly white, atheist country. I had no Muslim friends; there was nothing about Islam in my life. I was contemplating on my own, thinking that if I’m an atheist and believe in the correctness of atheism, then I should be able to convince everyone of that. Even though I didn’t have a firm belief, I thought I could persuade people to atheism. Because, despite not having any faith, I believed all the bad things in life happened because of religion. If there is a God, why are there wars, why is there poverty, why do people kill each other? I thought all the negative things in life were due to religion.
Believers in Christianity are not as strong in their faith as they used to be. Jews are a closed-off community, making it hard to reach out to them. The people who live their religion the most are Muslims, so I thought to myself: “I’ll attend Islamic classes, not to listen but just to argue.” And I did. Attending Islamic classes was quite fun. After two weeks, the teacher said to me, “Look at Stijn, you’re a really good kid, I like you, but you can’t come back here.” I was surprised and asked, “Why? Did I do something wrong?” He told me that a parent of one of the students in the class had called him. The mother said, “I’m sending my daughter to these classes to learn about Islam, but she comes home talking about a strange kid who speaks badly about Islam. My daughter is starting to believe him.” Of course, I felt very arrogant and proud at that moment. I said, “Exactly, you see, your Islam is not the right path. You’re the teacher, and I’m just a student. Nevertheless, that girl believed what I said.” Just think about it. According to Islam, one of the worst things you can possess is arrogance. For example, Satan was expelled from Paradise because of his arrogance, and he refused to prostrate to Prophet Adam (as).
So, when you’re arrogant, Allah makes you realize that He is the only ruler. I wasn’t a believer back then, for sure. But something happened two or three weeks later. I suffered a major injury. Like many young people at the age of 17-18, football was everything to me. You know, football and playing PlayStation are crucial at that age. So, when I got injured, I was quite depressed.
When everything in your life turns upside down or when you experience a dramatic event like falling into depression or having your heart broken, what do you want? You want to be alone; you don’t want anyone to bother you. But the problem was that, because I had surgery due to my injury, people were visiting me, asking, “How are you, are you okay?” I wanted to be alone and went to Bolivia. Bolivia is a Christian country but one of the poorest in South America.
I noticed that the orphaned children there were happier than all of us. And I wondered, how is this possible? They are so young, they don’t even have parents. And, of course, they see the big cars, football players, and beautiful women, they know what’s happening in the world. I, on the other hand, complain about Wi-Fi and electricity. How is this possible? I asked one of the little children, “What is the secret of your happiness?” The child gave me a simple answer, “It’s easy, God took my dad, God took my mom; I just want to be with Him.” Hearing this was shocking to me because, from my perspective, there was no such thing as religion. When I returned to Belgium, I started to consider that maybe religion could be something positive. In Europe, religion is always seen as something negative. Christians are considered pedophiles, Muslims are terrorists, Jews are thieves… Everything related to religion is deemed bad.
When I returned to Belgium, I started reading the Bible, and for six months, I was genuinely immersed in Christianity. Back then, the term “selfie” was just introduced to society, and everyone was crazy about it. According to Christianity, Christmas is the birthday of Jesus Christ. So, you have to go to church on that day.
Six years ago, when I went to church on Christmas, the priest said to the congregation: “Dear Christians, we should be like a selfie of Jesus Christ, sent by the Almighty God, and should be within God like a selfie of Jesus Christ.” I said to myself, “Wait a minute! God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, a selfie within God…” I was reading the Bible, and these things were not in the Bible. So, I went to the priest and said, “I have a question, Father, I have a question. If we consider all three as God, maybe I can accept this idea, but if all three are God, why do we pray to Mary? Why do we pray to a cross, or to Saint Anthony, or any other saint? If they are not God, why?” The priest responded to me with something many Muslims say these days: “Religion is in the heart of a person. Just believing is enough.”
I think this is a dangerous idea; yes, religion is in the heart, but it should also be in action. Because if I ask you, “Do you know the material for the exam?” and you say yes, you know it. But, in the end, you can’t write anything on the exam paper. Your knowledge should not only be in your mind but also in what you write. That’s why I completely left Christianity.
