Cambridge U Study: Why Do Chicks in the U.K. "Revert"?

Okay, the study (which has yet to be released in its entirety) actually bears a more academically, albeit somewhat clunkier, title--Narratives of Conversion to Islam in Britain--Female Perspectives. But, bearing the imprimatur of an old and august British university, its conclusions are bound to carry weight.

So what is Islam's appeal to British chicks? Here's a taste of what the study (funded by the royal Saudi moneybags who owns a sizable stake in FOX News), you should forgive the expression, uncovered:

Despite the myriad reasons for women converting to Islam – which, contrary to popular belief, often do not involve marriage – the project team say that a consistent, emerging theme is that many stressed a strong sense of continuity with the past. Although outsiders view conversion as a break with a previous life, and in extreme cases apparently “racialise” white converts as if they have somehow become non-white by joining the faith, the women who make the change retain many of their fundamental beliefs and relationships.

Why they convert is a highly complex question, however. In some cases, women simply came into contact with the Qur’an and found that it struck a spiritual chord – sometimes one that, given their background, they initially found it hard to accept. Other cases recorded in the discussions included those of journalists who, dispatched by their editors to write a piece about the restricted lives of female converts, were in practice won over to the merits of Islam itself.

The final report will, organisers say, attempt to portray the experience of conversion in full by expressing the participants’ feelings and stories whether positive or negative. Women who are attracted to Islam because it seems versatile and inclusive, for example, sometimes find themselves struggling with the more conservative views of Imams. Others have encountered a sense of triumphalism from some “heritage Muslims”, who are keen to show off white converts to the wider world because of their social origins, rather than because of their beliefs...

I guess, then, that you could call it a pretty mixed bag of "narratives." It would interesting to track these women, and see if any of them find the conservative imams and sense of triumphalism less than appealing, and decide to "un-revert." But one has the sense that that's beyond the study's scope.