Impressed by the adhan (the Islamic call to prayers) during her visit to Turkey, a Ukrainian woman converted to Islam as Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of compassion and mutual understanding, continues.
While Daria Yaroshenko was eating at a restaurant during her visit to the historical Iznik district of northwest Bursa province with her husband, she heard the call to prayer coming from the Church of Hagia Sophia, also known as the Orhan Mosque.
Yaroshenko, who was fascinated by the adhan, then went to the mosque with her husband and met the muezzin Osman Çakmak, who recited the call to prayer. Stating that she wanted to convert to Islam after she heard the adhan, Yaroshenko told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Thursday that she was very impressed by the muezzin's voice.
"I felt something tremble inside me. I researched the Quran on the internet and then I decided to become a Muslim," she said.
The Ukrainian woman currently lives in the northwestern city of Yalova and changed her name to Derya after she converted to Islam.
Noting that she was very affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine, Yaroshenko said she was worried about her relatives. She added that she would return to her country when the war was over.
The Russia-Ukraine war, which started on Feb. 24, has drawn international outrage, with the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow. At least 1,480 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,195 injured, according to a United Nations estimate, with the true figure feared to be far higher. More than 4.24 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Meanwhile, Iznik mufti Üzeyir Yavaş said that Yaroshenko contacted them after being impressed by the call to prayer. "We are extremely happy for this wonderful event that took place in the holy month of Ramadan," Yavaş said, adding that they also gifted Yaroshenko a Quran.
"We congratulate our sister, her husband and our muezzin who recited the call to prayer. The good recitation of the prayer can lead to such wonderful events," he said.
