Ahmadi Islam has made me more like the man that I was made to be.
My name is Jonathan Butterworth. I'm 25 and I am an Ahmadi Muslim.
I was born into a very compassionate
and very humanitarian agnostic family,
and I had no relationship with God
up until two years ago, February 2010.
I went down on my knees in the middle of this field
and I felt as if electricity was running all the way through my body
and all of my hairs were standing on end.
I started crying and I asked myself, 'What has just happened?'
And, somewhere from deep in my heart
I was absolutely convinced, without a shadow of a doubt,
that I'd just come into contact with the oneness of the universe,
with a universal consciousness which you might call God.
There is a key verse from the Qur'an which says that
'I believe in the God of Abraham, the God of Moses,'
'the God of Jesus, the God of Muhammad.'
And, this is what I was seeking.
I was seeking the inherent unity and harmony of all living things.
I think there is no such thing as distinct religions.
I think there is only one God and there is only one path
which is the path of complete love and submission towards God.
Everything that I feel naturally and innate within my heart,
is in complete consonance
with the spiritual teachings which I practise.
It doesn't in any way limit me. It completely liberates me.
My earlier concept of freedom
wasn't necessarily bringing me any taste of freedom in my life.
In fact, these guiding principles have given me complete liberation.