Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem From Neo-Nazi to Muslim "And remember Allah's blessing upon you when you were enemies, and He brought your hearts together, so that by His blessing you became brothers." Qur an 3:103 I nterpretation of Mea ning Islam - submission to the will of Allah. I converted to Islam because there came a time when both my mind and my heart accepted that there was no god but Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and that Muhammad (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) was His Messenger. All that I had believed and upheld before this conversion is at worst wrong, and at best irrelevant. My duty now, the purpose of my life, is to submit to the will of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala - to live, InshaAllah, as a Muslim in the way that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has decreed, through His Prophet and Mess enger, Muhammad (salla Allahu 'ala yhi wa sallam). One of the many wonderful things which occurred on the day I converted was when the Imaam of the Mosque explained that by accepting Islam I had begun a new life - Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala had forgiven me my past, and it was as if I started my life again with m y Book of Life, the record ofmy deeds, empty. "It is not for the believer - man or woman - when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter, that they should have any option David Myatt: From Neo-Nazi to Muslim 1 of 15
in their decision. For whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has
indeed strayed into plain error." 33:36 Interpretation of Meaning
Thus did I acquire a new life, a new identity - for I am a Muslim, and all
Muslims are my brothers, wherever they happen to live, and whatever race
they are said to belong to. How was it that I, a Westerner with a history of overtwenty-five years of political involvement in extreme "right-wing" organizations
- a former leader of the political wing of the neo-Nazi group Combat 18 - came
to be standing one Sunday outside a Mosque with a sincere desire to go inside
and convert to Islam? The simple answer is that it was the guidance of Allah
Subhanahu wa Ta'ala - He guided me there. As for my political past, it belongs
to the past. All I can and should do, as a Muslim, is to trust in Allah Subhanahu
wa Ta'ala, The Most Merciful, He Who Often Forgives.
In terms of the 'Western' explanation that most Westerners will seek in order
to try and understand my conversion, I suppose my journey toward Islam
began when I first went to Egypt - over ten years before my reversion to Islam -
and, as a tourist, visited a Mosque. The Adhan - the call to prayer - had begun
and I was struck by its beauty. It is fair to say my heart responded to it in a
way that, at the time, I did not understand. Then, I knew little about Islam, and
at that time I did not investigate it further, returning to my life in England,
and my political activities. Yet something of that moment of beauty stayed
with me, in the months after my visit - as did the image of the Sun rising in
Cairo over the minaret, the dome, of a Mosque as I cycled along the dusty road
from the airport toward the city, heading for the desert.
Less than a year later, I returned to Cairo with my wife. We spent two weeks
travelling, visiting the usual tourist sites - but it was "Islamic" Cairo that we
both enjoyed the most, and we spent several days wandering around there, she
suitably and modestly attired (in a garment she had made herself) and I with
my Tweed cap, long baggy trousers and rather bushy red beard. Everywhere
we were greeted with friendliness, and I was in some ways sad to leave,
although I did not know then why I felt sad. I did not at that time make any
connection between the way I felt, and Islam, even though I once had spent an
hour or so outside a Mosque waiting to hear the Adhan again and even though,while browsing in a bookshop in Cairo, I had bought a copy of an English
interpretation of the Quran. I just felt, vaguely, that I wanted to know more
about the people and what I considered was their culture. My wife (who did
not share my political views) and I even took to eating, while there, with only
our right hands so as not to give offence, for, like her, I considered that
manners were important, and - unlike her - part of being English, as if the
The next year, we returned to Egypt again, as we returned the year after that,
although two months after our last visit my wife fell ill, to die six weeks later
of cancer. Yet each time we returned to Egypt we both learnt a little more
about the people, and what I still regarded as their culture, and each time,
after our visits, we returned to our English way of life: she to her rather quiet,unassuming, life and I to my political activities and my pride in being English.
In those days, I believed that it was our nation, our national culture, which
defined us and which therefore was of supreme importance, and I felt I had a
duty to fight to preserve this culture, and the identity I assumed went with it.
Thus, I was staunchly - and in the previous decade, violently - opposed to
non-White immigration into Britain and had twice been jailed for violence in
pursuit of my political aims. In addition, I regarded Western culture, and what
I called Western civilization, as superior to any other, and was very proud to be
English. Had we not built the greatest Empire, the most civilized Empire, the
world had ever seen? For over two decades I had been active in variousnationalist political organizations, and various para-military groups, as I had
written several articles, and essays, about nationalism and National-Socialism.
