The Scotsman, HERE is an easy one. What do the former world heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali, and the British popular singer of the Sixties and Seventies, Cat Stevens, have in common? They both converted to Islam.
Ali, whose former name was Cassius Clay, became a Muslim in 1964 and, in 1977, Stevens converted to Islam, took the name Yusaf Islam, and turned his back on a highly successful singing career.
I mention them as two high-profile examples of public figures who decided, after careful thought, to embrace Islam. What I am trying to say, however, is that the growth of Islam has been phenomenal over recent years, and Islam is, after Christianity, the second largest religion in the UK, where it now has about one million followers – a number which is increasing all the time.
Worldwide, there are about 1,000 million Muslims, in virtually every corner of the world. There are around 1,200 mosques in Britain.
The growth of Islam in Britain manifests itself in almost every section of society, and can be seen in countless institutions, not least the auction houses, with which this column is most closely associated.
Sotheby
