Islam Revert
Dec 20th, 2008, in News, by PatungA teenage Australian girl from sunny Queensland finds Islam in Lampung and becomes a revert.
Kim, or Kimi, otherwise known as “KimDonesia” (Kim + Indonesia), a 17 year old Australian from Queensland, the Sunshine state, once lived in Lampung, southern Sumatra, for six months, accompanying her step-father who worked for a sugar company, Gula Putih Mataram (GPM).
While in Lampung she says she studied Islam, and was moved by the passionate devotion of the people there to the religion, and finally fell in love with it, particularly the sound of the call to prayer.
After moving back to Australia she converted to the faith, or reverted as she would have it. Here she explains, in rather good Indonesian, how she came to live in Indonesia in 2007:
In this video she explains her religious journey – from Wiccan moon worshipping, to nothing in particular, to Islam – she even has the pronunciation right, Islaaam, – and how living in Lampung and talking to the people there was one of the keys to her decision to throw her lot in with Allah.
Youtube Mission
Kimdonesia has in the short time since her conversion this year produced dozens of Islamic dakwah (missionary) videos on Youtube, and has a bit of a following among some Indonesians, at http://www.youtube.com/user/KimDonesia.
549 Comments on “Islam Revert”
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@ Siti,
THANK YOU!!
Why do you all have a problem with it? Upset that so many people are leaving your faiths and converting to Islam? You’ll have to accept these facts. š
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Lairedion says:
Kim said:
Why do you all have a problem with it? Upset that so many people are leaving your faiths and converting to Islam? Youāll have to accept these facts
You (like so many of your fellow Muslims) seem to have a problem with people criticizing your religion, otherwise you wouldn’t be whining here about people mocking your religion. š
Islam, like any other ideology, is not free from criticism or mockery. On the contrary, it needs to prove its quality over and over again.
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diego says:
It makes me wondering, what’s the “brainwashing-rate” of islam on convert since the onset (of the conversion)? Looks pretty high.
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Lanang says:
@ diego
Can faith be actually brainwashed? How? If yes, that isn’t faith, that’s more like artificial ideology.
People could simply ask, why not this religion or that? instead of brainwashing. It undervalues the meaning of self spiritual discovery, not to mention the right of humans to choose and evolve all on its own. It’s like teaching a dog how to play catch or rollover and play dead. Religion is ideally to be treated as an internal existence, not external.
@ Kim
No one’s making fun of your religion — I guess. And what makes you so sure people here in Indonesia Matters aren’t mainly Muslims? Because they criticize? Are you saying Muslims are generally submissive and obedient to dogma, or lacking the ability to evaluate the role of Islam in today’s politics, culture and the rest of the world?
To be able to believe [fill in the blank] is the only way of life Iāve stuck with, and I know that I will die with [fill in the blank] as my religion. Who are you to try to make my decisions for me?, and to become a better, wiser, stronger person in process, is much more a moral necessity than having a religion itself. In my opinion.
I do love my religion, I’d stand up for it as a religion, hell, I’d stand up for other religions different than mine — Islam included, but my faith, sadly to say isn’t religion itself. It’s the ability to stand up for what’s right, and knowing where I stand in this world. And I’d like to see a world where people shouldn’t have to be a Muslim to love Islam, a Christian to love Christianity, or a Buddhist to love Buddha, and so forth, we just do and we allow ourselves to, because we are humans.
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Oigal says:
@ joao, and everyone else who seems to have a problem with Islam and Muslims:
People like you are the reason there are wars today. IGNORANT people like YOU,
Ah Kim.. The simple black and white ignorance of youth!
An interesting exercise for you may be to do a rough data draw on how many Muslims have been murdered by Muslims over the past 12 months as compared to others. We all fully realise its a facet of youth to rage against injustice and a burning desire to belong and devote to a cause just as we all realise as we get older the world is not that simple and the “facts” we had been force fed were just one persons version of the world.
We all remember when we were teenagers had had all the answers only to later how ignorant we were(Just a tip, bit silly for someone who has yet to leave the safety and warmth of home to be calling other people IGNORANT in capitial letters..live some life first ok)
No one is blameless but the tiresome litany “its all someone elses fault” has had its day. Perhaps someone like yourself with such access to education and alternative view points should present the more balanced overview and reform of Islam that is so overdue. Maybe even continue the trend to claim back the religion from the Islam version of ignorant, rednecks, the thugs and the murderers.
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Elijah says:
@Kim
You have been to me like Abu Talib (the uncle of the Holy Messenger SAW) was to the Holy Messenger SAW. I am grateful to you for suggesting others not to mock and this is exactly what Allah obliged the believers to do: not to mock even the false Gods of the pagans against whom the Holy Messenger SAW struggled as His struggle was against the superstitious ideas of paganism.
