Meeting between mothers and daughters at an international school in Turkey

On December 13 we arrived in Istanbul to give a surprise to our daughters who study there in one of the best international schools in Turkey, thanks to the Diyanet Foundation and the Seville Mosque Foundation .

Sevinj, Amal and I were very excited because we hadn’t seen our girls for two and a half months. The teachers were waiting for our arrival, keeping the secret from us until the end.

After the long-awaited reunion, we were taken to our room, where it didn’t take long for all of our daughters’ classmates to arrive one after another to welcome us.

In our previous meeting the teachers showed great interest in the story of how we had converted to Islam, but as there was no time, we agreed to tell them about it on the next visit. So on this occasion they organized an event in the conference hall.

They gave us time for sightseeing and shopping with our daughters. On the last day, Sunday the 15th, we gave the lecture to 150 girls from 70 countries and 5 of the teachers who were able to attend.

Amal and I told them about our experiences of how and why we converted to Islam, while Sevinj translated us into Turkish. It was very emotional. At the end we were all crying and hugging each other, girls, teachers and mothers. Afterwards we had time to share tea and talk with the students who came to ask us about our talk and with their teachers.

It has been an enriching journey in many ways, as we were able to see the great human quality of all the people who surround our daughters, with whom they are fully integrated.

I can only thank you for the kindness and affection received. We would also like to thank our daughters for the care and respect.

Thank you very much Sumeya, Meltem, Marwanoor, Nassybeh, Naviyeh and the entire teaching team.

May Allah bless you. Account of the visit of Yauhara, Sevinj and Amal of Seville, written by Yauhara Vigo.