A REVEREND OF PENTECOSTAL CHURCH EMBRACED ISLAM (BY: KHALID SANCHEZ)
Because of a FLY he became a muslim…
I was given a
chance by Allah(S.W.T.) to meet a person I only see in TV and in VCD tapes
in his public debates with christian pastors and ministers. Unknown to many, I
am his admirer the way he explains Islam in a manner with a terrific convincing
power. Thanks to Allah for having him. I first saw him with my friend Zao and a
younger brother in Quiapo underpass. A simple man in a simple muslim attire.
After having short conversation we parted ways.
Simplicity was my first impression on him. But that was not the last time I met him. More meetings happened and it became more apparent to me his peculiar personality seen only to few great people on earth.He is more talkative than Confucious of China, impressive as Victor Hugo of France, more elaborative than Julius Ceasar of Rome, has a magnetic personality which Joseph Stalin of Russia without, conqueror of ideas like Prime Minister Disraeli of Great Britain, and owns a voice which Frank Sinatra dreams of. He is a combination of old and modern public debater. In all his debates, he is like Mike Tyson that knocked out in a single punch an opponent.
He was formerly known as Reverend Armando Barcelon of Pentecostal Church based in the Philippines. Now, he is Ustadz Ahmad Barcelon(muslim name), a famous muslim debater in the Philippines. His story of embracing Islam is inspiring and worth remembering. And I would not pass this moment without telling you how this reverend became a humble servant of Allah. He became a muslim 13 years ago in Saudi Arabia. He went to that place for a clandestine mission of reuniting the scattered church members. To hide the mission, he was employed as a waiter in disguise. Attached to his mission was an impossible dream to christianize the muslims there. But he was confronted with the dilemma on how to make them christians since muslims hardly believe in the bible. He started browsing the pages of the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad(Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) hoping to fine contradictions in any form whatsoever. He was a sincere mistake-seeker but Allah caused him to wake up one morning with the truth wide open before his very eyes.
As he continued reading the Qur’an, Allah displayed that contradictions have no place in it. He started to wonder and begun to doubt his own belief. Still he was dissatisfied, so he bought one volume of Sahih Al-Bukhari where sayings of Prophet Muhammad are compiled to quench his thirst of proof. Out of thousands of knowledge contained in it, he spotted one “hadith” or saying of Prophet Muhammad which he mistaken to be the loophole that can be used against the muslims in distorting their beliefs. Although his faith was shaken by Allah, he still conceived hope of finding mistakes in Islam. This saying, from the dozens of hadiths greatly disturbed Ahmad’s imagination.
Thumama said: We were with Anas and a fly fell into a vessel. Anas motioned with his hand and immersed it (faghamasahu) three times then said: “Bismillah” and he said that truly, thus did the Messenger of Allah order them to do.
How could a sane man oder to immerse in a vessel with water a fly dived in it and drink it? Ahmad thought Muhammad is insane by giving such order. Surprisingly, he came accross an article written by a NASA(National Aeronautics And Space Administration) scientist on the research about a FLY. Only in modern times was it discovered that the common fly carried parasitic pathogens for many diseases including malaria, typhoid fever, cholera, and others. It was also discovered that the fly carried parasitic bacteriophagic fungi capable of fighting the germs of all these diseases. So to continue, the saying of Prophet Muhammad on a FLY carries a scientific delimma that was only made clear after several years of scientific studying from the time it was told by the prophet. Prophet Muhammad says:
If a fly falls into one of your containers
, immerse it completely (falyaghmis-hu kullahu) before removing it, for under one of its wings there is venom and under another there is its antidote.
This made even convinced by Ahmad that Islam is a genuine religion, Allah is true and absolute God and Muhammad is a true prophet. For Ahmad Barcelon, it was a pleasant surprise. A humble acceptance of truth and a total conviction. An unlettered prophet from the deserts of Arabia more than 1,400 years ago has been directed by Allah for a universal mission. He declared in his heart that THERE IS NO GOD EXCEPT ALLAH AND MUHAMMAD IS HIS MESSENGER. But that was not easy since he was not prepared to undress the pastoral position in the church. Being a reverend, he was tasked to deliver a sermon during secret religious meetings and officiate weeding ceremonies of the church members which made his pocket even richer.He stopped the plan of preaching the muslims. He could not even dare to deliver sermons in their church’s gathering. He hid his affairs with Allah in his room where he can freely perform the 5x daily prayer while continue officiating weeding ceremonies. Until one day he was caught by a muslim fellow praying in his room. It made astonishment on the muslim. How can a Christian Reverend pray in a muslim manner of praying? Without much ado, Ahmad narrated the details of his actions that lead him to Islam. The news broke out. Church members can hardly believe in the incident. They lost the best reverend in their church.
Now, Ahmad Barcelon is an active propagator of Islam. He was able to islamize his family, friends and many others with the help of Allah. He conducted lectures, symposium and seminars anywhere in the country. Talked in TV and has various islamic radio programs on different radio stations and even lambasted in a one-on-one public debates the leaders of different christian denominations. He challenges everybody, as Allah challenges them, to bring all proofs on the veracity of their teachings and face him anywhere and everywhere. Truth stands out clear from error. Allah guarantees.
