A leap of faith (Swedes converting to Islam)

The Local ^ | October 12 2007 | Rami Abdelrahman

[ari-freedom]

Of the 400,000 people in Sweden estimated to be celebrating the end of Ramadan this weekend, around 5,000 are ethnic Swedes who have converted to Islam. Many of these converts are women. Two of them tell Rami Abdelrahman about how they square their faith with society's expectations.

In one of the world's most famously secular societies, Helena Benauoda goes against the flow. As chairwoman of the Swedish Muslim Council, she is Sweden's most high-profile convert to Islam. But she is only one of thousands of ethnic Swedish women to have made the leap.

Now based at the Grand Mosque of Sweden, in the slightly incongruous location of Stockholm's bohemian Södermalm district, Benauoda says mingling with Muslim teenagers at the age of 19 prompted her to look more closely at Islam, leading ultimately to her conversion:

“I read the Quran in Swedish, but it only offered the point of view of the translator. Nowadays, there are many different translations that offer different interpretations in Swedish, so you don't have to speak Arabic to understand Islam, although it helps a lot.”

Benauoda says that in retrospect she started her journey towards Islam from a very young age.

“It started when I was 9 and wanted to perform evening prayers but did not know who to pray to, so I started looking for answers, and found all the logical answers in Islam."

Benauoda reckons that there are more Swedish converts than the 5,000 accounted for by Statistics Sweden. Others keep their religion a personal matter, she says. There's no doubt in her mind that the large number of Muslims who have moved to Sweden over the past few decades have been an influence on the Swedish converts.

[Travis McGee]

Radical Islam is an insane murder cult, moderate Islam is its Trojan Horse in the West.

[Crim]

Oh boy...a fresh crop of lilly whites...

[Jedidah]

” . . . It started when I was 9 and wanted to perform evening prayers but did not know who to pray to . . .”

This is just so sad, and it illustrates perfectly the reality that man is inherently created with a need to worship a higher power.

It also illustrates sadly how completely Christians have abdicated their responsibility to spread the Good News.

We took for granted our heritage.

We are always one generation from extinction.

[Alright_on_the_LeftCoast]

Obviously a reason they are all blonde....idiots.

[TruthConquers]

This is what happens to a people who turn away from the God of the Bible. Their secularist society left them empty, and the constant bile towards Christians, leaves them open to falsehoods.

I wonder what this silly lady thinks about all of the rapes happening in Sweden to her fellow countrywomen? Does she make excuses for their (the muzzies) despicable acts?

[Borges]

Sweden is famous for ABBA ALLAH.

[NonZeroSum]

This is just so sad, and it illustrates perfectly the reality that man is inherently created with a need to worship a higher power.

Some, even many men (and women), but not all. I've certainly never felt such a need.

[Dead Dog]

The burkah will give many liberals a sense of direction and purpous.

[rocksblues]

but did not know who to pray to

Swedish people top the list of people who just want to go along to get along!

As for the flames to come I am 50% Swedish!

[hinckley buzzard]

Great illustration of the epigrammatic truth, "Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything."

[Clioman]

“The burkah will give many liberals a sense of direction and purpose.”

And if that doesn’t work, there’s always forced marriages, slavery, honor killings, and clitorectomies...

[PetroniusMaximus]

“Some, even many men (and women), but not all. I’ve certainly never felt such a need.”

Everybody worships something.

[PetroniusMaximus]

“This is what happens to a people who turn away from the God of the Bible.”

My experience of Swedish churches = a sea of gray haired ladies waiting to die.

[MD_Willington_1976]

LOL... Suckers...

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

“It started when I was 9 and wanted to perform evening prayers but did not know who to pray to, so I started looking for answers, and found all the logical answers in Islam."

Herein is the answer. Logic should fail to find the answers in Islam. At her age, she is the 1960's equivalent of Moonies, Hari Krishnas, and schizophrenics in their teens and twenties that all start grasping for a lifesaver before they drown.

[avacado]

Meet Helena Benauoda:

GUILTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=531&a=543238

[in hoc signo vinces]

Ahhhh...more proof that PT Barnum was right...

[Tolsti]

Converting to islam will become the new ‘chic’ in europe, and possible in the USA, such as tats and piercings.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

I argued with a lefty of Swede extraction over socialism. He cited Sweden as an excellent example of where socialism works. I told him that it was only temporary (if it was, in fact, ‘working’...it always ‘works’ as long as there is a pot of money to take from, once that’s gone, it fails) and only so long as their homogeneity remains at some 87% Lutheran. I cited the incursion of mainly Turkish Muslims into Sweden and how they were sapping the social handouts and creating horrible cultural problems and further told him that when the incursion begins to break up the homogeneity, look for Socialism to fail utterly, as it always does.

Here we go.