Muslim converts in the United Kingdom -- a small but growing number -- often bring new energy to their faith communities, but also report facing obstacles to acceptance. "Converts are a bridge between non-Muslim, mainly white, communities and Muslim communities who are mainly from sub-continent communities," said Fiyaz Mughal, founder and director of London-based Faith Matters, an inter-faith organization, in an interview with ENInews.
However, converts also told researchers last year that they felt cast adrift after their acceptance of Islam. Although mosques were delighted to welcome new members, they often failed to provide support when their new co-religionists faced hostility from family and friends, they said.
The study, by Kevin Brice of Swansea University in Wales, said there were about 100,000 converts to Islam in the U.K. in the 2000-2010 decade, up from 60,000 in the 1990s.
The report, called "A minority within a minority: a report on converts to Islam in the United Kingdom," was sponsored by Faith Matters, which is supported by the British government and faith groups. There are about 1.8 million Muslims in the U.K., out of a total population of 62.5 million. British converts to Islam -- "muhtedis" in Arabic -- can serve as a bridge over which Muslims and non-Muslims can meet and exchange ideas, said Mughal.
"The vibrancy of the community in Britain comes from the fact that many new Muslims want to start to develop services for others and many are starting to do so. Energized and focused, they bring with them a strong rooting in the UK culturally and feel part of the country," he said.
He said that the services they wish to develop involve fighting racism and religious intolerance and supporting community centers for the young who often live in badly deprived parts of the U.K. with high unemployment.
The study by Brice, also a British convert to Islam, showed that the average age at conversion was about 27 years and that women made up 62 percent of respondents. Most converts said they saw themselves as both British and Muslim and did not feel disillusioned with British society or culture. But some were also following conservative values, saying that they feared that there was a ''normalization'' of ''immoral'' behavior in an less-religious British public.
"New converts to Islam require access to Islamic theologians who understand local narratives, know their local areas and who have a strong provision of pastoral care with Islamic traditions. Any convert needs a sound grounding in the new faith and that means being able to understand theology and this also means within the context of today's world," Mughal commented.
Ibrahim Mogra, chair of the Mosque and Community Affairs Council at the Muslim Council of Britain, told ENInews that "we must make sure that we welcome converts and make them feel at home in their new religious world. Let's face it, converts have to say goodbye to many things they had in their former lives and we must make sure that the welcome they receive at mosques isn't just a one-off. There must be long-term welcoming for all who embrace Islam."
A prominent Christian convert to Islam, academic Abdal Hakim Murad, told ENInews that while he tries "not to exaggerate the importance of muhtedis," he has "formed a cautious sense that as inhabitants of both worlds we may be legitimate sources of information and, who knows, wisdom to some who struggle to understand the modern West."
Murad, known as Tim Winter before his conversion, is Shaykh Zayed Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge. The Independent newspaper has described him as Britain's best known Muslim because of his frequent appearances on TV and radio programs and his prolific contributions to British newspapers and magazines.
Trevor Grundy