Converts to Islam
.gif)
From BRIN
Conversion to Islam by Britons is a centuries-old phenomenon but has only become numerically significant in recent decades. Mostly, the process passes relatively unnoticed by the public, but there have been occasional high-profile conversions, including recently that of the journalist Lauren Booth (sister-in-law of the former British prime minister, Tony Blair), which drew significant negative media coverage.
[...] The number of converts to British Islam is estimated in the document to have almost doubled in the past decade, from 61,000 in 2001, to stand now at approximately 100,000, or 4% of the British Muslim community. Converts in the UK in 2010 alone are put at 5,200 in the light of a survey of over 250 mosques. This annual rate is broadly on a par with conversions to Islam in France and Germany.
A separate enquiry among 122 converts in August and September found that nearly two-thirds were women (although, surprisingly, marriage was not the key driver for conversion in 45% of instances). The average age of conversion was 27.5 years. 7% of converts were actually Pakistani by birth; they are presumed to have been brought up by lapsed Muslims.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
