Why European women are turning to Islam
By Peter Ford
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

PARIS – Mary Fallot looks as unlike a terrorist suspect as one could possibly imagine: a petite and demure white Frenchwoman chatting with friends on a cell-phone, indistinguishable from any other young woman in the café where she sits sipping coffee.

And that is exactly why European antiterrorist authorities have their eyes on thousands like her across the continent.

Ms. Fallot is a recent convert to Islam. In the eyes of the police, that makes her potentially dangerous. Story


Muslim Women in Europe Claim Rights and Keep Faith
By MARLISE SIMONS
Published: December 29, 2005

PARIS, Dec. 28 - Hanife Karakus, the soft-spoken daughter of Turkish immigrants, is a thoroughly European Muslim. She covers her hair with a scarf, but she also has a law degree and married the man of her choice. Matchmakers exerted no pressure. The couple met on the Internet.

Perhaps even more telling, Mrs. Karakus this year became the first woman to lead one of France's 25 regional Islamic councils. The rest