A few weeks ago, about 100 Muslim brothers surrounded father and schoolteacher Lincoln Randall at Launceston’s Masjid Mosque as he took his Shahada — a statement of faith taken on entry into the religion.
But if you’d told him six months ago that he’d become a Muslim, he said he probably would have laughed.
Born into a non-practicing Protestant family, Mr Randall said that while he always believed in God, Christianity just didn’t sit right with him.
“I’d been to a few Christian churches before and that was a battle for me. I just didn’t feel like I connected or that it made sense,” he said.
While living in Indonesia 18 years ago he first met Muslim people.
Taken aback “by how warming they were, and the sort of beautiful people they were”, it encouraged him to explore Islam further.
During his Shahada, he felt officially welcomed into the community.
“It was overwhelming. I was very nervous, but I felt the warmth from every single person who came up to me and welcomed me,” Mr Randall said.
Islam is popular for Westerners, but it has its Challenges
From 2016 to 2021, the Tasmanian Muslim community grew to 2,449 people; it’s now estimated to be at least 3,000 people, according to Mostafa Seleem, the founder of Launceston’s Masjid Mosque.
Nationally, the Bureau of Statistics recorded 813,392 Muslims in Australia in 2021.
Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion. Due to globalisation, immigration and higher birth rates — as noted by Pew Research Centre — it makes sense.
Interestingly, there’s also a gradual stream of Westerners picking up Islam.
A 2023 report by Cambridge University Press found interest has been on the rise in the West, with 15.8 per cent of 1,034 surveyed Australian Muslims self-identifying in 2020 as converts.
And in the United States, a 2017 Pew Research report found one in five of 1,001 surveyed Muslims were converts, and 57 per cent of converts were previously Protestant or Orthodox Christian.
Pew, meanwhile, also indicates roughly the same number of people leave the faith as those who join, suggesting that conversion is not having a direct impact on the growth of Islam.
Dr Seleem has helped 10 northern Tasmanians convert to Islam since his mosque opened last year, nine from traditional Western backgrounds. He said the mosque community was at least 700 strong.
“At least every three or four months we have someone of Caucasian background who’s lost in a way or are looking for some answers to very deep and specific questions,” Dr Seleem said.
But it doesn’t come without challenges.
Mr Randall said one new member of his community was still adapting to practices like praying five times a day and fasting for Ramadan.
“Diving into five times a day is probably a pretty huge undertaking for someone who’s coming from a pretty traditionally Western background,” he said.
“At the moment, the most important thing was taking the Shahada. Now, it’s about trying to implement prayer life into my life. But that’s a slow journey.”
Dr Mostafa Seleem says 10 people have converted since he founded the mosque a year ago.(Supplied: Rosh Dhillon)
Dr Seleem said while praying throughout the day might sound like a burden to some, for others it provided mindfulness and spiritual connection.
“You get to let go of what’s on your mind, what’s occupying you,” he said.
“Every time you feel you’ve been overwhelmed with work or life, [praying] organises life, it organises work, it organises everything you do.
“We talk about social, work and academic intelligence. Nobody ever tells me about spiritual intelligence, and that’s exactly what Islam does.”
A trend reflected across Australia
Looking across the country, from hijab tutorials to Ramadan and Eid programs, Teresa Rouis supports new female Muslims with the national organisation Islamic Sciences and Research Academy (ISRA).
Ms Rouis said 60 females had joined ISRA New South Wales this year for support as new Muslims — about 80 per cent of them were from traditionally non-Muslim ethnicities.
“We have Greeks, Italians, we have South Americans, Chinese backgrounds, but they’re Australian. We have so many that are your typical Australian-English person,” she said.
Born in Newcastle to Italian parents, Ms Rouis’s story of Islam started with meeting Muslim people at church which inspired her to do her own research.
Meeting her Muslim husband later also encouraged her decision.
And while marriage is often a catalyst, as it was in her case around 14 years ago, Ms Rouis said it was not obligatory for Muslims to marry other Muslims.
She said there were many reasons for converting. For instance, she noticed young people studying religion at school becoming intrigued about Islam.
She also believed many found solace in the stability of strict rules and what she described as practical, clear answers to life’s big questions.
“[The world], it’s continuously changing, people are unable to keep up with the trends. But in Islam, like their religion, it never changes. It just offers stability, kind of remove our focus from materialism.”
Ms Rouis said ISRA received inquiries from all over Australia, the majority from cities, however she noticed many rural, small-town Australians picking up Islam too.
“I find it fascinating when I hear the story of another new Muslim; [I think to myself] how did you get here? What’s your journey?”
Dr Seleem said he was proud of the Masjid Mosque, which had helped ground new Muslims in their community.
“Launceston has become a hub to address and receive considerable number of immigrants, multiculturalism, diversity that I love about Australia,” he said.
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