Jenny Molendyk Divleli was born in Canada, the second child of a police officer and a nurse. She was raised in a conservative Christian family. Molendyk studied Linguistics and American Sign Language Interpretation and Linguistics at the University of Manitoba and Red River College. As a result of her research on Islam, she embraced Islam in 2006. She married Sami Divleli, whom she met during the process, and the couple settled in Turkey in 2012. While teaching the English language, she also shares both educational and informative posts for children through her social media accounts. In her Turkish and English posts, she both touches on general topics and introduces Islam and the life of Prophet Muhammad (saw).
Can you tell us briefly about yourself?
I am a Canadian Muslim convert who has been living in Istanbul for the last 11 years. I was raised in a Christian family, and the Christian faith was a big part of my life until I was about 18 years old. When I was in university my parents divorced and that, along with new life experiences caused me to move away from the faith. I studied American Sign Language Interpretation and Linguistics at university. I only started looking into Islam because I thought that maybe one day I may interpret for Muslims. Of course, Allah had different plans and in 2006 I became Muslim. Later that year I got married and my husband and I now have five children. We have been living in Türkiye since 2012. When I first moved here, I spent most of my time homeschooling my children and developing an Islamic-based curriculum. As they started to grow, I also began teaching English. For a while, I had my own English course location and taught children’s play-based English classes and classes for youth and women. Eventually, I closed the company and have been working in the public education system as an English teacher at Imam Hatip High Schools for the last 6 years. Three years ago, I also made the decision to have a presence on social media. I wanted to take a more active role in the lives of youth and share some of my experiences with them. I also began sharing some of the activities I was doing at home with my children. Soon after, I began writing children’s books. This year, I also published my first book for teens/adults.
What were your thoughts on Islam before embracing Islam?
My knowledge about Islam was very limited prior to my accepting Islam. It was after the terror attacks of 2001 in New York so everything on the news about Muslims and Islam was negative. I didn’t give it much thought in my day-to-day life because I didn’t know any Muslims or interact with them on a daily basis, but subconsciously it shaped my perspective in a negative way. I couldn’t tell you that Muslims were the people who practiced Islam, but for some reason, I had judgments about Muslims. One of the first questions I ever asked when I first began looking into Islam was “Could Muslim women sit in the front seat of cars?” I have no idea where this question came from, but somewhere, somehow, I had a perception that Muslim women were oppressed. I think if I had lived in a bigger city, I may have paid more attention to Islam and other religions and cultures in general, but most of the people I knew were white Christians and I didn’t interact with Muslims, or even see them on a regular basis.
How did you hear about Islam for the first time?
The first time I heard about Islam was from a student that was volunteering in the same program I was in at my local university. Each week he would take his glasses off and place them on the table and leave our meetings without telling anyone where he was going. I watched this for a couple of weeks until eventually I got curious and I asked where he was going. He explained he was Muslim and was going to pray. This subtle action, fulfilling his fardh prayers without excuse or fear in a non-Muslim group and country sparked my curiosity. Allah used that moment to open a door. Having no prior knowledge of Islam meant that we began to have more conversations about Islam on different occasions. I was shocked at how similar our religions were and that I had no previous knowledge of Islam. I couldn’t believe we shared the same prophets and so many similar beliefs about their lives. I decided I would begin to read and learn about Islam for the sake of my career. I never had any intention of becoming Muslim, but we plan and Allah plans, and Allah is the Best of Planners.
What kind of differences did you experience in your relations with your family or close circle after converting to Islam?
After I accepted Islam there was certainly a period of adjustment for my family. My father, who was a police officer, was quite upset and it certainly changed our relationship for many years. He was also the most religious in our family. Between his history of being in the police force as well as his strong religious beliefs, he could not make sense of my choice. We struggled to communicate and my interactions with him were very limited for many years. My mother was more concerned for my well-being as a woman. She had watched a movie years prior called “Not Without My Daughter” and she was worried my life would follow the plot of the movie. Basically, a foreigner marries a Muslim and they have a great life until they move to his country and then she becomes a captive in her own home. I did my best to reassure her, and she began to research herself. Over the years she has still had concerns about the choices I make, but she is doing her best to be supportive. As for my friends, some of them remained close while some directly told me that they would not continue our friendship. Other friends just slowly faded away because I no longer went to the same places or had the same interests. Navigating the situation with friends was challenging. They didn’t understand my choice and religion is a private topic in Canadian culture so it felt uncomfortable to talk about it openly, but it was obvious I had changed my faith, so at times it felt like the elephant in the room. But just like with most things, it took time. Those who were important to me and sincere in my life stuck around, and those who weren’t faded out of my life. But of course, there were certainly moments of trial and loneliness.
What is your advice to people who are curious about Islam?
I would definitely tell those who are curious about Islam to not be afraid to ask questions. Allah’s first command to our beloved Prophet (saw) was to read. Knowledge is power; read books, seek knowledge, go to a mosque, pick up the Quran, meet and befriend Muslims… We overcome our fears when we understand each other. The media and news outlets love to talk about Islam and Muslims, but if you are sincere in learning about Muslims, go to the source. Read our texts, meet our community, and see the beauty of Islam. When people look into Islam sincerely, Allah shows them the Truth.
What kind of projects are you doing right now?
In the last year, I had the opportunity to be a part of some really exciting projects. Through social media, I started an al-Asma al-Husna video series that then turned into challenges between different schools. These days I am working on developing that series into other projects as well as working on a new series. I have also been very busy visiting schools and interacting with the youth. I recently released my book “İslam’ın Rengi” (The Colour of Islam), which is about my journey in Islam, and have been talking to the youth about the content of the book. I also have a couple of children’s books that I am working on. My biggest dream is always to one day open a youth center. I would love to see a safe space for teens that is relevant to them and presents Islam in a way that increases the love of Allah and the Prophet (saw). Inshallah, Allah will open a way for this one day.
What is your message to our readers?
My message to anyone reading this is never to stop learning. Knowledge is power and it is time that we used our voices to speak truth about Islam instead of letting others speak for us. We are on the path of truth and we don’t need to be ashamed to live Islam in public. To be effective in presenting our knowledge we also have to live with good manners. In many ways, this is just as or more important than having deep knowledge. For conversations to happen, we need to be approachable. Allah tells us in the Quran that if the Prophet (saw) had been stern in his manner, people would not have accepted him or his message. When we live following the best example of humankind (saw) with the best intention, then we should live with confidence that we are on the best path. I also want to remind everyone, including myself, that struggles are a part of life. Often, we feel like giving up when things get difficult. In fact, He tells us in the Quran that there will be challenges and we will be tested. Tests don’t mean that we are not loved by Allah. The best of humankind, our beloved Prophet (saw) had some of the greatest tests known to humankind, yet he was the most loved by Allah. In moments of trial and difficulty, that is when we need to come closer to Allah and remember He is always there waiting.
