The Economist - London, U.K.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Some commentators in London have taken to worrying that the British establishment is enthralled by Islam. They point to Joe Ahmed-Dobson, the son of a former government minister, and Yahya Birt, the son of a former BBC boss. These worries grew when it emerged last month that three of the 25 Muslims arrested on suspicion of involvement in a plot to blow up planes over London were new believers. And this, in turn, appeared to bear out a government report, leaked in July, which said that converts were being wooed by radical Muslims.
Yet statistics to substantiate the fear that “reds under the bed” have been replaced by hordes of traitorous new Muslims are sparse.
Yahya Birt, a research fellow at the Islamic Foundation, a think-tank in Leicester, established that 3% of Scottish Muslims were converts. He used those figures to estimate that in Britain as a whole around 14,200 believers are converts—only 1% of the country's 1.6m Muslims. Converting Britons to Islam is hardly a boom industry, he says. “Islam is one of the items in the supermarket of faiths, but the rate of conversion is not spectacular.”
Unlike some Christian sects, Islam eschews heavy proselytising. One group, the Islamic Propagation Society, is typically low-key in seeking converts. Its members set up trestle tables at weekends in several big cities and hand out leaflets. Umar Tate, its chief, says that media interest brings them “good business”. The pope's speech (on September 12th) has attracted many to their stalls, he says.
Academic insight into why Britons convert is also sparse. A researcher from Leeds University, Myfanwy Franks, questioned converts before and after the attack on America in September 2001. She suggests that the appeal of Islam is changing. Before that date many were drawn to Sufism, a mystical and relatively tolerant strand of Islam. Her work since then suggests that new converts prefer a more austere form of the religion.
Friday, December 01, 2006
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Friday, December 01, 2006
Reds under the bed?
The Economist - London, U.K.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Some commentators in London have taken to worrying that the British establishment is enthralled by Islam. They point to Joe Ahmed-Dobson, the son of a former government minister, and Yahya Birt, the son of a former BBC boss. These worries grew when it emerged last month that three of the 25 Muslims arrested on suspicion of involvement in a plot to blow up planes over London were new believers. And this, in turn, appeared to bear out a government report, leaked in July, which said that converts were being wooed by radical Muslims.
Yet statistics to substantiate the fear that “reds under the bed” have been replaced by hordes of traitorous new Muslims are sparse.
Yahya Birt, a research fellow at the Islamic Foundation, a think-tank in Leicester, established that 3% of Scottish Muslims were converts. He used those figures to estimate that in Britain as a whole around 14,200 believers are converts—only 1% of the country's 1.6m Muslims. Converting Britons to Islam is hardly a boom industry, he says. “Islam is one of the items in the supermarket of faiths, but the rate of conversion is not spectacular.”
Unlike some Christian sects, Islam eschews heavy proselytising. One group, the Islamic Propagation Society, is typically low-key in seeking converts. Its members set up trestle tables at weekends in several big cities and hand out leaflets. Umar Tate, its chief, says that media interest brings them “good business”. The pope's speech (on September 12th) has attracted many to their stalls, he says.
Academic insight into why Britons convert is also sparse. A researcher from Leeds University, Myfanwy Franks, questioned converts before and after the attack on America in September 2001. She suggests that the appeal of Islam is changing. Before that date many were drawn to Sufism, a mystical and relatively tolerant strand of Islam. Her work since then suggests that new converts prefer a more austere form of the religion.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Some commentators in London have taken to worrying that the British establishment is enthralled by Islam. They point to Joe Ahmed-Dobson, the son of a former government minister, and Yahya Birt, the son of a former BBC boss. These worries grew when it emerged last month that three of the 25 Muslims arrested on suspicion of involvement in a plot to blow up planes over London were new believers. And this, in turn, appeared to bear out a government report, leaked in July, which said that converts were being wooed by radical Muslims.
Yet statistics to substantiate the fear that “reds under the bed” have been replaced by hordes of traitorous new Muslims are sparse.
Yahya Birt, a research fellow at the Islamic Foundation, a think-tank in Leicester, established that 3% of Scottish Muslims were converts. He used those figures to estimate that in Britain as a whole around 14,200 believers are converts—only 1% of the country's 1.6m Muslims. Converting Britons to Islam is hardly a boom industry, he says. “Islam is one of the items in the supermarket of faiths, but the rate of conversion is not spectacular.”
Unlike some Christian sects, Islam eschews heavy proselytising. One group, the Islamic Propagation Society, is typically low-key in seeking converts. Its members set up trestle tables at weekends in several big cities and hand out leaflets. Umar Tate, its chief, says that media interest brings them “good business”. The pope's speech (on September 12th) has attracted many to their stalls, he says.
Academic insight into why Britons convert is also sparse. A researcher from Leeds University, Myfanwy Franks, questioned converts before and after the attack on America in September 2001. She suggests that the appeal of Islam is changing. Before that date many were drawn to Sufism, a mystical and relatively tolerant strand of Islam. Her work since then suggests that new converts prefer a more austere form of the religion.
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