Muslim Convert Story – Living On A Prayer (Chapter 10) ~ THE ULTIMATE SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE ENRICHMENT

JOURNEY TO ISLAM: LIVING ON A PRAYER – CELINE EVANGELISTA (CHAPTER 10)

In a world rich with cultural diversities, it is imperative that we all must understand and appreciate the importance of religious tolerance. This is because such an utmost respect for various beliefs, rituals, and traditions ensures a harmonious society as it promotes the values at the core of existence for every nation.

As we know, there are a lot of belief systems out there in which many of these religions have existed around for thousands of years; creating our world more colorful and vibrant. At the root of every cultural society embedded, everyone has certain inalienable rights.

From Christianity, Islam, and Judaism to Hinduism, Buddhism, and many more, for instance, one of these rights is absolutely the freedom of embracing religion, which means every individual has the sheer right to choose or not to choose a religion, practice it, or even express their convictions.

Bottom line, religious tolerance and respecting everyone's differences are crucial for upholding those fundamental rights, and this article will convey a story of how a well-known public figure from Indonesia decided to convert and become a Muslim.

To kick start with this chapter, we need to keep in mind that religious tolerance is a cornerstone of harmonious coexistence in diverse societies. As it embodies the fundamental principle of respecting and accepting the beliefs, practices, and traditions of others regardless of one's own faith or worldview, the importance of religious tolerance on the other hand cannot be overstated as it fosters peace, understanding, and social cohesion in communities around the world.

From national identity perspectives, for instance, religious tolerance contributes to social cohesion and unity; serving as a unifying force which promotes a sense of belonging and shared identity, strengthening the bonds that hold communities together. In short, religious tolerance is crucial for the advancement of democracy and pluralism because it is this fundamental value that ensures equal rights and opportunities for all citizens across the world regardless of their religious beliefs.

Furthermore, speaking of the phenomenon why do people decide to embrace Islam as their new religious belief, well, the answer of course relies on the basis of individual’s various perspectives and their absolute convictions in the freedom of choosing religion. Surely, you may come across witnessing or hearing several stories (be it on internet or other media channels) about people who decide to choose Islam as their new spiritual faith.

In the West today where Islam is predominantly a religion of migrant minorities and is often perceived to be linked with terrorism and conflict according to www.crestresearch.ac.uk, the reasons differ both intrinsically and extrinsically. For any individual, for example, some motivations are intrinsic or personal to them, while others are extrinsic or external.

In one research study, three Dutch women from different backgrounds (one Catholic, one nonreligious and one from an anti-religious left-wing family) offered different reasons for becoming Muslims. In the first case, for example, the Catholic woman experienced several personal crises with her mother dying and a period of addiction and depression. She met and married a Muslim guy and became part of his family, after which it seemed natural for her to convert to the point where she valued the healthy lifestyle offered by Islam.

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In the second case for the nonreligious woman, Islam in which she embraced it through marriage as well, offered stability and discipline following her first restrictive marriage and a period of risky behavior. As for the third case or the one from an anti-religious left-wing family, her conversion to Islam was due to a radical break and act of personal rebellion, but was backed up later on by study and the gradual conviction that she realized Islam was a logical and scientific religion.

Similar to the above three cases illustrated, for those who decide to convert and accept Islam as their religion are compelled by numerous motivations, which are linked collectively to the individual who develops a satisfying narrative of why he or she converted, for which their narrative may also change over time.

Examples of Reasons Given For Conversion.

Ex-converts or non-Muslims, for example, may initially have felt it was their destiny to become Muslims and may have taken pleasure in their new identity and disciplined life-style, only to reject it later as they tend to describe the old version of themselves as naïve, duped, or just not ready to take such a step. In a nutshell, many of those who have converted to Islam according to www.crestresearch.ac.uk report positive experiences relating to self-identity, gender identity, living a healthy, disciplined and stable life, providing a moral context for themselves and their children, and being part of a community. Nevertheless, the religion so-called Islam is also reported to have assisted those converts moving away from self-destructive or criminal behaviors.

INTRODUCTION (PRELIMINARY STORY)

Basically, the person whose story will be told in this chapter is specifically pertaining to one of the renowned celebrities named "Celine Evangelista" from Indonesia who was reported to ultimately embrace Islam as her new religious belief. Honestly, I am not a huge fan of her. Neither have I been keeping up with her news on television, nor have I been catching up with her latest updates on any of her social media channels.

