"reacting to the moral uncertainties of the Western world"

More canaries in the coal mine. I must confess I didn't know that Boris Johnson's first wife ("the Zuleika Dobson of his year" according to Toby Young - another portrait of the marriage here) is now a convert to Islam.

Let Yazza (for it is she) reveal all :

She was the first wife of Boris Johnson — clearly not a woman to shirk challenges. But then I find out that she has married a much younger Lahori man and imagines her future as an ageing wife who will happily accept her lot within an orthodox Islamic set-up and welcome a younger wife to produce children. It is her choice and one wishes her well.

Several of my close Pakistani and Arab friends are happily married to European wives, with both sides compromising on lifestyles and values.

That is not what Mostyn-Owen has opted for. First she has married a much younger, fit man and maybe feels excessively grateful. Then she is going for complete surrender, an uncritical acceptance of the most regressive practices of some of my co-religionists. The reactions of her family are subtly xenophobic and must hurt. But her actions are as inexplicable to Muslims like myself too. My mother's generation fought for equality and monogamous marriages, a struggle that carries on. To see the daughters of Britannia carelessly surrendering these rights is almost unbearable.

It is happening elsewhere in Europe too. Since 9/11, vast numbers of educated, privileged middle-class white women have converted to Islam, often the most restricted forms with tediously long rulebooks. Surveys suggest they are the fastest growing group of converts in the West. Here they include women at investment banks, TV stations, universities and in the NHS.

Four years ago, when the trend first became clear, Dr Haifa Jawad, of Birmingham University, said: “The women were reacting to the moral uncertainties of the Western world. Many convert out of conviction and not because they are in love.”

Mostyn-Owen says her husband is “untainted by the jaded confusion of western urban life”. Such images of contamination and purity are often used to explain the decisions. Three such converts told me last year their nun-like apparel makes them feel less objectified and they feel “cleansed”.

I get a distinct "wishy-washy standards of contemporary Christianity" vibe here, although to be fair in Mrs BoJo's case it's probably "the wishy-washy standards of contemporary liberalism". The Mail story linked above quotes her mother thus : "Boris is a man who needed someone very obedient and silent, who would be willing to stay in the background and create a soothing home life, while giving him space to build a glittering career. My daughter wasn't that kind of person." Slightly strange that she's opted for that yet again, or am I stereotyping ?

Talking of Charles le Gai Eaton, there's an interesting snippet of biography here, pinched from his 'Islam and the Destiny of Man'.

UPDATE - the lady herself, quoted in Readers Digest :

"I've never regularly attended church, yet I have been to this mosque, my mosque, more times than I can remember. It's a place where I sometimes feel spiritually transported. As I busy myself on the carpet sorting colours and papers after what is always an exhausting class, I am soothed by the azan of evening prayers, the haunting and sometimes pained invocations to the Almighty. I feel my humility, and then realize this is my act of worship, my submission, my Islam. Forget the fact that only men take part in communal prayers, I am a token Christian discreetly trafficking through the men's space with my bags of materials, pretending I'm not really there. I am there, I am accepted, and this is all that matters."

UPDATE 2 - from the comments to Yazza's piece :

In places like Morocco - there is a whole sub industry in marrying mainly older western women - to gain papers and passport to Europe, America - even Japan.

I don't mean to offend - but Muslim men are usually married to first cousins or other family members - before a Muslim girl marries - she must undergo a virginity test at the doctors -

I have spent time in the Muslim world - hard to call everyone who sees this thing for what it is - a racist. But there I was told that women who cannot produce a virginity certificate - are laughed at, called whores, and can remain unwed for the rest of their lives. Many turn to prostitution.

If one of these same man marries a western woman - who is older and not a virgin - then he only sees her as a way to escape his country's conditions.

How the game works - is these guys are prepared to enter into long term relationships with you - in one case - a young girl having a relationship with a young Muslim man - was meant to return there and bring the foreign marriage papers - when she turned up without them - the relationship was called off - she probably had some sense talked into her by her parents - but she was there after referred to as the 'stupid' girl who did not bring the papers. And I was approached to take money to marry this guy and bring him back to Europe.

Other cases EU ladies in relationships with these men have sent them money - the guy then took the money, brought a house and married a cousin as his family wished.

- Rebecca, uk