Conversion to Islam : A Study of Native British Converts

This study focuses on the conversion experiences of seventy native British converts to Islam. Köse addresses the following questions: Why do people covert to Islam? What are the backgrounds of the converts? What are the patterns over time? And how far are existing conversion theories applicable to further group study? He examines a full range of social and psychological forces at work in the complex conversion experience.

Chapter One deals with the history and present situation of both life-long Muslims and converts living in Britain. Chapter Two focuses on childhood and adolescent experiences. Chapter Three examines the background of the convert regarding religion. Chapter Four looks at the post-conversion period, the relationship between converts and to parents and society at large. And Chapter Five reveals the findings on conversions through Sufism. Comparisons between conversions through Sufism and through new religious movements in the West are also made.

Sure to be an important addition to the study of religious conversion, this work is one of the only documentations which considers conversion to Islam either from outside or within Islam.

Ali Köse received his B.A. in Theology from the University of Dokuz Eylul-llahiyat Fakultesi in Turkey, his M.A. in religious education from Marmara University, and his Ph.D in Theology and Religious Studies from the University of London in 1994. He is currently working for the Centre for Islamic Studies in Istanbul.