A historic appeal

An appeal by Islamic Help to raise funds for tsunamis victims turned into an emotional moment for both hosts and viewers when a woman from Cork, Ireland, converted to Islam live on TV during the appeal.

It happened earlier this month when Islamic Help chairman M. Masood Alam Khan hosted an appeal on Islam Channel together with Yvonne Ridley, a journalist who was detained by the Taliban just after the 9/11 attack and later converted to Islam, and an official from the Indonesian Embassy in London.

When a woman from Cork who identified herself only as Jean called, Yvonne asked her if she was a Muslim. She responded, "No, but I keep on watching Islam Channel. I'm not a Muslim, but I'm reading the Koran..." Then, she put down the phone.

After she hung up, according to Khan, he encouraged her on air to study further and to embrace Islam. Yvonne also encouraged her, as did other callers.

After 20 minutes or so, she called back. "Sister Yvonne, I'm Jean. I want to read the sahadah (declaration of faith as a Muslim)." Everyone in the studio had tears running down their faces, said Khan.

"I think this is the first time in the history of the UK that a non-Muslim has accepted Islam live on that channel. So, that appeal was historic," Khan said.