ANKARA

Jeff Monson, a world-renowned mixed martial arts fighter who converted to Islam in June, performed his first Friday prayer at the Turkish Grand National Assembly mosque.

Monson expressed his contentment after the prayer. "It was a spiritual experience for me, it is something I have been looking forward to for a long time," he said.

"A long time ago, when I was in Dubai, I witnessed some of my friends doing this prayer and for me, the big thing was I felt closer to God, but also I felt really close to my brothers who were doing the prayer with me. And that is a reason that I converted to Muslim, to being with his brotherhood," he said.

"If every country followed Türkiye's example, we could alleviate this humanitarian crisis"

Reflecting on his meeting with Turkish parliament speaker Numan Kurtulmus, Monson described him as "not only knowledgeable but also exceptionally kind."

He admired Türkiye's commitment to supporting not just the Palestinian people and the Muslim community, but the global community as a whole.

"This was very surprising for me is that he [Numan Kurtulmus] did not look at only Türkiye, only the Muslims, only his own parliament, only his own people. He was looking at Türkiye in the global sense, and how it could help the world be better place. And this was very enlightening for me," he said.

Monson expressed his gratitude to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Türkiye for their unwavering support of the Palestinian people.

He said he observed widespread solidarity with Palestine across Türkiye, noting that almost everyone he spoke with shared their support for the cause.

"I knew that Mr. Erdogan supported Palestine, but I didn't know it was this that this level," the Russian-American boxer said.

Referencing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's recent visit to Türkiye, Monson praised Ankara's tangible efforts to support Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians and created a humanitarian catastrophe since last October.

"Türkiye is not just talking about supporting, they are actually doing support. If every country followed Türkiye's example, we could alleviate this humanitarian crisis," he said.

Monson highlighted the significance of the Palestinian president's Thursday speech to the Turkish parliament.

"I want to thank you for the Turkish parliament, for the Turkish people, for your support of not only people of Palestine, but all Muslims and the world in general, and trying to bring the world closer together, trying to bring peace," he said.

While Monson has faced some negative reactions since converting to Islam, he said he also received messages of support from around the world.

"I feel good about now, and I feel really close when I looked upon the people from Gaza. They showed love, they showed compassion. They praised Allah, they hugged each other, they and I was like, I want this," the MMA fighter said.

"I have been trying to find God in a religion for many, many, many years. I grew up Christian. I grew up Catholic, and, like some of these things just did not make sense to me. I saw the actions of Christians, especially Christian leaders, in the United States, and I was like, this is not. This is not, I think, what God intended. So, what I see I wanted to be. And then I just feel so blessed by all led by my Muslim brothers who have supported me and, like, even today, after the prayer, and during the prayer."