A religious controversy arose recently when Catholic Priest, Hilarion Heagy, now known as Abdul Latif, converted to Islam. Here’s everything you need to know about the controversy.
Religion has always been a sensitive matter of discussion. While it is a topic heavily dependent on spiritual beliefs, it is also the backbone of various communities. This is why a controversy rose when an orthodox Catholic Priest announced his decision of converting to Islam.
The center of this controversy is Father Hilarion Heagy, a prominent Catholic priest who converted to Islam, describing his decision as a “return to Islamic faith”. This news received expected polarized reactions from the participants of the Catholic and Islamic faith as it trended on social media platforms such as Twitter.
Who is Hilarion Heagy?
Father Hilarion Heagy was a prominent US-based Catholic priest who recently converted to Islam. He use to reside in California and was a Russian Orthodox. Initially, he joined the Antiochian Orthodox Church in 2003, before departing in 2007 and switching to the Eastern Catholic Church.
Later, he graduated from the Holy Resurrection Monastery in St. Nazianz of Wisconsin and become a Byzantine Catholic priest. He had also recently announced plans to establish an Eastern Christian Monastery in California however he decided to convert to Islam.
How did he come to decide on the conversion?
Hilarion Heagy, who is now known as Abdul Latif is sharing his journey through a blog on Medium. The blog is titled Said Abdul Latif and has 1.2k followers. In its description, he clarifies that he isn’t “particularly special” however he is a Priest who has decided to embrace Islam.
In the introductory post published in October 2022, Abdul Latif shares he is in the middle of his journey. He recalls his spiritual search from the beginning of his life touching on Buddhism and Sufism. However, his first introduction to Islam was after the political tragedy of 9/11. Upon further study, his connection with the religion grew and at last, he has taken the first step to convert.
In the latest update titled Heading East, Abdul Latif dives deeper into his thoughts as a priest turning to Islam. He shares that he was attracted to Islam in various ways and finally decided to leave his Catholic Monastry stating, “One simply can not be a priest publicly, and a Muslim privately,”
He expressed that he feels this is a leap into the unknown which brings forth the expectable anxieties. However, for him, the journey back to an Islamic center on the belt of Appalachia is a journey toward home. It brings him peace, joy, and relief.
Public reaction to the conversion
Please pray for Father Hilarion Heagy who has apostatized from the faith and has embraced Islam.https://t.co/n6IrI9IMmO
— Jeff Cassman (@JeffCassman) February 20, 2023
Following the publication of this Blog, people of both faith have expressed polarised views in the comments section. While Muslims are welcoming and congratulating Abdul Latif, the Christians are expressing their concerns about his decision.
This dispute of opinions gained further momentum as Catholic.com published a response entitled “Sad Journey of the Muslim Priest”. The controversy also reached social networking sites where many criticized Abdul Latif’s decision as a betrayal of his past beliefs.
