Former Archbishop accepts Islam after 7 years of secret study
3 min read
Donald Daclan committed his youth after graduating from high school to serving his community’s parishioners as a priest. Donald travelled for Greece in his late 30s in 2009 to pursue his dream of becoming an archbishop, which includes nine years of training in the Greek cities of Athens and Avlona. Donald’s ambition was to rise through the East Orthodox Christian hierarchy.
Donald was required to study Islam — yes, Islam — during his training in Greece. This may appear contradictory, but it isn’t: he was chosen by the church to carry out missionary activity. Donald was sent to Muslim countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon to tour Orthodox churches.
The East Orthodox Church’s instruction to study Islam was always a means to an end, in this case the continuous proselytization of Christianity among non-Christians. However, it was the means of studying Islam that bothered Donald the most – you might be wondering why. Because it started to make sense!
The issue of Tawheed was a precept for inner strife that cast question on all he had ever believed, and it shocked him to his core. He couldn’t get away from the truth that the Trinity had become illogical. Donald had to accept the truth in 2012, that if God is Almighty, He cannot be affiliated with any partners. After releasing the shackles of shirkh and realising God’s Oneness.
Donald faced a conundrum, however: how could he give up his priesthood when his father had recently died and he had recently become the family’s main earner as the eldest male sibling? He kept researching Islam, but it was agonising for him not to be able to fully immerse himself in the actual way of life and instead live as an imposter. Donald had even climbed in church ranks during this time, becoming what his former self had always aspired to – an archbishop!
After a few years, Donald received his final assignment from the East Orthodox Church. He was to be stationed in the southern Philippines, where he would continue his missionary activity by visiting impoverished Muslim villages; his contacts with Muslims further fueled his passion for Islam.
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The final straw came when Donald was studying Surah Maryam (Mary); reading the tremendous words from these chapters made him collapse to the ground, where he said, “I just know these are God’s words!” The entire chapter of Maryam, like the rest of the Quran, is filled with purity, simplicity, depth, and extraordinary coherence. This chapter responds to the inaccurate presentation of Esa/Jesus (pbuh) by the pseudo-apostle Paul, who incorrectly exalted him to a divinity!
It was the year 2019. Donald, now in his late forties, had decided that enough was enough, that too many years had passed, and that it was time to put the Duniya aside and focus on the Akhirah! During his time in Syria, he met a Sheikh (who preferred anonymity) who was assisting displaced East Orthodox war-torn families. One of the most striking features of this Sheikh that Donald noticed was his constant request that his good deeds be kept a complete secret and not shared with anyone. One of the contributing causes in Donald’s heart softening towards Islam was the Sheikh’s acts, therefore it was only fair for this Sheikh to have the honour of taking his Shahada and witnessing his solemn testimony of “La ilah ha illala…” via Zoom.
Donald relocated to Malaybalay to be closer to family and sought out the local Islamic Center, when he discovered iERA Representatives, Noel Blanco, who lives nearby. Noel greeted him with open arms and provided him with new Muslim support by allowing him to stay with him for a month. Noel assisted him with his Islamic conversion certificate. Donald is now studying Arabic and has attended iERA’s New Muslim Retreat in Cagayan de Oro, which lasted 14 days.
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