{"id":395,"date":"2010-05-30T17:37:02","date_gmt":"2010-05-30T17:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wp3\/?p=395"},"modified":"2010-05-30T17:37:02","modified_gmt":"2010-05-30T17:37:02","slug":"thousands-british-females-embrace-islam-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/05\/30\/395\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands British females embrace Islam"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"women-accepting-islam\"It\u2019s a controversial time for British women to be wearing the hijab, the basic Muslim headscarf. Last month, Belgium became the first European country to pass legislation to ban the burka (the most concealing of Islamic veils), calling it a \u201cthreat\u201d to female dignity, while France looks poised to follow suit. In Italy earlier this month, a Muslim woman was fined \u20ac500 (\u00a3430) for wearing the Islamic veil outside a post office.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

And yet, while less than 2 per cent of the population now attends a Church of England service every week, the number of female converts to Islam is on the rise. At the London Central Mosque in Regent\u2019s Park, women account for roughly two thirds of the \u201cNew Muslims\u201d who make their official declarations of faith there \u2013 and most of them are under the age of 30.
Conversion statistics are frustratingly patchy, but at the time of the 2001 Census, there were at least 30,000 British Muslim converts in the UK. According to Kevin Brice, of the Centre for Migration Policy Research, Swansea University, this number may now be closer to 50,000 \u2013 and the majority are women. \u201cBasic analysis shows that increasing numbers of young, university-educated women in their twenties and thirties are converting to Islam,\u201d confirms Brice.
\u201cOur liberal, pluralistic 21st-century society means we can choose our careers, our politics \u2013 and we can pick and choose who we want to be spiritually,\u201d explains Dr Mohammad S. Seddon, lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Chester. We\u2019re in an era of the \u201creligious supermarket\u201d, he says.<\/p>\n

Joanne Bailey<\/strong>
Solicitor, 30, Bradford<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time I wore my hijab into the office, I was so nervous, I stood outside on the phone to my friend for ages going, \u2018What on earth is everyone going to say?\u2019 When I walked in, a couple of people asked, \u2018Why are you wearing that scarf? I didn\u2019t know you were a Muslim.\u2019
\u201cI\u2019m the last person you\u2019d expect to convert to Islam: I had a very sheltered, working-class upbringing in South Yorkshire. I\u2019d hardly even seen a Muslim before I went to university.
\u201cIn my first job at a solicitor\u2019s firm in Barnsley, I remember desperately trying to play the role of the young, single, career woman: obsessively dieting, shopping and going to bars \u2013 but I never felt truly comfortable.
\u201cThen one afternoon in 2004 everything changed: I was chatting to a Muslim friend over coffee, when he noticed the little gold crucifix around my neck. He said, \u2018Do you believe in God, then?\u2019 I wore it more for fashion than religion and said, \u2018No, I don\u2019t think so,\u2019 and he started talking about his faith.
\u201cI brushed him off at first, but his words stuck in my mind. A few days later, I found myself ordering a copy of the Koran on the internet.
\u201cIt took me a while to work up the courage to go to a women\u2019s social event run by the Leeds New Muslims group. I remember hovering outside the door thinking, \u2018What the hell am I doing here?\u2019 I imagined they would be dressed head-to-toe in black robes: what could I, a 25-year-old, blonde English girl, possibly have in common with them?
\u201cBut when I walked in, none of them fitted the stereotype of the oppressed Muslim housewife; they were all doctors, teachers and psychiatrists. I was struck by how content and secure they seemed. It was meeting these women, more than any of the books I read, that convinced me that I wanted to become a Muslim.
\u201cAfter four years, in March 2008, I made the declaration of faith at a friend\u2019s house. At first, I was anxious that I hadn\u2019t done the right thing, but I soon relaxed into it \u2013 a bit like starting a new job.
