Megan B. Rice: From a Question About Steadfastness to Reading the Quran

Megan B. Rice was used to sharing books online and running a reading community, but she said that she had not grown up religious and did not begin this journey intending to change her faith. Her question arose in the autumn of 2023, when she watched Palestinians turn to God amid fear and loss and wanted to understand the source of that steadfastness. ^{[MR-S1, MR-S2, MR-S4]}

Muslim followers suggested that she read the Quran and encounter the faith through its text. She began listening and reading, then created an online World Religion Book Club where people from different backgrounds could study religious writings together. Her stated purpose was learning and empathy, not reaching a conclusion already chosen. ^{[MR-S1, MR-S3, MR-S4]}

As she continued, Rice said that she found themes in the Quran that aligned with values she already held, especially resistance to oppression and excessive consumption. She also recognized that, despite rejecting open hostility toward Muslims, she had absorbed an image of Islam as uniquely severe. Reading made her measure that image against the text itself. ^[MR-S1]

For weeks she kept reading and discussing the material publicly, moving from observing another community’s faith to asking what the text meant for her. ^[MR-S4]

In November 2023, Rice took the shahada. In later interviews, she said that she had begun reading to understand other people rather than to seek a new religious identity, and that what she encountered led to a decision she had not planned at the outset. ^{[MR-S2, MR-S3, MR-S4]}

In an interview published in January 2024, Rice described a change in her approach to justice: less anger and greater compassion. Her activism predated her conversion; the change she attributed to her new faith concerned how she saw people and continued that work. ^[MR-S2]

The beginning also brought difficulties. In an interview published in the March/April 2024 issue of Islamic Horizons, she said that declaring her faith had not ended her questions. Responses to her personal choices led her to share less of her religious learning publicly. She wanted to understand the reasons behind advice and found greater understanding among other new Muslims, choosing more space to learn quietly. ^[MR-S3]

Sources

• The Guardian — Young Americans are picking up the Qur’an to understand the resilience of Muslim Palestinians (2023-11-20)
• Muslim Girl — Megan Rice Opens Up About Her Journey and Activism for Palestine (2024-01-03)
• Islamic Horizons — Embracing our Growing Umma (Mar/Apr 2024)
• New Lines Magazine — On TikTok, an Unlikely Call to Islam Emerges (2023-12-01)