Verity loves Australia. It is her country of birth and the country she wishes to raise her children in.

“You can’t imagine my delight when Vegemite and Cadbury’s chocolate were certified halal,” Verity says.

Verity’s blue eyes light up when she describes the first time she could go through Preston McDonalds’ drive-through and order her childhood favourite, a cheeseburger, without a second thought.

Yet, in this current environment a quick scan of the newspapers and the content on the morning current affairs program Sunrise is enough to predict the outcome of Verity’s day.

“If a raid or suspected terrorist plot in Australia has been reported on the news, I have to be extra diligent when I leave the house. I usually make a conscious effort to smile at everyone.”

Verity converted to Islam 10 years ago and is one of 476,300 Australian Muslims who negotiate dual identities of being both Australian and Muslim.

Converts or ‘reverts’ as they are referred to within the faith- Islam believes all people were born Muslim- elicit mixed responses from non-Muslims and within this current environment are viewed with an additional level of caution.

Head of British Muslim Public Affairs, Catherine Heseltine, is a convert and the first woman to occupy the position.

“Among certain sections of society, there is a deep mistrust of converts,” Ms Heseltine told The Independent.

“There’s a feeling that the one thing worse than a Muslim is a convert because they’re perceived as going over to the other side.”

Verity agrees and says during 10 years of being a Muslim the pendulum swings from curiosity to open hostility.

“Perceptions of me (in the wider Australian community) are very sensitive to the news’ environment.”

The recent high profile media coverage of converts who have engaged in terrorist activity, such as the “white-widow” or Australian-born convert, Amira Karroum who was killed in Syria earlier this year after declaring her allegiance to Osama bin Laden, further fuels suspicions and animosity towards converts.

Government rhetoric around the increasing threat of “home-grown terrorists” and the “enemy within” adds to the suspicion of Anglo-Saxton Muslims like Verity.

In 2011, Faith Matters, a non-government organisation which works to reduce extremism and interfaith conflict, conducted a study looking at the media coverage of Islam post-2001.

The study found 32 percent of media coverage relating to Islam explicitly made reference to terrorism. The number rose significantly to 68 percent when discussing converts to the religion.

The link between converts and radicalised interpretations of Islam has received significant attention in the media and government departments alike.

The Home Office of the United Kingdom devoted a whole section of their 2011 Prevention Strategy to counter terrorism to responding to the threat of Islamic converts.

Similarly, large media outlets have run several articles relating to similar themes: The Guardian ran an article titled, “Are converts more likely to be extremists than other Muslims?” The Conversation, titled, “From convert to extremist: new Muslims and terrorism” and recently Daily Telegraph teaser reads, “More than 100 people – most of them women – are converting to Islam in Sydney each year, and experts warn some new converts are more likely to adopt extremist elements of the religion.”

Another contributing factor to the perceived ‘threat’ of Islam is the purported rise of Islam as the world’s fastest growing religion.

In 1993, the World’s Guinness Book of Records stated Islam attracts the highest number of converts. Since, this claim has spread like wildfire, but has been neither verified nor replicated in any reputable publication since its first publication in 1993.

Major media outlets such as The Guardian, The Independent and Australia’s A Current Affair have publicised estimations that in Britain alone, 5,000 citizens will convert to the religion every year.

In January this year, The Daily Telegraph reported that on average, two Sydney residents would convert to Islam per week.

The University of Western Sydney’s Islamic expert, Dr Jan Ali, told A Current Affair migration is not the major contributing factor in the rise of Islam in Australia; instead the numbers are reflective of high conversion rates.

According to the latest census data, 2.2 percent of Australians are Muslim.

Whilst this indicates a substantial increase, 69 percent since 2001, it is not the fastest rising religion in Australia, Hinduism is, seeing a growth of 189 percent from 2001.

Founder of the New Muslims’ Project, Batool al-Toma says measuring conversions is essentially problematic as census data does not record a person’s previous religion.

Further, Batool al-Toma told The Independent that collating data on conversions is problematic as the process of converting to Islam is rather informal and need not necessary occur in a Mosque.

Verity says that her conversion to Islam was gradual and she consulted a vast array of literature from different religions before deciding on Islam.