Indeed, it is true to say that I was a National-Socialist - a nazi; someone who
admired Adolf Hitler and who sincerely believed that he had created a good,
and honourable, society for the German people, and that a campaign of lies,
disinformation and propaganda had been directed at him, and at National-
Socialist Germany. I really did regard him as a good man, an honourable man,
just as I strived, in my own way, to be honourable - to do my duty to my
people, my nation, believing that sometimes hard choices, hard decisions, have
to made and that violence was justified, and indeed necessary, to achieve mypolitical aims, for how else could our nation, our race, be saved?
Not long after the death of my wife, I went back to Egypt - to wander into the
desert, and to find a kind of peace there. Back in Cairo, an Egyptian I had met
invited me into his home and I spent a very happy evening there. We talked,
briefly, about Islam, but I was too enwrapped in my own life, my own personal
concerns, to discus the matter further. But the people, the sights, the sounds,
the smells of Egypt - the sound of the Adhan - lingered in my memory, month
after month, following my return to England.
It was around that time that the violent National-Socialist group Combat 18
came to public attention, and I enthusiastically helped them for over three
years - often by writing racist articles; often by giving speeches and attending
various events. And yet I could never quite forget the sound of the Adhan, the
feeling of being alone in the desert and what I can only describe as the wonder
of Islam. It was as if I had caught a glimpse of something strange, and
beautiful: a fleeting memory of another world; a memory of something
I was released, while the Police tried to find sufficient evidence to convict me
in British Court of Law. In the end, they would spend over three years trying to
gather this evidence, and their investigation involved the Police forces, and the
intelligence services, of Canada, France, and the United States. I was
arrogantly determined to continue my political work and that of Combat 18,
but I was losing my enthusiasm - not because of my arrest, or my pending
trial, or anything similar, but rather because I had glimpsed that other worldagain: the world of the divine, of God. The world that I felt on hearing the
Adhan; that I felt on hearing the Quran on my flight to Egypt; the world I felt
when alone in the desert, knowing how close I was to death, how slender was
my own thread of life. It was as if in the desert, on hearing the Adhan, on
hearing the Quran, on talking with a well-mannered Muslim, I felt the reality
of God.
"Allah (alone) has power over, and is the (sole) master of, all things.
The creations in Heaven and Earth, the very change of Night to Day,
are Signs for those gifted with intelligence, those who whether
sitting, standing or reclining on their sides, give praise to Allah and
who frequently recall these creations in Heaven and Earth, (saying):
'You who are our Rabb - You created all these things for a purpose;
the achievement is Yours alone.' " 3:189-191 Interpretation of
Meaning
"This present life is only like water which We send down from the
clouds so that the luxuriant herbage sustaining man and beast may
grow; until when the Earth puts on its lovely garment and becomes
adorned, and its people believe that they are its masters - down then
comes Our scourge upon it by night or in broad day, laying it waste
as though it had not blossomed yesterday. Thus We make plain our
Signs to thoughtful men." 10: 24-25 Interpretation of meaning
The close contact with Nature I encountered on the farm, the toil of manual
labour, really did restore my soul, my humanity, and I became slowly aware,
over a period of many months, of the Oneness of the Cosmos and of how I was
but part of this wonderful Order which I felt God had created. In my heart and
in my mind I was began to feel that this Order had not arisen by chance - itwas created, as I myself was created for a purpose. I felt the truth of the one
and only Creator in my heart and in my mind. For the first time in my life, I
felt truly humble. Then, as if by chance (but I assume it was the guidance of
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) I took from my bookcase one of the copies of the
Quran I had bought after one of my visits to Egypt. I began to read it properly -
before, I had merely "dipped into it", reading a few verses, here and there.
What I found was logic, reason, truth, revelation, justice, humanity and beauty.
Then, with a desire to find out more about Islam, I "surfed the Internet" for
Islamic sites. I found one with audio files of Adhan and Salat and Suras from
the Quran. Again, my heart responded. There was no need for words.
In the next few days I found more web-sites as I read all I could about Islamic
beliefs, travelling to Oxford, and London, to find books about Islam. Strippedof my prejudices, my arrogance, my belief in Western superiority, here was
everything that I myself felt, and always had felt in my heart to be true:
dignity, honour, trust, justice, community, truth, an awareness of God on a
daily basis, the need to be self-disciplined, the spiritual way before
materialism, and the recognition of how we, as individuals, are subservient to
God. I marvelled at the life of Muhammad (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) and
at the spread of Islam - at how those early Muslims, once "rough and ready"
nomads, had through only the words, deeds and revelations of the Prophet,
created perhaps the most civilized civilization there has ever been. I became
enthralled reading about the life of the Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu'alayhi wa sallam), for there was something remarkable here: he seemed to
represent everything I felt in my heart and my mind to be noble and civilized.
In fact, he seemed to me to be the perfect human being: the perfect example
to follow.
