How do I handle my dad about religion?
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh :) I hope everyone is well and may Allah give patience to those of us struggling with parents. This is long soz in advance. Context: I’m 19, African revert (about 4 years), parents are Christian and don’t know I’m Muslim. Alhamdulillah my sisters help me hide my prayers and fasting. What happened: Yesterday at dinner religion came up. I usually avoid eating with my dad because it turns into an argument, but it was New Years so I couldn’t skip it. I thought maybe I could gently plant a seed (my plan is to tell them I’m Muslim after I graduate, that’s what they care about most). They already know I don’t eat pork and my parents added bidets years ago for hygiene before I even said shahada, so my mum sometimes jokes “do you have a little Mohammed boyfriend?” which I laugh off. I began explaining why I’m not Christian - I’d said that before but never why - and they got agitated. I hoped showing some Bible verses that made me question things might end the discussion, but then my dad reacted how I expected and worse. My dad thinks a child must obey parents no matter what, and that a parent’s curse or blessing is absolute (I don’t believe this). He also thinks whatever a parent says is true. When I said I wasn’t Christian he asked why I didn’t tell him earlier, then said “my household is a Christian household.” Fine, but then: 1) He kept contradicting himself about Jesus - “Jesus is God in the flesh” and later “Jesus is the son of God.” 2) He said all religions are man-made and he follows Christianity because his parents did. I kept thinking of the Quranic verse about people following their forefathers. Deep down I thought if I showed corruption in the Bible they might understand, but with him it’s different. 3) He made claims like “80% of Muslims are Arabs.” I corrected him that most Muslims are in Asia (Indonesia, Pakistan, etc.) and showed him sources, but he just shut me down. 4) They told me I don’t know the Bible. I admitted I’ve read the Quran fully but not the whole Bible; I had researched a lot before reverting and felt confident in Islam. I tried to explain differences between Catholic and Protestant canons and showed evidence, but he dismissed it. 5) He said he doesn’t care about the Bible, it’s man-made, he cares about God. 6) He then said he does not bless me if I want to become “Islamic” - basically he cursed the idea. I didn’t tell him I’m Muslim because I don’t want that to be their first knowledge of it. The debate lasted about four hours. They associate Islam with Arabs and point to cruelty they’ve seen in some Arab countries toward Black people, and say since Muslims aren’t perfect, Islam must not be, so I should stay Christian. That really upset me. One of my sisters was close to reverting before; I worry my dad’s reaction will stop her from taking that step because they don’t want to disappoint our parents. My dad is more agnostic than practicing - we haven’t been to church in 5+ years and don’t celebrate Christian holidays, which helps a bit. He hates how some Arabs treat Black people (and same for some white people) and that affects his view of Islam. I kept talking because I don’t want them to accuse me of being brainwashed when I do tell them I’m Muslim. I’m graduating in two years and plan to show consistency. If it weren’t for Islam I might have cut him off after graduation, but Alhamdulillah I’m learning to forgive. I will not give up my faith to please him. This morning he said he researched and believes Judaism isn’t the first religion, that Hinduism and animism were - I replied I meant Abrahamic religions and he said “that doesn’t exist.” I’m just drained and don’t want more religious talks with them for now. Allah says hearts can be blind, and this proved it to me. This is mostly a rant, I know there’s no simple fix and Allah won’t burden me beyond my capacity. Alhamdulillah I’m Muslim and defending the deen at the start of the new year was important to me. I feel I acted within the limits of respecting parents - Allah commands us to be good to parents but not to obey them in matters of shirk. For now I’m trying to keep good relations while staying firm in my faith. Has anyone been through something similar? Any duas that helped you? Or do you think I could’ve handled things differently? JazakAllah khair for reading ❤️