Truth and lies about UK Hindu conversions to Islam

[KashifAsrar]

The following article appeared in TOI dated 12 March 2007.
Kashif

VIEW FROM LONDON

SOUTHALL SECRETS

Truth and lies about UK Hindu conversions to Islam

RASHMEE ROSHAN LALL




This is not really the ‘view from London’. It is ‘a view from Southall’, which is a very different matter indeed. For all that it is just 17.2 km west of Charing Cross, the great beating heart of the British capital, Southall may as well be on a different planet.
Cartographically, Southall is in the London borough of Ealing. Attitudinally, it is the sub-continent gone West. Electorally, Southall’s representative in the British parliament is a leading member of the London Labour Party. In reality, it is India abroad. Its politics stands or falls on the basis of its five constituency wards, which have a preponderance of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus. Southall is South Asia transplanted to Europe. More than 55% of its population is Indian or Pakistani. It has 40,000 Sikhs. It looks, feels, sounds and smells like Chandni Chowk. And its fear psychosis is arguably similar to an urban mixed-but-Hindu-majority mohalla in Old Delhi, cheek-byjowl with the Jama Masjid.
The oldest joke in Britain’s multicultural gospel revolves around Southall. And it goes like this. An Englishman knocks on a door, which promptly swings open to reveal a large matron in a salwar-kameez. “Yes”, she asks, fixing him with a basilisk stare. “I was looking for Mr John Smith,” replies the Englishman tentatively. “Oh no,” says the robust Punjabi housewife, “no foreigners here”.
The joke may be coming unstuck. Southall’s newest residents are “foreigners”, albeit black ones. Somalis are pouring into the area and they are taking the place (and the homes) ceded by Hindus. The Somali influx is pushing up the number of Muslims. The changing demographic has set in motion a snowballing sequence that could irredeemably poison relations between the British South Asian Muslim and his Hindu and Sikh brethren.
Like so much else to do with resurgent Islam, it all revolves around conversion. Hindu and Sikh community leaders have accused radical Muslims of blackmailing their young women or grooming them into changing their faith. (Black mailing to change faith?)
The British Organisation of Sikh Students is screaming blue murder. The Hindu Forum of Britain says it has “no figures but there are lots of
personal accounts from young women who have been bullied and beaten up to convert”. Ramesh Kallidai, Hindu Forum secretary general, says “The main problem is these girls feel very vulnerable and intimidated by these men.(How it can be vulnerable and intimidated, both at the same time?) They talk about it to their friends, who tell us what is happening but don’t want to speak to the police.”
No less a figure than the Commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police force has been apprised of the growing Hindu and Sikh angst. It adds up to a frightening picture of a fastfracturing South Asian community.
But what are the facts? Visit Southall and every Hindu or Sikh will affirm the rumours. Energetic Sikh youths at the local Ramgarhia Gurdwara regurgitate newspaper “facts”, namely that a Muslim youth can expect to earn £ 5,000 for each Hindu or Sikh girl he converts. Everyone whispers about the alleged reality – that the conversions are happening on three college campuses ringing Southall. Everyone mentions the socalled ‘Khilafah’ leaflets doing the rounds, which allegedly enjoin upon Muslim youths to take a Sikh girl out on a date because “it’s easy …they generally like a good drink and from there they can gradually be brought into Islam”. Everyone shakes his head and says it’s a terrible thing.
But — and this is where it gets interesting — no one knows if it is true. No one knows anyone to whom this happened. The president of the Ramgarhia Gurdwara, Dilbagh Singh Chana, admits to me, “I haven’t (personally) heard of any incident like this”, but he adds with gloomy emphasis, “no smoke without fire”.
Chana has a point. Rumour often has some basis in fact. He and Kallidai are right that not everything is quantifiable. The greater truth, as Chana points out, is that Hindu and Sikh families are generally painfully anxious to avoid the dishonour of making public a daughter’s fall from grace.
Even so, the conversion story underlines deeper truths. First, that the early unity displayed by sub-continental Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims was an artificial construct forced upon the first generation of immigrants in the face of a common enemy – right-wing white extremists. Now, that common enemy has melted away and with it the need to stand together.
The second truth is all about the nature of truth itself in a 24/7 media world. Winston Churchill’s pungent remark still holds true: “A lie is halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its boots on”.

 

[Keysersoze]

I think I can honestly say what a complete and utter load of bollocks.

Bloody hell, if I could earn £5000 pounds doing that I would quit my job!

 

[KashifAsrar]

Yes, It is hell lot of a good money.
But this is all sinister propaganda, I believe. Is there some one living in this area in England, on PFF? Kindly share your experiences about this issue.
Kashif

 

[con]

Yes, It is hell lot of a good money.
But this is all sinister propaganda, I believe. Is there some one living in this area in England, on PFF? Kindly share your experiences about this issue.
Kashif

Though I havent stayed in Southhall or westham,I have heard people say about these areas being completly "Desi" galli with clothes hanging outside and buckets nears the house etc etc.....

