Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity

The book opens with a scene of Qureshi in a Muslim prayer hall, in the middle of the climactic inner struggle which will mark his conversion. He prays the traditional prayers, but his devotion is interrupted by the questions that arise in his mind. At each point of the prayers, he wonders if the traditional depiction of Allah is true, or if Jesus reveals the identity of God.

When he speaks the proclamation of faith, his mind moves to Muhammad, and he is troubled by some of the new historical facts he has learned about Muhammad’s life. He is particularly shaken by a brutal scene of Muhammad’s men being given permission to take female captives of war for their own pleasure. He ends his prayer with a plea for God’s peace and direction.

Qureshi begins with the adhan, the Muslim call to prayer, echoing over rooftops at dawn all over the world. Prayer is woven into the Muslim lifestyle from the moment of birth, when the adhan is whispered into a baby’s ear.

Qureshi takes pride in his familial heritage of devotion. On his father’s side, the family claims descent from Muhammad’s own Qureshi clan, and to draw their ancestry from Umar, one of the Prophet’s revered successors.