4500 Religions: I Chose Islam

There are an estimated 2.3 billion Christians, 1.9 billion Muslims, 1.2 billion Hindus, and 50 million Jews, and there are an estimated 4500 religions like these. But which one is a true religion, and is there even a need for a religion at all?

A few months ago, after asking a lot of questions and doing a lot of research, I made my decision. As a blunt European man of 22 years old, I found Islam to be my true religion. And I'm not the only one. Islam, for the past few decades, has been the fastest-growing religion in the world. But why is Islam the true religion, and can we prove it? I mean, there are so many religions, so many different gods, and so many beliefs. What is the true religion? In this video, we are about to find out.

All my life, I've been asking myself questions like: who am I?, what happens after I die?, and what is the purpose of this life? Some in me said that there had to be more to life—a deeper meaning, a purpose. There has to be more than just a few years we spend on this earth. So I started doing research and looking for more answers. But how do you even start researching and looking into 4,500 religions and philosophical beliefs? That's impossible, right? I mean, you can't look into them one by one. So I had to use logical reasoning and a process of elimination to filter them and find out if there is a true religion at all.

In this process, I asked myself a lot of questions. Does God exist, and can we prove it? What is the purpose of human existence? Is there a need for a religion at all? Is there a holy book, and what is the evidence that supports these claims of a holy book? Now let's move through this process together and use the filtering process of elimination by asking questions about the fundamental parts of our religion or philosophical belief.

The first question I asked myself was, Is there a God, and can we prove it? A question that people have been asking themselves throughout history. And there are many ways to answer this question. But what I did was observe the universe around us, something we can all see with our own eyes.

What I really realized is that sometimes we take it for granted and accept everything around us—what we see—without realizing how unique and special it is. I've always been so impressed by the skill of the universe—the stars, the planets, but also the simple things on this earth like trees, water, and animals.

Sometimes I just couldn't sleep when I was thinking about the scale and complexity of the universe around us. And then I started asking myself, Is this complex and immense universe a proof of a higher power, a creator? Or is the universe just the way it is? But then why is it the way it is?

Alright, let's look at it from a logical perspective. According to physics, everything in the universe is based on cause and effect, meaning if there is work that has been done, there must be a force in place that is able to do that work. Nothing happens without a reason, or, simply put, every act has a doer.

For example, a tree produces fruits; a bee produces honey; or a cow produces milk. Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and many other famous scientists and philosophers asserted that we live in a world governed by law, not chance. The philosopher Plato stated that everything happens for a reason, whether or not we know what it is. He said that every effect has a specific cause. Everything that becomes or changes must do so owing to some cause.

I mean, that sounds logical, right? But we see the tree as the doer of producing fruits, the bee as the doer of producing honey, and the cow as the doer of the act of producing milk. But the cow doesn't even know what he's making. He doesn't know the amino acids in the milk, nor does he know how many proteins, vitamins, and minerals need to be in there. It just happens after he is born. What is the real intelligence behind this creation that we observe? I mean, the universe is perfect. There are no flaws in it. Every plant, every tree, every animal—everything has its own purpose and is serving something.

And nowadays, science discovers and proves that there was a beginning to this universe. But I mean, how big are the chances of a random Big Bang turning into a universe with such perfection and natural laws, with water, beautiful trees, all kinds of animals, and all kinds of fruit? I mean, the last time I lit up a firework, it didn't turn into a perfect universe. Even if the Big Bang Theory happened like science speculates, there must be an intelligent force, something behind this perfect creation, right? Or something that simulated the Big Bang?

For me, this is more than enough proof for a creator, a higher power, whatever you call him. So when I was using the filter on my first question, religions such as Buddhism and philosophical beliefs such as atheism, agnosticism, naturalism, and skepticism were eliminated because there must be a creator. And by the way, we as humans can observe the creation, but the creator is unseen. We can see the intelligence behind it. We can see it, touch it, and smell it. But there's nothing tangible in this universe that has the intelligence and power to create everything that we see. So that eliminates religions like Shintoism, Taoism, and other religions that worship or believe in tangible objects and idols.

By asking all these questions, once I realized that there must be an intelligent force behind this creation, a god, I started wondering if there was a need for a religion. So when looking at the universe again—everything around us with such beauty and perfection—plants, trees, oceans, animals, and humans with millions and millions of different cells—don't you think that the creator understands his creation best? Everything is created with purpose.

