Hawzah News Agency (Mashhad - Iran) - During the past year, twenty people have converted to the religion of Islam by referring to the Office for Foreign Pilgrims’ Affairs of Astan Quds Razavi, the body in charge of Imam Reza (AS) holy shrine.

In 2019, newly converted Muslims were 7 women and 13 men from France, Sweden, Russia, Canada, India, Portugal, Romania, Germany, Poland, China, Korea, Japan, Afghanistan and Iran.

The average age of the individuals has been about 36 years, with 13 former Christians, 5 Buddhists, an atheist and a Hindu.

The ceremony for converting to Islam of volunteers is attended by a cleric at the holy shrine, led by the Office for Foreign Pilgrims’ Affairs, during which the newly converted Muslim is gifted with a certificate of conversion to Islam along with a copy of the Holy Quran.

Normally, the foreign pilgrims’ booths in the holy shrine answer the religious questions about Islam.