I'm a feminist, and I converted to Islam (Opinion) - CNN.com
Editor's note: Theresa Corbin is a writer living in New Orleans. She is the founder of Islamwich and a contributor to On Islam and Aquila Style. A version of this piece first appeared on CNN iReport.
(CNN) -- I am a Muslim, but I wasn't always. I converted to Islam in November 2001, two months after 9/11.
I was 21 and living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was a bad time to be a Muslim. But after four years of studying, poking and prodding at world religions and their adherents, I decided to take the plunge.
Questions and answers
I am the product of a Creole Catholic and an Irish atheist. I grew up Catholic, then was agnostic, now I'm Muslim.
My journey to Islam began when I was about 15 years old in Mass and had questions about my faith. The answers from teachers and clergymen --
don't worry your pretty little head about it -- didn't satisfy me.
So I did what any red-blooded American would do: the opposite. I worried about it. For many years. I questioned the nature of religion, man and the universe.
Theresa Corbin
then burned down.
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In August 2012, I moved back home to New Orleans, where being different is the norm. I finally felt safe -- for a while. But now, with the continuous news coverage of the un-Islamic group known as ISIS, I have been subjected to much of the same treatment I received in other cities. And I now feel less safe than I ever have.
It enrages me to know there are some who call themselves Muslims and who distort and misappropriate Islam for political gains.
It weighs on me knowing that millions of my countrymen see only these images as a representative of my religion. It is unbearable to know that I am passionately hated for my beliefs, when those hating me don't even know what my beliefs are.
In my journey to Islam, I came to learn that Muslims come in all shapes, sizes, attitudes, ethnicities, cultures and nationalities. I came to know that Islam teaches disagreement and that shouldn't lead to disrespect, as most Muslims want peace.
Most of all, I have faith that my fellow Americans can rise above fear and hatred and come to learn the same.
Have a question for Corbin? We'll open comments at 1 p.m. ET, and she'll be here to answer your questions.
