Joram Van Klaveren, a former member of Geert Wilders' far-right Dutch PVV (Liberty Party), known for his anti-Muslim comments, converted to Islam, believing that Islam was the true religion.
Not long ago, Joram van Klaveren was a close political aide to Geert Wilders, known as the "father of Dutch far-rightism". While writing an anti-Islamic book, Klaveren's perspective on Muslims began to change. His process of understanding Islam was instrumental in removing his doubts and anxieties, converting to Islam in 2019, and becoming a devout Muslim. As Europe grapples with growing anti-Islamism and Quran burnings are becoming the norm, Klaveren talks about his change:
Joram Jaron van Klaveren (born 23 January 1979) is a 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.
For years, as a politician, I gave my all to fight Islam. I tried to pass a law to close all Islamic schools in the Netherlands. I tried to close all mosques in my country and even tried to ban the divine book, the Qur'an, which I call poison.
Many of these ideas were influenced by the conservative protestant theology of my upbringing, where other religions and of course Islam was viewed as inconsistent.
Denial of the Trinity, the holiness of Christ, and original sin; are the reasons why some Christian preachers, especially preachers from the denomination I grew up in, view Islam as a bad way.
These ideas I had were confirmed on my first day at university: September 11, 2001. After that, there was a famous filmmaker killed in the Netherlands, not far from my old home in Amsterdam. His name was Theo van Gogh. This was the last straw. I decided that I should protect my country against this evil religion and fight Islam until I die. Allah is the best of those who set a trap. But things turned out a little differently.
After quitting politics, I was in the process of writing an anti-Islamic book. It was a long-standing desire in me. I wanted to put everything I said in politics against Islam on a theoretical basis. However, during my search for information, I came across facts that contradicted what I thought about Islam so much that I started asking new questions. I also reached out to Muslim scholars to ask questions, as I wanted it to be a factual and accurate book. One of these scholars was Professor Abdulhakim Murad. I thought he would never answer my questions because I am part of an anti-Muslim group, but he did. He answered my questions himself, showed me the books to read, and gave the names of other scholars I could ask for information.
The last of my different obstacles in the path of Islam was related to the prophethood of Muhammad. After studying his life and character (it took me months), I was absolutely convinced that he was truly God's messenger.
But the night I realized it, I still had a feeling of disgust. This sounds a bit like a fairy tale, but it really happened; After I finished writing and realized that Islam is true, I still couldn't accept it. I didn't want to be a Muslim. Now while I was removing all my books from my desk, some of them fell off the shelf. And one of these books was the Qur'an. When I took it in my hand, my thumb was in the 46th verse of Hajj Surah: “Do they not wander on earth so that they may have exemplary hearts or hearing ears? It is a fact that the eyes do not go blind, but the hearts in the breasts do. And that was exactly my problem. I could literally read what the truth was, all the facts were clear. So it wasn't a problem with my eyes or my mind, it was a problem with my heart and my emotions. I prayed a little prayer where I asked the Lord to give me a sign. Of course, no rainbows or gold stars fell, but after I woke up the next day, my feelings of disgust and anxiety were completely gone. In my heart, I felt him so strong and happy.
That day, I told my wife and mother that I was a Muslim.
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Joram was a PVV MP, but is now a committed Muslim: 'Of course I am sorry'
https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/politiek/artikel/5342834/pvv-moslim-islam-joram-van-klaveren-bekering-geloof