A Filipino who had spent many years in a crusade to convert Muslims into Christians has completely reversed his campaign by converting to Islam himself.
The preacher, now called Abdul Rahman Cruz, said he had managed to convert more than 1,000 Filipinos into Islam since he launched his Islamic crusade nearly 13 years ago when he visited Saudi Arabia.
The 56-year-old man said he had come to the Gulf Kingdom twice over the past two decades to invite Muslims into Christianity before he decided to stop the campaign and convert to Islam, a move that pushed his wife to divorce him.
But Cruz, who is in Makkah for the annual Hajj (pilgrimage) at the invitation of King Salman of Saudi Arabia, said his 7 sons have converted to Islam and one of them has just memorized all verses in the Koran, Islam’s holy book.
He told the Saudi Arabic language daily Sabq that he had worked for the church in the Southern Philippine Cavite City for nearly 20,000 peso a month and that he was sent twice to Saudi Arabia as a crusader in 1993 and 2001.
“I decided to visit Saudi Arabia again in 2006 without the knowledge of church leaders… I met some Saudi Muslims and then decided that Islam is the right religion for me… I converted to Islam and when my wife later learned about this, she was shocked and decided to file for a divorce,” he said.
“I lost my wife and I decided to abandon my wealthy mother who objected to my decision… but I won my sons who I managed to turn them into Islam.”
Cruz said he was sent threats and decided to return to the Philippines secretly, adding that he ripped his passport and other ID documents while in Saudi Arabia so he would be deported to his country.
He said he was detained in Saudi Arabia for three days for lack of ID before he was flown to the Philippines without the knowledge of church leaders in his hometown.
Cruz came for Hajj in 2014 at the invitation of late King Abdullah and was invited again this year by King Salman. “I was invited this time as a goodwill ambassador for the Philippine Muslims,” he said.
