How Supported by Solace: A revert of Sikh origin, sister A reverted to Islam during her late 20s, by which time she was already married with 2 children. Sister A was subsequently disowned, imprisoned and abused by her husband, his family and her own.

Sister A has since divorced her husband and become estranged from her children, who have refused to accept her as a Muslim. Sister A was living alone and felt misunderstood and unsupported by the Muslim Community, which led her to feel lonely and isolated.

Sister A has been supported by Solace to increase her confidence, get in touch with other Muslim sisters and develop her support network. Sister A is particularly grateful for the “emotional and practical support” that she has received from her Solace Support Worker.

How Supported by Solace: Sister C separated from her non-Muslim husband who suffered from issues such as substance abuse, and was left with worries such as financial difficulties, having to bring up children on her own, whilst still feeling some responsibility towards her ex- husband. This caused anxiety and stress to sister C.

During Ramadan 2010 sister C reverted to Islam and said this was one of the happiest times in her life. However, the anxieties returned and sister C felt isolated, living in a very white British community.

Solace offered support via Skype where sister C had the opportunity to speak about her worries and problems. Solace was also able to refer sister C to professional counselling. Working through the problems and setting realistic targets have helped sister C to view her problems in a completely different light, not letting her worries overcome her. She has started her journey towards Allah, and by the time the case closed had found much strength in Islam.

How Supported by Solace: R grew up in a Hindu family but reverted to Islam because she found peace and comfort from watching a Muslim friend pray. Her childhood had been particularly difficult, as she seemed to be the one that everyone singled out for all kinds of abuse and rejection. This had resulted in a deep psychological effect on every aspect of her life.

Although married with two children when she approached Solace, R still felt the burden of pressure from her non Muslim family, and continually tried to please them, needing their affection. However, things continued to be very negative for her, and she even found herself doubting that her Muslim husband could truly love her for who she was.

Talking it over with her Support Worker, R recognised that her main need was to overcome the negativity in her life, and to find her true identity. She had tried many strategies to overcome her problems, but continually failed to change. As R’s problems ran very deep, her Support Worker arranged for her to have weekly counselling sessions through Solace.

Through this support, R found a new way to approach her family as many buried feelings were uncovered and faced. She learnt to be in control of her own life and to distance herself from their control. Her relationship with her husband was strengthened, and R was extremely positive at the changes that were brought about through her time with Solace.

In R’s words, “Contacting Solace was one of the most positive decisions I had made towards making all aspects of my life better. It is most certainly a gift and mercy from Allah. Their continued support has given me strength and hope for the future.”

How Supported by Solace: Sister B reverted to Islam after reading information on different beliefs. She had only ever met one Muslim at work. She lived in a predominantly White, Christian area and did not meet any Muslim women at all that could have helped her learn to pray.

She had many questions about Islam that she wanted clarification on but the mosque in her area were not very supportive; she was told not to question matters, and was sent on her way. Sister B also had difficulties and pressures at home with her parents as she tried to practice her Islam.

Solace supported her by putting her in touch with Muslims in a nearby town to support her with the prayer and to provide friendship. She was given the number to call the Solace ‘Doubts in Islam’ number to ask any questions that she had. In time the sister received clarity on important issues that could have otherwise led to major doubts in her faith. After over 10 years, she finally learnt how to pray!

How Supported by Solace: Sister K is a black revert sister who reverted to Islam when she was in her 40’s. Sister K is very family orientated and her relatives, including her extended family, mean everything to her. She had recently lost close family members through death and she was devastated by this. This was made doubly hard to cope with when she became estranged from her family.

She felt excommunicated and this, coupled with other issues going on in her daily life, brought on a bout of depression. Shortly after this Sister K withdrew from the Muslim friends she had, as she felt used by them. She just wanted to be on her own, concentrate on herself and develop and improve her relationship with Allah.

Solace was able to support sister K through this very painful and lonely period in her life. Her support worker gave her practical and tangible help, as well as resources which she could reflect on in her own time. Throughout the trials sister K faced, she remained constant in her belief in Allah and this did not waiver. Alhamdulillah, Sister K‘s life is now back on track, and through the encouragement of the Solace team she has resumed contact with all members of her family as well as her old friends (Muslim sisters).

Sister K says she is very grateful for the support she received from Solace and her face just lights up when she talks about her family and how happy she is to be back on good terms with them, especially with a very key member of her family. She is a completely different person masha Allah; full of confidence, with a totally new outlook on life – maintaining that all she wants to do is gain the pleasure of Allah.