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La Bianca, Ex-Christian, Australia
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Description: A country woman from “down under” moves to the city and is exposed to city life, and with it, Islam.
By Selma Cook (from islamonline.net with permission)
Published on 31 Mar 2008 - Last modified on 31 Mar 2008
Viewed: 5797 (daily average: 4) - Rating: 4.7 out of 5 - Rated by: 19
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Category: Articles
> Stories of New Muslims
> Women
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This article is based on an interview with Sandra La
Bianca, a Muslim revert who lives in Perth, Western Australia.
La Bianca is a country girl; she was brought up on a
farm in Western Australia. When she was a child, she had a pet kangaroo and
helped with taking care of the cows and sheep. She used to go hunting rabbits
and foxes. There was not much religion in her upbringing, but she believed in
God and she was taught traditional Italian morals. In an Italian household,
girls are protected and quite sheltered.
She used to go to church with her family on Sundays, but
it was superficial; she didn’t really understand anything. When she thought
about Holy Communion, all she knew was that she would get a white dress and
have to recite some words — it was all expected of her and she did it. As far
as La Bianca was concerned, Jesus and Mary (peace be upon them) were just
statues in the church. Still, she used to pray to God.
While she was growing up, she had no knowledge of Islam
or Arabs; she did not even see a city until she was 16 years old! She
acknowledges the fact that she was gullible and naïve. Of her own admission,
the positive part of this is that it has made her more open and natural; she
says that she wears her heart on her sleeve. She has found that city people
are emotionally tougher and are often more stand-offish and critical, whereas
country people tend to take people as they are.
In the country, men mostly stay on the farm and enjoy
the country life. With its trucks, motorbikes, shooting, and horses, the
country life is a man’s paradise! Young women usually look for the city life —
pursuing fashion, being hip, getting excitement, and partying. La Bianca left
the country when she was 16 years old looking for the bright city life. Having
a big Italian family spread throughout Australia, La Bianca had no difficulty
finding an aunt with whom she could stay in the city.
La Bianca got her first job working as a receptionist,
and there she met a Muslim girl named Tasneem, a South African Muslim, albeit
not a practicing one. Tasneem did not wear hijab or pray but always made sure
that the meat she ate was according to Islamic dietary regulations. Even
though she was not unchaste nor drank alcohol, Tasneem would still go clubbing,
and she was allowed to by her parents as long as she came home early. The main
thing La Bianca learned from Tasneem was fasting in Ramadan.
La Bianca reminisces that she always felt attracted to
Muslims because the people she met were warm, friendly, and accepting with
gentleness, directness, and a love of family. She enjoyed socializing with her
Muslim friends and the atmosphere in the family reminded her of her country
girl upbringing (good food and hospitality). She comments that she feels
comfortable with people who are comfortable in their own skin. She further
observes that people often pick on others a lot because they do not like
themselves.
She especially likes African people because of their
warmth and sociability. but finds European culture to be quite cold with a lot
of barriers between people. She observes that when she was growing up she and
her siblings loved the Aboriginal people more than the Europeans. Her father
respected anyone who worked hard and did the right thing. He was not at all
racist. However, La Bianca’s mother was racist and thought that Europeans were
superior to others, and she easily criticized other people.
As La Bianca mixed with more and more Muslims, she
learned that Muslims pray five times a day, but it was not until she met her
husband that she really learned what Islam was all about.
La Bianca remembers that as soon as her husband met her,
he took her home to meet his mother (his father had died some years before). Both
he and La Bianca wanted a long-term commitment — the whole package; marriage
and family. She started going to Islamic classes and changed the way she
dressed. She donned long skirts and loose shirts. She observes that as she
was learning about Almighty God, everything made sense; everything was
beautiful and harmonious.
She comments that she liked the idea that there are
consequences for what people do; that every one should try to do the right
thing. This was unlike the Catholic religion whose teachings she was raised
upon: People can do anything and that Jesus will cover for them.
Every one has a test, and La Bianca’s big test was
wearing hijab. She reveals that it was changing her image that affected
her most. At home, in the country, on the farm, or in the workplace, people
would ask her why she was wearing “that.” Nevertheless, La Bianca wore long
dresses and a scarf.
At first, her Dad felt she was not respecting his
friends if she did not dress in a way that would please them. She admits that
in the beginning, she felt guilty for making him feel disrespected, but her
growing consciousness of Almighty God made her realize that she wanted to
please God more than she wanted to please any human being.
She had told herself that she did not want to make any
concessions, because she knew she was doing the right thing and she knew that
if she started to make compromises, it would never stop and she would be left
with no Islam at all! She certainly did not want that to happen.
Despite her initial difficulty in wearing it, hijab
made so much sense to her. She found that after she started to cover up, she
was not approached by men and she felt much more respected. It just felt right
in her heart. La Bianca observes that she loves the idea that women are a
treasure and that they should be protected and seen only by those who deserve
to see them.
La Bianca pronounced the Shahadah (testimony of
faith) in the company of a small group of friends. She felt that Islam was the
truth, and she was hungry to learn more. Her husband and his family encouraged
her to wear hijab, but it took some time for her to wear it properly because
she had to wean herself from being defined by how she looks to the outside
world.
When asked about the reaction of the Muslim community to
her conversion, she said that at first she was “flavor of the month” simply
because she was a new Muslim.
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