I mean, when you buy a laptop, it comes with a manual, right? The manufacturer explains what they developed and how to use it in the best way. Even the simplest products have this. So if even small and simple products have a manual, don't you think that the creator of mankind didn't send a manual that could guide them? I mean, throughout history, people have been asking themselves, Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? What happens after I die? What is my purpose in this life? And we humans need principles, discipline, and guidelines in life. Without that, we are lost in randomness and follow meaningless desires.

I mean, have you ever realized that we humans are the only animals that have a real conscious mind and free will? A cow is just eating grass all day, and a bee is flying around from flower to flower. Everything in the universe does what it's supposed to do and is serving something, except us humans. We are lying in bed watching Netflix all day today. We are cutting down whole jungles to use the wood for our industrial production. We humans are the ones messing with nature.

Without humans on this planet, life would just be. We humans have free will. We have to choose between good and bad every single day. Life is just a huge test. Even if you believe there's no God or if you believe religion doesn't make sense, at least all of us should agree that life is constantly testing us. What's funny is that most people use this statement as an argument by saying, "Oh yes, but if God exists, why is there so much evil and hardship in this world?" And this is very interesting because, in my opinion, this is a big misconception of God.

It reminds me of a story that someone told me a little while ago. It's about a religious man going to the barber, and the barber says, "I don't believe in God." So the religious man remains quiet and waits for a few seconds. Then he says, "I don't believe in barbers." The barber asks why, and the religious man points to the man across the street with messy, long hair. "If barbers existed," he says, "that man would walk around with a fresh haircut." The barber laughs and says, "Of course, we exist, but he just doesn't come to us." Finally, the religious man replies, "Exactly. God does exist, but people just don't come to him for guidance."

I completely agree. This is how God teaches us, with hardship and free will. If everything goes well all the time without any hardship, do you think we would really learn something, get stronger, or have empathy and a good personality at all? Whatever you call it, we humans need discipline, principles, and guidelines in this life in order to grow and build towards something. Without them, we are just lost and walk around with not a messy hairstyle but with a messy life, without purpose or true meaning.

Religion simply means a way of life, a universal way that explains how we humans should live, free one another, create purpose, meaning, etc. And we can try to figure out ourselves what works best in life, of course. But then what you're actually saying is that when you buy a laptop, you want it without the manual, and you want to write the manual yourself and figure out how it works without even understanding what it's made of, which software it uses, and which parts it's built of. You will just be guessing what's right and wrong, and everyone will write down something different and probably disagree on many aspects. And you see this happening in life as well. There are so many different opinions and so many different things.

And a religion provides global principles, disciplines, and guidelines—a strong community that understands each other. It's also why governments create laws with consequences, because people will misbehave without them. I mean, how great would this world function if everyone will just agree on what's right and wrong and what's good or bad?

So, using pure logical reasoning, I started to understand the importance of religion and having a manual for life—a holy book. So, with this second filter and question, we eliminate religions like pantheism, nihilism, and many other religions since they don't have a clear book and a clear manual for the way of life. And then the final question I was left with was, what is the actual proof of a holy scripture? What evidence and reasoning support the religion's claims?

If God gives us a manual, how would he do that? And how can we prove that it's correct and not written by humans? I think first we must realize that by understanding and learning something new, something complex and difficult, we need a teacher that helps us do that. We humans need examples and teachers in life that can tell us what to do and how to live. Even when you have a book that explains and shows everything, completely understanding it yourself by just reading it can be hard sometimes, just like a book of math in school or other subjects. You need a teacher in the classroom who explains how to use it and how to understand it correctly.

And then I found out that some religions consist of a prophethood, which explains that throughout history, there always have been religious leaders, teachers, and exemplars with very strong evidence and unique stories. But this was new for me. So when I looked it up, it said prophets are regarded as chosen individuals who receive revelation from a higher power, such as God, and are tasked with conveying these messages to humanity. Prophets serve as moral exemplars, social reformers, and sources of wisdom. I mean, this sounds very logical, but then again, what is the proof and evidence of these prophets, and who are they?