@joao
you said
criticizing someoneās belief is completely okay as everyone should be responsible to themselves for the choices they make in their lives.
I agree with you but we need to learn to differentiate between honest criticism and abusively hostile mockery. Throughout the Islamic history how many Muslims can anyone name who have ever mocked Jesus (Peace be Upon Him)? I don’t know any. Maybe if anyone is able to give names, but the list of the names of those who in our time only, literally abuse Islam and The Holy Messenger SAW can easily outnumber it.
@Lanang
If you can read the translation of Chapter 109 of The Holy Quran, the word is used for those who are bent on denying truth.109:1 SAY: “O you who deny the truth!
109:2 “I do not worship that which you worship,
109:3 and neither do you worship that which I worship!
109:4 “And I will not worship that which you have [ever] worshipped
109:5 and neither will you [ever] worship that which I worship.Translation by Muhammad Asad
@Lairedion112:1 SAY: “He is the One God:
112:2 “God the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of All Being.
112:3 “He begets not, and neither is He begotten
112:4 “and there is nothing that could be compared with Him.Happy learning š
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Muhammad Asad was as human as I am, and as you are.
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Aluang Anak Bayang says:
@ Barry Prima
You think that one really works for you doesnāt it? For me Indonesia and malaysia are the only place in the islamic world where a punk muslim is not viewed with suspicion, there are more punks and esp skinheads in these places than in Europe! In Arabic countries, I keep that punk rock stuff well and truly hidden. Besides itās not like I walk around with a mohawk!
You are entitled to your own view but your failure to secure a moslem Indonesian spouse by masquerading as a bad-boy-white-punk-rocker-turned-good-moslem (whoa .. that is a mouthful) speaks volume. FMF was right when she said Javanese are not impressed by traitor. She was not fingerpointing at you, rather that she was expressing what the majority think. Unfortunately you were offended big time and resort to cheap shots at her.
Javanese generally disliked Bule, but we do respect them. However if one from their kind break rank and tried to get chummy with us by being a moslem, we get suspicious and treat him as traitor. Javanese belongs to the warrior clan. Our Mojopahit kings spared the lives of enemy soldiers who was captured alive in the battlefield and had fought bravely. The cowards who switched loyalty were slaughtered.
My advice as a wise Javanese man is that stand a better chance being a christian, then convert to islam after you find yourself an Indon gf. That way you don’t get the impression of being a traitor. What works in Middle Eastern countries and the Indian subcontinent don’t works here.
????? Where did you get this piece of information from??? I thought you suggested bule revert was a disguise to get underage boys or block m princess previously? Now this?
The majority of Indon moslem are peasants and don’t know what was written in the quran and many never attended the masjid. They are ignorant and are excused. The learned ones smiled and realised we are blessed our founding fathers were visionaries with the Pancasila; or when they come of age revert to Kejawen. Bules had no excuse to revert, other than there is an agenda or agendas.
Chinese girls in Indo are not easily tricked, they are very wary of outsiders including bules, any good chinese girl would be very cautious of marrying a muslim, let alone a foreign one, imagine the stick from the parents!
Yes, you are right Chinese ladies are not easily tricked and especially cautious of Bule moslem, just the same as Javanese ladies. However sometimes the urge to have a better life overseas blind even the most cautious Chinese ladies. Javanese are not as materialistic. If there is money, they knows how to go on a big shopping spree like Bu Megawati. If there is no money, they would rather stay in kampungs; which is also the real reason why you don’t see many pribumis illegals in Western countries.
The Javanese girls (generally) are easily the second best here, itās a job fighting them off, even when your walking hand in hand with the wifey.
Yes if you walk along Blok M or Dolly.
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Elijah said:
@Lairedion
112:1 SAY: āHe is the One God:
112:2 āGod the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of All Being.
112:3 āHe begets not, and neither is He begotten
112:4 āand there is nothing that could be compared with Him@Elijah
There’s no need to try and convince me. Many in my family (both Muslims and Christians) have tried before, without result. I abstain from the heresy of worshipping God and of praying to it. I don’t know and care if it exists. To me it’s totally irrelevant because I believe it is our deeds and acts which produce both good and bad results according to the law of causation.
Instead I try to focus on practice good so that good may result from my good deeds. Following rituals and dogma’s because Middle Eastern fairy tales are telling you so are against anything I stand for. It shuts out reasoning and common sense and promotes submission, blind-following, stupidity and ignorance.
Forgive me to put it bluntly but that is what I believe and if you, or any other Submitter, can’t take that, well that’s your/his/her problem.
