Carlos Camilo Clavijoolarte, born to a Catholic family in Honduras, had a chance encounter with a family friend who was a Muslim convert and who introduced him to writings of famed mystic Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi.
Now known as \u201c\u0130brahim\u201d Carlos, he recounted his journey towards Islam and how he ended up working at the Turkish Red Crescent as the charity\u2019s delegation head in Pakistan, thousands of miles away from Panama, his second home.
Clavijoolarte migrated to Panama when he was 15 with his devoutly Catholic family. He grew more distant to his faith while in Panama. \u201cI was particularly baffled by the confession rituals. I was feeling like I fell into a void in terms of spiritual existence. I stopped attending church and sought God\u2019s help to fill the void in my heart,\u201d he told Anadolu Agency (AA) in an interview on Sunday.
He was in Spain for work in 2004 and continued to drift from the church. \u201cI was praying to God day and night before I came across signs (for conversion).\u201d A Spanish family friend, Muslim convert Fatih Alvaro Samper, paved the way for Clavijoolarte\u2019s gradual conversion to Islam.
\u201cHis good behavior, kindness and charitable work impressed me. He gave me a book of poems by Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi. I have fallen in love with the book. Rumi\u2019s words were holding secrets (of faith) for me,\u201d he recounted.
Samper introduced him to other Muslims. \u201cI asked him if he had any other Muslim friends. He told me he did not have any; he had Muslim \u2018brothers and sisters\u2019.\u201d
A visit to a restaurant run by a Muslim in Spain\u2019s Granada was the final step for his conversion.
\u201cI saw Muslims coming from different cities working there to help him, for free. It was strange. But I wanted to help him too. I was hearing voices in my head, one telling me to stop and ask to get paid, and the other telling me to keep helping others. It was so loud, I thought a disembodied voice was talking to me and I was about to die. The voice told me to come to him and I was feeling blessed,\u201d he recalled his experience.
After his conversion to Islam, Clavijoolarte sought a place where he could learn more about the religion. Upon the recommendation of his friends in Spain, he traveled to Turkey.
\u201cThis is a country where you can best learn Islam\u2019s history and culture. Living in Turkey opened a new window into my life. I was impressed by people\u2019s charity here,\u201d Clavijoolarte, who first worked at Turkish Diyanet Foundation (TDV), a charity group active across the world, said.
\u201cI have seen the greatness of Turkish civilization. I have seen they helped others regardless of their race and religion,\u201d he said. Since 2018 he has served as head of the Turkish Red Crescent\u2019s delegation in Islamabad.
As for his religious family, Ibrahim Carlos says he encountered opposition from them.
\u201cI had a fiance who broke up with me when she found out that I converted to Islam. I was very close to my sister and when she found out, she told me that I was now dead to her,\u201d he recalled.
For one year, his family did not speak to him, but Clavijoolarte says he now made amends with them.
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