The Great man with a great ambition to propagate Islam in the entire Philippines
To : All Brothers &
Sisters in Islam
Thru: Ustadz Moosa M. Amiril
From: Bro. Ali SalcedoTreasurer/ Board of Trustee
Dear Brothers;
As-Salamu alaikom warahmatullahi wa barakatuh!As a member of the Board of Trustees and presently the Treasurer of “Sa Islam Sigurado Ka Propagation Center, Inc. It is my honor and privilege to respectfully nominate and indorse for our support Islamic Propagator Ustadz Ahmad L. Barcelon, Radio Broadcaster, Educator, Debater, and a Teacher for the New-Muslim, advancing the true religion and opening the mind of those people who have misconception about Islam.My exposure with Ustadz Ahmad L. Barcelon began when I accompanied him in his different Dawah mission for almost six (6) years throughout the Island of the Philippines.
His sacrifices and devotion to Islam is unparallel and beyond compare, where I witnessed more than Ten Thousands people embraced Islam thru him.The resume’ of Ustadz Ahmad L. Barcelon’s career as an Islamic Propagator and servant of Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) is worthy of recognition and must be supported by the Ummah of Islam. Because of his sincere effort to eliminate misconception and wrong notion against Islam, he successfully defeated a lot of different religions in various debates. And as result of which most of the members of these various religions he encountered entered into the fold of Islam, including some of their preachers.Ustadz Ahmad L. Barcelon was born on January 23, 1966 in Valenzuela, Bulacan. He was baptized as a Roman Catholic and given name Armando L. Barcelon. His parents were devoted Roman Catholic believers. Since he was child, his parent brought him up and was entrusted to his uncle, who was a town Priest in Obando, Bulacan.After he finished his elementary, his father took him and brought him in Manila where he studied Secondary School. And during his third year class, he met a classmate who invited him to attend their Prayer Meeting (Save by Graced Christian Ministry- a Protestant Church), as a result of which he was attracted and become a member of it. Since then, he became staunch protestant and believer of such church.Dr. Gary Garsain (Doctor of Divinity) and Most Reverend Pastor of Assembly of God invited him to join as a trainee Junior Pastor.
After two years as a trainee, he was appointed Junior Pastor and entrusted to build his own church. In 1985, he founded One in Christ Full Gospel Ministry and was registered at the Security and Exchange Commission in the same year. After four years, his ministry was tremendously multiplied from hundred regular members to thousand attendees. And in 1991, he was promoted to the position of Senior Pastor and after a couple of months he was ordained Reverend (with reverend License No. 1114, Volume VIII, pp.64-65, NSO-ROP).As a Reverend Pastor, he trained and taught twenty-one ministerial students for two years until they became full-devoted Junior Pastors.And in the last month of 1991, he received a Memorandum Order from his Mother Church, ordering him to go to Saudi Arabia for a Clandestine Mission (to organize the Church’s Members who are working in Saudi Arabia and exert all his effort to invite the Muslim to the fold of Christianity).
On the month of February 1992, armed with mission order. He departed for a new challenge.In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while organizing their church members, he bought a Qur’an (translated in English by Abdullah Yosuf Ali), Sahih Bukhari and other Islamic books to search and to find any loopholes (mistakes, distortion, etc.) to use as weapon in order to convinced the Muslims that they are gone astray. But he was surprised and amazed, because he never found any mistakes in Islam. And instead, he discovered his religion is the one full of distortion and mistakes.Although, he already knew the truth, his pride, ego and prestige for being in the high position in Christianity were barriers for him to set free. But no one shall go against the truth, for a couple of months he cannot eat well and sleepless at night.
He decided to enter into the fold of Islam. And took an oath of covenant to Allah that he will double his effort to propagate and defend Islam to the rest of his life.In order to fulfill his covenant, after informal studies of Islam from different prominent scholars and Islamic Dawah Center in Saudi Arabia, he wrote a book entitled “Halina sa Katotohanan” (Come to the Truth). And when he returned to the Philippines, he opened an Islamic Radio Programs (DWAD 1098 KHz, every Saturday 2-3 pm, DZRJ, every Sunday 1-3 pm and DWBL 1242 KHz, every Sunday 5-6 pm) which he personally shouldered all the expenses. He also founded Islamic Guidance Center, Inc., at Quiapo, Manila and “Sa Islam Sigurado Ka Propagation Center, Inc. at Cubao, Quezon City (the Propagation Centers and venues for Islamic Studies to the New-Muslims).
One remarkable achievement of Ustadz Ahmad L. Barcelon is that,Aside from being a workaholic propagator, he succeeded valiantly with all debating event he encountered against the different religions (Baptist Church, 7th Day Adventist Church, Born Again, Catholic Defender, Spiritism, Zionist Believer, Church of Christ, Kingsway Christian International Ministry, and others). For this reason he was called by many as an epitome of Shiekh Ahmed Deedat.With all these multi-colored activities and background, is there any other Filipino propagator deserved for support by his fellow Muslim?
“LET US SUPPORT OUR RELIGION. LET US SUPPORT THE MISSION OFUSTADZ AHMAD L. BARCELON TO BRING THE PHILIPPINES INTO THE FOLD OF ISLAM.”
Send your Donation and Sadaqah to:
TONDO ISLAMIC PROPAGATION AND MOSQUE INC., SAVINGS ACCOUNT NUMBER 200300109270, BANCO FILIPINO, M. DELA FUENTE BRANCH, SAMPALOC, MANILA, PHILIPPINES.
May Allah Ta’ala accept our good deeds and forgives our sins.
Very respectfully yours;
Bro. Ali Salcedo Board of Trustee/ Treasurer