Unlike you and other Submitters I won’t try to convince you. I don’t deny you the right to follow your religion but I’m claiming my human right to choose my own path and to be left alone by Submitters/Believers.
You can have my 72 virgins….
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@ Elijah
2:121 Disbelievers are losers.
2:6 Don’t bother to warn the disbelievers. Allah has blinded them. Theirs will be an awful doom.
2:99 Only evil people are disbelievers.
3:19 Non-muslims will be punished by Allah for their nonbelief.
7:59 Serve Allah or go to hell.You are wasting your time with Lairedion because Allah had blinded him. Just be patient. The time will come when all moslem laugh at him in heaven while Allah roast him in hell.
2:108 Don’t question anything Muhammed says or choose disbelief over faith.
5:101-102 “O ye who believe! Ask not questions about things which if made plain to you, may cause you trouble… Some people before you did ask such questions, and on that account lost their faith.”We better ignore him because he might cause us to lose our iman with his questions.
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To each their own.
If Kim believes that her “reversion” to Islam completes her and makes her a better person and enhances the contributions that she sees herself making to the larger world, the so be it.
We should judge a person by their deeds and actions, and not just their words. It is much easier to talk the talk than it is to walk the walk.
Ignorance abounds and is not just an “anti-Islam” issue. The suggestion that it is ignorance of Islam that causes wars and conflict is a little naive, if not misleading. There are religious zealots on all sides of this misunderstanding and ignorance. For me, there seems to be no monopoly on ignorance, there is enough to go around.
I might have to watch a few of the videos she has posted. It has gotta be an interesting experience to be a “revert” in a family of “non-reverts” in a country that is predominantly Christian and suspicious of Islam. For me, that would be something worth looking at and learning about.
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Rob, what’s with the word “revert”?
Was Kim a moslem before she embraced wiccan-moon worshipping?
Or do you share the “islamist view” that every single human being was born moslem? -
… and why there is only one captcha word — “capek” — on this site? I guess patung is sending a signal to all of us…. capek dehhhh š
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AAB: I always find your comment entertaining, yet insightful š I learned a lot about world history, and history of the races from you. Thank you. You should write a book. Hehehe.
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@ Diego
aww .. thanks.
You’ll find that most of the intelligent and ‘insightful’ comments are from Javanese or someone associated with Javanese. I am a very busy man and only log on intermittently from time to time to bring awkward comments back in line.
Bule posters tend to be condescending, and when cornered, would do the ‘wuss’ thingy and attack our womenfolk with slanderous remarks such as “They are all Whores” and “Can’t get rid of them even with wifey”. Anyone who had stayed in Indon for a while would know that Javanese ladies only go for long term relationship and had a reputation for seeking long term commitment. Otherwise you would be spurned like Andy and Barry Prima.
Chinese are arrogant with their ‘huana could not read or write English or Chinese’. PN trashed Dragonball in the english department, and I kneejerked him in the chinese sector.
Our Indian brothers are just ignorant. Being our most loyal ally and the well-liked group in the nusantara, comment like ‘some tribes in the Indian subcontinent has small eyes like the Javanese’ speaks volume of his self-acclaimed UN tenure-ship. Maybe he had one hashih pot too many.
Peace.
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mike says:
AAB: all your comments full of stereotypes… and what’s up with this javanese thingy man? What is it to be proud of? The county is so full of injustice and corruptions… all indonesians should be humble.
Kim: keep the good work gal, you are awesome : )
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@ diego
Mine (before logged in) says nyamuk. Am I a nyamuk to you, Patung? Am I? š
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ET says:
@ Kim
So first of all, thanks for featuring me on your website, I really appreciate it.
You like to be the center of attention, donāt you? I guess converting to Islam comes in handy.
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Barry Prima says:
FMF was right when she said Javanese are not impressed by traitor. She was not fingerpointing at you, rather that she was expressing what the majority think.
Aluang..thanks for the advice…but you know i speak fluent Indonesian (as well as many other languages) lived in Indo for a long time and much as you might hate the idea,maybe will go back to live there.(Allah hu alim)…My social circle in indonesia is 100 % indonesian people and i turned down many offers from well educated and talented local women …I have my own experince of real life to reflect on,i do not need the advice of a stranger in cyber space.Save you sour grapes for some one who has never been to Indonesia..
Its obvious you resent the interest Indo women have in Bules..much as youd like it all to be based on greed/exploitation etc..it is not like that most of the time…im not impressed by the attention i recieve in Indo as a foreigner in any case,so save your wisdom in these matters for the divorced over the hill sugar daddys and english teachers who believe their own hype.
Yes, you are right Chinese ladies are not easily tricked and especially cautious of Bule moslem, just the same as Javanese ladies.
