The couple divorced five years ago after ten years of marriage. "He really changed after 9/11. All of a sudden, he stopped drinking alcohol and began to pray and attend mosque. He would endlessly talk about the Zionist conspiracy and how Zionists rule the world. I found tapes and books that just fed his paranoia about Jews. I disliked the radical Muayid more than I did the non-devout one."

What is the attraction of Islam for Saskia today? "Women are respected and not seen as sex objects. Western women are defined by their appearance but we are viewed as whole human beings. I find the veil liberating." Saskia tells me she gets "particularly mad" when white men tell Muslim women they should not cover up. "In whose interests are they arguing?"

On gender segregation, she says: "I think it is good for Islamic women. Western women are often rivals but Muslim women have a much stronger sense of sisterhood."

Rahila Gupta is a writer and member of Women against Fundamentalism, set up in the 1980s in response to the Salman Rushdie affair. She believes that dissatisfaction with consumerism and the perceived moral decadence of the West has sometimes pushed people into a search for religious or spiritual transcendence. However, she does not think that white women converting to Islam is the start of a new trend. "Islam is superficially attractive in that it offers an analysis [and condemnation] of the abuse of women's bodies to sell products but once you look deeper, as with most religions, it is women who are blamed for men's predatory behaviour and who must cover themselves for protection. "

Inequality between men and women exists in Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities but perceptions of female sexuality differ considerably within those religions. The Islamic view of women as active sexual beings who are encouraged to enjoy sex with their husbands is uncomfortable for the traditional Muslim man, and therefore stricter control of women is seen as necessary. 

Islam's obsession with virginity and childbirth has led to gender segregation and early marriage. In Muslim countries, Western feminism is seen as irrelevant and part of the wider process of colonisation. I attended a Saturday afternoon meeting of the New Muslim Sisters at the notorious East London Mosque. Last year, the venue was criticised for hosting a pre-recorded talk by Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical cleric based in Yemen whom US officials claim acted as a spiritual leader for three of the 9/ 11 hijackers. The room is packed with women and their children. We sit in a circle and introduce ourselves. I am the only one with an uncovered head. I explain that I am researching a piece for a magazine on women who convert. No one is uncomfortable with me being there and the room is vibrating with warmth and friendliness. There are women from Tanzania, Australia, France and the UK, a number of black and mixed-race Londoners and two Anglo-Asians born into Sikh families. There are also Muslim-born women who say they are "reclaiming" their religion, having been brought up by fairly secular parents. The group leader tells me I should use the term "revert not convert. All people were Muslim once so we are just reverting to our natural state."