Taking on a new faith

The majority of Chinese practicing Islam are second- and third-generation Muslims, whose families came to Taiwan with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in 1949. As years passed, people started to relax their religious observations, Ma said.

"A lot of Muslims in Taiwan were born Muslim, but not all of them pray every day and some started to eat pork. But Islam is a lifestyle. You need to do the Muslim practices [the Five Pillars of Islam] or else it is easy to lose the religion," he said.

Nadia (買黛蕾) was born into a non-practicing Chinese-Muslim household. Following in her sister's footsteps, she made the transition to a more pious observance during college. As she learned more about the religion, she began to dress more conservatively, covering all but her face and hands. "It was just an outfit on the outside, but it changed my life on the inside. I felt more confident," she said.

In addition to Muslims rediscovering their lost faith, Ma said most women embracing Islam in Taiwan do so for marriage. Of the 20 new converts last year 12 were for marriage, he said.

According to the Koran, a Muslim man can marry a woman from a monotheistic religion (Christianity, Islam and Judaism), but he is prohibited from marrying a woman from a polytheistic religion (Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism).

Marriage is how Aisha (張碧英) entered Islam 20 years ago. "In the beginning it was just for marriage. I could accept that there is only one god and not eat pork. I couldn't wear the hijab," she said.

A decade later she started reading the Koran, attending classes and wearing the headscarf and feels her relationship with her husband is better for it. "Now we have the same way of looking at things. I can communicate better with my husband," she said.

Each of the women said Islam places a large emphasis on respect and equality for women. One of the most debated gender issues in the Koran is the tradition that allows Muslim men to take four wives.

Sana said she would find it difficult to share her husband with another woman, but noted the practice is not exclusive to Islam.

"My father had three wives, but not the legal way. This hurt my mother and me a lot. He never asked my mother and he never treated all of his children the same," she said.

"Even if I agreed to a second marriage, there are many rights to protect me and my property. He must still provide for me and our children," Sana said.

The women and the Imam said the conditions under which a man is permitted to take four wives make it virtually impossible for him to do so. According to the Koran, the first wife must agree to any additional marriage[s] and he must treat each of his wives equally, both financially and intimately.

"I don't think most men, Muslim and non-Muslim, are able to treat four all women equally," Sana said. Does she think a woman could treat four men equally? "Oh, so many kids," she said, laughing.

Note: Most women who convert to Islam take a religious name. The women interviewed for this article chose to use their Muslim names and are referred to by them throughout the article. Their Chinese names appear in parentheses.