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My Car-Buying Experience; And how I was converted to Islam
Topic Started: Mar 2 2013, 04:44 PM (688 Views)
Nubi
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My Car-Buying Experience
And how I was converted to Islam..... NOT.

Background: When I first created RPG-Zone (the forums before Heroes of the Net) I was very young and very much Christian preaching. Setoshin and I would go round and round! Was fun. Today, I have respect for religion, but identify with none and have not studied much of any. - I recently murdered a deer with my 98 Cavalier on my way home from visiting Morgan/Rin and needed a new vehicle. Yes, deer go prancing around along the highways.

Saturday - February 23rd
I get a ride to a nearby city from my friend to check out cars. There is one dealership that had a car I was interested in AND I was preapproved for a loan for said car. The lot was covered in snow and a few men are standing outside digging out the vehicles. They're loud and yelling at each other - but in a friendly sort of way. They are also of varied ethnicity. My friend and I go into the dealership and I ask to look at the 2004 Suzuki Aerio. That was the first and last time my friend stepped foot inside the dealership - he said it gave him bad vibes. The place was run by a family of Muslims and they were very... forward and friendly, but kind of distracted and doing five things at once. I understood how my friend could get strange vibes from the place. I initially felt them as well.

In any case, I coerce my car-savvy friend into test driving the Suzuki. It checks out, except for the radiator leaking. I go back into the dealership, alone, and put $200 down and they agree that the car will be inspected and the radiator looked at by a mechanic. I get papers from them so I can finalize the loan. However, this simple exchange took awhile. I was offered Middle Eastern soup, told to sit (in a polite friendly way), asked if I was married by one fellow (in which the older man said: "No! She is much to young! She is not engaged.") I confirmed I was not. "So who brought you here?!" (They speak with enthusiasm) I explain it was my coworker (who at this point has been waiting in his car).

Minutes later, as the dealer is getting my papers ready: talk about cops, about travel, ask where I am from, about how cops are out to stop anyone because cities need money, etc etc. I finally get out of there with my papers! Friendly folk, though.

Thursday - February 28th
A different friend drives me back to the dealership to pick up the Suzuki. He leaves me there while he runs errands. It's about 6pm when I walk in. The dealer greets me and I give him the money for the vehicle. The radiator has been completely replaced. A mechanic is inspecting it at that moment. Middle of the transaction the dealer gets up and goes into the back room to pray with some of (what I assume to be) his family. The TV is on in the room I am in and set to a live recording of pilgrims praying at the Mecca. Despite the fact he wordlessly left me sitting there I can respect religious duties, I suppose. But after a few minutes the phone rings and the dealer rushes out to answer it. *facepalm*

Back to business! While he slowly works through some paperwork we talk about where I am from and where I live. He says: "You have this European intelligence about you. Where are you from?" I'm from New Hampshire, blah blah blah. "I knew it! You are very intelligent, Sarah. You are not like the people from around Macon. They are backward people. I don't say that to put anyone down, but you are different." Macon being the small town I live in. And so, because I am intelligent, he continues on. "You are intelligent Sarah. Do you know about Allah? We are Muslims. We were praying back there, praying to Allah - to God." This man's face lit up in earnest as he spoke about God. He said "There is One True God. Only one. We worship only Him and no one else. There is no son, no daughter, no wife, no cousin of God. We worship only Him and He created all things." He was very passionate and, I believe, sincere. However, he did take unnecessary stabs at Christianity and Jesus. Because in Islam, there is ONLY God. He said: "God is not like a human. He does not have children, he does not use the bathroom."

Annnnd suddenly I'm holding the Quran. "Do you know what this is? This is the Quran. It is..." something about being an awesome book. I read a few pages as he gets papers ready and talks. "Islam is a intelligent religion for intelligent people. People like you. I wouldn't waste my breath if I didn't think you should know about it. You are a very intelligent girl, Sarah. Islam is an easy religion, it is common sense, anyone can pick it up. You don't have to go through strange rituals like other religions to be Islamic. It is a very misunderstood religion." I hand him the book back. My cellphone rings - praise Allah - and it is my friend wondering if I am done so we can get dinner. Dealer estimates 5-10 minutes.