\u201cA few months later, I sat my parents down and said, \u2018I\u2019ve got something to tell you.\u2019 There was a silence and my mum said, \u2018You\u2019re going to become Muslim, aren\u2019t you?\u2019 She burst into tears and kept asking things like, \u2018What happens when you get married? Do you have to cover up? What about your job?\u2019 I tried to reassure her that I\u2019d still be me, but she was concerned for my welfare.
\u201cContrary to what most people think, Islam doesn\u2019t oppress me; it lets me be the person that I was all along. Now I\u2019m so much more content and grateful for the things I\u2019ve got. A few months ago, I got engaged to a Muslim solicitor I met on a training course. He has absolutely no problem with my career, but I do agree with the Islamic perspective on the traditional roles for men and women. I want to look after my husband and children, but I also want my independence. I\u2019m proud to be British and I\u2019m proud to be Muslim \u2013 and I don\u2019t see them as conflicting in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aqeela Lindsay Wheeler<\/strong>
Housewife and mother, 26, Leicester<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a teenager I thought all religion was pathetic. I used to spend every weekend getting drunk outside the leisure centre, in high-heeled sandals and miniskirts. My view was: what\u2019s the point in putting restrictions on yourself? You only live once.
\u201cAt university, I lived the typical student existence, drinking and going clubbing, but I\u2019d always wake up the next morning with a hangover and think, what\u2019s the point?
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t until my second year that I met Hussein. I knew he was a Muslim, but we were falling in love, so I brushed the whole issue of religion under the carpet. But six months into our relationship, he told me that being with me was \u2018against his faith\u2019.
\u201cI was so confused. That night I sat up all night reading two books on Islam that Hussein had given me. I remember bursting into tears because I was so overwhelmed. I thought, \u2018This could be the whole meaning of life.\u2019 But I had a lot of questions: why should I cover my head? Why can\u2019t I eat what I like?
\u201cI started talking to Muslim women at university and they completely changed my view. They were educated, successful \u2013 and actually found the headscarf liberating. I was convinced, and three weeks later officially converted to Islam.
\u201cWhen I told my mum a few weeks later, I don\u2019t think she took it seriously. She made a few comments like, \u2018Why would you wear that scarf? You\u2019ve got lovely hair,\u2019 but she didn\u2019t seem to understand what it meant.
\u201cMy best friend at university completely turned on me: she couldn\u2019t understand how one week I was out clubbing, and the next I\u2019d given everything up and converted to Islam. She was too close to my old life, so I don\u2019t regret losing her as a friend.
\u201cI chose the name Aqeela because it means \u2018sensible and intelligent\u2019 \u2013 and that\u2019s what I was aspiring to become when I converted to Islam six years ago. I became a whole new person: everything to do with Lindsay, I\u2019ve erased from my memory.
\u201cThe most difficult thing was changing the way I dressed, because I was always so fashion-conscious. The first time I tried on the hijab, I remember sitting in front of the mirror, thinking, \u2018What am I doing putting a piece of cloth over my head? I look crazy!\u2019 Now I\u2019d feel naked without it and only occasionally daydream about feeling the wind blow through my hair. Once or twice, I\u2019ve come home and burst into tears because of how frumpy I feel \u2013 but that\u2019s just vanity.
\u201cIt\u2019s a relief not to feel that pressure any more. Wearing the hijab reminds me that all I need to do is serve God and be humble. I\u2019ve even gone through phases of wearing the niqab [face veil] because I felt it was more appropriate \u2013 but it can cause problems, too.
\u201cWhen people see a white girl wearing a niqab they assume I\u2019ve stuck my fingers up at my own culture to \u2018follow a bunch of Asians\u2019. I\u2019ve even had teenage boys shout at me in the street, \u2018Get that s*** off your head, you white bastard.\u2019 After the London bombings, I was scared to walk about in the streets for fear of retaliation.
\u201cFor the most part, I have a very happy life. I married Hussein and now we have a one-year-old son, Zakir. We try to follow the traditional Muslim roles: I\u2019m foremost a housewife and mother, while he goes out to work. I used to dream of having a successful career as a psychologist, but now it\u2019s not something I desire.
