A British strand of Islam is emerging as more people become converts, the Economist reports. Using census data on race and religion and questionnaires issued to mosques, Kevin Brice, a researcher at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, reckons around 5,200 Britons turn to Islam every year, bringing the total number of converts to about 100,000. According to the report, those who embrace Islam tend to do so after years of contact with Muslims. Some, mostly women (who make up around two-thirds of new believers), want to marry a Muslim. Others are fed up with the bawdiness of British society. Many speak of seeking a sense of community. Batool al-Toma, an Irish-Catholic convert who runs the New Muslim Project in Leeds, was attracted, she says, by the spirituality of Islam and the warmth of relationships she saw among Muslims. For men, prisons have proven a fertile ground for conversions. Just over 11,000 prisoners are Muslims, about 13% of the total.

Pray: that those who are attracted to Islam will instead be led by the Holy Spirit to the ways of truth and find Jesus. (Jn.17:17)

More: http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=109348

Nearly half of people are prepared to change their vote for moral reasons. The personal moral standards of politicians and journalists still matter to most of the population, a ComRes poll for think tank Theos has found. The poll is featured in the Party Conference issue of Total Politics. 43% of people would change their vote if their local candidate was shown to have low personal moral standards, and even more (52%) would change the newspaper they buy because of the immoral behaviour of journalists. The majority of people (71%) think that politicians ought to have higher moral standards than the public they serve, and those most likely to vote (the elderly) have higher expectations than most. On balance, people do not believe you can divorce public from private morality. A majority of people believe that ‘If a politician is unfaithful to their husband or wife it does affect their job as it shows they cannot keep their word’ (51% agreeing vs. 36% disagreeing).

Pray: that morality and integrity would be considered essential for our politicians and a guide for a vote. (Jas.1:21)

More: http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/Morality_Still_Matters.aspx?ArticleID=4799&PageID=14&RefPageID=5

The BBC's director general said the broadcaster would never mock Mohammed like it mocks Jesus. He justified the astonishing admission of religious bias by suggesting that mocking Mohammed has the ‘emotional force of grotesque child pornography’. But Jesus is fair game, he said, because Christianity has broad shoulders and fewer ties to ethnicity. Mr Thompson says the BBC would never have broadcast Jerry Springer The Opera – a controversial musical that mocked Jesus – if its target had been Mohammed. He made the remarks in an interview for a research project at the University of Oxford. Mr Thompson said: ‘The point is that for a Muslim, a depiction, particularly a comic or demeaning depiction, of the Prophet Mohammed might have the emotional force of a piece of grotesque child pornography.’ The BBC director general admits Christianity gets tougher treatmen than other religions because it has ‘pretty broad shoulders’.

Pray: for greater understanding that all faiths are important to their followers and all should be treated equally and with respect. (1Pe.2:17)

More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/well-mock-jesus-but-not-mohammed-says-bbc-boss/