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8 - Conversions to Islam

from Part II - Asserting Agency in Faith

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2025

Masooda Bano
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Summary

Vanessa Vroon-Najem reviews the growing scholarship on women’s conversion to Islam in the West. Drawing on years of ethnographic fieldwork with Dutch female converts to Islam, she demonstrates how initial conversions often stem from the appeal of classical Islamic reasoning on gender norms. Over time, these women learn to respect core values while making adjustments on secondary matters, enabling them to engage with a wider society that remains skeptical of their newly acquired Muslim identity.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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References

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