Sunday 10 March, 8pm
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, and women are thought to be the largest group among its converts. But what is its appeal for the liberated western woman? What motivates women to change every aspect of their lives, despite the widespread perception in the West that Islam treats women badly? Mum, I’m a Muslim, part of Channel 4’s British And Muslim season, talks to four white women who have adopted the Islamic faith. It also examines why so many white British women are embracing Islam.
The film starts several weeks before September 11. With the terrorist attack in New York and the subsequent escalating war in Afghanistan, converting to Islam is suddenly something many of the potential participants no longer wish to discuss. Caroline, a nurse, agrees to be filmed but only in the privacy of her home. She doesn't wear the hijab (Muslim headscarf) because: ‘People will treat me differently. People will think I'm strange or foreign.’
The film is rooted in Sheffield, the convert capital of the UK, where Ameena, a 28-year-old coach driver who converted as a teenager, acts as a kind of big sister to other white women interested in Islam. A 'true Yorkshire lass', she becomes disheartened when anti-Muslim feeling in Britain makes life for her increasingly difficult. ‘I love England. Yeah. But I don't feel safe going to town on a Saturday afternoon with my kids any more in case someone attacks us,’ she says.
Ameena is independent, outspoken and defies the stereotype of a Muslim woman. Nevertheless, her views on adultery are hard line: she backs public executions but only if proof is irrefutable. Eventually, she packs the family’s belongings and moves with her husband and two children to the Yemen - a country believed to be on America's hit list in the war against terrorism. The Foreign Office advises British nationals not to travel there.
Amy, a 19-year-old student from Wales, has only just converted. She has the hardest task for new Muslims still ahead of her - breaking the news to her family. The film follows her emotional journey as she braces herself to tell her mother and father. ‘I think they'll be OK. It might be a bit of a shock to see me wearing a scarf for the first time. They'll be all right - I hope - please Mum,’ says Amy.
Jan, a counsellor at the renal unit at the Northern General Hospital, is a Sufi Muslim. This is a branch of Islam that emphasises spirituality over the rules. As a former Greenham Common feminist, she challenges the view that Islam oppresses women: ‘It’s only in the past 20 years that women in this country were able to open a bank account without their husband signing the cheques. Islamic women have always had those rights. If I stick to what the Koran says, it’s clear to me that I’ll have total equality.’
All the women in the film deny that converting to Islam infringes on their rights as women. They claim it gives them new rights and improves their social status. This film provides a rare insight as they talk frankly about their sexuality, spirituality and the importance of the hijab. Ameena declares: ‘There's such a taboo about Muslim women - that we're poor downtrodden victims who have to walk ten paces behind our husbands. I walk in front of mine.’
Other Programmes in the Muslim and British Season
The Hidden Jihad
Culture Clash
Trouble at the Mosque
Who Speaks for Muslims?