The more I discovered about Islam, the more it answered all the doubts, all the
questions, of my past thirty years. It really did feel as if I had "come home" - as
if I had at last found myself, as if I could see things clearly for perhaps the
first time. Now, I would sit for hours listening to recordings of the Adhan and
the Quran in Arabic. Truly, here - I felt - in Islam was the numinous, thesacred; the way for us to become, to behave like, civilized human beings.
Thus, my own conversion became not a question, but a duty. For I had found
and accepted the truth that there was no god but Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala
and that Muhammad (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) was His Messenger.
So it was that I came, on Sunday morning, to be standing outside a Mosque
with the sincere intention of converting to Islam. For nearly half an hour I
hesitated - for these were the people who, twenty five or more years ago, I had
been fighting, on the streets. These were the people I had swore at and had
used violence against - indeed, one of my terms of imprisonment was a result
of me leading a gang of skinheads in a fight against "Pakis". These were the
people I had spent thirty years trying to get out of Britain. How would they
react to the former leader of the neo-nazi NSM walking into "their" Mosque?
At first when I, very nervously, entered there seemed to be no one around. Out
of respect, I removed my shoes and knocked on an inner door. The Imaam
opened it - but he could not speak English, and I tried to say something in
Arabic but the only thing that made sense was Shahadah. Soon, someone was
fetched, who translated, and the Imaam embraced me. They were so pleased
and so friendly - so brotherly - that it brings tears to my eyes now as I
remember it, and I thank Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala that I found the true Way
in the end.
Nationalism, Race and Islam:
Prior to my reversion to Islam, I had a great pride in what I regarded as my
own culture, my own people, my English ancestry, and my own nation. Indeed,
it is true to say that I regarded what I termed the "Aryan" peoples of the world
- and the civilizations I believed they had created - as superior. Furthermore, I
believed that "race" and "nation" were important, and worth fighting for and -
if necessary - dying for. I also defined myself through such things -considering myself an Englishman with a great heritage.
Now, I know I am a Muslim - that is, I look to Islam, to Allah Subhanahu wa
Ta'ala and His Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa
sallam) to provide me with all the answers, the identity, I need. I define myself
in terms of submission, in terms of obedience to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala
and His Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) -
for my Shahadah was and is a life-long oath of obedience and loyalty to Allah
Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad (salla
Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam). Thus, I am duty-bound, honour-bound, to obey them.I have no choice - I do not want a choice, for as Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala
says:
"It is not for the believer - man or woman - when Allah and His
Messenger have decreed a matter, that they should have any option
in their decision. For whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has
indeed strayed into plain error." 33:36 Interpretation of Meaning
Thus, I now know and understand that, for a Muslim, such things as "race"and "nation" and one's ancestral culture, are not important. Indeed, they are
'Asabiyyah. As I wrote in my essay Nationalism, Race, Culture and Islam:
"Asabiyyah is a loyalty to, or a feeling of kinship with and a
belonging to, some group, or grouping, distinguished as that
alleged or assumed "ethnic identity", and in terms of the land where they were
born, or where their ancestors were born. They will have a pride in their race
and nation, and will give their allegiance to such Tawagheet and may well
fight for or on behalf of them, believing that such Tawagheet must be
maintained, whatever the cost (in terms of human suffering). Many of them -
although not all of them - will also believe that their own race, and/or their
own nation, are superior to - and more valuable than - others. Thus, they will judge others according to the criteria of race and nation.
In contrast, we Muslims define ourselves in relation to Allah Subhanahu wa
Ta'ala, and accept that we have been given the perfect and the complete
guidance we need, in the Ayat of the glorious Quran and in the Sunnah of our
beloved Prophet, Muhammad (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam). For us, the
Tawagheet of race and nation and nationalism, are irrelevant: all Muslims are
our brothers and sisters, and the criteria we use is the perfect criteria given to
us by Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, which means us accepting that the only
really important division is that between Muslims and the kuffar, and that ourown criteria of judgement is that of how well we obey Allah Subhanahu wa
Ta'ala.
In essence, the fundamental difference between our real Truth, and the
ignorance of the kuffar, is that we know and accept that only Allah Subhanahu
wa Ta'ala is Al-Jalil, Al-Qadir, Al-Muqtadir, Al-Awwal, Al-Akhir, and that only
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala can provide us with the guidance, the gifts, we
need in order to know, understand, and to live our lives as we should. Thus, we
accept that the only true justice is the justice of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala,
and that the only true manifestation of justice, in the dunya, is that obtainedby following the guidance of Allah, Al-Hakam, As-Salam, in the Shariah. In
complete contrast, the kuffar accept and believe not only that they can, by
their own efforts and/or by their manufactured assumptions, arrive at or attain
knowledge and understanding, but also that it is their own manufactured
assumptions and "ideals" which manifest or which can manifest "perfection",
"truth", and such things as "justice".
