SUN NEWS: A landmark project exploring why women convert to Islam wraps up at England's prestigious University of Cambridge this weekend.
Organizers say that one of the main reasons for hosting Narratives of Conversion to Islam in Britain is "a general sense of frustration" with the media's "one-dimensional portrayals of female conversion."
They say that these focus on women who marry into the faith, and suggest that they do so at the expense of their independence and liberty.
"Judging by what the media tends to write about Islam, you would expect liberal-minded, intellectually-engaged women from non-Muslim backgrounds to give it a wide berth," Prof. Yasir Suleiman, the project's leader, says on the university's site.
"It seems to be a religion that clashes with our ideas about modernity. Yet, the paradox is that there is a noticeable number of well-educated, intellectually-engaged women with high-flying careers who are choosing to become Muslims. So the question is, how do we explain this?" » | QMI Agency | Sunday, January 29, 2012
