Neo-Muslims Challenges in UK The relationship between the convert and the heritage Muslim communities and wider society is explored with reference to their political, social and religious contexts. GM: Facing pressures from family members after their conversion and public opposition to their dress, a new study is looking into challenges facing new Muslim converts in Britain. I was born and brought into a Catholic family of 10 children. I chose to accept Islam, Mary Batool Al Toma, a Muslim convert, told a symposium at the American University of Sharjah on Sunday, March 10, reported 7Days in Dubai website. How I was treated at that time was extremely painful to the point where my mother, just a few days before she passed away, when she was dying of cancer, put her arms around me and I could feel her squeezing the life out of me as she apologized to me for the way that the family had treated me during the time of my conversion. Th e event saw the launch of a report into chall en ges facing new Muslim converts in Bri ta in. Themed Nar rat ives of Con ver sio n to Isl am in Bri tai n - Female Per specti ves, the stu dy hig hli ght ed cul tur al pressures facing new Muslims in Britain and the lack of support for them. We have endeavored to describe the experience of women converts to Islam in contemporary British society, Professor Yasir Suleiman, founding director of the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center of Islamic Studies at University of Cambridge, told Zawya Emirati website. The relationship between the convert and the heritage Muslim communities and wider society is explored with reference to their political, social and religious contexts. The study, co-prepared by AUS and University of Cambridge in association with The New Muslims Project, looks into challenges facing new Muslim converts from family pressures to issues as hijab, marriage, divorce, polygamy, domestic violence and mosque provisions for female converts. It also sheds light on challenges facing children of convert mothers and the role new Muslims play as bridges between Muslims and non-Muslims in British society. The question of dress, the hijab is an important one, Professor Suleiman said. I think there is a difference between wearing the hijab and being worn by the hijab. Not every convert wears the