Well unfortunately mas I have the experince of being a foreign muslim and you dont…and my experinces are completely the opposite..in fact the only kind of Indo girl who would interest me is the one who is very cautious(i do agree that they should be!)
Finally I do not need you to advise me as to how and what i should believe in either…I’ll let god judge me as a traitor or not.
Or do you share the āislamist viewā that every single human being was born moslem?
Ross /diego the actual word used in the hadiths is `fitraā not muslimā¦.fitra means primordial nature,not muslim as in a generic/religous sense as understood in contrast to other religious identitiesā¦
Islam is a way of life,to bring man in touch with his primordial nature as argubaly are the other great religions. -
Mine (before logged in) says nyamuk. Am I a nyamuk to you, Patung? Am I?
Certainly not…you’ll have to be unlogged in to see the other words and put them together…
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I get it…. Kalau tidak bobo digigit nyamuk :).
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@ Barry Prima
You certainly have an odd circle of ‘Javanese’ friends and I doubt very much the country you claimed to live in is Indonesia. Punk rockers are in the same caste as street entertainers in Indonesia, and I wonder if any of the so-called “well educated and talented local women” would want to have anything to do with a foreigner far below their station.
It was another Javanese poster who was being frank with the ‘traitor’ comment. I would be lying if I told you it was not true. Your tender feeling that got the better of you and you lost it. If you are genuine and wanted to be accepted by real Indonesians, you are going about it the wrong way. A christian punk rocker would be readily accepted than a mualaf punk rocker for the very reason I have mentioned in one of my last postings.
Consider this if you are still unsure:
You had been a long time employee for Company A. One day a job vacancy existed in rival Company B. You applied for that position and on the day of your job interview, you came wearing a jacket and baseball cap with ‘Company B’ logo. Your prospective employer will be shocked. He may give you a hearty handshake and a pat on the back, but in his heart think you are a traitor. You are lucky if you get the job. Hope this is clear to you.
Brother, it is Christmas time and time for family gathering. There is an unopen present lying at the base of the christmas tree waiting for you. Your christian parents back in England are worried for their prodigal son; your siblings are wondering where their long lost brother is. Give them a call for Allah’s sake.
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Diego…
I believe that “revert” was the word in the article and I understand that is how she refers to her embracing of Islam. To be honest I have not done any follow up in terms of watching her video postings (been busy with other things).
Nope, I do not believe everyone is born a Muslim and that ultimately they revert back to their Islamic faith at some point in the future.
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There is a reason why I never used ‘revert’ for punk rocker convert Barry Prima.
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@ all
Kim is a young girl. It is cool to be a rebel, hence the conversion (or reversion). She uses her real name so she is genuine. In another few more months or years from now, she could be a Hindu or a Buddhist.
Barry is an old fart. It is no longer cool to be a rebel at a ripe old age. He needs to grow up. I wonder if Barry would dare to look into any of his fellow Bule friends’ eyesand and tell them he is a moslem. I doubt very much as he is using a pen name.
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Hayley says:
I’m an Australian Christian living in Bali.
My boyfriend is an Indonesian Muslim from Sumatra.
To us, the mixed religion issue is not important. We both try to lead our lives as good, honest people, which to us is more important than following the same religion.
The thing that is a shame however is that Indonesia does not legally permit us to marry – because I am not Muslim. Is this to give people little choice but to convert??
Kim – I think what you are doing is great. However, rather than calling everyone ignorant, try to educate people through your videos and promote tolerance. You are lucky to come from a tolerant family and have had access to a good education. Calling people ignorant only creates more anger.
As for the whole ‘Infidel’ tag – I have never heard anything more disgusting in my life. To call someone an ‘infidel’ because they choose to believe in something other than Islam…… it really stuns me. -
Debbie says:
@ Kim
I’m lost for words. Kim, Thank You… -
Hayley: just want to clear up something, indonesian government is a secular regime… nothing islamic at all… if they don’t allow you to get married because of mixed faiths, please do NOT blame Islam.
also, the term “infidel” came from the crusaders, and all praises and thanks to God Almighty, this word does NOT exist in the Qur’an. There are many mis-translations of the word “disbeliever” in Qur’an and this one of them.
God bless : )
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Pakmantri says:
Mike said:
Hayley: just want to clear up something, Indonesian government is a secular regimeā¦ nothing Islamic at allā¦ if they donāt allow you to get married because of mixed faiths, please do NOT blame Islam.
Mike is right, therefore, Hayley: if your boyfriend willing to become a christian you two will be allowed to get married, or take the middle road both of you turn into Buddhism or Hinduism then you can get married in Indonesia. It has nothing to do with Islam, the government just wanted to prevent later dispute in your marriage because of difference in religions and to prevent confusion from the kids.
Salam.
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