Dear Editor,

 I am a university student, currently writing my dissertation on religion and the modern world. As part of my research, I have travelled to all the major towns and cities in the UK, to gain an impression of the British people’s view on Islam (amongst other religions) in the modern world. To my surprise, I discovered that many native British people are increasingly adopting Islam as their religion of choice in spite of the fact that the present government and news media have left no stones unturned to project Islam and the Quran as evil and to associate Islam with terrorism. I even discovered that some local libraries keep Islamic literature in the section dealing with terrorism.

The most striking thing I was told was that in Islam, there is differentiation between the creature and the creator. Jesus is described in the Quran as a special human miraculously created in Mary’s womb. This concept appeals to many people more than the Christian belief that he is the son of God or the Jewish belief that he was an illegitimate child.

The Jews believe that they killed Jesus and the Christians believe that Jesus died to expiate people’s sins, while the Muslims believe he was raised by God alive and will return before the Day of Judgment.

While the UK offers freedom of religion, I feel it will soon be common to see more Britons becoming Muslims and forming a backbone for Islam, regardless of the negative propaganda by anti- Islamic groups.

Miss Ellen Crandall
London