reverts

My fascination with this guy is both his background, his recent decision to become a Muslim, his naivete in getting himself involved this mess, and he's cute.

Everyone remembers the foiled plot that unfolded last month, but what most people may not know is that Don Stewart-Whyte (Abdul Waheed), age 21, is the brother of British model Heather Stewart-Whyte, both of them the children of a former Tory party agent.

Allah's Recruits: Why more and more Westerners are converting to Islam and, in some cases, pursuing an extremist path

Jamal Harwood prays five times a day. He doesn't drink, smoke or eat pork. He's active in his local Muslim community, and he's very serious about the need for an Islamic state. But if you passed him on the street, you would have no idea. Not just because Harwood, a financial consultant in London, wears a suit instead of traditional Muslim dress. Or because he keeps his beard cropped fashionably close. But because he's white.

Born in Vancouver, Harwood used to be a model Christian, studying the Bible, attending church and taking religion classes at school. "But I had certain reservations," he says, "certain question marks in my mind--some theological, some societal--that I wanted to reconcile." He went to Southeast Asia to find himself and explored Islam there. At 25 he settled in London, where friends helped him learn more about the faith. A year later, he converted and soon joined Hizb ut-Tahrir, a political party known for its radical views that is banned in many Muslim countries. Harwood, 45, is now a spokesman for the group; he says it is opposed to terrorism. Although his life choices may make him an object of scrutiny by his government--Hizb ut-Tahrir has been on Britain's watch list since the July 2005 terrorist attacks in London--he has no regrets. "I found that Islam was giving me good, solid answers to my questions," he says. "It wasn't difficult for me to embrace it."