\u201cBecoming a Muslim certainly wasn\u2019t an easy way out. This life can sometimes feel like a prison, with so many rules and restrictions, but we believe that we will be rewarded in the afterlife.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catherine Heseltine<\/strong>
Nursery school teacher, 31, North London<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019d asked me at the age of 16 if I\u2019d like to become a Muslim, I would have said, \u2018No thanks.\u2019 I was quite happy drinking, partying and fitting in with my friends.
\u201cGrowing up in North London, we never practised religion at home; I always thought it was slightly old-fashioned and irrelevant. But when I met my future husband, Syed, in the sixth form, he challenged all my preconceptions. He was young, Muslim, believed in God \u2013 and yet he was normal. The only difference was that, unlike most teenage boys, he never drank.
\u201cA year later, we were head over heels in love, but we quickly realised: how could we be together if he was a Muslim and I wasn\u2019t?
\u201cBefore meeting Syed, I\u2019d never actually questioned what I believed in; I\u2019d just picked up my casual agnosticism through osmosis. So I started reading a few books on Islam out of curiosity.
\u201cIn the beginning, the Koran appealed to me on an intellectual level; the emotional and spiritual side didn\u2019t come until later. I loved its explanations of the natural world and discovered that 1,500 years ago, Islam gave women rights that they didn\u2019t have here in the West until relatively recently. It was a revelation.
\u201cReligion wasn\u2019t exactly a \u2018cool\u2019 thing to talk about, so for three years I kept my interest in Islam to myself. But in my first year at university, Syed and I decided to get married \u2013 and I knew it was time to tell my parents. My mum\u2019s initial reaction was, \u2018Couldn\u2019t you just live together first?\u2019 She had concerns about me rushing into marriage and the role of women in Muslim households \u2013 but no one realised how seriously I was taking my religious conversion. I remember going out for dinner with my dad and him saying, \u2018Go on, have a glass of wine. I won\u2019t tell Syed!\u2019 A lot of people assumed I was only converting to Islam to keep his family happy, not because I believed in it.
\u201cLater that year, we had an enormous Bengali wedding, and moved into a flat together \u2013 but I certainly wasn\u2019t chained to the kitchen sink. I didn\u2019t even wear the hijab at all to start with, and wore a bandana or a hat instead.
\u201cI was used to getting a certain amount of attention from guys when I went out to clubs and bars, but I had to let that go. I gradually adopted the Islamic way of thinking: I wanted people to judge me for my intelligence and my character \u2013 not for the way I looked. It was empowering.
\u201cI\u2019d never been part of a religious minority before, so that was a big adjustment, but my friends were very accepting. Some of them were a bit shocked: \u2018What, no drink, no drugs, no men? I couldn\u2019t do that!\u2019 And it took a while for my male friends at university to remember things like not kissing me hello on the cheek any more. I\u2019d have to say, \u2018Sorry, it\u2019s a Muslim thing.\u2019
\u201cOver time, I actually became more religious than my husband. We started growing apart in other ways, too. In the end, I think the responsibility of marriage was too much for him; he became distant and disengaged. After seven years together, I decided to get a divorce.
\u201cWhen I moved back in with my parents, people were surprised I was still wandering around in a headscarf. But if anything, being on my own strengthened my faith: I began to gain a sense of myself as a Muslim, independent of him.
\u201cIslam has given me a sense of direction and purpose. I\u2019m involved with the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, and lead campaigns against Islamophobia, discrimination against women in mosques, poverty and the situation in Palestine. When people call us \u2018extremists\u2019 or \u2018the dark underbelly of British politics\u2019, I just think it\u2019s ridiculous. There are a lot of problems in the Muslim community, but when people feel under siege it makes progress even more difficult.
