German Catholic family revert to Islam
When Spc. Chris Tarantino deployed to Iraq in 2006, his wife began to ask questions about life and death that led her to convert to Islam.
“I was really, really scared something was going to happen to him,” said Cristina Tarantino.
She started to wonder what happened after death, she said, and how to best live life on earth.
She was spending time with her older sister, who had converted to Islam earlier, Her sister’s answers about Islam made sense to Cristina and gave her some serenity, she said.
She discussed her spiritual progress with her husband in frequent phone calls between Camp Taji, Iraq, and Mannheim.
Even so, “I was kind of shocked when I heard her say it — ‘I’ve accepted Islam,’” Chris, now a sergeant, said.
Chris enlisted in the Army in 1998, before 9/11, and twhen the U.S. went to war in two Muslim nations. He said he’d never had any feelings, positive or negative, about Muslims, even when heading to Iraq.
“All I knew was we were going to combat terrorism,” he said. “As a soldier, I just did what I was told. They say ignorance is bliss. I guess I was ignorant.”
Then, as his wife grew more religious and he was drawn with her to a Sunni mosque in Mannheim, he said the whole idea of radical, violent jihad against the West seemed utterly wrong.
“I follow the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. What the prophet Muhammad teaches does not condone that,” Chris said. “I don’t associate myself with radicalism whatsoever.”
“As Muslims, we believe that if you kill one innocent person, it’s as if you’ve killed the entire world. But if you save one person, you save the entire world,” said Chris, who is in the Signal Corps and works on communications equipment.
When Spc. Chris Tarantino deployed to Iraq in 2006, his wife began to ask questions about life and death that led her to convert to Islam.
“I was really, really scared something was going to happen to him,” said Cristina Tarantino.
She started to wonder what happened after death, she said, and how to best live life on earth.
She was spending time with her older sister, who had converted to Islam earlier, Her sister’s answers about Islam made sense to Cristina and gave her some serenity, she said.
She discussed her spiritual progress with her husband in frequent phone calls between Camp Taji, Iraq, and Mannheim.
Even so, “I was kind of shocked when I heard her say it — ‘I’ve accepted Islam,’” Chris, now a sergeant, said.
Chris enlisted in the Army in 1998, before 9/11, and twhen the U.S. went to war in two Muslim nations. He said he’d never had any feelings, positive or negative, about Muslims, even when heading to Iraq.
“All I knew was we were going to combat terrorism,” he said. “As a soldier, I just did what I was told. They say ignorance is bliss. I guess I was ignorant.”
Then, as his wife grew more religious and he was drawn with her to a Sunni mosque in Mannheim, he said the whole idea of radical, violent jihad against the West seemed utterly wrong.
“I follow the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. What the prophet Muhammad teaches does not condone that,” Chris said. “I don’t associate myself with radicalism whatsoever.”
“As Muslims, we believe that if you kill one innocent person, it’s as if you’ve killed the entire world. But if you save one person, you save the entire world,” said Chris, who is in the Signal Corps and works on communications equipment.
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