Conversions to Islam on the increase?

C of E a bit weak and wobbly at the moment - those seeking "certainties" are liekly to turn to those faiths that are unequivocal in their teachings.

My husband's grand-father was one of the first Britons to convert to Islam. He found the attitudes of small town CofE to be hypocritical in the extreme- and after he fell in love with Islamic art on his travels to Spain and North Africa- he chose to convert. Was the first Briton to do the Hadj as a convert and later helped found Mosques in South Africa. All the family there are still Muslims, OH's cousin was an Imam. His parents however returned to UK when the children were very young to escape apartheid, and 'pretended' to be CofE to fit in and get kids into schools.

I am not religious, seeing the attitude of the Protestant and Catholic Churches when I was young (my father was shunned for marrying a Protestant who was divorced with a child- the best and kindest people both) - and would never just pay lip service to any religion, for 'love'.

I believe there is an increase in fundamental /evangelical Christian churches. There also many people born to Muslim families who are non practising/secular.

I think when any group feel threatened then sometimes they become more 'visible'. I know quite a number of Muslim women who started to wear headscarves & young men who grew beards after 9/11. Not because they had suddenly become more religious but because they wanted to say 'Muslim and proud' They are not radical extremists though they are political in not wanting to have to feel ashamed about their faith. A bit like the black power movement.

Thanks, beachee. Interesting! I've seen comments elsewhere too, where people can remain anonymous.

Bags, yes - particularly in Egypt.
I found this ... www.wikiislam.net/wiki/People_Who_Left_Islam

Anyone got the figures for people leaving Islam, for contrast? Probably not because apostacy is punishiable by death. I'd keep quiet if it was me.

and for the woman, it's probably largely about children too ...
If a non-Muslim woman marries a Muslim man, she doesn't have to convert, although even if she has no intention of converting Islam will play a large part in her life, and any children will be raised as Muslims. This is non-negotiable. In Islam, children follow their father's religion.

A Muslim man does not need to convert if he marries a non-Muslim woman; at least, not initially. Mohammed married a Christian woman and since Muslims follow and imitate the acts of Mohammed, it's fine.

I think (only think!) I've got that right??

The muslims I know (and I know many), unless informed otherwise, believe that if you are born in a (to them) 'Christian' country - then you are a Christian. So they look at western culture and think it's synonymous with Christianity and find very little about it that's appealing.

One of the many lodgers we've had was an Iranian muslim and we had many, many discussions about the Christian faith. A couple of years after he left here we received an email from him to say that all of his family had had to leave Iran as they had all become Christians. They now live in Toronto which has a large population of Iranian Christians.

I suspect at least part of the reason is that Muslim men marry women not raised as Muslims far more frequently than Muslim women marry men not raised as Muslims. Women, as the article suggested, often see themselves as conciliatory and accommodating and if they do not have faith as a central tenet of their identity – woolly C of E, etc. – then it is easy to persuade them to convert.