Nada Dosti is a journalist, writer, and researcher from Albania. She holds a degree in Translation and Interpretation from the University of Tirana and a Masters in Journalism from Ankara University and is currently, a PhD student in Social Media Studies. She embraced Islam at the age of 14. In 2012, she decided to continue studying in Türkiye and then to stay permanently with her husband.
Can you tell us briefly about yourself?
My name is Nada Dosti. I’m from Albania, as a profession I am a journalist. Currently, I’m working at the Institute of Islamic Thought as a researcher. I’m a PhD student in social media studies in Ankara.
How did you hear about Islam for the first time and what was your thought about Islam back then?
Islam is part of the Albanian reality after the communist regime. So I cannot recall the first moment I heard about Islam or something related to Islam but I remember that when I was in secondary school I started searching about religion. I started being interested in religious issues in general. I had a best friend who was a very devoted Christian. She was inviting me to her religion and then I started reading about the Bible. After that, I start thinking about religion in general. I start researching about other different religions such as Islam, Judaism, etc.
There was a specific moment when I decided to embrace Islam completely. It was summertime and I was with my sister and we met a friend an old friend from secondary school. He graduated in Jordan in theology studies and he invited us to listen to his speech. He was giving khutbah in the mosque. He invited us to attend his lectures. He was talking about some different topics in general. I don’t remember what kind of topic he was talking about. But I realized he completely changed the topic and started talking about a particular moment when people of Jannah will be witnessing when prophets recite some parts of their book. For example, Musa (as) will recite a part of his book, and Suleiman (as), and then after that Muhammad (saw) will recite some part of the Qur’an. This was a very emotional part and I started crying, I got emotional at that moment.
Is this the first moment you heard the Qur’an?
No, that wasn’t the first moment. Because you may listen to the Qur’an several times like when you cross the street. Some are reciting from the Qur’an from the masjid. You can listen to it maybe during Ramadan time in the television programs. But the first time I realized and I understood the meaning and the importance of the Qur’an. This was like the first meeting with the verse of the Qur’an which I completely understood because my professor explained it to us. This was a very emotional moment I started crying. I got emotional and I expressed shahdah at that moment and accepted Islam. Then I started prayer and hijab etc. I may say that it was a decision both from my spiritual and also from my search for Islam. The moment I accepted Islam was the moment when I heard about this lecture.
What affects you the most about the religion Islam?
There is a principle in Islam, important to me. Maybe because it’s related to my personality. As an individual, I was affected by solidarity. Solidarity is promoted in Islam, it is a very important element and principle. For example, we can remember the hadith of the Prophet (saw) which says that you have to love for your brother what you love for yourself or you wish for your brother what you wish for yourself. Usually, I am a very empathic person and when I heard about this principle, it really affected me.
What is the first thing that came to your mind when I said the Prophet Muhammad (saw)?
The first thing that came to my mind when we talked about our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) was a hijrah. He struggled a lot for Islam to be spread all around the world. Another thing that comes to my mind when we talk about our beloved prophet is a sacrifice. Because he sacrificed his entire life from the moment he received the revelation until his death. So he always tried to do his best, he struggled a lot, he sacrificed a lot to spread Islam to be sure that Islam would be spread all around the world.
How did your family and your friends react to this decision and what were your close circle’s thoughts about your embracing Islam?
It was a huge problem. It had a lot of drama because my parents were against it. Not only my parents but also my relatives, my entire society was against this decision. First of all, when I wanted to wear the hijab I was in my last year of secondary school. The principal of the school didn’t allow me. He said that wait until graduation then you can wear it. They forbid me to wear it at school. My parents kicked me out of home. I started living at my relative’s house but they started threatening them that if they accepted me, they would have trouble with them. They also started being afraid, so they also didn’t accept me anymore. During this period, I started staying in the masjid, then the other day I would go to school and my classmates would feed me, and share some food with me this continued for kind of not a long time for some days and weeks. After that, I went back home. My hometown is a small city, everyone started talking about me I asked them whether they were going to accept the people talking about me being homeless or they were going to accept the fact that people would talk about me deciding to wear a hijab. They accepted although they weren’t so happy to do that, and that’s the story.
You came to Türkiye as a student and you decided to stay permanently. How did this decision come into existence?
I came to Türkiye in 2012, almost 12 years ago. Me and my husband applied for a scholarship. We chose to apply for Türkiye scholarship because it’s among the best scholarships in the region. It is a developed country and a rich country with a lot of opportunities. But the first and main decision was because of Islam. This is because it is a Muslim country, and we consider it a hijrah to save our faith.
We also know that you’re a good writer and researcher and what are your plans for the future?
I have published a book in Albanian language about travel stories. Then I have also rewritten it into Turkish. My future project related to writing and storytelling is my second book. It will be as well travel story collection of the different travel opportunities I had almost in 15 countries in the world. I had the opportunity the chance to visit different cities in Türkiye. The main point of these books is during my travels I tried to promote differences among us. Because what makes us unique is our differences. I tried to talk about Islam trying to tell stories without being direct.
What would you like to say as your final words?
Nowadays we are all witnessing what is going on in Gaza. I think it’s a crucial moment for all of us to show solidarity. Most of us are lucky to have a platform, we may be influencers on social media, and we may have our voice being amplified. This is I think a duty to ask to raise our voice to talk about Gaza in many different ways.
Allah doesn’t want us to put ourselves in danger but if we have some tools, if we have a voice, if we have some platforms, we need to take advantage of these platforms and talk about this injustice and genocide, what is going on in Gaza.
Since we are witnessing this genocide which is going on I would like to remind another hadith from the Prophet (saw). It says that whenever we witness an injustice, we have to speak out about it. We have to do something about it with our hands with our voice or the last level of Iman which is to hate it by heart. Everyone has the opportunity to do something. People may be afraid to lose their jobs or may be afraid to lose their followers on social media but we have to remind ourselves that in the time of the Prophet (saw), people lost their lives, lost their families, lost their possessions. They lost everything they had. So it’s time for us to sacrifice something, it’s time for us to show solidarity because it’s our duty as Muslims. It’s our duty as a human being.