As far as I can vaguely recall in retrospect, I came across seeing her on TV for the very first time while I was watching one of the local drama series when I was still in junior high school somewhere in 2003 or 2004. It was the time when I had an opportunity to relish my school’s semester break by temporarily returning to my hometown in Makassar which is the capital city of South Sulawesi Province (part of Eastern Indonesia’s territory).

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At the time, I decided to pursue my junior high school education outside my city due to my father’s personal request long before he suffered from his business bankruptcy that took place in 2013. With that being said, I am practically not a Jakarta citizen since I spent both my kindergarten as well as my elementary education in my hometown – "Makassar" (following the collapse of my father's business venture, both my family and I have been living in a dire state of financial struggles, yet, we somehow manage to survive with all the supports given up to this day).

Oh by the way, just so you know that the majority of people from my hometown are notoriously known for their "Tough, Intellectual, Strongly Religious, Decisive and a bit Sensitive" characters apart from having a high degree of voice intonation (if you come across speaking to any of us by any chance, for example, you will find us sounding like angry people and thus sometimes others from different provinces often perceive us like we are being mad at them or having a rough accent).

Anyway, let me jump straight to quickly introduce you this well-known public figure based in my country (Indonesia) — the one who accidentally piqued my interest early in December 2024 while I was scrolling down on Instagram as a result of her new spiritual journey. Okay, let’s get started then. Citing from multiple sources of local news platforms, Celine Evangelista is an actress, television presenter, singer and model based in Jakarta.

Born in Rome (Italy) on April 2^nd 1992 as a Catholic Christian, her career journey in the entertainment industry began to shine when she participated in the modeling contest held by Kawanku magazine in the year of 2006, and was subsequently offered an acting role in one of the horror movies in the same given year. Since then, she started receiving numerous offers to act more either for TV drama series or commercial films.

Before & After Becoming A Muslim - Celine Evangelista.

Moreover, when it comes to a glimpse of her personal life, she was betrothed to an Indonesian male singer and got married later on February 14^th 2011. At this stage of her life, she was blessed with a daughter named "Eleeya Xaviera Sompie" who was born on September 1^st 2012.

Prior to the arrival of her first biological child in 2012, the two couple was reported to have adopted a female child early and was named "Jemima Guri Clementine Sompie" where she was born on August 18^th 2011. Unfortunately, her first marriage did not last that long when there was a report stating that she already got divorced in 2013.

Next, following her first marriage breakup, she got remarried with a famous actor whose name I don’t need to mention again on November 10^th 2016 in Bali. In this phase of her life, she was gifted with two children whereby the first one named "Lucio Otthild William" was born on October 9^th 2017 through caesarean section (surgical birth operation), while the second child named "Eadred Koa Lewis Miguel" was born on September 29^th 2019. Again, it was unfortunate for her that her second marriage with the said actor was reported to have ended on October 18^th 2021.

Therefore, you can clearly notice from here that she has four children in total as a consequence of her two previous marriages and since then, she has been carrying out a dual role for her beloved kids by being a father and a mother at the same time (absolutely grueling for a female who is still in her 30s in my opinion to bear with such burden on her shoulders by being a single parent).

Para buah hati atau anak-anak Celine Evangelista.

CELINE EVANGELISTA — JOURNEY TO ISLAM

Alright, I have already unveiled a snapshot of her personal background and now here’s the quick summary of how she was reported to convert and become a Muslim. According to www.hot.detik.com, Celine Evangelista has long shown interest in studying Islam. Since 2019, she has been spotted wearing a veil or a headscarf (the so-called ‘hijab’ in Islamic term) at several events, and has actively expressed her comfort in wearing them. In fact, she was often caught on camera attending Islamic lectures delivered by various religious figures.

Additionally, she was later seen in many occasions sitting among the congregation (the people who attended the Islamic lectures) when the occasion was led by a Muslim Preacher named "Ustaz Riza Muhammad" during the Quran recitation. Because of this, it became the trigger of circulating rumors about her becoming a convert to Islam in the first place.

Fortunately, those speculations circulated around her became crystal clear eventually by the time when a notable female Muslim preacher named "Pipik Dian Irawati" in the year of 2024 confirmed the truth by stating that Celine Evangelista had already embarked into Islam and became a Muslim.

Overall, aside from having bestowed spiritual guidance and the level of confidence that she cultivated, she also claimed further that there was another contributing factor to her journey to Islam, which was a high level of serenity that she discovered. In other words, she felt much more peaceful after embracing Islam as her new way of life.