Religious conversion and reconstruction of identity: A case study of Chinese Muslim converts in Singapore

Religion is considered to be one of the most important elements in one's life. With that being said, religion plays an undeniable role in shaping one's identity. By going through different phases of life, human has the tendency to seek thoughts and beliefs which are compatible with their own world view. Throughout the years, there are people who have changed their religions based on intellectual, affectional, experimental, mystical, revivalism and coercive reasons. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prominent reason in religious conversion amongst Chinese Muslim converts in Singapore. This study also aims to examine the identity problems faced by the abovementioned group. Islam in South-east Asia is mainly associated with Malay ethnicity. Due to this, it is considered as a taboo for Chinese people to embrace Islam. This study, which was conducted using a qualitative analysis method, analysed 30 respondents through in-depth interview. This method has helped the researcher to further understand the phenomenon of religious conversion, and it has produced two main findings: 1) Despite the thought that marriage is the most effective reason for Singaporean converts to choose İslam, it has been observed that intellectual reason outweighs the reasons in our respondents' conversions and 2) Regardless of the conversion motives, it has been discovered that our respondents tend to have an identity crisis after converting to Islam.