Aminah Walpole, 35, mother of two:
"If this were an Islamic state people would see that it rules by justice. When I converted it was such a release. Islam lays out everything out for you. It tells you what to think and what to think about things, you raise your kids and there’s no need to earn money, God willing. It has given me a role and a goal. As a woman it has given me my rights, it’s not oppressive to know your responsibilities. My husband doesn’t tell me what to do. I have to obey him, but since we both follow Islam, there is no conflict between us. A lot of Muslim women do get treated like doormats and think they’re obliged to stay, but that’s more to do with culture than Islam.
New Muslims
As the relationship between the Islamic and Western worlds becomes increasingly
complicated, the pressure on Muslim communities in the UK to integrate with
British culture intensifies. Yet mosque-based conversion/reversion groups
report unprecedented numbers of ‘New Muslims’. The general consensus
among them seems to be that Islam simply struck a chord that no other religion
or philosophy had, and that Islam provides them with a sense of purpose that
Western culture never could. The difficulties arise when adapting to a religion
with distinct cultural and practical aspects, finding their own place in a
community of born Muslims, and at a time when Western and Muslim identities
are becoming increasingly polarised.
by Scott Chasserot