How to convert to islam?

Alaikum salam, That is quite untrue. Cheers.

Caspian u have written the truth There r no sects in islam whoever declares that seats exist then he is not a muslim All those people who divide islam on the basis of sects are not muslims (fatwa)

Coffee chat... I am saddened by your response. It is not fair to label people of any faith as such. You must judge a religion by what is taught in the authentic sources. I have converted to Islam from Christianity. I have not converted to any sect. Just the other day a woman asked me if I was Sunni or Shia. I responded that I am neither. When I became Muslim I did all my research on my own, no one forced me like many other converts. No imam sat down with me and told me what to believe. I have continued as such and I pray in the mosque and still no one has told me that it is a shia or sunni mosque and I have been praying there for over 2 years. As far as I know all the so called 3 sects pray there in harmony. The deal with the "Shia" day of Ashura and their beating of themselves.. a Shia imam has said that this practice is forbidden. A person should not abuse themselves. By the way, Sufis can fall into many catagories. But the whirling dervishes and such even they will admit that their practices date even before Islam. There is a problem in Islamic countries where the culture is taken for the religion. This is where the problem always arises. When one clearly looks at the Quran and Hadith you can see where the problems when they follow their own desires not what is written. This has happened in every religion. Buddhism for example has 3 major sects: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. These sects vary widely in their outlooks. Theravada believes that there is no god. while the Mahayana believe in an omnipresent nature of Buddha such as the Hindu notion of Brahman. In addition, Vajrayana believe in gods and goddesses. Christians also have differences over the nature of Christ: God, Son of God, or Prophet. Judaism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Daoism, etc... I must say though from all the research I have done.. It seems that the so called sects are similar in the foundations of the faith than compared to other religions. In Islam we all use the same Quran, Sayings of the Prophet(Hadith), and the life story (Seerah) of the Prophet Muhammad. We all pray to the one God, we all recognize prophet Muhamad as a man and not divine, and follow the same five pillars (although some may have added on). This is what I think makes it easy for a person to enter into Islam. The basics are the same.. all the additions are what are called "bidah" (innovation) and are clear to the one who seeks the knowledge. Should you follow the basics you are a Muslim and that is all you need. I like no additives in my religion thank you. I would also like to comment that Islam promotes a self study of the Quran. I think it is the most open religion and does not shy away from a questioner. Anyone with questions about Islam should of course ask an Imam even if they are doubts. We like to say that doubts are the tool of shaytan (devil). For a translation of the Quran www.quranexplorer.com Anyone looking for the truth can see it plainly......all it takes is a little effort. Please forgive me if I hurt anyone.

And there is news that Prophet Mohammed did not exist. How do you account for that? http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122669909279629451.html