From Critic to Convert: The Joram van Klaveren Story | From Islamophobe to Muslim
Channel: Muslim Community Center - MCC East Bay
Date: 2022-01-19

Sidi Joram van Klaveren shares his remarkable personal journey as a former far-right Dutch lawmaker who had been fiercely critical of Islam and why he chose to became a Muslim in 2019 while he had been penning a book meant to be anti-Islam.

Joram van Klaveren was a lawmaker in the Party of Freedom, led by Dutch anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders, from 2010 to 2014. During that time, he advocated a burqa ban, a ban on masjid minarets and a ‘de-Islamization‘ of the Netherlands. 

In February 2019, he announced his religious conversion to Islam. The Islamophobic polemic he had been penning morphed into a rousing defense of the faith. 

Sidi van Klaveren was hosted on his '19 U.S. tour by the Emir-Stein Center, which seeks to promote empathy and understanding through religious and cultural literacy. Learn about their work: https://www.emir-stein.org

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This talk was delivered at Muslim Community Center - East Bay (MCC East Bay) in Pleasanton, California on June 18, 2019. 

For a summarized version of Sidi Joram's story by the Emir-Stein Center: https://youtu.be/Hjz_YIvlCw8

Sidi Joram's book "Apostate" was published in 2019. Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf wrote the forward. Purchase the book at: https://www.amazon.com/Apostate-Joram-van-Klaveren/dp/9079294322

From this talk, learn about Anthony Janszoon van Salee, who is considered as the first known Muslim settler in the Americas and also the first inhabitant of Brooklyn in New York: https://youtu.be/SDRB0TKJXZU

About his book:
"APOSTATE From Christianity to Islam in Times of Secularization and Terror"
Joram van Klaveren, also called ‘the crown prince of Wilders’, was a famous critic of Islam. As a former member of the Dutch Parliament and a representative of the Party for Freedom, he submitted numerous bills related to Islam, such as those calling for the closing of mosques, for removing the Quran from parliament and for banning Islam from the Netherlands.

In order to reinforce these thoughts and opinions, he — as a Christian — began to write a book critical of Islam. During the process of writing, however, he found an increasing number of matters that challenged his views of Islam. 

In this book, Joram describes his personal and theological journey and the development he has undergone. During this journey, questions arose such as "does God even exist?," "Is the God of the Quran the same as the God of the Bible?," "Does Islam teach people to hate disbelievers and oppress women?"

How did Joram’s negative view of Islam develop? What emotional and social struggles did he have to face? And where has this journey eventually led him? 

“To admit that one has been wrong is seldom easy, but to write in careful detail about one’s error, and then to document one’s painful road to truth, reveals considerable strength of character, and restores one’s confidence in human nature and in the prospects for change. " - Professor Abdal Hakim Murad

"Joram’s sincerity enabled him to shift his perspective, to remove the blind spot, to look at something objectively, and to really try and understand it on its own terms. This led to an extraordinary search, the result of which is the book that you are now reading. This book tells the story of an uncommon trajectory, the journey of a man from animosity to charity, from despair to hope, and from belligerence to peace.” - Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

About the speaker:
Joram Jaron van Klaveren is a former Dutch politician. As a member of the Party for Freedom he was an MP from 17 June 2010 until 21 March 2014. He subsequently was an independent until his term in office ended on 23 March 2017.

Before he went to parliament he was a City Councilor (March 2006 – July 2009) and worked as a Social Affairs and Education Policy officer.

From 24 March 2011 until 11 June 2014 he also was a member of the States-Provincial of Flevoland. He became well-known for anti-Muslim comments. In October 2018 he converted to Islam halfway through writing an anti-Islam book. After becoming a Muslim, he decided to rededicate his book to his search for religiosity and the subsequent conversion to Islam.

He founded the Anthony Janszoon Association, which tries to restore often incorrect image of Islam in the West.

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