‘To escape the tight darkness into light..’
‘To be reborn again.. and the past is forgiven..’
‘The moment of feeling with Allah..’
‘putting guidance inside your heart..’
‘This can’t be perceived by any description.. by any feeling..’
‘O Allah,’
‘I called upon you.. and I strived..’
‘I asked for your guidance.. and you have guided me..’
‘With Qur’an I was able to step up..’
‘O Allah,’
‘O Allah,’
My name is Johnny Moga de Kiana..
I was born at June 24th, 1969
I’m 46 years old..
Married and have 3 children..
At 1987 I joined training at the Brazilian Air Force.. because I like military work..
Then at 1992 I joined the military police at Sao Paulo..
to fight riot..
And after having a training course.. I worked at the Special operations police forces
Then I was transferred to Air Guards where I’m working for 15 years till now..
I was born at the city of Sao Paulo..
I lived with my family..
I remember my grandparents.. I had a good relation with them..
I was very happy at my childhood..
I lived a good and quiet life with my family.. that has established good memories in myself..
My family was Catholic with Portuguese origin..
My brothers and my mother.. they always come here to visit.. unfortunately my father is dead..
Brother Hassan, you began to look for Islam on the internet..
Tell me about the first time you found Islam on internet.. what did you find?
As a part of my work at the police, I had to do a search about certain events related to conflicts and..
wars.. and Muslims are related to such issues as it is said in the media..
So, I began to search in the internet.. and I looked at photos.. and I’ve learned few thing about Islam..
I also had a friend who likes to talk about Islam..
and when we see wars in the Television..
we search the internet to know the reasons for them..
It never came to my mind that we were going to find the real Islam in the internet..
What was the most prominent thing that has attracted you to Islam..
From the things that has drawn my attention to Islam.. and I liked about Islam was..
the personality of the prophet Mohammad, SAW
His simplicity..
He teaches us the way we eat..
the way we behave.. and to treat people nicely..
These are the things that have attracted me to Islam.. and I try to implement them on my daily life..
Hajj Hassan, Qur’an was the main reason for you to become Muslim..
I want to know the Surah that has impressed your heart..
It is Surat Al-Baqara..
Its beautiful recitation has a great effect on my soul..
It gives me a feeling of tranquility..
I like so much that I keep listening to it repeatedly so as to memorize it..
The Qur’an is important for my life..
Because it contains the commands of Allah and His speech..
The Qur’an is..
the speech of Allah, it contains guidance to the people..
It is the most important book that a Muslim should follow..
In Qur’an we can find lessons for the Muslims..
‘I called upon you.. and I strived..’
‘I asked for your guidance.. and you have guided me..’
‘With Qur’an I was able to step up..’
‘O Allah,’
Brother Hassan you’ve read so much about Quran and Islam till you’ve reached a confirmation that Islam is the religion of the truth..
What happened next?
At that day.. the 21st of April at 2008, I said my Shahada..
I went to the Masjid to know the conditions that I should know before I enter Islam and say Shahada..
And I knew that the first thing to know is ‘ I bear witness that there is no Elah but Allah
and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger’
I’ve learned it in few days.. then I said my Shahada, and by the will of Allah I’m steady on Islam
The day I said my Shahada was like the day I was born..
I didn’t know Arabic..
So, I was just repeating the words after sheikh Abdul Hameed..
The words cannot explain my feelings that day.. the day I said Shahada..
‘Read it with a submissive heart..’
‘you will feel the echo inside you..’
‘and then tears will flow..’
‘And the world will bloom.. in Spring..’
‘Read it with a submissive heart..’
‘you will feel the echo inside you..’
‘and then tears will flow..’
‘And the world will bloom.. in Spring..’
In the time of information and internet..
All the world can know Islam..
and there is no excuse for ignorance at all..
and the difference happens by the will and by the choice..
Our brother Hassan has chosen Islam by himself..
Allah Almighty says..
“so he who wills may take to his Lord a [way of] return.”
During these years I witness that Islam has changed the life of Hassan..
he is a good person who cares about his family.. he is a perfect Muslim..
Before Islam, Hassan was a nice person.. but he thought that happiness is only by drinking alcohol and going out with friends..
The changes that have happened in my life were due to the Sunnah of the prophet Muhammad, SAW..
His good morals..
and how a person can be good to his family..
and how to be a good Muslim.
After you’ve said Shahada..
What was the reaction of your colleagues.. what did they say?
When a person speaks about Islam.. first time they give you a strange look.. Because what they know about Islam is that it means terrorism.
But with time..
the situation begins to change.. by the good behavior and laughing with them..
Some of them might joke with the Arabic sketches.. but at the end.
they would learn what is the real Islam..
and it is completely different from the mutilated picture that they are seeing on the media.. this is because of my manners..
Is it hard for you to say to others.. Yes, I’m a Muslim Brazilian soldier?
No, it doesn’t bother me.. I don’t feel embarrassed to identify myself as Muslim in front of others..
At some places they ask me about my religion.. I tell them, I’m Muslim
People have the right to know the Muslims.. because they judge Islam according to our good behavior..
or the bad ones.. and I’m sure.. I’m going to give them a good impression..
People get amazed when I tell them that I’m a Muslim policeman!!
And I had the Military Police, Order of merit.. it is five grades from 5 to 1..
I had the second.. and I’m going to have the first next time..
and this badge here indicates clean 10 years in the military police without any charge..
And as I’ve said.. these are for the courses that I’ve done.. courses in aircraft driving and swimming..
this is within a crew.. I also had courses in diving and other courses..
Then Islam came to add me the merit of doing good and helping others..
Many of us have hobbies.. this is very nice..
But, more beautiful is..
is to use this hobby for Dawah.. and for the sake of Allah..
As what our brother Hassan has done..
He has used his hobby in photography
to show the real image of Islam..
And by the way,
He had a photo that he took at Hajj.. and he had won a prize for it here in Brazil..
Such a photo could be..
a way for Dawah to Allah, Almighty..
I won the prize of the best photo..
Though I didn’t have any training on photography..
because they are very expensive and I don’t have time for them..
Have you imagined the picture of Muslims giving charity aids to the people in need at the sites of catastrophes
After he entered Islam.. he began to change gradually.. chiseling..chiseling
then Allah granted him Hajj..
to enforce his belief.
It is not easy to express the feelings at Hajj.. so that the listener could get the real idea.. the actual feelings that the man at Hajj feels..
That sight made me think.. if all the world would unite in brotherhood like Muslims at Hajj..
it would have been a peaceful safe world!
And he began to be able to do Salat.. and he reads Qur’an before Salat..
and other practices of Islam.. that had attracted our attention.. because Hajj changes the person..
Unfortunately we don’t have teachers who know Portuguese..
Even the Khutba is in Arabic.. so we can’t understand it..
“In the name of Allah , the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.”
“When the victory of Allah has come and the conquest,”
“And you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes,”
“Then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness of Him. Indeed, He is ever Accepting of repentance.”
“Then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness of Him.”
” Indeed, He is ever Accepting of repentance.”
Yes, Surat An-Nasr.. means that one day success and favourable outcomes will happen
When all the people are Muslims.. in the religion of Fitrah..
because.. that is how we are born.. Muslims..
The verse that has affected our brother Hassan..
it is at Surat An-Nasr.. Allah, Almighty says:
“And you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes,”
I hope that we are living in that era.. and people are entering the religion of Allah in multitudes..
the same.. as people have entered Islam at the time of the prophecy of the prophet Muhammad
at [Fat’h] conquest of Makkah, when people have entered Islam in multitudes..
The statistics today tells that most of the newborns all over the world are named Muhammad.