When it is all said and done... he offers to add four pamphlets to my packet of papers. Which I accept. And he says how Islam respects women and treats them well, like queens! How around here people treat women badly and without respect. And I refrain with all my might from going into a "This whole fucking world is so fucking genderized!" rant. I refrained.


I feel like there was a failed attempt at brainwashing. Or that I should have been more assertive and said I wasn't interested in adopting a religion. How would you have handled this situation? (Note: I NEEDED a vehicle and didn't want to insult him.)


TL;DR - I'm intelligent and I got a car.
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Rinny
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Lost in the dark scary part of my mind

Oh dear God. (Irony of that statement noted.) I couldn't stop laughing. That's hilarious, in my opinion. And I most likely would have handled it the same way, though I probably wouldn't have been able to help a couple of sarcastic comments about religion in general. I'd also have been tempted to debate with him on technicalities from his religion. But, I think you did fine. Great forbearance, considering how you feel about religion overall. And hey, you got the car. Is it yellow? Name it lemon and rant to Allah about life. ^.^
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Nubi
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I'm not sure how I feel about naming my car lemon... Considering how the word lemon can relate to a vehicle. But it is yellow!

Posted Image

So, I'm thinking of taking my collection of pamphlets and leaving them on my dad's desk at work (he's very Christian). And with them a note that says something along the lines of: "Hi Dad, my car dealer converted me to Islam. I wanted to share with you the glory of the One True God, Allah! Love, Sarah." Just to mess with him. And maybe put "Just kidding!" somewhere in there, so I don't get bitched at later on.

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soul of sin
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Royal Deity

bahahahahaha. It's been a while since I've heard a good "someone tried to convert me" story. I would have handled it differently, probably by interrupting him mid rant to mention that I don't believe but respected his religion. It's an annoying song and dance really, trying to tell people to bugger off and stop shoving religion in my face, without offending them.

Also, that car, SO DAMN YELLOW!
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Setoshin


Great story, Nubi. I hope you're still writing, I love your style.

Anyway, I have the pamphlet to the extreme left. And maybe the one about women in Islam. They hand them out all the time in London.


As you mentioned, we always used to debate religion back in the day. I'm an atheist and am opposed to certain religious tenets, although I don't necessarily see it as a "completely awful thing". I think it is like politics in that you can't speak of it as being completely evil or righteous, but you have to discuss very specific parts to reach a conclusion over whether that specific aspect is a force for evil or good. So, some parts of religion are clearly morally wrong (e.g. its tendency to divide people), but then other parts like the emphasis on charity and community are laudable. And in a post-religious society that the West seems to be heading in, we ought to try and preserve those positive aspects.

How would I have dealt with it? It depends on how well I know them. I'm very upfront about my political, social and religious beliefs with people I know. I'm not disrespectful towards them specifically, but I don't tiptoe around certain religious topics I consider inherently negative. My girlfriend is a Muslim but she knows I think the Prophet Mohammed was a 'warlord paedophile' and I don't think that is offensive towards her or Muslims in particular. I think we can criticise the ideology of a faith without insulting the adherents. It's similar to how an attack on a political belief doesn't necessarily equal an attack on people who hold those political beliefs. So if I attack the Prophet Mohammed or certain Islamic tenets, I'm not necessarily attacking the people themselves. A lot of my family in East Africa are Muslim, as well as many of my friends and most of them know what I think about their faith. But I certainly don't harbour any ill feeling towards the Muslim community or the greater Islamic diaspora (okay, the Ummah). In fact, I think much of a dialogue regarding the Muslim community is inaccurate, stereotyped and bigoted, but that's another discussion.

So I'm upfront about my criticisms of a faith if I know the person well. But sometimes with regards to Christian and Muslim evangelists who approach me on the street, I don't bother properly debating with them. I think I'm honestly taken aback by many of them. I don't generally want the hassle, because a lot of Muslim evangelists who publicly preach love to descend on people who express contrary views -- not in a violent manner or even a particularly disrespectful one, but I don't really want to have the insurmountable task of debating eight or so proselytisers. Even with Christians, this has happened. I've technically been 'baptised' about three or four years ago, just to get out of a conversation I felt trapped in.

I think I'm becoming a bit more outspoken and less willing to listen to these types of people, so perhaps if it happened again I might be a bit more upfront about my atheism.
Edited by Setoshin, Mar 9 2013, 08:59 PM.
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