Many western converts report that they had become rationally convinced of the truth of Islam before they embraced it. Maryam Jameelah, in her letters to Maududi, describes the intellectual appeal that Islam held for her. Marmaduke Pikthall’s conversion involved an intellectual maturation and discovery similar to Asad’s. Aminah Assilmi and Nancy Ali, wellknown speakers at American Islamic conferences, describe their choices to become Muslims in essentially rational terms. Gary Miller, best known for his participation in Muslim-Christian dialogues, tells how he became rationally convinced of Islam after reading a copy of the Quran that he came upon one day in a bookstore in Canada. Nuh Ha Mim Keller, writer for The American Muslim magazine, mentions how his prolonged study of modern philosophers helped him to become a Muslim.
Some other impressions about converts that I have obtained from personal interviews and autobiographical accounts deserve mention. Most often the western converts was not on a spiritual quest when he or she became interested in Islam, or at least not on one of which he or she was aware. There may be several reasons for this. First, Islam does not view faith as principally a spiritual experience. As we saw earlier, the spiritual side of Islam is only one aspect of comprehensive and holistic understanding of life. Second, Islam does not offer persons instant sainthood: spirituality matures by patiently sticking to a religious program and discipline. Thirs, the stress Muslims place on abiding by Islamic law may discourage those who emphasize the spiritual side of faith; they may consider Islam to be overly legalistic.
Most American and European converts were initially curious about the beliefs and practices of the Muslims they had met. Often they mention that the media’s portrayal of Muslims and the perceptions they obtained through personal contact with them were very different and that this served to heighten their interest in the religion. Many admit that they were influenced greatly by Muslim friends or romantic interests, but they often add that while they were encouraged strongly to learn about the religion, they were usually discouraged from accepting it without being totally convinced (The general feeling among Muslims is that hypocrite is more dangerous to himself and the community than a truthful disbeliever).
Many converts characterize their entry into Islam as an acquiescence to a perceived truth. Very often their decision to become a Muslim is seen as a choice between their material and social interests on the one hand and their relationship with God on the other.
Typically, modern western converts to Islam were non-conformists before entering the religion. Men rejected or were disillusioned by their society’s worldview and its goals and dreams. They often associated and identified with unpopular individuals, preferring to avoid the limelight. Many converts describe themselves as being loners before their joining the Muslim community. They frequently are idealists: wealth, popularity, and power are not as important to them as personal freedom and ideals. Most often they leaned toward the liberal or even radical left end of the political spectrum before conversion. They are usually self-confident individuals who are strongly opinionated and adventurous in their thinking. They are often inquisitive and open to knew ideas, yet tend to seem dogmatic and uncompromising in tone. A few converts, like Maryam Jameelah, report having suffered an emotional crisis shortly before becoming interested in Islam, but this does not appear to be the norm.
Many converts to Islam were formally atheists or agnostics. Murad Hofmann, Maryam Jameelah, Muhammad Asad, Malcolm X, Nuh Ha Mim Keller, and myself were in this category. In America, a large number of white American converts seem to come from Catholic families. This was my situation as well as better known converts such as Gary Miller, Steve Johnson, Jamaal Zarabozo, Nancy Ali, Aminah Assilmi, Murad Hofmann, and Nuh Ha Mim Keller. Among African-American converts, religious backgrounds appear to be in line with the demographics of the larger non-Muslim black American community.
The following is an attempt at a personality profile of the potential western convert to Islam: Relatively young, between the ages of twenty five and forty. Idealistic. Self-sacrificing. Non-conformist. Periodically reclusive. Prefers the company of society’s disenfranchised. Nonmaterialistic to ascetic in nature. An activist. Liberal to radical policitally. College educated. Capable of sudden drastic changes in viewpoints. Contemplative. Tends toward rationalism as opposed to spiritualism in religion. Critical of others. Loyal to overzealous in commitments.
Some of these qualitites can work against an individiual once he or she enters the Muslim community. The great emphasis the community puts on emulating the Prophet’s habits can be at odds with non-conformist personality. What many converts perceive as a prevailing misogyny among Muslims will conflict with a liveral western outlook (It is very intersting to note that quite a large number of female converts were feminists before embracing Islam.) The modern Muslim community is quite suspicious of philosophy and is uncomfortable with what it often sees as an overly rational approach to religion among converts. Even though the Muslim community in the West is now fairly large (there are about five million Muslims residing in North America alone), it is still quite politically timid and converts tend to become frustrated by what they see as the Muslim community’s extreme passivity.
As already mentioned, the decision to convets formally to Islam is seldom an easy one. However, it seems that the greater the difficulty in coming to that decision, the more steadfast is the convert in his or her commitment to Islam. Perhaps this is because such persons already have considered and accepted most of the difficulties and problems that come with being a Muslim in America or Europe. The time spent studying Islam before actual conversion was long for all of the above mentioned individuals but one, who may be the exception that proves the rule, or maybe not.
At first glance, it appears that the conversion of Malcolm X was a sudden impulse. He seemed to embrace Islam in prison on the spot, after reading his brother Reginald’s letter. But this would be a wrong conclusion. Malcolm X’s conversion to what he eventually saw as authentic Islam was actually a very long development, lasting more that a decade, that was crowned on his pilgrimage to Makkah. What makes his conversion so outstanding is the resoluteness with which he submitted to Islam: He was fully conscious of the great personal risks that he was taking, but once convinced, he showed virtually no hesitation.
What then are the most salient obstacles to conversion to Islam in the West? What are the main reasons that cause people to hesitate to embrace this religion, even when it appeals to them? For Muslims living in the West, many of whom feel it is their duty to bear witness to their religon, these are important questions - yet ones that are seldom asked of converts. If potential converts anticipate harm from their societies, perhaps the Muslim community could help allay or address these fears. If certain actions or behaviors of Muslims are discouraging potential converts, then one would think that all the Muslim community would want to know what these are.
(this was an excerpt from the book “Even Angels Ask” by Jeffrey Lang)
About the Author
Dr. Jeffrey Lang is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at the University of Kansas, one of the biggest universities in the United States. He started his religious journey on Jan 30, 1954, when he was born in a Roman Catholic family in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The first 18 years of his life were spent in Catholic schools, which left him with many unanswered questions about God and the Christian religion, Lang said, as he narrated his story of Islam. “Like most kids back in the late 60s and early 70s, I started questioning all the values that we had at those times, political, social and religious,” Lang said. “I rebelled against all the institutions that society held sacred including the Catholic Church,” he said. more