“I found that Islam resonated with me. Overwhelmingly, Islam is about love and peace and I enjoy the daily practice connecting me to my faith.”

Gary Bourma, author of Australian Soul says despite perceptions that religious affiliation is decreasing in Australia, religious and spiritual beliefs and practices are on the rise.

Dr Bourma says this phenomenon can be explained by the grounding and ritual that religious practice provides in an increasingly uncertain and fast-paced world.

Numerous academic studies explore features that attract would-be converts to Islam and have found that the ritualistic practices of faith, a sense of belonging to a wider community and the offering of alternative lifestyle choices such as refraining from alcohol are common attractions.

Verity says there is a perception within the wider Australian community that she and others converts are misguided, disillusioned and oppressed.

“One of the things that annoy me the most is the perception that I converted to Islam for a man,” Verity says, meeting her husband two years after she converted.

“I am very forthright in my opinions and my faith is my own.”

In December 2004, Verity “reverted to Islam” with her sister and two Muslims as witnesses.

The process of reverting to Islam is simple: you must declare your belief in one deity, Allah and that Mohammed is his messenger.

There are five ‘pillars of Islam’ that every Muslim must follow: to believe in one god, Allah; to pray five times a day; to fast during Ramadan; give to the poor; and make a pilgrimage to the holy site of Mecca.

Apart from that, Verity says, everything else is up to interpretation.

“You won’t find two Muslims that agree on absolutely everything. My husband and I have different interpretations of things all the time.”

Still Verity, referring to Islamic State, says she can’t fathom how anybody can interpret her religion in that way.

In the past months, Verity has been very active on social media mediating between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Three weeks ago she posted a Facebook post pleading to her Muslim friends to have some understanding of the reactions of non-Muslim Australians in the current environment.

“My fellow Muslim friends,” Verity writes, “you may feel victimised and targeted at the moment. Your fellow Australians may even display contempt and hatred towards you. I know it’s not fair to generalise and paint us all with the same brush but do you really blame them for forming this view?”

“I feel it is my duty to defend my religion and help bridge the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims,”

Verity, along with 60,000 Australian Muslims has posted the #notinmyname on Twitter denouncing the actions of Islamic State. She is also part of the Australian Muslim Faces Facebook page, which has attracted close to 19,500 likes since it launched on 11 September 2014.

The public page encourages Muslims to post their own pictures and short bio and facilitate a space where “Australian Muslims are speaking for themselves, instead of being spoken about.”

The timeline shows several hundred stories of smiling Australian Muslims from diverse backgrounds, experiences and opinions.

Similarly, the Women In Solidarity with Hijabs (WISH) campaign has attracted 30,281 likes on Facebook.

Verity, a self- proclaimed feminist, says to her wearing the hijab is an act of empowerment as opposed to oppression.

“I am judged on my intellect and personality instead of my looks,” she says.

In the past months, women wearing the hijab or niqab are increasingly being targeted, verbally and sometimes physically abused.

Late last year a Muslim woman was violently pushed from a moving train less than a kilometre from the McDonalds that allowed Verity to indulge in her childhood favourite.

A Facebook page called ‘Islamophobia Register’ where Muslims can report religious attacks and threats has attracted 8,371 likes since it was founded on 16 September.

The page reports some Muslim women have resorted to abandoning their hijab for fear of prosecution or are too afraid to leave their houses.

Verity says although Islamophobia exists there is a certain amount of fear mongering within some Muslim circles.

“There is definitely some victimisation going on,” she says.

“You have to remember the us versus them mentality exists within the Muslim community as well. Some Muslims don’t have intimate experiences of Australians, they only see it through the lens of the media.”

Verity’s facebook post addressed to her Muslim friends continues:

“ As a convert, I have been on both sides of the fence. On the most part, Aussies are a kind, welcoming and curious bunch.”

Verity is in full support of the WISH campaign encouraging Australian women to show solidarity with Muslim women.

“Imagine if every Australian woman wore the hijab for a day.”

“I love Australia,” Verity repeats, “its country where I was raised to be free to be whoever I wanted to be.”

“But sometimes it would be easier to live elsewhere,” she says.