BERLIN,
October 17, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Famed German pop singer Hülya
Kandemir has been always flirting with the idea of leading a new lease
of life and be a good Muslim until she sacrificed the dazzling
limelight and record sales for her religion after much soul-searching.
The
30-year-old Kandemir is now a practicing Muslim who wears a hijab and
prays five times a day in a bid to get the peace of mind she always
aspired to.
Her
newly released book The Daughter of Heaven: From a Pop Singer to
Allah is a personal reflection on how Islam fulfilled her
spiritually and gave her life a taste.
"I
found my destination in tolerant and peaceful Islam and was born again
despite the recent wave of hatred and animosity towards the Muslim
faith across Europe," Turkish-born Kandemir told the Web site of
the Supreme Council of Muslims in Germany in an interview.
"All
divine religions are invoking virtue, but what I liked most about
Islam is that it strongly calls for struggling against the self and
damping down evil and corporeal desires."
When
Kandemir started praying, she felt an overwhelming joy.
"Words
are unable to express how I felt when I start praying," she said.
"I
became preoccupied with one and only thing: how to get closer to God
and utterly left behind my past life as a pop singer."
She
said her West-oriented parents used to talk to her about Islam when
she was a child, but they were not practicing Muslims.
There
are some 3.4 million Muslims in Germany, two thirds of whom are of
Turkish origin.
Islam
comes third in Germany after Protestant and Catholic Christianity.
Defending
Islam
Kandemir
said she wrote her first book especially in defense of Islam in the
wake of the torrent of attacks and media onslaughts on Muslims after
the Madrid and London attacks.
"I
stressed in my book that there was no compulsion in religion as stated
by the Noble Qur’an as people are free to choose."
She
also highlighted the characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and
how he should be taken as a role model for all Muslims.
"I
described how merciful the prophet was with the orphans, women and
children."
The
book, which hit bookstores early in October, comes amidst a wave of
anti-Islam books that started surfacing in Germany after the 9/11
attacks on the US.
Some
of these books are written by Muslims who describe their
"sufferings" under Islam.
On
her future step, Kandemir said she will not quit singing, but will
shift the focus.
"I
will write and sing for children and could sing Islamic songs in the
future."
