MAKKAH — THIRTY-year-old Roman Catholic Jeffrey Perida, a Filipino, who was planning to become a successful preacher, never thought he would embrace Islam one day, changing his life completely. He is now a Muslim and he performed Haj this year as a guest of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. It is mindboggling to fathom the reason for Perida's conversion to Islam because he was religiously following Judeo-Christianity. “God shows the way for us to take the right path without our knowledge. I am happy and thankful to the Almighty for leading me to Islam,” Perida said. Perida was born and brought up in a Roman Catholic family in Manila and he had been strictly following Christian religious teachings and prayers. “I had a feeling that one day I would become a successful priest and that was my future plan,” he told Al-Hayat Arabic daily in Makkah. When his father switched to Judeo-Christianity and himself and family embraced the new faith. Jeffrey Perida had become a leader of the movement. He later spent seven years in the US to learn English and returned back to Manila to work as a teacher. In the meantime, he obtained an MBA degree. Perida's meeting with Saudi student Khaled Al-Muhammadi, who came to Manila to learn English, proved a turning point in his life. “I never knew that my association with Muhammadi, which lasted only for two months, would lead me to embrace Islam.” Although Muhammadi had left Manila he kept touch with Perida and used to send video clips about Islam as well as Qur'anic verses with their meaning in English. “I never watched those clips or listened to the Qur'an because I was afraid of Muslims.” Perida had a bad impression about Islam and Muslims because of the media's negative portrayal of the religion and its followers. “Moreover, a Jewish teacher had told me many negative things about Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him),” he pointed out. Muhammadi used to ask Perida whether he had seen the video clips and read the Qur'anic verses. “I told him ‘yes' just to please him. I had a prick of conscience for telling lies because I hated that.” Then I watched the video clips and read the Qur'anic verses, which totally changed my impression about Islam. My friend Muhammadi continued his help to enhance my knowledge of Islam. Later I had a dream, which was very clear. I saw from a distance a group of people circumambulating a black cubic structure. I was in the second floor of the building and later I found myself among them circulating the structure wearing white clothes as the other people. I was excited. I looked at the right side and found my friend Muhammadi stretching his hands toward me. Then I saw a glittering divine light coming from the sky to embrace me. Perida adds: “Then I found myself walking inside a big mosque with a large number of people. My friend Muhammadi, who was holding my hand, asked me to walk quickly. Here I got up with excitement. I am sure the dream was about Makkah and the Grand Mosque.” He later informed Muhammadi about his dream through WhatsApp. The friend told him that the dream proved he would become a Muslim one day to visit the holy places in Saudi Arabia. But Perida was hesitant to declare his intentions of joining Islam. But the pictures of his dream kept pursuing him. However, he did not take long to embrace Islam as his new religion. On Aug. 1, 2014, he pronounced the Shahada that there is no God except Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet. This year Perida was able to perform Haj as a guest of King Salman, realizing his dream. He believes that it was a great blessing from God and one of His marvelous wonders.
