It’s been said that when you travel, there’s only one thing you can’t leave behind: yourself. But I’ve been traveling through the world of Islam for almost two decades now, and have surely left quite a bit of my old, kaffir American self behind. Before taking shahada at age 35, I lived a life that was footloose and free, though not especially fancy. I used to travel a lot just for the hell of it; learn languages mainly for the poetry (and to hit it off with the local women); swill alcoholic beverages on a regular basis; and deal with…
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