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THOUSANDS OF BRITISH EMBRACE ISLAM
RADIANCE VIEWSWEEKLY 7-13 March 2004 | 12 March 2004

Posted on 03/13/2004 2:31:26 AM PST by Doctor13

Jonathan Birt, the son of Lord Birt, and Emma Clark, the granddaughter of former liberal Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, are only two of 14,000 mostly-elite white Britons having reverted to Islam, reports said.

According to the first authoritative study of the phenomenon, carried by the Sunday Times on February 22, some of the country’s top landowners, celebrities and the offspring of senior Establishment figures have embraced Islam after being disillusioned with Western values.

The new study by Yahya (formerly Jonathan) Birt, son of Lord Birt, former director-general of the BBC, provides the first reliable data on the sensitive subject of Christians’ reversion to Islam.

He uses a breakdown of the latest census figures to conclude that there are now 14,200 white converts in Britain.

Speaking publicly for the first time about his faith, Birt argued that an inspirational figure, similar to the American convert Malcolm X for Afro-Caribbeans, would first have to emerge if the next stage, a mass conversion among white Britons, were to happen.

"You need great transitional figures to translate something alien (like Islam) into the vernacular," Birt, whose doctorate at Oxford University is on young British Muslims, was quoted by the Times.

"The image of Islam projected by political Islamic movements is not very attractive," he said.

Initially, Birt said he had no coherent reasons for converting, but "in the longer term I think it was the overall profundity, balance and coherence and spirituality of the Muslim way of life which convinced me," he said.

Meanwhile, it emerged last weekend that Emma Clark, the great-granddaughter of a British prime minister has converted. She said: "We’re all the rage, I hope it’s not a passing fashion."

Clark, who helped design an Islamic garden for the Prince of Wales at Highgrove, his Gloucestershire home, is now helping create a similar garden for a mosque in Woking, Surrey, on the site of a car park, said the British newspaper.

Furthermore, fresh evidence came last weekend that Islam has received formal acceptance at the heart of the Establishment. The Queen has approved new arrangements to allow Muslim staff at Buckingham Palace time off to attend Friday prayers at a mosque. A member of staff in the finance department is the first to take advantage of it, said the British paper.

Many converts have been inspired by the writings of Charles Le Gai Eaton, a former Foreign Office diplomat, it added.

"I have received letters from people who are put off by the wishy-washy standards of contemporary Christianity and they are looking for a religion which does not compromise too much with the modern world," said Eaton, author of Islam and the Destiny of Man


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: islam; jihadineurope; ukmuslims
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1 posted on 03/13/2004 2:31:26 AM PST by Doctor13
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To: Doctor13
I would start looking for the money.
2 posted on 03/13/2004 2:33:17 AM PST by js1138
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To: Doctor13
More islamic BS.
3 posted on 03/13/2004 2:33:37 AM PST by Lion in Winter
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To: Doctor13
Oh boy! Should add being Gay to the mix and really be hip.
4 posted on 03/13/2004 2:38:10 AM PST by oceanperch (`It's A Boy Address:http://community-2.webtv.net/YaquinaBay/LangleyPortar)
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To: js1138
By the year 2000, there were more practicing Muslims than there were practicing Anglicans. Bonnie Prince Charlie made it a point to bring in more Islamic studies into British school. Remember, when President Bush spoke from the Washington Mosque during Ramadan, he said that Islam is a religion of peace, compassion and charity. I wonder what the Christians in the Sudan who are literally being crucified would think of his remarks? Furthermore, Colin Powell made the statement that the U.S. should bring in more clerics, more teachers and more journalists from Islamic nations. I guess 9/11 wasn't enough for us. Now they want to make it easier for terrorists to enter this country.
5 posted on 03/13/2004 2:42:55 AM PST by Doctor13
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To: Doctor13
*** ...the wishy-washy standards of contemporary Christianity... ***

I believe that the above is true, and it's a good thing that Mel produced his movie when he did.

The pendulum keeps swinging. The Victorian Age led to the '60s and its lack of a moral compass; now it's swinging back and people are looking for a strong belief.

6 posted on 03/13/2004 2:44:36 AM PST by kitkat
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To: Doctor13
I think the word should be conversion not reversion!
7 posted on 03/13/2004 3:02:33 AM PST by mdmathis6 (The Democrats must be defeated in 2004...." MDMATHIS6, The Anti-Democrat")
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To: kitkat
...the wishy-washy standards of contemporary Christianity...

I believe that the above is true.

So do I. Wouldn't a return to not so wishy-washy standards of earlier Christianity do instead of apostasy?

