Super Bowl champion and St. Paul native Ryan Harris shares his story of converting to Islam
Billions of Muslims will celebrate the end of Ramadan Thursday – marking the end of weeks of fasting, and the arrival of Eid.
For Ryan Harris, it's a welcome arrival. He's fasted daily since Ramadan began, and the impact is unavoidable. Still, the St. Paul native, Super Bowl Champion, author and award-winning broadcaster loves the challenge.
"I always loved those situations that would take you beyond your comfort into your capability," Harris said the Friday prior to Eid.
Ramadan has been a yearly challenge for Harris since he converted to Islam at age 14. He was the first in his family to convert, all while his other family members were attending the Unitarian Universalist Church in St. Paul. Harris was tasked to write a statement of faith.
"I was like man, I don't know what I believe," he said. "So, I started learning about Christianity, I started learning about Judaism, Buddhism, things like that – Taoism, and really though, when I read about Islam, it felt like God had unzipped my heart."
His family was supportive from the start, Harris said.
"In my family growing up, it wasn't as much about what you called yourself – like, what are you doing, right? You could call yourself a Christian, call yourself a Muslim. If you're treating people bad, it doesn't matter what you are, you're not doing it right," he said.
For many teenagers, the idea of not fitting in can be one of the biggest challenges of high school and beyond. Harris says the challenge was fuel. After converting to Islam, he attended a Catholic High School, Cretin-Derham Hall, before enrolling at a Catholic University: Notre Dame.
"Notre Dame was the only school to bring me to a mosque on my visit," Harris said. "It was fantastic. It was an incredible experience. I became a better Muslim at Notre Dame."
Harris says often – he was the only Muslim in the room – leading to open conversations, spurred by the curiosity of his coaches and teammates.
"I had an amazing coach (at Notre Dame), Charlie Weis," Harris said. "This tough and rough guy that came from the New England Patriots to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. After our first season together, I get a call – coach wants to see you. I'm like, oh, man – what did I do wrong? He said 'Ryan, I don't know enough about Islam and the Muslims – teach me.' We had a conversation – 45 minutes. He said 'You know what, more people need to know about this,' so he called the Notre Dame magazine and they did an article on me."
Harris says as faith divisions grow globally, this type of face-to-face understanding is what drives him.
"When we show hatred, we are showing our lack of experience – we're showing our ignorance," he said. "It's something that pushes people away from faith. We have to do much more loving of one another. Much more learning about our capabilities to connect, and understanding we don't care about our differences when it comes down to it."
As Ramadan ends, Harris has a message for Minnesotans who feel intimidated by faith boundaries:
"Intimidation is a choice," he said. "Invite yourself."
BIGGER THAN BELIEF
You can listen to the full conversation with Ryan Harris on this week's episode of Bigger Than Belief. Bigger Than Belief is a weekly podcast exploring faith, belief, and religion – all through the stories of believers. With an emphasis on understanding belief through personal experience, we aim to create a conversation about faith that is fair, honest, and easy to understand - regardless of what you do (or don't) believe. We'll also take a journalistic approach to concepts and questions that are difficult to understand, while helping to make sense of current events impacting believers in our communities.
