N Conversion - Welcome to SOAS Research Online - SOAS Research Online

267 Pages·2012·1.9 MB·English

by  Akil Awan

Awan, Akil N (2011) Conversion to Islam in Contemporary Britain: Motivations,processes and 
Consequences. PhD Thesis, SOAS, University of London 
http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/14046 

Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other 
copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or 
study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted 
extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. 
The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium 
without the formal permission of the copyright holders. 
When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding 
institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full 
thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination.
CONVERSION TO ISLAM IN
CONTEMPORARY BRITAIN:
MOTIVATIONS, PROCESSES
AND CONSEQUENCES

AKIL N. AWAN

Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD
in the Study of Religions

2011

Department of The Study of Religions
School of Oriental and African Studies
University of London
Declaration for PhD thesis

I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the School of
Oriental and African Studies concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material
presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in
part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the
published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work
which I present for examination.

Signed: ____________________________ Date:_________________

2
ABSTRACT

This thesis adds to and extends our limited knowledge of conversion to Islam in
Britain by addressing the important questions of why and how does one become
Muslim in contemporary Britain, but equally importantly, what happens after the act
of conversion?
The study adopts a broadly phenomenological approach and employs the
Grounded Theory methodology specifically to interrogate a large dataset of
conversion narratives garnered through unstructured interviews and Islamic
conversion testimonies located on the Internet. The study reveals conversion to Islam
to be a rich, complex and multi-faceted process that defies easy classification, and
mirrors findings from studies of religious conversion in other traditions (Rambo,
1993). The study also reveals the contours of post-conversion life, exploring the
myriad adjustments that converts make (including onomastic, sartorial, dietary and
other changes) in order to successfully negotiate the boundaries of faith, as well as
issues of social embedment in the host group, navigating orthodoxy and orthopraxy,
and maintaining the conversion. One of the most important contributions of this
study has been in delineating a sophisticated, innovative and empirically based
methodology for elucidating motivations for religious conversion that does not
necessarily negate or undermine the convert’s own narrative.
The study also deals with the role of testimony and narrative, and the way in
which language transformation, and the adoption of host rhetoric is likely to occur,
alongside processes of biographical reconstruction in light of the new faith.
3
DEDICATION

For my parents,
who taught me the value of knowledge.
4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It is with utmost gratitude that I acknowledge the unfailing guidance, academic
support and expertise of my supervisor and friend Prof. Brian Bocking.

This study could not have been accomplished but for the goodwill and co-operation
of the many participants in this study. I thank each and every person for graciously
sharing their experiences with me, and to whom I feel I am deeply indebted.

And last, but by no means least, my eternal gratitude to my dear family, whose
continuous support made this work possible.
5
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 8
1.1 RESEARCH AIMS & METHODOLOGY 8
1.1.1 AIMS OF STUDY 8
1.1.2 METHODOLOGY 9
1.2 CONVERSION TO ISLAM IN BRITAIN: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 27
1.2.1 THE EARLY ENCOUNTERS WITH ISLAM 27
1.2.2 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMMUNITY: 18TH CENTURY TO PRESENT DAY 30
1.2.3 CONVERSION TODAY 34
1.4 LITERATURE ON RELIGIOUS CONVERSION 42
1.4.1 THEORIES, MODELS, AND EMPIRICAL STUDIES OF CONVERSION 42
1.4.2 STUDIES OF CONVERSION TO ISLAM 48
CHAPTER 2. PART I: CONVERSION NARRATIVES ONLINE 52
2.1 THE CONVERSION NARRATIVE GENRE 52
2.2 THE DATA SET 55
2.3. CONTEXTUAL DISJUNCTURE VS. CONTEXTUAL CONTINUITY 57
2.4. ADOPTION OF HOST RHETORIC 64
2.5 CONVERSION IN CYBERSPACE 67
CHAPTER 3. PART II: PRE-CONVERSION CONTEXT 75
3.1 RELIGIOSITY 77
3.1.1 RELIGIOUS – STRONG INSTITUTIONAL 79
3.1.2 RELIGIOUS – STRONG PRIVATE 81
3.1.3 RELIGIOUS – NOMINAL 83
3.1.4 NON-RELIGIOUS – AGNOSTIC/ATHEIST 85
3.2 MILIEU TENSION 87
3.2.1 MANIFEST CONTEXTUAL TENSION 88
3.2.2 RHETORICAL CONTEXTUAL TENSION 90
3.2.3 CONTEXTUAL CONCORDANCE 94
3.3 SOCIAL EMBEDMENT 96
CHAPTER 4. PART II: CONVERSION PROCESSES 102
4.1 DECISION 102
4.1.1 CONVICTION 103
4.1.2 COMMITMENT 104
4.1.3 DECISION MOTIFS 107
4.1.4 ANTECEDENTS OF COMMITMENT 112
4.2 ACT OF CONVERSION 117
4.2.1 WHERE AND HOW 120
4.2.2 RITUAL INTERPRETATION AND TRANSFORMATIVE EFFICACY 129
6
CHAPTER 5. PART II: POST-CONVERSION 137
5.1 DISCLOSURE 137
5.2 - ADAPTING TO CHANGE 141
5.2.1 ONOMASTIC CHANGES 141
5.2.2 DIETARY AND OTHER LIFESTYLE CHANGES 145
5.2.3 GENDER RELATIONS, THE HIJAB AND OTHER SARTORIAL CHANGES 148
5.3 – THE SOCIAL MATRIX 157
5.3.1 THE RECEDING GROUP 160
5.3.2 – HOST GROUP 169
5.4 THE LIVED REALITY AND REMAINING CONVERTED 176
5.4.1 COGNITIVE OR MORAL DISSONANCE WITH ASPECTS OF ISLAM 177
5.4.2 DISILLUSIONMENT WITH CO-RELIGIONISTS 180
5.4.3 DIFFICULTY IN MAINTAINING A MUSLIM LIFESTYLE 184
5.4.4 EXTERNAL SCRUTINY 186
CHAPTER 6. PART II: MOTIVATIONS 189
6.1 DELINEATING MOTIVATIONS FOR CONVERSION 189
6.2 MOTIVE CATEGORIES 194
6.2.1 CONVERSION AS THEOLOGICAL OR INTELLECTUAL CORROBORATION 198
6.2.2 CONVERSION AS LIFESTYLE OR PERSPECTIVE RECONCILIATION 199
6.2.3 CONVERSION AS LIFESTYLE EVALUATION AND RECONFIGURATION 201
6.2.4 CONVERSION AS POLITICAL OR ECONOMIC CRITIQUE OR DISSENT 203
6.2.5 CONVERSION AS SOCIO-CULTURAL CRITIQUE OR DISSENT 205
6.2.6 CONVERSION AS RELIGIOUS CRITIQUE OR DISSENT 208
6.2.7 CONVERSION AS SOCIAL MATRIX RECONFIGURATION 209
6.2.8 CONVERSION AS RELATIONSHIP CONSOLIDATION 211
6.2.9 CONVERSION AS REBELLION 213
6.2.10 CONVERSION AS CAPITULATION 214
6.2.11 CONVERSION AS SUPERNATURAL OR MYSTICAL CONCORDANCE 215
CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSION 217
7.1 PROFILE OF A COMMUNITY 217
7.2 ACCOUNTING FOR THE GROWTH OF MUSLIM CONVERSION IN BRITAIN 221
7.3 CONVERTING ONLINE AND THE FUTURE OF CONVERSION TO ISLAM 224
BIBLIOGRAPHY 230
7
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Research Aims & Methodology