\u201cI still feel very much part of white British society, but I am also a Muslim. It has taken a while to fit those two identities together, but now I feel very confident being who I am. I\u2019m part of both worlds and no one can take that away from me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sukina Douglas<\/strong>
Spoken-word poet, 28, London<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore I found Islam, my gaze was firmly fixed on Africa. I was raised a Rastafarian and used to have crazy-long dreadlocks: one half blonde and the other half black.
\u201cThen, in 2005, my ex-boyfriend came back from a trip to Africa and announced that he\u2019d converted to Islam. I was furious and told him he was \u2018losing his African roots\u2019. Why was he trying to be an Arab? It was so foreign to how I lived my life. Every time I saw a Muslim woman in the street I thought, \u2018Why do they have to cover up like that? Aren\u2019t they hot?\u2019 It looked oppressive to me.
\u201cIslam was already in my consciousness, but when I started reading the autobiography of Malcolm X at university, something opened up inside me. One day I said to my best friend, Muneera, \u2018I\u2019m falling in love with Islam.\u2019 She laughed and said, \u2018Be quiet, Sukina!\u2019 She only started exploring Islam to prove me wrong, but soon enough she started believing it, too.
\u201cI was always passionate about women\u2019s rights; there was no way I would have entered a religion that sought to degrade me. So when I came across a book by a Moroccan feminist, it unravelled all my negative opinions: Islam didn\u2019t oppress women; people did. \u201cBefore I converted, I conducted an experiment. I covered up in a long gypsy skirt and headscarf and went out. But I didn\u2019t feel frumpy; I felt beautiful. I realised, I\u2019m not a sexual commodity for men to lust after; I want to be judged for what I contribute mentally.
\u201cMuneera and I took our shahada [declaration of faith] together a few months later, and I cut my dreadlocks off to represent renewal: it was the beginning of a new life.
\u201cJust three weeks after our conversion, the 7\/7 bombings happened; suddenly we were public enemy No 1. I\u2019d never experienced racism in London before, but in the weeks after the bombs, people would throw eggs at me and say, \u2018Go back to your own country,\u2019 even though this was my country.
\u201cI\u2019m not trying to shy away from any aspect of who I am. Some people dress in Arabian or Pakistani styles, but I\u2019m British and Caribbean, so my national dress is Primark and Topshop, layered with colourful charity-shop scarves.
\u201cSix months after I converted, I got back together with my ex-boyfriend, and now we\u2019re married. Our roles in the home are different, because we are different people, but he would never try to order me around; that\u2019s not how I was raised.
\u201cBefore I found Islam, I was a rebel without a cause, but now I have a purpose in life: I can identify my flaws and work towards becoming a better person. To me, being a Muslim means contributing to your society, no matter where you come from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catherine Huntley<\/strong>
Retail assistant, 21, Bournemouth<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents always thought I was abnormal, even before I became a Muslim. In my early teens, they\u2019d find me watching TV on a Friday night and say, \u2018What are you doing at home? Haven\u2019t you got any friends to go out with?\u2019
\u201cThe truth was: I didn\u2019t like alcohol, I\u2019ve never tried smoking and I wasn\u2019t interested in boys. You\u2019d think they\u2019d have been pleased.
\u201cI\u2019ve always been quite a spiritual person, so when I started studying Islam in my first year of GCSEs, something just clicked. I would spend every lunchtime reading about Islam on the computer. I had peace in my heart and nothing else mattered any more. It was a weird experience \u2013 I\u2019d found myself, but the person I found wasn\u2019t like anyone else I knew.
\u201cI\u2019d hardly ever seen a Muslim before, so I didn\u2019t have any preconceptions, but my parents weren\u2019t so open-minded. I hid all my Muslim books and headscarves in a drawer, because I was so scared they\u2019d find out.
\u201cWhen I told my parents, they were horrified and said, \u2018We\u2019ll talk about it when you\u2019re 18.\u2019 But my passion for Islam just grew stronger. I started dressing more modestly and would secretly fast during Ramadan. I got very good at leading a double life until one day, when I was 17, I couldn\u2019t wait any longer.