National-Socialism, therefore, is just another example of the prideful
ignorance of the kuffar.
May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala protect us from all forms of Al-asabiyyah
Al-Jahiliyyah, forgive us for our mistakes, and guide us to and keep us on the
In contrast, for Muslims, everything is a creation of, or a Sign of, Allah
Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, just as our natural nature, our fitrah, as human beings is
to know and to submit to, to obey, only Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.
Furthermore, Muslims accept that Aql - one thing which distinguishes us, as
human beings - is a gift from Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. {See Note 1]
According to the fundamental error of the kuffar - according to this
manifestation of their hubris - Islam is just a "religion" among many religions,
and those Muslims who do not accept or who do not adhere to the "moderate"
so-called "Islamic religion" that the kuffar find acceptable (and which they
and those imitating them have in large part manufactured and propagated)
adhere instead to some kind of "Islamist ideology". Furthermore, according to
the kuffar, this so-called "Islamist ideology" is "totalitarian" in nature and has,
according to them, similarities with "fascism" and even "National Socialism"and some of the kuffar have gone so far as to describe this "Islamist ideology"
by the term Islamo-fascism. Thus do the kuffar, and those imitating them,
believe they have "understood".
However, as I have written elsewhere:
"Correctly understood, Islam is a Deen - a complete and perfect and
numinous Way of Life. Nowhere in the Quran does the word mazhab
occur. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala calls Islam a Deen, and therefore to be
precise we should talk and write about Deen Al-Islam, and not about"Islam" as if Islam was a "thing" - a manufactured human construct - to
be categorized according to the manufactured terms, ideas and concepts
of the kuffar. Thus, there is no such thing, in Deen Al-Islam, as a
"religion" which is separate from something called a "State" or separate
from that which is "secular": instead, there are only duties and
obligations to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His Messenger (salla Allahu
'alayhi wa sallam). There is only obedience to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.
A "religion" is a manifestation of kufr, concealing as kufr does The Unity
of Tawheed which lies beyond the ignorant division to which the kuffar
have assigned and manufactured separate concepts such as "the State",
"the nation", "the secular" and "religion". Furthermore, the submission
that is Deen Al-Islam is a personal, individual, submission to Allah
Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His Messenger, Muhammad (salla Allahu 'alayhi
wa sallam) - that is, it is not to "Islam" as if this "Islam" was some "thing",
some abstract, impersonal, human-manufactured and thus fallible
construct to to be adhered to or to be identified with."
The Kaffir Error of Moderate and Extremist Muslims:
This error arises from the kuffar judging Muslims according to whether those
Muslims accept or reject the West, and accept or reject the values, concepts,
abstractions, ideas, ideals and ways (the world-view) of the West. Those whoaccept the West, with all that this implies, the kuffar call "moderate Muslims".
Those who do not accept the West - who refuse to accept the kaffir
mis-interpretation of Islam and the hubris on which it is based - the kuffar call
"extremists", or "supporters of terrorism" or "terrorists" or adherents of some
so-called "Islamist ideology".
However, it is incorrect for Muslims to use the terms "extreme" and
"moderate" in reference to Deen Al-Islam. Rather, we should use "obedience"
and "error". A Muslim falls into error when they reject the timeless perfectionof Deen Al-Islam, when they reject ruling by Shariah alone, when they ally
themselves with the kuffar, when they imitate the kuffar by applying the
terms, the concepts, the ideas, the Taghut, of the kuffar to Deen Al-Islam.
Thus, if we use the terminology of the kuffar for the moment, then according
to the correct definition just outlined, what the kuffar call "moderate
Muslims" are Muslims who are clearly in error (if not apostates) while what
the kuffar call "extremist Muslims" or "fundamentalists" are those who are
obedient to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and who thus are true representatives
of Deen Al-Islam.
A Personal Addendum:
Many of the kuffar - and some Muslims, imitating the kuffar for whatever
reason - have, on hearing about or learning about my reversion to Islam, not
only made many assumptions about me, but they have also, almost without
exception, described me according to their own prejudiced (and Western)
assumptions. Thus, according to them I have simply "swapped one extremism
for another", and have moved from one totalitarian "ideology" to another -
from National-Socialism to "radical Islam". Thus do they reveal not only
prejudice, but also arrogance and ignorance. Prejudice, because there is a
pre-judgement based on existing assumptions and/or upon a failure to use Aql,
a failure to perceive - a failure to-be - beyond one's hawah; Arrogance, because
they assume or believe that the Western, kaffir, world-view and values, are
correct and universal; Ignorance, because they are in ignorance not only of the
true nature of Deen Al-Islam but also of their own true nature, as fallible
human beings, who are but creations of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and who
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