The authors find that while no single set of factors can explain why Western women are embracing Islamic faith traditions, some common motivations emerge. These include an attraction to Islam's high regard for family and community, its strict moral and ethical standards, and the rationality and spirituality of its theology, as well as a disillusionment with Christianity and with the unrestrained sexuality of so much of Western culture.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Conversion and gender, two contested concepts / Willy Jansen -- Gender and conversion to Islam in the West / Karin van Nieuwkerk -- Contextualizing conversion -- The quest for peace in submission : reflections on the journey of American women converts to Islam / Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad -- The shaping of a Scandinavian "Islam" : converts and gender equal opportunity / Anne Sofie Roald -- Symbolizing distance : conversion to Islam in Germany and the United States / Monika Wohlrab-Sahr -- Discourses and narratives -- Gender, conversion, and Islam : a comparison of online and offline conversion narratives / Karin van Nieuwkerk -- The shifting significance of the halal/haram frontier : narratives on the hijab and other issues / Stefano Allievi -- Trajectories and paradigms -- Female conversion to Islam : the Sufi paradigm / Haifaa Jawad -- African American Islam as an expression of converts' religious faith and nationalist dreams and ambitions / Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons -- Feminism and conversion : comparing British, Dutch, and South African life stories / Margot Badran -- Transmission and identity -- How Deborah became Aisha : the conversion process and the creation of female Muslim identity / Nicole Bourque -- Keeping the faith : convert Muslim mothers and the transmission of female Muslim identity in the West / Marcia Hermansen.