One woman is married to a Caribbean-born man who is also a convert. A 19-year-old who converted six months ago constantly asks questions about modesty. She raises the issue of menstruation, asking: "Are we allowed to come to mosque if we are having a period?" She is told yes, but she must not go anywhere near the men's areas, speak to any of the "brothers" in the communal areas, or pray. "You are not allowed to touch the Arabic letters in the Koran if you are menstruating. Read it with gloves," says the group leader. "Or touch the lettering with your pencil." It sounds to me as if they have accepted blatant misogyny as religious protocol. 

Every sentence is peppered with several "In sha'allahs (God willing). "How many children do you have?" "Four, In sha'allah." "Is the Imam coming to talk to us today?" "In sha'allah, yes. He said he would come after the brother's group, In sha'allah."

Aisha asks if she is ever allowed to show her feet (she was hoping to be able to wear sandals in summer) and was told: "No. The only part of a woman's body which can be shown in public is the hands." The conversation turns to the five pillars of Islam. I leave. 

I meet Fatima in a Soho café. Her name used to be Isabelle. She was born in France and converted to Islam when she was 30, five years ago. Having escaped an extremely violent relationship, she decided to undergo an entire identity transformation. "I had moved to a new city and would walk past a group of Islamists outside my local library, handing out leaflets and encouraging people to read the Koran." One man told Fatima about a "sisters group" for converts being held at the mosque and the following day she found herself in a hall with 20 other women and their children. "It gave me such a warm feeling to be a part of something that I knew there and then Islam was for me. I have never looked back."

Moving to London last year to be closer to her sister, her only surviving relative, Fatima found that she could instantly make friends with other Muslim women by attending one of the many groups in the local mosque. "I feel I could go anywhere in the world now and be safe and surrounded by friendly faces."

Not everything in Fatima's life is easy, however. Her unmarried and childless status can arouse suspicion, and she tells me that, at her age, she is doomed to be "permanently on the shelf".