Why do Christians become Muslims?

Strangely enough, it has to do with getting a divorce.  During the pontificate of Shenouda (1923-2012), the Coptic patriarch, Christians in Egypt were given the right to follow their own marriage laws.  That meant not only marrying but deciding who gets an annulment or a divorce.  When an annulment is approved for traditional reasons – say, due to the wedding vows being said while inebriated or being too closely related – the two people can get remarried. 

Christians are strict when it comes to divorce, traditionally only allowing it for adultery (Matthew 5:31-32, 19:3-9, Mark 10:2-12) or when one partner is not a Christian (1 Corinthians 7:15).  In the case of adultery, the offending party is not allowed to remarry in the Church while the offended party is – at least according to the Orthodox Church here.  The other allowance for divorce is when one person leaves the faith.  Now, because the Orthodox Church has not been very ecumenical, they allow for divorce when a Copt switches denominations.  Thus our local Anglican priests have to take care that new members are not just trying to game the divorce system. 

This loophole, built on an anti-ecumenical attitude towards non-Orthodox, ought to be closed so that the churches all have one response for divorce.  More seriously, when there are no alternative Christian denominations to convert to, people will become Muslim in order to secure a divorce.  This accounts for the majority of conversions to Islam, and it is a route taken mostly by women. 

Why is this?  Especially in more rural and traditional communities, it is not abnormal for men to hit their wives – and this includes Christian husbands.  As far as I know, there is a path towards divorce for women whose lives are threatened.  But you hear stories of priests telling them to live with it – as if there is any amount of male strength that is not life-threatening to women.  This is a better-safe-than-sorry situation that ought to result in actual divorces.  What in fact happens is that women convert to Islam to get out of bad marriages.  Meanwhile, their abusers can go on to remarry.  We of course have our own problems in the West, but renouncing our faith to flee injustice is not one of them.