The biggest issue with Islam in current times - and historically one of the issues which has dogged it throughout its existence - is the fact that Western, Christio-centric societies (not even sure if that's a word but I'm going with it
) have never in my view fully understood what Islam is about. It's this lack of understanding which brings about fear of it, and fear underpins the majority of resentment and violence in human civilisation. Same goes with Islam - people don't understand it and feel afraid of that, don't like feeling afraid, and try to remove the source of the fear. The irony is based upon my own experience of Islam (I lived in Birmingham for 3 years, one of the most multicultural cities in Britain and with a significant Muslim population - there was a mosque around the corner from my house in 2nd year) it's actually not that different from Christianity or Judaism in its values, having come from the same Abrahamic background, and even where there are differences it doesn't stop its followers from being good people. A number of my friends at university were Muslims and they were all good people who chatted and joked about like anyone else. Yes, some people take it more seriously than others with things like the burkha, but to my mind it's along the same lines as someone going into a monastic order or nunnery and dressing accordingly. It's obviously different in a number of ways, but ignorance of the reasons behind it is one of the biggest problems.
But this is getting off the point...perhaps the best thing to do is to try and give your parents more information about Islam and help allay their concerns about it. A lot of misinformation is out there nowadays, with the Internet not especially helping in this regard, and if they were more aware of what Islam is actually about they'd probably be more reassured about it. Not all Muslims are radical fundamentalists, just as not all Christians are like the Westboro Baptist Church, and being Muslim doesn't mean you're accepting an inferior position either. One of my closest friends from uni is Muslim, and she's as independent and forthright in her opinions as anyone else and I sure as hell wouldn't cross her if she was having a bad day...
For the record, I'm a Catholic so I'm not speaking as an advocate of Islam in particular. I just feel Western society would do better if it actually understood it better rather than jumping to conclusions all the times. In any event, I hope that things improve with your parents on the subject of your planned conversion, and that things go smoothly from now onwards.
