Converted to Shia – David from Congo

I used to be a Sunni; then I became a Shia. I studied in Sunni school for almost five years

After you get acquainted with Islam through your friend, did you have any special studies about Islam or did you read any special books?

When I was a Sunni, I only read the Qur’an and some hadith books, but before I became a Shia, I read a book by one of the Shia scholars living in Qom named Sayyed Mojtaba Mousavi Lari, called “An Issue about Imamate”. From this book, I understood what problems happened after the death of the Prophet (s.a.w.w) and why some people became Shia and some became Sunnis and then I converted to Shia.

According to the book you read through your friend about the Shia religion, what characteristics did you see when you became a Shia?

When I became a Shia, I realized that Ahl al-Bayt (a.s) has a high position. The Sunnis talked more about the companions of the Prophet (s.a.w.w), but they did not talk much about the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s) of the Prophet (s.a.w.w); therefore, in our country, the Sunnis do not know who the Prophet’s family or the Prophet’s children are because they are not familiar with the history of the Prophet and his family. Therefore, when I became a Shia, I was very happy to know the Ahlul Bayt and the life of the Prophet.

One of the other characteristics was that the Shiites try much more than the Sunnis, especially in our own country, I saw this. Some Sunnis don’t want to teach others; they don’t want you to learn the Arabic language or the Qur’an and they want it to be for a few people, but the Shiites want the religious sciences to be for everyone and for everyone to learn it.