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| 'More Americans converting to Islam' |
| 2010-09-26 |
| [Iran Press TV] Despite post-9/11anti-Islam sentiments in the US, figures show thousands of Americans convert to Islam each year. About 20,000 Americans convert to Islam annually, a Press TV correspondent in Washington said. "It was learning about God and our creator that really inspired me, from Malcolm X and from what I read about Islam, to come back to our natural state of believing," a recent convert to Islam, Umar Abdul Wahab, told the correspondent. Wahab who was formerly a Christian, now attends Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Centre in Falls Church, Virginia. "To me Islam is total submission to our creator, total submission to what he wants us to do, [and] following the way of Prophet Mohammed," Wahab added. Wahab says he converted to Islam after realizing he was meant to follow a different course. Letting go of old conventions in pursuit of an individual path, however, was not an easy task. "My parents [eventually] saw that Islam made me a better person than I was previously and they came to respect that... they really admire me for standing up for my beliefs," he added. However, The infamous However... anger spurred by anti-Islamic hysteria has been sweeping through America in recent weeks, as shown by a Florida pastor who had called for holding a "Burn a Qur'an Day" on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. But the ability to exercise religion freely has always been a part of the American dream that every one is entitled to, says Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, director of outreach at the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #13 Given the increase in Autism and Alzheimers...is it any surprise there's been an increase in Islamic conversions? perhaps it's something in the water |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-09-26 18:49 |
| #12 The population of America is increasing so saying more Americans are blah-blah is a pretty safe bet for any given blah-blah. Now if the rate is increasing, that's a different story. Notice that data is missing from the article. 20,000 people sounds like a lot if they are all standing in your living room, but 0.007 percent of Americans does not sound like such a big deal. I also suspect most of that is prison conversions. And what's not to like? You get to hate Whitey AND the Juice. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-09-26 18:37 |
| #11 TW, Thanks for linking to that interesting article. First some perspective: 20,000 converts in a 300 millon + population of the United States = .007%conversions per year. Even within the prison population we are probably talking 1% per year. Some interesting parts of TW's article: "In every hour, 667 Muslims [in Africa] convert to Christianity. Everyday, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity. These numbers are very large indeed." "In Iran as many as 1 million people have surreptitiously converted to Evangelical Christianity in the last five years." "In southern Russia the same pattern is emerging. [...] Repulsed by bloody terrorist attacks, those living in areas such as Beslan have converted to Christianity in the greatest numbers of all. As many as 100,000 have converted to Christianity" |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2010-09-26 13:55 |
| #10 An interesting article on the subject here from Pajamas Media here, written a few years ago. The concern for Islam apparently ought to be the millions converting out, rather than the thousands converting in. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-09-26 10:56 |
| #9 Parbellum: You obliviously don't have friends in the department of corrections. Criminals in the big house love Islam since it allows them to justify crimes against an infidel nation. Noxious combination: crime and religion. #4 anti-Islamic hysteria has been sweeping through America. Really? I've noticed no such thing. |
| Posted by: HammerHead 2010-09-26 10:54 |
| #8 "Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year." -- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-09-26 10:41 |
| #7 20,000 per year sounds about the right number for prison conversions. |
| Posted by: Swanimote 2010-09-26 09:51 |
| #6 20,000 a year? Wow. That's like half a full house for a night game at Fenway. Which goes to show that every population has a certain tiny percentage of mental defectives.... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-09-26 09:10 |
| #5 Let me pull out the Rantburg translator for you. If you refuse to submit to Islam, you are anti-Islamic. Therefore anti-Islam is sweeping America. If that's the way they want it, so be it. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-09-26 08:59 |
| #4 anti-Islamic hysteria has been sweeping through America Really? I've noticed no such thing. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2010-09-26 08:31 |
| #3 We also do not put you to death for preaching Islam. Hmm, that idea has possibilities. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2010-09-26 03:20 |
| #2 Of course, in Christianity we do not put a death sentence on you when you leave the faith. We also do not put you to death for preaching Islam. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2010-09-26 01:32 |
| #1 But Africans are converting to Christianity from Islam at a greater rate. Some 6 million per year. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-09-26 00:03 |