8 posted on 03/13/2004 3:05:39 AM PST by Neophyte (Nazists, Communists, Islamists... what the heck is the difference?)
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To: Doctor13
Rebellious young people will always look for ways to irritate the more sensible members of society. Part of the problem is the way Islam has been allowed to define itself with no effective answering back from the media.
9 posted on 03/13/2004 3:19:27 AM PST by tkathy (Our economy, our investments, and our jobs DEPEND on powerful national security.)
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To: Neophyte
From everthing I read, the problem is that the Anglican church in England is just that: wishy-washy, terrified of offending, always willing to give in on theology, including questioning the divinity of Christ. As a consequence, only about one million (out of 60 million) Brits attend church regularly. Anglican churches in the countryside are increasingly shutting down after 1000 years in service.
10 posted on 03/13/2004 3:23:00 AM PST by laconic
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To: laconic
What a shame that those magnificent cathedrals and churches may one day be converted into mosques. All they have to do is to put up a couple of minarets, as they did to St. Sophia's in Constantinople. When St. Sophia's was desecrated by white-washing the beautiful icons with the sayings of Mohammed, the Christian world remained silent.
11 posted on 03/13/2004 3:31:54 AM PST by Doctor13
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To: Doctor13
Hey, it's how they did the temple mount too.

They got the entire world in their sites, and we'll just lie down apparently.
12 posted on 03/13/2004 3:38:46 AM PST by Monty22
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To: Doctor13
Britan needs another John and Charles Wesley, Quick!
13 posted on 03/13/2004 3:50:31 AM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar (DEMS STILL LIE)
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To: mdmathis6
I think the word should be conversion not reversion!

Or infection.

Epidemic?

Plague?

14 posted on 03/13/2004 4:58:16 AM PST by Gorzaloon (Contents may have settled during shipping, but this tagline contains the stated product weight.)
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To: Doctor13
"I have received letters from people who are put off by the wishy-washy standards of contemporary Christianity and they are looking for a religion which does not compromise too much with the modern world," said Eaton, author of Islam and the Destiny of Man

There is a move to destroy or at least water-down anything of value in Western civilization. And it is politically-incorrect to hold any values that are remotely Western or Christian. As a consequence, the West doesn't appear to believe in itself and it seems weak. Churches try to become "relevant" by adopting the latest fad and throwing away most of what was important to the faith.

Contrast that to the appeal of totalitarian movements, including radical Islam. They promise certitude about all things -- just follow the party line and you are one of the elite chosen by History or Allah! You are somebody! You are a warrior among History's chosen or God's elect! Every true believer sees himself as the pinnacle of history -- the center of the universe.

The left has succeeded in making the West literally dis-value itself. Nothing is sacred or important anymore -- all that remains is a vague sense of guilt (which is at the root of the non-judgementalism craze) and a strong sense of cynicism.

15 posted on 03/13/2004 5:37:59 AM PST by Wilhelm Tell (Lurking since 1997!)
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To: Doctor13
"The Queen has approved new arrangements to allow Muslim staff at Buckingham Palace time off to attend Friday prayers at a mosque."

So where's "the Defender of the Faith?"

I'm sure that the "faith" refered to is NOT islam.

Seems like that trite little phrase attributed to the Royal House of England is just as phony as the monarchy itself.

16 posted on 03/13/2004 5:59:46 AM PST by nightdriver
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To: Doctor13
THOUSANDS OF BRITISH EMBRACE ISLAM...shows how dumb some people can be...Oh well...it takes all kinds, so they say.
17 posted on 03/13/2004 6:03:07 AM PST by B.O. Plenty (god, I hate politicians)
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To: Doctor13
. . . white Britons having reverted to Islam . . . "

Interesting wording. When one "reverts" to something, they are going back to a thing or place that they previously did or lived. For these young Brits to "revert" to Islam suggests that they had converted to Islam once, then rejected it and have now "reverted" back to Islam.

The wording casts a lot of doubt as to the credibility of the article, IMO.

18 posted on 03/13/2004 6:03:49 AM PST by DustyMoment (Repeal CFR NOW!!)
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To: Doctor13
There is a rumor that Prince Charles converted to Islam several years ago, in the form of Sufism. Granted, Sufis are not the mainstream in Islam, but they seem quite willing to extend more militant Islam. For a real thrill, look up "Murabitun."
19 posted on 03/13/2004 6:14:14 AM PST by livius
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To: mdmathis6
"I think the word should be conversion not reversion!"

More like perversion.
20 posted on 03/13/2004 6:19:11 AM PST by cloud8
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