Conversion, then, does not necessarily mark a break. Eric Geoffroy, professor of Arabic and Islamology at Marc-Bloch University in Strasbourg, was brought up by Catholic parents and sent to Catholic schools. He has lived in Syria and Tunisia. He married a Muslim and brought up his children as Muslims. But he does not reject Christianity.
Conversion is a phenomenon that has always been a source of fascination.
During the 1980s, when anti-Muslim prejudice was at its height, wild estimates were bandied about as to the number of converts in France. A figure of 500,000 was mentioned, but the true number is more likely to be around 50,000. About a third of the conversions came in the wake of marriage or a trip abroad. Conversion has now acquired a broader base. In the past, people converted after readings and journeys that had an almost initiatory quality.