Marco and Omar's Astonishing Story
This is a true, documented, very strange, and heart-touching amazing story of two Italian young men who, after converting to Islam, became religious brothers to each other and are now inviting people to the true religion of Islam in the same streets of London where they were once immersed in sins.
One of them was named "Omar," and surprisingly, he was called Omar even before embracing Islam; it was his birth name!! Although his family was neither Muslim nor familiar with Islam, and he didn't even know the meaning of the name Omar.
Marco is an Italian Christian young man who lives in London. His life was spent in alcohol, women, and night parties. He was even angry with his mother for months because of a girl and was far away from religion and morality. He spent most of his time in nightclubs.
One night, on a noisy street in London, where music, obscenity, and alcohol reigned, Marco met a person who was once a radical Christian preacher, but Allah had guided him to Islam, and now he was inviting people to Islam in the same streets. He invited Marco to come to a nearby mosque.
Marco narrates:
"When I entered the mosque, I was amazed. People were only worshipping Allah. No one was looking at anyone, no one was asking who you are or where you came from. Everyone was absorbed in worshipping their Lord. Loud music from outside was piercing through the walls of the mosque, but the worshippers seemed oblivious to it.
The prayer started… and suddenly I felt like something was changing inside me, like my heart had melted. Then I heard the Quran for the first time. I couldn't understand a word, but its sound… its impact… it was heart-shaking… just the world of the heart changed, and I recited the Shahada (declaration of faith).
Marco went back to Italy and said to his mother:
"Mom! What if your son leaves alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, women, and sins, starts praying, and respects you?"
The mother said: "Then I would be the luckiest mother in the world."
Marco replied:
"Today I have become a Muslim… and my religion teaches me that I cannot upset you for the sake of any wife or girlfriend, because you carried me in your womb for nine months, not some strange girl."
Hearing this, the mother cried with joy. Marco changed his name to "Muhammad Marco."
He says:
"I have left everything in the world… only in search of a small place in Paradise. Before, I was ignorant, now I have found Islam, and the secret of this transformation is: performing the Fajr (dawn) prayer on time. The person who prays Fajr on time, his whole day changes."
The young man who invited him is also from Italy. His full name is Omar Giusyppe Basilio Cafalieri. Surprisingly, his name was "Omar" from birth, although his family was strictly Catholic Christian, where children's names are usually based on the names of holy figures.
Actually, Omar's father's father was a fan of the Juventus football club. He was inspired by the former great Argentine player "Omar Sivori" (Enrique Omar Sívori) and named his son Omar. Little did he know that the influence of this great man would one day change his son's world, and this scion of a Catholic family would create a distinct identity in relation to Omar Farooq Azam.
It should be noted that Omar Sivori is a very famous and influential player in the history of football. A great footballer who represented both Argentina and Italy. He passed away in 2005. He won the Ballon d'Or, the biggest award in football, in 1961. He was the best forward in the world in his time. His fame and popularity in Italy were such that many fans started naming their children "Omar."
Anyway, Omar's life was also immersed in sins. He spent nights in the Camden area of London, involved in all kinds of evil. He was married and a father of children, but life was spent in restlessness and negligence. He was also fond of nightclubs.
One day, on his Facebook, he had a conversation with a Muslim girl about the issue of Palestine. At the end of the conversation, the girl said:
"May Allah guide you to Islam."
He laughed and said in his heart: "I believe in God, but no religion or faith means anything to me, I don't give it any importance."
But that girl kept telling him about Islam… she told him what a great personality Omar was. What marks he left on the pages of history, and then suddenly a strange state enveloped Omar.
Omar himself says:
"I felt like something was surrounding me from all sides, from the sky, from the earth, from the right, from the left… and then I heard a voice inside me:
'O Omar! You are a Muslim!'"
Within just two months, he converted to Islam and returned to Italy.
He lost many of his friends, his wife left him because she could not accept his beard and Islamic dress, but his father did not oppose him, and his sister and brother-in-law expressed happiness.
Omar says:
"Allah guides whom He wills, whether he is in Italy, Germany, or Algeria. Islam is not only the religion of the Arabs, it is for the whole of humanity. Today I am part of the Ummah (nation) of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). My father named me "Omar" in love for a footballer… but my Lord liked this name so much that now this has become my Islamic name as well.
Today, if someone asks me what was your name before Islam? So I say: Omar! He is surprised and says: No, before Islam!
So I say: Subhan Allah! My name was Omar before too, and it is Omar today too!"
This story is a testament to the fact that Islam completely changes a person, and the Lord guides whom He wills, when He wills, where He wills, even if it is an environment immersed in the echoes of music and the smell of alcohol.
May Allah Almighty grant Muhammad Marco, Omar Cafalieri, and all new Muslims steadfastness, knowledge, certainty, and sincerity, and include them among His pious servants. Amen.
From
(Zia Chitrali)
Written by
Tufan Ahmari