Source: Independent

By Anabel Inge

They’re heavily veiled, believe in polygamy and have to follow thousands of rules. Yet increasing numbers of young and educated British women are converting to Salafism. Academic researcherAnabel Inge managed to gain unprecedented access to them – though at first they mistook her for a spy

Salafism, often referred to as Wahhabism, is an ideology commonly associated with Isis

It’s two in the afternoon on a busy south London street. I’ve just arrived here with a photographer friend, Eleanor, and our “models” – two obliging young women. Both Layla and Rahima are wearing all-enveloping black gowns and niqabs – face veils that reveal only their eyes. They won’t be striking any poses; just walking casually along the pavement or crossing the street. Nothing to worry anyone. And so we begin. Suddenly, we notice a bald man in his sixties, just a few feet away, making unmistakably rude gestures at us.

Moments later, just as a bus is pulling into the kerb, a youth in a white baseball cap leans out of his car to shout: “Fuck you!” Like a clockwork toy, all the heads on the number 59 swivel round to gape. It’s hard to believe that we’re in the heart of multicultural Brixton, south London, solid Labour and increasingly colonised by the right-on middle classes. But both Layla and Rahima are wearily accustomed to this kind of reaction – which continues more or less throughout our two-hour shoot.

The abuse, no doubt, would be even more extreme if anyone knew they were converts to Salafism, now thought to be the fastest growing Islamic faction in the UK. Salafism, often referred to as Wahhabism, is an ideology commonly associated with Isis and often features in the news, usually as a label applied to jihadis who’ve committed atrocities abroad. This has led many to assume that home-grown followers – who first began to emerge in the 1980s – pose an active threat to society. In Britain, however, the vast majority of self-described Salafis are explicitly anti-violence – indeed, their leaders have been among the most vocal in their condemnation of terrorism.

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