From Captive To Convert.(Yvonne Ridley)(Brief Article)(Interview)

Last September, as tensions mounted in Afghanistan, and Washington prepared to invade, British tabloid journalist Yvonne Ridley made headlines around the world. Clad head to toe in a burqa, Ridley was captured by the Taliban after sneaking into Afghanistan on the back of a mule. In her native Britain, the incident provoked heavy criticism. Ridley was accused of pulling a dangerous stunt at a sensitive time, endangering herself, her guides and the fragile state of international diplomacy. Now, nearly a year later, the veteran journalist is once again in the news. She recently announced plans to convert to Islam. Ridley sat down with NEWSWEEK's John Ghazvinian last week to explain her decision. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: It's a bid odd, isn't it, that a journalist who was held captive by the Taliban would, several months later, be converting to Islam?

RIDLEY: I know, you couldn't make it up. It is strange. Some people have said, "Oh, she's suffering from Stockholm syndrome" [in which kidnap victims become enamored of their captors]. But I abused them, I spat at them, swore at them, offended them, which is not what someone suffering from Stockholm syndrome does.

So why are you converting?

When I was captured, I was visited by an imam who asked me if I'd like to convert. I thought if I just said yes, he'd say I was a fickle woman, and if I said no, then it would be a huge insult to Islam. So I promised that if they released me, I'd study Islam when I got back to London. And what started out as an academic study has now turned into something much more spiritual. I'm very impressed with what I've found.

What was the point at which your academic interest tipped over into a personal or spiritual one?

I can't define one particular thing, but I can define the moment that I lost faith in Christianity. And that was during the siege of Manger Square, when the Israelis were shelling the Church of the Nativity, the holiest shrine in Christendom, and not one single church leader in this country condemned what was happening. Children up and down the country re-enact the Nativity every Christmas, it's so pivotal to the whole religion, and not one lousy bishop or archbishop--not one of them-- stood up. If they don't have the conviction to stand up and shout about the abuse that's happening to the holiest shrine in Christendom, if they couldn't care less, why should I care?