My conversion to Islam is a bit funny. A few months ago I had left religion, I was partying, chasing girls, drinking… I was doing all the haram things. And there was a guy on my soccer team, an Arab guy. I was friends with him because of a haram. He was a Muslim in name only, he didn’t practice it much. Two days before Ramadan we were going out, we were doing really crazy things that you can’t even imagine. Two days later when Ramadan started, I asked him, “Shall we go next week? We can go again and I’ll reserve a table.” And he said, “No, I can’t do it during Ramadan.” I was so surprised. I was shocked, we were doing this two days before Ramadan, and now it’s haram? I asked him, “Then isn’t it haram outside Ramadan?” But of course he was a Muslim in name only, he had no knowledge. So he couldn’t explain to me what Islam is, why they worship. When I asked him these questions he always said: “Because that’s what my family does. Because my parents are Muslims, that’s what my parents do during Ramadan…” But I was intrigued by the idea of how someone who drinks all year round, hangs out with girls, does everything that is haram, how he stops completely when Ramadan comes. Not for his family, not for money, just for God.
I thought, “There is something in this religion that gives them such strength that they leave everything for the sake of Allah.” As I mentioned, I didn’t have any Muslim friends. I only had one Muslim boy in my school who was two years younger than me, and I used to bully him a bit, so he really hated me a lot. I remember he was very surprised when I asked him questions about Islam, “You? Islam? What do you want to know?” I asked him the classic questions, why do you pray, what kind of religion is Islam… And mashallah he answered everything really well. Then he asked me why don’t you come to the mosque once. Yes, I could have gone to the mosque, that was no problem for me. But at the end of the day I was always making excuses: I’m tired, I want to play Playstation, I’m sick, I can’t come… Finally he said to me, “Look,” he said, “You went to church for six months, you studied so many religions, but when I ask you to come to the mosque just once, you say you can’t, and that hurts me a lot. But for the sake of Allah I will always love you.” I felt really bad, I felt so sad that I decided to go to the mosque just once to make him happy.
The next day I went to the mosque, but I had a plan. I was going to take pictures, so that I could show Muslims that I was studying Islam and they would leave me alone. But of course, as Allah says in the Qur’an, “You make plans, and Allah is the best of planners.” When I went to the mosque, the first person I saw was a man with a long beard, a Sharia type, you know. Of course I was a bit scared. Because I was not used to it at all. The man looked me over: “Assalamu alaikum” and kissed me. It’s a strange thing for Europeans to kiss, so I didn’t expect it at all.
I entered the mosque, took some photos and ten minutes later when I wanted to leave, I heard the adhan. Of course, when the adhan was called, everyone started to go inside to pray. The last person to enter the mosque was my friend from school. He saw me and was surprised. “What are you doing here?” he asked. Of course, I couldn’t tell him that I was in the mosque to study Islam. I told him some lies like, “I wanted to surprise you because I also love you as a brother…” He said, “Wait, I’m going to pray and then we can talk a little bit.” But I told myself that I can’t wait for this prayer thing anymore, so if they are going to pray, I want to leave immediately. But at the same time I told myself no, I have to stay, I can’t be disrespectful.
In every mosque there is a library corner with books. When I walked to the right, I realized that there was such a library and I saw the Quran. I had read some verses from the Quran on the internet before, but I had never held the book in my hands before. Reading is really important. When people ask me “what led you to become a Muslim“, honestly I didn’t need 20 YouTube videos or 20 teachers explaining Islam. Just the Quran itself… Surah Fatiha, this surah is more valuable to me than the whole Bible. It is as if Allah is talking to you… When I read it, my heart was shattered and I really started crying, I started sobbing, it was very interesting. I was looking for Jesus Christ but I found Allah (swt) and that is the conclusion of my story. From that day I decided that Islam is the truth and I will follow it.
What changed in your life when you became a Muslim?
