This is a guest article by a B-BBC reader.
“It would seem that the reception of the UK Ambassador to Saudi Arabia’s conversion to Islam is noted in British and Saudi society for the host’s exquisite taste that captivates its dhimmi guests…
Al-Beeb gleefully gushes that British ambassador to Saudi Arabia has performed the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca after converting to Islam, complete with photos and praise from Saudi royalty (if you need further background on the Hajj, click here).
The Beeb says he made “the holy trip” wearing the white robes traditionally worn for the pilgrimage which re-enacts the actions of the “Prophet Muhammad” (once again Muhammad is referred to as “the Prophet”, as if it is a fact rather than an opinion). Still, let’s hope Mr Collis doesn’t re-enact all of Muhammed’s actions now he has converted.
Anyway, Collis’ reason for converting was interesting: “In short, I converted to Islam after spending 30 years in Muslim societies and before getting married to Huda.”
Hardly a ringing endorsement of the spiritual and moral teachings of Islam. Even so, one aside is that interfaith marriages are, like polygamy, prohibited under sharia for Muslim women. Interfaith marriages (with Jews and Christians) and polygamy are, of course, allowed for Muslims men (another example of Islamic women’s equality in action). As such, if a non-believer wants to marry a Muslim woman, they need to convert.
So, aside from the usual, fluffy BBC puff piece on The Religion of Peace, why bother bringing up…?
The BBC’s approach to Mr Collis’ Islamic conversion seems to be a stark and uncomfortable contrast to the awful murder of a Mary Shipstone by her father. As was noted last week by other B-BBC readers, it was her mother’s conversion FROM Islam that proved to be the initial catalyst for the tragedy. The BBC reporting of the murder, however, totally omitted this angle and all mention of the “I” word, focusing on the (admittedly terrible) error of a solicitor rather than the background to why a father would shoot his own innocent daughter dead in cold blood.”
