Make Me A Muslim: What brings women to faith?

Make Me A Muslim was on Wednesday, 30 January at 9pm on BBC Three.

Growing numbers of young British women are converting to Islam. Shanna Bukhari, a 26-year-old Muslim from Manchester, sets out to find out why girls are giving up partying, drinking and wearing whatever they want for a religion some people associate with the oppression of women.

This warm documentary follows the highs and lows of five girls as they embrace their new faith. From adapting to a religion that allows a man to marry up to four wives to the acceptance of friends and family, it isn't always easy.  Below are some of the converts that the presenter met.

Shanna Bukhari met Alana, who became a devout Muslim after she met her fiancé

Safiyyah below was the first one we knew was totally right for the film.

 Saffiyah: 'Islam was so appealing to me... because it was a religion where it was quite conservative'

Inaya converted to Islam after a difficult time in her life

Image Sources: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/posts/Make-Me-A-Muslim-What-brings-women-to-faith

If you missed the documentary you can watch it here:

The Life Of Muhammad BBC 2 @ 21:00

Rageh Omaar to present The Life Of Muhammad for BBC Two

The BBC will today today show The Life Of Muhammad, a three-part series presented by Rageh Omaar for BBC Two.

In a first for British television, from the director/producer of the acclaimed Seven Wonders Of The Muslim World, Faris Kermani(Crescent Films), The Life Of Muhammad (3x60) charts the extraordinary story of a man who, in little more than 20 years, changed the world forever.

In a journey that is both literal and historical, Rageh Omaar travels to the place of Muhammad's birth to re-trace the actual footsteps of the Prophet; from humble beginnings in Mecca, to his struggles with accepting his Prophetic role, his flight to Medina, to the founding of the first Islamic constitution, and his subsequent military and political successes and failures – through to his death and his legacy.

Filmed on location in Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem, Turkey, Syria, the USA, the UK and Jordan the series also draws on the expertise and comment from some of the world's leading academics and commentators on Islam, including, amongst others: Tariq Ramadan(academic and fellow of St Anthony's College, Oxford), Ziauddin Sardar (writer and broadcaster), Tom Holland (historian and author),HRH Princess Badiya El Hassan of the Jordanian Royal Family, Amira K Bennison (Senior Lecturer in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Cambridge University), Sajjad Rizvi (Associate Professor of Islamic Intellectual History, Exeter University), Bishop Nazir-Ali (Author of Islam: A Christian Perspective) and John L Esposito (Professor of Religion and International Affairs and Islamic Studies, Georgetown University).

Raising questions about Islam's role in the world today and exploring where Islam's attitudes towards money, charity, women, social equality, religious tolerance, war and conflict originate, the series offers a fascinating, timely and truly unique insight into the Islamic faith.

Rageh Omaar says: "I am extremely pleased to be presenting this exciting and groundbreaking series about this extraordinary man, Muhammad – the Prophet of Islam. The details of Muhammad's life really are little known, and I hope that my series will – for many – shine a light on the very beginning of Islam, taking viewers to the heart of this faith, illustrating just how Muhammad's life and legacy is as important today as it was a over a thousand years ago."

Aaqil Ahmed, Commissioning Editor Religion and Head of Religion & Ethics, says: "I am very pleased to be able to bring Rageh Omaar's The Life Of Muhammad to BBC Two. This is a very timely landmark series filmed in Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem, Syria, Turkey, the USA, the UK and Jordan. It features comment from some of the world's leading academics and commentators on Islam – a subject that many people may know little about. For some people in the UK, Muhammad is just a name, and I hope this series will go some way to explaining who he was, how he lived, what his prophetic message was, and how all of this compares to his legacy today."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/06_june/20/muhammad.shtml