But first, before we move on, I want to say that when I was applying these filters and questions to all of the 4500 religions, I ended up with three religions that were left: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They all have the concept of a creator, a holy book, and a prophethood. And before I dive deeper into these last three, I have to say that the fact that these religions meet the criteria means that these religions are based on the truth.

When looking at Judaism, their main figure, their main prophet, is Moses. And in Christianity, their main figure is Jesus. Peace be upon them both. And in Islam, the main figure and final messenger is Prophet Muhammad; peace be upon him. And what a lot of people don't know, and what I had to realize as well, is that these three religions are fundamentally the same. They are based on the same history and believe in the same prophets. But then, what makes them different from each other?

Let's look at these last three religions one by one to make the final decision. The problem I had with Judaism is that it's a racial religion. They believe that they are the chosen people of God. Even if you want to become a Jew, it's a difficult process, and you will always remain a second-class Jew. And then Christianity is men worshipping. In essence, they worship Jesus as the son of God, which is illogical and has no clear evidence, in my opinion. And I have a Christian background, like many other European people have. It is still the biggest religion, but I never really felt connected to this way of worshipping or the construction of this religion. The pictures of Jesus as a man and asking him for forgiveness—I mean, Jesus came with a very clear and good message and explained a beautiful way of life. But worshipping him as a human with arms, hands, and legs didn't feel right.

And besides that, Christianity has no clear boundaries anymore. It has lost a lot of its values. They are divided into a lot of denominations, movements, and sects and have multiple updated versions of their holy book, the Bible. Matthew, John, Paul—you have a lot of versions of the Bible. And I know a lot of Christians who only want to go to specific churches because they don't feel connected to the people, the teachings, or the way of worshipping in other churches. And this is just a small summary of the most important flaws that I found in Judaism and Christianity. But for me, these ones were already enough to show me that it's not perfect and that it can't be the ultimate religion for mankind.

So then I passed all religions, and the only religion that was left out of 4500 different religions was Islam. I don't know; that felt very weird because I had a really different picture of Islam than I have nowadays, but it was the last one left. So I started looking into it, and by just observing this religion in more detail, I was so impressed by their discipline and character. They believe in one all-powerful God. They believe that we are born with a clean soul and have to learn from the trials of life. They believe in a holy book that has no flaws in it. They believe in clear evidence and have a very strong story. They believe in structure and discipline. They believe in Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and see him as the perfect example for how to live, how to treat yourself, and how to treat others. And they believe in a religion that is for all mankind. Everyone has the same rights and must be treated the same. Rich, poor, old, young, black, or white—it doesn't matter. It was just so beautiful.

Literally every question I asked, I received a very clear and logical answer. I just couldn't find any flaws in this religion. It was actually the opposite; it was perfection I found. But, of course, it's important to say that no one is perfect. A popular quote in this religion is "Islam is perfect, but not the people." We make mistakes, but God doesn't make mistakes. And this is very true.

I promise you, when you research Islam and read the story of Muhammad, there's no way around it. But wait, wait, wait, let's give it some more context. How could a religion that is just 1400 years old be the true religion for mankind? What is very interesting is that Islam tells us that it has existed since the very first human being ever lived on this planet. We know it from the story of Adam and Eve. Islam tells us that prophets like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad, peace be upon them all, came with one message: to believe in one God and be good to others.

But unfortunately, over time, the messages of Moses and Jesus became corrupted, and that explains why you can find a lot of these flaws in these other religions nowadays. So even though Muhammad, peace be upon him, brought his final message 1400 years ago, in fact, Islam is the oldest religion of mankind. And Allah (SWT) says in the Quran in Surah Al-Maidah verse 3, "Today I have perfected and finalized your religion for you."

So in the beginning, I wouldn't believe it. But after a while of intense research and asking a lot of critical questions, I ended up with Islam as my only true religion because it is based upon knowledge and logic. It goes hand-in-hand with science. It is a religion for all mankind. It has no flaws. It is fundamentally a very simple religion. It's a way of life. It creates a good personality. It creates strong brotherhood and family bonds. It has clear boundaries. It creates discipline and structure in life. And most importantly, it creates peace of mind and a real purpose in life.

And this was my story about how I found Islam to be my true religion. Just ask, and you will find the answers yourself.