Her conversion from Ibiza party girl to hijab-
wearing Muslim in barely three months may well
raise a few eyebrows – and she admits that her
friends probably think it’s another one of her fads.
But trainee teacher Heather Matthews, 27, says
Islam has brought her ‘love and happiness’ that
she never found in her old ‘shallow’ lifestyle.
Mrs Matthews, a mother of two, converted to the
faith four weeks ago – two months after returning
from a holiday in Ibiza. And she says that the
photographs of the ‘old her’ taken on that trip
show all that is wrong with Western images of
beauty.
She said: ‘I thought I needed to act and dress in a
certain way to feel good about myself. I see girls
now and think about what image they are
portraying to other people, especially men.
‘It is about self-respect. If you dress and act in a
certain way, rightly or wrongly, you’ll be treated in
a certain way.
‘Islam has taught me about real love, not false
passion and lust. I can even see the logic in
arranged marriage.’
A study by multi-faith group Faith Matters found
the number of Muslim converts in Britain has now
passed 100,000, doubling in ten years.
The report estimated nearly two-thirds of the new
converts were women, with an average age of 27 –
like Mrs Matthews.
Her path to conversion began when she tried to
convince her ex-husband Jerrome, himself a
Muslim convert, that the religion was wrong. She
was ‘very suspicious’ of the faith, and began
reading up on it to support her arguments.
Although they separated last year, she continued to
learn about Islam – and identified with it more and
more. Then, four weeks ago, she completed the
‘revert’ process. She said: ‘I underwent the
‘Shahadah’ ceremony of conversion to Islam by
repeating a declaration of faith in front of the Imam
at my local multi-faith centre.
‘I had several Muslim sisters with me and they
bought me a hijab and Islamic books to celebrate.
It was wonderful.’
Before Islam: This picture of Heather was taken
earlier this year on the party island of Ibiza, which
she now says shows everything that is wrong
about Western beauty
But she admits that her friends have been shocked
at her conversion to a religion which is often seen
as being oppressive towards women.
‘People are probably thinking “Oh, it is just another
one of Heather’s fads”. It isn’t. It is what I’ve
been searching for during the times I’ve been filling
my life with instant gratification,’ she said.
Mrs Matthews, from Preston, has also had a
cautious reaction from her family. But it is the
response from passers-by that surprised her the
most – especially the effect of her headscarf.
‘No men try to chat me up. It is an idiot repellent.
When I’m wearing the headscarf I can smile at
people without them thinking it is a sexual
advance,’ she said.
‘I definitely agree with Islam’s principles of not
having sex with someone you’re not married to and
to save your beauty for your husband. So I think
my next partner would need to be a practising
Muslim to understand.
‘It is easy for me to say this now, with hindsight,
having made the mistakes, but I think I would have
been better off with partners who my parents
thought were suitable, learning to love them
through friendship first.’ Mrs Matthews has given
up alcohol, sticks to a halal diet and plans to fast
during Ramadan. She has an English-language
Koran which she reads daily, and wants to learn
Arabic so that she can recite prayers five times a
day.
But she will not be forcing Islam on to her
daughters – Ellah, five, and two-year-old Halle –
from her marriage to Jerrome.
‘People think I must be oppressed but I’m a
strong, confident and free woman,’ she said. ‘I
know I’m one of the most unlikely people to revert
to Islam.
‘It astounds me. But I’ve done it for love and
happiness and it has completely changed my life.’
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