WOMEN IN ISLAM

Obituary: Aminah Assilmi - She led a caravan on the route of faith
Aminah Assilmi, renowned female scholar of Islam died on March 5 in a car accident in Newport, Tennessee while returning from a speaking engagement. She was President of International Union of Muslim Women, the organization that was responsible for persuading the US Postal Service to issue the first postage stamp with an Islamic theme 'Eid Mubarak'. She was 65. Aminah lost touch with several of her relatives and friends when she embraced Islam on May 21, 1977. However, she worked her way to the hearts of all those who had deserted her, eventually all of them converting to Islam.

She was a Southern Baptist girl, a radical feminist, and a broadcast journalist. She was a girl with an unusual calibre, who excelled in school, received scholarships, ran her own business, and was competing with professionals and getting awards - all these while she was going to college. A group of Islamic missionaries who knocked at her door one day introduced her to Islam with a copy of the Holy Quran and a book on Islam. She hated Islam in the beginning and used to find mistakes in the holy scripture in order 'to convince the Muslims of the fake nature of Islam and Prophet Muhammadsaw. But slowly Islam made inroads into her heart till she declared the Shahadah. This resulted in a divorce with her husband and under State laws of Colorado denied her the custody of two little kids. Judge gave her 20 minutes to decide whether she would give up Islam or the kids.
She loved her children very dearly. It is perhaps the worst nightmare that a mother can have: asked to willfully leave her child - not for one day, month, or year, but forever. On the other hand, how could she keep the Truth away from her children and live as a hypocrite? "It was the most painful 20 minutes in my life", she said in an interview. Those of us who are mothers and fathers, especially of young children, little imagination is needed to feel the pain and torment that she must have passed every second in those 20 minutes. What added further to her pain was that according to doctors, she could never bear another child because of certain complications. "I prayed like I had never done before ... I knew that there was no safer place for my children to be than in the hands of Allah. If I denied Him, there would be no way in the future to show my children the wonders of being with Allah."

She decided to retain Islam. Her two dear children - one little boy and one little girl - were taken away from her and given to her ex-husband.

Aminah Assilimi later fought back and took her case to the media. Although she did not get custody of her children again, a change was made in the Colorado law that one cannot be denied child custody on the basis of his or her religion.

Aminah kept touch with everyone in the family even though they hated her or detested her decision to embrace Islam. She would keep sending them cards on various occasions with a few quotes from the Quran. First to accept Islam among them was her grandmother, at 100, who died soon after conversion to Islam. Next to join her faith was her father who had loaded his double barreled shotgun to kill her when he first heard the news of her entering Islam. Her mother too entered the fold of Islam a few years later. Curiously, both her father and mother were Muslims for at least two years, without each one knowing of other also being a Muslim. Her son, upon becoming adult, accepted Islam. When he turned 21, he called her and said that he wanted to become a Muslim.
Sixteen years after the divorce, her ex-husband also accepted Islam. He said that he had been watching her for 16 years and wanted his daughter to have the same religion that she had. He came to her and apologized for what he had done. He was a very nice gentlemen and Assilimi had forgiven him long ago.

Perhaps the greatest reward for her was yet to come. Assilmi later married another person, and despite the doctors' verdict that she could never conceive another child, Allah blessed her with a beautiful boy. If Allahswt makes a gift to someone, who can prevent Him? It was truly a wonderful blessing from Allahswt, and so she named him "Barakah"

She lost her job because of wearing hijab. She was later appointed the President of the International Union of Muslim Women. She used to deliver lectures nationwide and was on high demand.

She is survived by her daughter Amber, and sons, Whitney and Mohammad, as well as by several grandchildren.

(abridged from www.iumw.org)