YVONNE RIDLEY
British journalist Yvonne Ridley was captured by the Talibans two years ago. Find out why Ridley has converted to Islam following her ordeal.
Yvonne Ridley is the Sunday Express journalist who hit the headlines when she was arrested after being sent to cover the build-up to the Afghan war.Two years ago Yvonne was detained on suspicion of spying after going in search of a scoop disguised in a traditional burka. But it ended in disaster when she was thrown into prison and held for ten days, while the government, Yvonne's family and work colleagues tried to secure her release.
Against the odds Yvonne was set free, but her time in the hands of the Taliban proved to be a life-changing experience.
Against The Odds
Yvonne Ridley says she was 'simply doing her job' when she was seized by the Taliban near the city of Jalalabad. As Yvonne explains, "A camera which I had hidden in the folds of my burka slipped out right into the full view of a passing Taliban soldier."
Yvonne's time in the hands of the Taliban changed her life forever
"He went crazy - cameras were banned under the regime - and pulled me off the donkey and removed the camera. "For the first six days Yvonne was held in the intelligence headquarters in Jalalabad before being taken to Kabul prison. Her cell was very basic and the experience was terrifying. Yvonne lay on her bed inside a dirty, claustrophobic prison cell with no running water. "Every morning I woke up, I thought 'is this going to be my last day?'" she says.
Hostage to Fortune
"They tried to break me mentally by asking the same questions time and time again, day after day, sometimes until 9 o'clock at night," she recalls.
Muslim Convert
Whilst in prison Yvonne tried to secure her release by offering to read the Koran or Qur'an. It was the start of her conversion to Islam. Yvonne took on the Muslim faith in August 2003. As a result she's given up drinking, tries to pray five times a day and visits a mosque every Friday. So why has a feisty war correspondent been drawn to a faith which some in the west say oppresses women?"I started reading the quran and it was an absolutely breathtaking. It could have been written yesterday for today.”
"It was crystal clear that women are equal in spirituality, worth and education," says Yvonne. Yvonne was brought up as a Protestant in Stanley, sang in the church choir, and was the Sunday school teacher in her village. Today she's exchanged her Church of England upbringing for Islam and a very different set of spiritual beliefs
