Growing up, Jeffrey Lang doubted that there is a God. As far as he was concerned, he was living in hell right in his own home.

His hell was his alcoholic father, who took out his anger and violence on his family. Every day, Lang, his four brothers and their mother, suffered physical and emotional abuse that made their life a nightmare.

“It was like a tornado went through the house,” Lang recalled as he addressed more than 100 students Wednesday night in the Stamp Student Union. “He would go through the house and tear it up.”

Now a mathematics professor at the University of Kansas and author of three books on Islam, Lang came to speak to students about his conversion to Islam in 1982. The event was sponsored by the Rumi Club, a campus organization that aims to emphasize interfaith dialogue and bridge the differences between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Yet for Lang, who was raised Catholic but became atheist at age 16, the idea of becoming a Muslim at first seemed as real as a magic carpet. Nevertheless, Lang developed an interest in the religion when he was 27 years old after some Muslim friends gave him a copy of the Quran, the holy book of Islam.

“It was like having a conversation with the Scripture,” Lang said, remembering his experience of reading the Quran for the first time. “I asked a question, and a few lines later, I would find an answer.”

Why is there suffering? Why did God banish us from heaven if he loves us so much? Why did he not make us angels if he wanted us to obey his will?

These questions, which Lang had wondered about since childhood, were answered for him as he continued to study the Quran. He said Islam was constantly challenging his perceptions and opening his eyes to things he did not see before.

“Suffering plays a major role in what life is all about,” Lang said. He added the Quran stresses reason, intelligence and spiritual growth, and believers grow closer to God through suffering.

Lang, the author of Losing My Religion: A Call for Help and Even Angels Ask: A Journey to Islam in America, also said people should strive toward love and compassion, qualities shared by God. It is only through choice that we can understand the power of a virtue such as forgiveness, Lang said, and that is why God gave people free will.

The audience was mostly Muslims, who said they were inspired by Lang’s story to make them think about their religion from a new perspective.

Faten Gharib, sophomore math major and vice-president of the Muslim Student Association, said hearing other Muslims’ stories helps her educate others about Islam.

“I think each person sees it in their own unique perspective,” she said. “This helps me as a Muslim to teach dawah (spreading the faith).”

As for Lang, he said his experience with his father made him a survivor and he would not be where he is today if he had not found Islam.

Contact reporter Annabelle O’Hara at newsdesk@dbk.umd.edu.

EDITORS NOTE: A source’s comments have been removed from this story to protect their privacy.