Polish female converts to Islam and the Islamic leadership in Poland

Compared to Muslim communities in Western Europe, in Poland there are Muslims of migrant origin and two different groups of autochthones - the Tatars and new Muslims. The chapter examines the evolution of new Muslims in the Islamic leadership and their position within the framework of Islamic governance in contemporary Poland. It focuses on the role of new Muslims within the two dominant Muslim organisations (Muslim Religious Union and the Muslim League) and the Association of Islamic Unity - an officially registered Shia Islamic community which was established and managed predominantly by converts. The chapter argues that the change of institutional landscape of the formal Islamic leadership in Poland has influenced the way in which new Muslims position themselves within Islamic organisation.