\u201cI sneaked out of the house, put my hijab in a carrier bag and got on the train to Bournemouth. I must have looked completely crazy putting it on in the train carriage, using a wastebin lid as a mirror. When a couple of old people gave me dirty looks, I didn\u2019t care. For the first time in my life, I felt like myself.
\u201cA week after my conversion, my mum came marching into my room and said, \u2018Have you got something to tell me?\u2019 She pulled my certificate of conversion out of her pocket. I think they\u2019d rather have found anything else at that point \u2013 drugs, cigarettes, condoms \u2013 because at least they could have put it down to teenage rebellion.
\u201cI could see the fear in her eyes. She couldn\u2019t comprehend why I\u2019d want to give up my freedom for the sake of a foreign religion. Why would I want to join all those terrorists and suicide bombers?
\u201cIt was hard being a Muslim in my parents\u2019 house. I\u2019ll never forget one evening, there were two women in burkas on the front page of the newspaper, and they started joking, \u2018That\u2019ll be Catherine soon.\u2019
\u201cThey didn\u2019t like me praying five times a day either; they thought it was \u2018obsessive\u2019. I\u2019d pray right in front of my bedroom door so my mum couldn\u2019t walk in, but she would always call upstairs, \u2018Catherine, do you want a cup of tea?\u2019 just so I\u2019d have to stop.
\u201cFour years on, my grandad still says things like, \u2018Muslim women have to walk three steps behind their husbands.\u2019 It gets me really angry, because that\u2019s the culture, not the religion. My fianc\u00e9, whom I met eight months ago, is from Afghanistan and he believes that a Muslim woman is a pearl and her husband is the shell that protects her. I value that old-fashioned way of life: I\u2019m glad that when we get married he\u2019ll take care of paying the bills. I always wanted to be a housewife anyway.
\u201cMarrying an Afghan man was the cherry on the cake for my parents. They think I\u2019m completely crazy now. He\u2019s an accountant and actually speaks better English than I do, but they don\u2019t care. The wedding will be in a mosque, so I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll come. It hurts to think I\u2019ll never have that fairytale wedding, surrounded by my family. But I hope my new life with my husband will be a lot happier. I\u2019ll create the home I\u2019ve always wanted, without having to feel the pain of people judging me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: Times Online<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a controversial time for British women to be wearing the hijab, the basic Muslim headscarf. Last month, Belgium became the first European country to pass legislation to ban the burka (the most concealing of Islamic veils), calling it a \u201cthreat\u201d to female dignity, while France looks poised to follow suit. In Italy earlier this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c97-distinctive-news-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThousands British females embrace Islam - SunniOnline<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/05\/30\/395\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thousands British females embrace Islam - SunniOnline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s a controversial time for British women to be wearing the hijab, the basic Muslim headscarf. 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In Italy earlier this […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/05\/30\/395\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SunniOnline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-05-30T17:37:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"majed\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"majed\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"17 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/30\\\/395\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/30\\\/395\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"majed\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be\"},\"headline\":\"Thousands British females embrace Islam\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-05-30T17:37:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/30\\\/395\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":3437,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Distinctive News & Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/30\\\/395\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/30\\\/395\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/30\\\/395\\\/\",\"name\":\"Thousands British females embrace Islam - SunniOnline\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-05-30T17:37:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/30\\\/395\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/30\\\/395\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/05\\\/30\\\/395\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Thousands British females embrace Islam\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/\",\"name\":\"SunniOnline\",\"description\":\"The Official Website of Sunni Community in Iran\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be\",\"name\":\"majed\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"majed\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/author\\\/majed\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Thousands British females embrace Islam - SunniOnline","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/05\/30\/395\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Thousands British females embrace Islam - SunniOnline","og_description":"It\u2019s a controversial time for British women to be wearing the hijab, the basic Muslim headscarf. 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