It was suggest a few times on the "How do you view Islam?" thread that the reasons for conversion to Islam be examined. So, starting a thread with that purpose in mind.
For starters, some reasons for conversion to Islam include:
1. Muslims can proselytize in the West but Christians can't proselytize in Muslim nations.
2. Christians in the West can convert to any religion (or drop religion altogether) if they want to, but Muslims can't do that in Muslim nations.
3. Something new, something different, is always attractive to some segments of the population, especially if it's something un-traditional.
4. Western women are in the vanguard of conversion (two-thirds of new converts are women). Why is this important?
a. Women seem to have been at the forfront of religious conversion for all religions, including Christianity.
b. Western women are more likely to date and/or marry Muslim men than vice versa (i.e., Western men are not as likely to date and/or marry Muslim women as compared to Muslim men, who are more likely to date and/or marry Western women) - couple this with the fact that Women tend follow the husband's lead on these types of issues.
c. Women tend to be more rebellious of traditional values and of the values their parents had (polls show repeatedly that more men are conservative than women and that - in the USA - there are more women Democrats than their are men - and more men Republicans than there are women).
d. Women are more likely to turn towards something that has a tangible distinction - culturally speaking - Islam surely fits this bill.
e. Islam provides people with a seperate and distinct identity in the West, something that women who have been brought up in secularised and de-identificational West may deeply crave (probably men fit this also).
5. Islam appeals to those who have been taught that the West is evil and to hate Western history (blacks and newly arrived non-European immigrants fit this profile very well).
6. Islam may be easier to understand theologically - no trinity, no god/man concept, no need for the Greek philosphical crucible - and its sharp tenanents and commands may have general appeal to those seeking identity and order in their lives (includes the poor and those who have been marginalized by mainstream society).
7. Ofcourse, differential birthrates
8. Obviously, differential emigration rates - what's the ratio of Western emigration to Muslim lands vs. Muslim emigration to Western lands - very small!
Other opinions?
