From MTV to Mecca: How Islam Inspired My Life

Kristiane Backer

Paperback

9781908129819

In the early 1990s Kristiane Backer was one of the very first presenters on MTV Europe. For some years she lived and breathed the international music scene, quickly gaining a cult following amongst viewers and becoming a darling of the European press. As she reached the pinnacle of her success she realised that despite having all she could have wished for, she was never truly satisfied. Something very important was missing.

A fateful meeting with Pakistani cricket hero Imran Khan changed her life. He invited her to his country where she encountered a completely different world to the one she knew, the religion and culture of Islam. In place of pop and rock stars she was meeting men and women whose lives were dominated by the love of God and who cared very little for the brief glories of this world. She began to read the Quran and to study books about the faith. A few years later, after traveling more widely in the Islamic world and knowing that she had discovered her spiritual path, she embraced Islam in a London mosque. And then her real adventures began.

In this very personal memoir, Kristiane Backer tells the story of her conversion and explains how faith, despite the many challenges she faced, has given her inner peace and the meaning she sought.

Contents

1. Journey to the East

2. How I Got the Job at MTV

3. Life as an MTV VJ

4. Higher Love

5. Adventure, Discovery and Realisation

6. Over

7. Becoming a Muslim

8. Learning for Life

9. Awakening

10. My Spiritual Path

11. Pledge of Allegiance

12. A New Beginning

13. Islam of the Heart

14. Journey to the Heart: The Hajj

15. Marriage

16. Coming Out as European Muslim