Grandpa says: Yes, it is possible but I wouldn’t recommend it.
The way Islamic law works is that if a Christian or non-Muslim infidel lives in an Islamic Republic or even a more liberal Muslim place like Turkey, Malaysia or Pakistan, if he converts to Islam, he is entitled to apply for citizenship and a local passport.
He may also be required to know the local lingo, some Arabic, and also look the part, i.e. dress to fit in. He must also be judged to be a moral person. He will get his new Muslim name on all documents.
However, the process involves passing a course in the religion from an Imam, renouncing any other beliefs other than that in Allah, accepting the 7 Pillars of Islam, etc. Last step is “sponsorship,” i.e. getting certified as a Muslim.
For good measure, you could be required to make the required once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Thereafter you will be known as Al Hadge “an honorary designation for those who have made the pilgrimage” + your new Arabic name .
It may, depending on how sincere your local Imam thinks you are, also involve learning how to read the Koran in Arabic and memorizing at least a few prayers. OK? Sound good so far? You get your Muslim Papers, passport and are now considered a true believer and a good Muslim. You can have as many wives as you can afford to keep and you are expected to dress & conduct yourself Arab style.
But here comes the bad part: A convert who travels in the West will be regarded as a suspicious person; think the T word.
Your neighbors and new-found friends won’t be too friendly any more. If you dishonor your new family or religion, or if somebody suspects you are faking it, and are still an infidel, it is their duty to slit your throat.
Likewise if you are gay, or if you get caught and are thought to have gone back on Islam in a Church, or even worse, a Synagogue! Death!
You could be caned or otherwise severely punished for drinking a beer or any alcoholic beverage in public. You can’t borrow or lend money at interest nor eat non-halal food. You are expected to pray five times a day kneeling, forehead on floor, towards mecca.
Lots of other stuff too – certain books are forbidden. Your wife can’t show herself unveiled to anyone, and she can never be in the company of any other males. You can’t see movies nor have any paintings, sculptures or representations of humans or animals in your house – only geometric designs – but these last requirements are not observed much today except by the ultra religious.
There’s your warning. Could it work out well? Advantages: Your new Islamic passport allows free travel to and from most Muslim countries. If you work for a salary, you will get better pay than Christians in a Muslim country. A friend of mine married a nice Muslim girl, she told him to convert.
Then she eased the path with a local blood relative Imam. The husband who was not religious at all didn’t have to do anything more than “profess his faith” – with a few well chosen words in the local language.
In other words it was easy as pie. He told me the people of his town were so happy he accepted the faith that he was a local hero. Years later on he quietly got a divorce by saying “I divorce thee” – not like a Western divorce! And he quietly went back to BB land.
Today, he keeps his 2nd passport as an “ace in the hole” if ever needed for a PT style getaway. Nobody in his Western Europe home town knows he converted and nobody cares if he drinks or any of that stuff that would get him killed in Syria.
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