An ex Catholic Priest in the United States, Craig Victor Fender has revealed why he converted from Christianity to Islam.

Fender who hails from North Carolina, changed his name to Ismail after his conversion.

According to the former priest who converted in 2006, his decision was influenced by the life of an Islamic scholar and poet, Maulana Jalal Addin Muhammad Rumi, Sufi dance, the rituals of Islam and the spiritual atmosphere of the ceremonies.

Fender who was born in 1955 and grew up in Los Angeles, said his grandmother wanted him to be a pastor which made him to study theology in a seminary as his family saw religion and related beliefs as very important.

After becoming a priest, he took classes at universities in the United States, but his mental state was severe. Despite being a believer in God, the students of the seminary took classes but could not believe in the things they interacted with. With this he decided to leave the priesthood. And then went to California. Fender said he decided to study music and spend time with it, but he did not have the peace of mind to receive support from people, Morning Express reports.

Fender said his life changed when he arrived in San Francisco in 2004 for a concert. It was there that he met Rumi’s 22nd generation granddaughter Esin Celebi Byru.

He said he became fascinated about Islam and learnt the religion in December, 2005 when he went to Konya, Turkey at the invitation of Byru.

He decided to follow Rumi’s path and move to Konya as he felt that Turkey was better than living in the US.