This issue did come up in the local newspaper recently. However I am not sure if desi girls hang out with African chaps as the report say,even for a free drink.

But then desi kudis are hot . little more "nakara" than the white ones,but worth taking them for a drink

 

[niaz]

My house is in Nortwick Park, not far from Souhthall and we go there quite often for shopping. Good Indian food and Indian song cassettes. It is true that it is a part of subcontinent transplanted in the Middlesex. There have been reports of fights between Muslim and Sikh youth gangs. However, since now I work in the UAE, this is the first time I heard about this.

The very fact that it says that you take a girl for drink indicates that it is nothing but trash. A good muslim doesnot drink, how can you expect to convert some one when you are breaking the rules yourself.

IMO the probelm is social. Many immigrants; specailly those who were born in the subcontinent, still desire to impose their cultural norms on their children. This is a mistake. Children born and brought up in the UK are 'Brown Brits'. They are no longer Indians or Pakistanis. There are economic benefits of living in the UK but it comes with a price. For example, marriages between brown girls and white boys are nearly as common as marriages between brown boys and white girls. In an area of Birmingham; which can easily be mistaken for Mirpur;common complaint is that parents coax their nubile girls to travel to Pakistan on some pretext; marry them off to their cousins and return home. Majority of these girls then run away to Islamabad and ask British Embassy to arrange their travel back to the UK.

Somalians happen to be black. Until now for some reason. intermarriages between Blacks and Asians, whether a boy or a girl, have been a rarity. With Somalians living in Southall, intermixing with Asians was bound to happen. Because Somalians also happen to be muslims, it is adding insult to injury. Think this is root cause for this "Cod's wollop"

 

[Muradk]

I Think it is easy to find the culprit check and see who is getting a lot of attention out of this who means there must be one individual.
See who is running around telling people dont worry I will fix everything, Start with him you guys might get an answere.

South Hall man you walk through it and for a week you cant get the cent of AGARBATI out of your head and clothes ,

 

[Adux]

Conversion is a personal choice, If a person feels the path of Islam will lead him/her to salvation, then so be it, If a person some other religion gives him that so be it too.


This is unprecedented genralization to get a sensational story

 

[KashifAsrar]

I agree niaz sahab. It is all propaganda, probably a news article here or there, picked up by the reporter and then with a indegenous 'Mirch-Masla', he prepared a hot stuff, for desi consumption of course. I agree, no one can convert a non-muslim over a 'drink'. It shows the lack of understanding about Islam from the reporter and he being over enthusiatic in adding 'MORE SPICE' to the recipe.
Kashif

 

[MirBadshah]

Comments of a revert from Hinduism to Islam.

A beautiful video and excillent explaination of facts.

 

[joey]

^^ WTF IS THIS IS THIS NOW GOING TO BE PDF? MIR cut the BS, we are not here to accept your cleric termed scholars propagandas on Hinduism, Thousand times you got the best religion the best path the best everything, kickass live with it and leave us.

That guy whos talking there is TALKING FULL OF BS.

I have absolute reservation when these abrahmic faith goes on rampage attacking whatever values of other faith, the habbit of "pursueing ideas" rather than "souls" is what they need to learn from dharmic faiths.

 

[MirBadshah]

Calm down kid, this video is not made by me, it is available on "Youtube" and watched thousands times, the guy is telling his experience, and this is what this tread is about.

Lol..............by the way what made you angery? Video or guys comments, or why I posted it here while this is related to this thread?

 

[joey]

Calm down kid, this video is not made by me, it is available on "Youtube" and watched thousands times, the guy is telling his experience, and this is what this tread is about.

Lol..............by the way what made you angery? Video or guys comments, or why I posted it here while this is related to this thread?

Obviously I have seen it before and i can refute every single part of it just like you can refute the madrasa version of jamia hafsa.

And yes it is nothing but propaganda, I have absolute reservation when peoples from other faith talks about other to "propagate" it without knowing squat on it be it any faith.

and no I'm not here to know what your cleric termed scholar says about Hinduism or self porclaimed almighty claims he got the answer to theory of evolution.

 

[MirBadshah]

hahahaha............i like when you reply in this way.

You can deny and keep on doing so, I am not here to preach, these are the views of the person in video, you can refute, but you can not say it is fake.

 

[joey]

hahahaha............i like when you reply in this way.

You can deny and keep on doing so, I am not here to preach, these are the views of the person in video, you can refute, but you can not say it is fake.

Tell me how many anti-islamic videos do you want to see?
So are you going to say what the mosque video in UK is part of Islam?

See buddy I have more Muslim friends than you have Indian, and I dont have the amount of hatred and BS you spew elsewhere, And you dont have to teach me religion.

Religion and the political ambition of religions are two very different things, I dont expect a behemonently anti-indian to realise this by any means or discuss it with any sanity.

Thereby you can carry on, My lecture ends here.

 

[MirBadshah]

I am loving it, actually the thread already existed, I have just added a video which have been watched on "Youtube" for 6510 times....... and that too with out adding my comments.........

Hahahahaha...............how come you get so angry? Calm down bud.