“Men Come, and Men Go, But God Is and Remains”: Finnish Female Converts to Islam and Agency

The stereotype of an “oppressed Muslim woman” is a legacy of Orientalist constructions that historically served the Empire’s cultural project in Muslim lands, but also today affect Muslim women in their everyday lives and their religious practice. Muslim convert women have to deal with this stereotype however simultaneously during their conversion period, as family, friends, and the society at large question the genuineness of their spiritual transformation. These women are externally presented as “forced” into conversion by their husbands or having been spiritually “brainwashed,” lacking agency and ability to make moral choices. This chapter will present counter-narratives to these depictions based on interviews with Finnish Muslim convert women, for whom the decision to convert has been independent from any male figure. Furthermore, their agency during the conversion process is highlighted in their narratives of an intellectual journey to discovering Islam as their choice of worldview and lifestyle.