Why do they Convert to Islam?
by Abu Daoud
RE my post on the rise of white Muslim terror in the UK, Fletcher asked:
I just don't get it... What do you suppose the motivation is for these non-Muslims Brits to join Al-Qaida in terrorizing westerners indiscriminately? How are they convinced that the value of human life is nil?
I am just glad that the majority of their major plots are stopped before they launch.
There are many different reasons why ethnic Americans and Brits convert to Islam. But I will outline some of the main ones here for you all:
1) Discipline: Let's be honest about most of our churches today: they don't ask much--and that includes evangelical churches. In fact one is hard pressed to differentiate between the Sunday morning service and a concert with a inspirational talk, right? In Islam you find a very detailed system of rules that tell you all about your life and how you should live it and what you should do. People who grow up with broken families or broken homes or addictions find such a system very attractive because it promises to impose a sort of order on the chaos of their lives.
2) Community: Islamist communities tend to be very tight-knit because of the Quranic command to not take friend from the kuffar (unbelievers). Again, most churches don't provide this sort of community any more (though the ones that do tend to be fairly vibrant and growing). In a reaction against American hyper-autonomy--a very lonely way to live--it is understandable that one would embrace Islam and its community which is quite close to a family.
3) Marriage: Even in the West a guy is told he has to convert to Islam to marry his Muslims girlfriend, even if she is not very devout. And then their children will be Muslims, and as such they cannot leave Islam. So even if this convert to Islam is insincere it does not matter because his lineage will all be Muslim, and some of them may be true believers.
4) Purpose: Islam teaches that the world must be made to submit to Allah's will (the sharia). This is a great project, it is powerful and overarching and compelling. This is especially true for a person who does not have a strong sense of purpose in his or her life.
5) Family: This reason is mostly important for women. While there are many reasons for women to be wary of Islam, it cannot be denied that Muslims have a deep respect for family, something one does not find often in Western secular culture any more. So she is told that she will be a wife and mother, that she will be provided for by her husband and family, and that he won't just pick up and leave when he gets bored of her. Muslims have more coherent families than other Westerners generally speaking, notwithstanding the examples of domestic violence we have recently seen in the press.
4 comments:
Were there to be a "Muslim takeover in America" (a paranoid fantasy, I know, but let me make my point) there would be huge numbers of unforced conversions from Christian men (and I include Protestants with Catholics), most of whom are dying for some structure and discipline in their life which the effeminate churches in the West do not provide. The only ones who might resist would be traditionalists, Orthodox, maybe some of the rural Protestant types. Islam would be very welcome in this country. There would be little resistance.
Yes, this is how it has worked traditionally: Muslim government means that only Muslims can be held by Muslims, so many professionals leave their religion (uncoerced) to maintain their jobs.
But as culture becomes Islamified over the generations the ability for creativity, development, and critical thought atrophies since these things simply are not present in Islamic civilization to any appreciable degree.
This is what happened with Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Constantinople.
Good post Abu. I have nothing to add except "thank you...", well there is one thing now that I'm typing: My first reaction was that some of these younger revolutionaries who convert and become terrorists just plain hate their governments and want to take someone out. My guess is that this is often redirected or stemming from something else... but do you think this is valid?
Hi Fletcher, certainly hate is an aspect of the calculation. But I wonder if that is not so much an Islamic part of the calculation as simply part of the spoiled Western attitude that says, the government owes me everything, if they don't do it then I hate it. That way of looking at things is pretty common, except that Islam then encourages one to overthrow that government instead of just complain about it.
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