MOSTResource.org

Resources on Muslims for the Entertainment Industry

  • Story Bank
    • Business & Technology
    • Entertainment
    • Culture & Lifestyle
    • Medical
    • National
    • Faith
    • Sports
    • Women
    • World
  • Resources
    • Faces & Places
    • Statistics
    • Infographics
    • Research / Reports
    • Quick Takes
  • Perspectives
  • Events
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Staff
    • Parent Organization
    • Videos
  • Story Bank
  • Business & Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Culture & Lifestyle
  • Medical
  • National
  • Faith
  • Sports
  • Women
  • World
mostresource storybank video

Explored Our Story Bank Yet?

Our curated collection of thousands of stories has helped top Hollywood writers, producers, and creatives. Watch our brief video to learn more.

Faith — October 2, 2019   

From Hate to Love, Convert to Islam Talks About His Surprising Transformation…

Original article by Carla Hinton published in the The Oklahoman on 09/27/2019

Photo Credit: Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman
Photo Credit: Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman

Richard McKinney recently spoke at the Oklahoma City University and declared that he once hated Muslims. Of note, the speech was co-sponsored by The Council on American-Islamic Relations-Oklahoma chapter and even more surprisingly, Mr. McKinney says he is now a convert of Islam.

McKinney, a military veteran, explained in his speech that he was miserable when he returned from serving tours in the Middle East and had developed a hatred for Muslims. One day he found himself at a local mosque, posing as someone curious about the faith. But to his surprise, he was welcomed into the mosque and over an eight week period, he read the Quran and learned that Islam is a religion of peace. This new understanding led to his conversion. “Islam was right for me. It saved me in so many ways,” he recounts.

“I think it was a wonderful experience having him here,” says Adam Soltani, executive director of CAIR-OK. “The biggest thing I got from it was that hate can be overcome. He journeyed from having a white supremacy ideology that he firmly believed in to the point where he was going to take action, to taking steps to understand the people he was propagating against and through that understanding, embracing the Islamic faith.”

Mr. McKinney says he is on a mission to share his story with the hope that people will be encouraged to reach out and learn about other faiths. “We, as human beings, have a duty to our creator, to the rest of humanity, to try to connect,” he said in his speech. “You don’t have to be like me and I don’t have to be like you and that’s OK.”

Read more ...

Our Experts Are Here To Help

Want to start a conversation with our experts for help with your project?

Related Articles

  • M Film Lab Now Accepting Applications for Screenwriting Program
  • American Eid – Interview with Director Aqsa Altaf
  • Post vaccine, Muslim travelers are heading to… Israel

More From The Story Bank

Post vaccine, Muslim travelers...

Last year the Abraham Accords were signed between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. This marked a public normalization of relations not seen in decades. And with this new … [Read More...]

Meet the first Muslim head...

As new head coach for the New York Jets, Robert Saleh is making history as the first Muslim American to lead a team in the National Football League. The Lebanese American is also the third Arab … [Read More...]

Meet American’s Youngest...

According to The Hill, Bushra Amiwala "is part of a new generation stepping into politics." In 2019, she was elected to the Skokie Board of Education in Illinois, making this Pakistani-American … [Read More...]

Riz Ahmed Is Oscars’ First...

Riz Ahmed has become the first Muslim nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Academy Awards for Sound of Metal, not long after Mahershala Ali made his own history with two Best Supporting … [Read More...]

More Women Study Physics in...

A recent report from Physics magazine finds that physics departments in many western universities have a "significant gender disparity, with far fewer women than men taking up the subject." However, … [Read More...]

Enter your email to receive periodic updates

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy© 2002–2023 MOST ResourceMOST Resource globe


We use cookies to improve your browsing experience and to collect anonymous data to enable us to manage our website. Our Privacy Policy is a complete disclosure of our data collection policies, including the choices you have to control information we might collect. Your use of this site represents your consent to our Privacy Policy.