World Muslim News

British Women Turning to Islâm

Unprecedented numbers of British people, nearly all of them women, are converting to Islâm at a time of deep divisions within the Anglican and Catholic churches. "The rate of conversions has prompted predictions that Islâm will rapidly become an important religious force in this country. Within the next twenty years, the number of British converts will equal or overtake the immigrant Muslim community that brought the faith here", says Rose Kendrick, a religious education teacher at a Hull comprehensive and the author of a textbook guide to the Qur’ân.

The surge in conversions to Islâm has taken place despite the negative image of the faith in the Western press. Indeed, the pace of conversions has accelerated since publicity over the Salman Rushdie affair, the Gulf War and the plight of the Muslims in Bosnia. It is even more ironic that most British converts should be women, given the widespread view in the west that Islâm treats women poorly.

(The Times – London)

Pre-requisite for Dialogue in Palestine

In 1978 an American Christian fundamentalist, using simple logic, illustrated the Muslim position regarding dialogue with Jews. Writing in the religious American journal ‘Christianity Today’, Elizabeth Elliot made the following analogy:

"Suppose, an old Arab said to me when I was visiting Jerusalem, just suppose you have eight little chickens. You have watched them hatch; you feed and care for them; they are your pets. One night a neighbour comes and cleans you out. He takes all eight of your baby chicks. Next morning he reaches his hand towards you across the fence. Will you shake hands? No, you cannot. Even if I have lost only little chickens, it will be hard to give my neighbour my hand, But what if I have lost my land, my olive orchards, my vineyards, my house, my job, my money? Yet the world says, ‘Why are the Arabs so stubborn? Israel offers them the hand of peace, but they will not reach across the table.’"

In short, the Jews would have to return the stolen goods to the rightful owner. This is not a prerequisite for the start of dialogue; however, it is central to its success.

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