It’s a funny question because my family members also ask me this question, especially at family gatherings. “Are you happy now? Is this what you wanted? Was it to be a Muslim?” I tell them that there is no room for regret in my life as a Muslim. Because if something good happens, alhamdulillah; if something bad happens, alhamdulillah. We know that what happens to us is fate. It is fate, as Allah says in Surat al-Baqara, “It may happen that in something you dislike there is good for you, and it may happen that in something you like there is evil for you. Allah knows, you do not know.” So I have no regrets and that is really a wonderful thing because people in the West, even if they have money, even if they have houses, they cannot buy faith. You see there is so much depression and suicides. At least in Muslim countries it is not as much as in the West. Because we have faith, we have faith in destiny in our minds.
How were your relations with your non-Muslim relatives and friends?
So first of all, let me say that I agree that Islam is not the most popular religion in the world, especially nowadays because it is associated with so many bad things. So when someone becomes a Muslim, especially if it’s someone in your family, the first thing you do is to keep some distance. For example, if I say tomorrow that I am a Hindu, of course the thought will be: “Wait a minute, what do you mean? Where did that come from?” I can understand my family’s reactions a little bit, especially in the beginning, a lot of people felt disappointed, angry. There are some people I don’t see anymore. But with time everything got better. Time heals everything, you know. Now we can sit and talk again like before. And some of them have accepted my being a Muslim in their tongues, if not in their hearts. For example, when I go to a family gathering, they know I don’t drink, they know I don’t eat pork, so they don’t even suggest it. But yes, for some people in my family it is still difficult, but I understand them. So I don’t have a problem with it. As long as they accept me, I am happy.
What advice would you give to other mujtahids?
I think the biggest mistake people make is to be afraid. Because when you are afraid you start doubting and doubt comes from the devil. As soon as you start doubting about anything in your head, you are lost. Don’t be afraid, be yourself and you will see, people will accept you more and respect you. And especially do it from the very beginning. For example, when you enter a new environment, make it clear that you don’t shake hands, that you don’t drink alcohol, for example, and if people understand that from the beginning, they will accept you that way. But if you go along with the majority, if at the end you don’t feel comfortable and you say “I’m not like this“, if you change yourself a little bit, it will be strange for the people around you, they will find it difficult to accept you. Because in the beginning they didn’t know you like this, so I would suggest to those who want to become Muslims, or maybe who are already Muslim in their heart but they can’t tell others: Don’t be afraid, Allah (swt) will help you.
What do you think about Turkiye?
My experience in Turkey… I have been living here for 5 months. I think there is a big difference between culture and religion. Alhamdulillah Turkey is a great country when it comes to food and hospitality. I think it also has an important place in the Islamic world. Also the history; you see that Turkey has an important history from the Ottoman Empire until today. But as I told you, there is a big difference between culture and religion. For example, it’s a really simple thing to say “Selamun aleyküm”, many people don’t even respond by saying “Aleyküm selam”. They answer like, “Hey, hello.” And that’s a small thing, but think about the bigger situations. Praying, for example, is not very common in society. Turkish people are really faithful, I see that. They are really one of the most faithful people. If you ask them “Are you Muslim?”, they immediately say “Alhamdulilah abi, Allah forbid otherwise…” and that’s very good because I see that they really believe, it’s very good. But praying or going to the mosque is quite difficult. So yes, I think the culture sometimes holds them back but religion is definitely present here. Of course we have to be honest, there are a few principles in this society. And the good thing about Turkey is that they keep Islam alive. This is something that makes Turkey different from other countries around it.
Finally, what is your message to Muslims?
My advice is really easy, I lived in the West. Even when I was 16 years old I was doing things that most people in Turkey do when they are 20-23 years old; drinking alcohol, chasing after girls… But honestly I can tell you that whatever you do, it will not benefit you, it will not give you peace; on the contrary, it will create problems and every day you will be more and more disappointed, more and more sad. That is why Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an, in Surah Ra’d: “Know that only in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace.” Because there is no such thing as satisfaction. If you think you will be satisfied with a good car, a girlfriend or a good night out in Taksim, believe me, next week you will forget and you will want to go again. You cannot buy happiness and faith, it is only possible through Islam. Because you can keep your body healthy with food and your mind healthy with work, but you can only feed your soul with religion. So if you don’t have religion, you will never find true peace in life.