1.1.1 Aims of Study
The overarching aim of this thesis is to add to and extend our limited knowledge of
Islamic conversion in Britain, addressing the important questions, why and how does
one become Muslim in contemporary Britain? In the process, it is hoped that we may
learn a little about the kinds of people who find themselves drawn to Islam, the
processes involved, and the reasons behind the attraction of a faith often popularly
misconstrued as representing a hostile and alien culture (Runnymede Trust 1997;
Poole 2002; Fetzer and Soper 2003; Asad 2002), in an increasingly secularised
society. Furthermore, the present study is essentially a work that attempts to engage
with and understand religious conversion as a complex and multi-faceted process, as
opposed to simply a singular act or event. I shall endeavour to adopt a holistic view
of Islamic conversion by tackling the very nature of the phenomenon, the
motivations and rationale behind it, its consequences, and key aspects and stages of
the process, namely, pre-conversion context, search, decision, ritual act, and post-
conversion experience and change, which will all ultimately help to paint a more
complete and vivid account of conversion to Islam.
The work is comprised of two main parts. The first section (chapter 2) is a
study based upon Islamic conversion narratives and testimonies located on the
internet. This section of the thesis, which draws on a uniquely untapped resource,1
will aim to examine the primary motivations behind penning conversion narratives. I
shall also be examining the role of testimony and narrative, and the way in which
language transformation and the adoption of host rhetoric is likely to occur. In
addition, I will be exploring the relatively new phenomenon of ‘conversions in
Cyberspace’; the use of Internet chat rooms and discussion forums as a means of
facilitating conversions. Finally, the findings will provide an empirically founded
framework for the main part of the thesis which will be elaborated upon further in
the methodology.

1 Since this study commenced in 2001, one other study has also sought to examine Muslim conversion
narratives on the internet, see Nieuwkerk (2006) who attempts a comparison of offline and online
Islamic conversion narratives.
8
The second section (chapters 3 to 6), which is based on a large dataset of
unstructured interviews with Muslim converts in Britain, constitutes the major part
of the study, and will attempt to delineate the processes, motivations and
consequences of conversion to the Islamic faith in contemporary Britain. Chapter 3
will look at the pre-conversion milieu, seeking to characterise the individual’s former
predicament vis-à-vis religion and society, exploring aspects such as religious
affiliation and religiosity, milieu tension (or dissatisfaction with existing context),
and degree of social embedment.
Chapter 4 focuses on the ‘decision’ phase, exploring the milestones of
conviction and commitment, the moratorium period, and examines the threshold that
signals a decision to convert has been arrived at. Chapter 4 also looks at the
conversion ‘act’ itself examining the significance attributed to the Shahadah
(testimony of faith),2 and its specific contours, including its manner, location and
relationship with religious sanction from authority figures.
Chapter 5 will look closely at the events and changes that transpire once the
actual conversion has been enacted, from the immediate consequences to longer-
term repercussions of converting to Islam. This section will also explore the
convert’s relationship with their social matrix, and the ramifications of a change in
religious affiliation. Chapter 5 also examines the ‘lived reality’ of conversion and
aspects of post-conversion life that militate against remaining converted.
Chapter 6 focuses on the motivations and rationale behind religious
conversion, attempting to delineate the primary factors that may influence or impel
an individual to convert to the Islamic faith. As opposed to identifying causal factors
for conversion, I instead ask more usefully, ‘what positive outcome is achieved, or
what negative issue is resolved, through religious change?’

1.1.2 Methodology

Most studies of religious conversion seem to be plagued by three major issues,
which I shall address below before attempting to circumvent in this study. Indeed,
the current study’s raison d’etre can be seen in some ways as a remonstration against
these predominant research paradigms:

2 For ease of reading I will dispense with standard diacritical marks used in transliterations of Arabic
words.
9