THOUSANDS OF BRITISH EMBRACE ISLAM

RADIANCE VIEWSWEEKLY 7-13 March 2004 | 12 March 2004

[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

[js1138]

I would start looking for the money.

[Lion in Winter]

More islamic BS.

[oceanperch]

Oh boy! Should add being Gay to the mix and really be hip.

[Doctor13]

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.

[kitkat]

*** ...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.

[mdmathis6]

I think the word should be conversion not reversion!

[Neophyte]

...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?

[tkathy]

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.

[laconic]

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.

[Doctor13]

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.

[Monty22]

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.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Britan needs another John and Charles Wesley, Quick!

[Gorzaloon]

I think the word should be conversion not reversion!

Or infection.

Epidemic?

Plague?

[Wilhelm Tell]

"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.

[nightdriver]

"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.

[B.O. Plenty]

THOUSANDS OF BRITISH EMBRACE ISLAM...shows how dumb some people can be...Oh well...it takes all kinds, so they say.

[DustyMoment]

. . . 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.

[livius]

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."

[cloud8]

"I think the word should be conversion not reversion!"

More like perversion.