CATHOLIC WOMAN IN US BECOMES MUSLIM AFTER WATCHING ERTUGRUL (VIDEO)

Sun 07 February 2021:

A 60-year-old American woman has become Muslim after being influenced by Resurrection: Ertugrul, a popular Turkish TV series.

The Wisconsin resident chose the name of “Khadija” after her conversion to Islam and told Anadolu Agency that she came across Resurrection: Ertugrul while browsing Netflix.

“I looked into it, the details about it. So I started watching,” said Khadija, adding she was really interested in Islam after watching a few episodes.

“It was a history that I knew nothing about,” she said of the series.

Stressing that the dialogues of Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi gave a new meaning to her life, she said his words made her think a lot and sometimes cry.

She watched all episodes four times and started watching for the fifth time.

The series had a great impact on her orientation to Islam, she said.

CATHOLIC WOMAN IN US BECOMES MUSLIM AFTER WATCHING #Ertugrul pic.twitter.com/LQFVjxwU4f

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“I like learning new history. It was an eye-opener to what I did know … about religion and tried to look for more into,” she added.

She said her curiosity in history connected her to the series and after watching the series she met Islam.

Although she was a Baptist Catholic, all the question marks in her head were cleared and she eventually became more interested in Islam, she said.

Noting that she read the Muslim holy book of Quran in English to learn more about Islam, she explained the process after she decided to become a Muslim.

After making a search for a mosque close to her area, she found one and went into it, where she said worshipers “were shocked to see” her.

“I became Muslim right that day,” she said.

Stressing that she encountered unexpected reactions from her friends when she said she became Muslim, Khadija said they believed that she was brainwashed.

“I no longer discuss this issue with people. I do not interfere with their beliefs. They shouldn’t have any reason to interfere with me either,” she added.

Khadija, a mother of six children, said that as time goes by, her kids see Khadija watching Turkish shows when they stop over and her youngest son was the one who figured out she became a Muslim.

“But the others haven’t asked. They suspect but haven’t asked and I figured they will,” said Khadija.

Often described as a Turkish Game of Thrones, Resurrection: Ertugrul tells the story before the establishment of the Ottoman Empire in 13th century Anatolia. It illustrates the struggle of Ertugrul Gazi, the father of the empire’s first leader.

“Dirilis: Ertugrul”, also known as “Resurrection: Ertugrul”, focuses on the 13th-century life of Ertugrul, the father of the Ottoman dynasty’s founder Osman I.

Ertugrul’s descendants went on to rule the Ottoman sultanate as it expanded across Anatolia and Thrace. The dynasty’s rule crystallised into what is now known as the Ottoman Empire with the 1453 conquest of Istanbul by Mehmed II.

The show is sometimes referred to as the Turkish “Game of Thrones” and is one of several sprawling Turkish dramas to gain popularity across the Middle East, Asia and South America.

Commenting on the news of Khadija’s conversion, the writer of the series, Mehmet Bozdag, simply said: “Praise be to God.”

‘Colonial campaign’

Despite its widespread popularity, some have shunned the series.

Last year, Egypt’s highest Islamic authority warned against watching “Dirilis: Ertugrul” and “Valley of the Wolves”, another Turkish series, saying they were part of efforts led by Turkish President Erdogan to revive the Ottoman Empire.

The Global Fatwa Index is associated with Egypt’s Dar al-Iftaa, one of the Muslim world’s oldest and most influential bodies responsible for giving out fatwas, or religious edicts, on all aspects of worship and life.

It is not only Egypt’s leading Islamic religious authority that has accused Turkey of using its popular television shows to cultivate soft power, however.

Turkey’s then Minister of Culture and Tourism Omer Celik said in 2014 that Turkey’s wildly popular dramas played a powerful role in helping the country build ties across the region.