Question: Is a bath compulsory in order to convert to Islam?
My question is motivated by this question How does one perform the bath after converting to Islam?. I had not heard about this bath until I read this question, and I didn't take a bath when converting. (I just read the shahada off my computer screen.)
This is literally Lesson 1 at NewMuslims.com:
These two phrases are known as the Shahadah, or Testimony of Faith. Through the belief and attestation of these two phrases one enters the fold of Islam. It is the central belief that a believer maintains throughout his life, and is the basis for all his beliefs, worship and existence in this world. -- NewMuslims.com
However, I found this fatwa, which suggests a bath is required:
...All that is required of a person in order to embrace Islam is that he or she pronounce the two testaments of belief in the Islamic creed, believing in their meaning, then to take a complete bath with the intention of (ritual) purification in order to start performing prayers... -- Islam Q&A