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Sandra Solomon was born to a Palestinian Muslim family in Ramallah, but moved with her family to Jordan and subsequently settled in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where she grew up.
Forced into marriage to a Palestinian man at the age of 21, Sandra moved to Canada in 2004. In 2005, when her son was three years old, she returned to Saudi Arabia to divorce her husband. In 2012 she converted to Christianity.
According to Sandra, the attitude of most Palestinians against Jews is that of hatred: “They blame Jews for everything. They rejoice in the killing of Jews. There is no respect, no love, no peace, just anger and hatred for others”.
While attending school in Saudi Arabia, she was very troubled by the fact that the Koran instructed Muslims to kill anyone who does not believe in Islam. Sandra says the Koran teaches that the only way of salvation is through the religious duty of Jihad. “In school, they told us that to be a true Muslim, and to go to heaven, a person would have to die for Allah. Furthermore, Islam considers Jews as the ‘grandchildren of monkeys and pigs’. Anyone who does not believe in Islam and Mohammad is an enemy of Allah and is despised by Muslims. For Islam to conquer and spread, Muslims must force the infidels to either submit to Allah, pay taxes (jizya), or be executed.”
She began to feel uneasy by the hatred and violence taught by the Imams at school. “I failed to find peace and love in the Koran. Many more things happened that led me to stop the practice and duty of a Muslim and reject Allah.”
After Sandra moved to Canada, she was able to search for answers on her own without feeling the pressure of Islamic law. “I found that I had peace when I was able to connect with God on a personal level. I longed for a personal relationship with Him, based on love and peace without fear. Throughout all of my struggles as a single mother, I felt surrounded by God’s presence and love.”
Regarding Israel, Sandra believes that Jews have a right to live in peace and wants to take her pro-Israel message to the Canadian public. She says the reason she is standing up for Jews is because Jews are a minority who are caught up in a political and religious conflict between Islam and Judaism.
“As an ex-Muslim, I have a unique responsibility to stand up for Israel. Israel has a right to exist”.
Sandra will be speaking at the Toronto Zionist Centre, 788 Marlee Avenue on April 11, 2016 at 7:30 pm. Admission is free.