List of converts to Islam from Christianity
Notable people who converted to Islam from Christianity From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A
- Aminah Assilmi – former Southern Baptist preacher.[1]
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – retired basketball player[2]
- Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf – American former professional basketball player[3]
- Tariq Abdul-Wahad – French basketball coach and former player[4]
- Eric Abidal – French former professional footballer; played mainly for Lyon and Barcelona[5]
- Ivan Aguéli – Swedish Sufi, painter and writer
- Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar – former NFL player[6]
- Mahershala Ali – American actor and first Muslim actor to win an Oscar[7]
- Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., 1942–2016) – converted from Baptist[8][9] to The Nation of Islam to Sunni Islam;[10] American professional boxer (three-time world heavyweight champion), philanthropist and social activist
- Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley – British soldier and peer[11][12]
B
- Kristiane Backer – German television presenter, television journalist and author residing in London[13]
- Maurice Bucaille – French family physician of King Faisal.[14]
- A. George Baker – American Protestant clergyman and medical doctor who converted to Islam.[15]
French nobleman – Alexandre de Bonneval as "Humbaracı Ahmet Paşa" - Abdullah Beg of Kartli – Georgian convert to Islam; served as a viceroy of Kartli for the Iranian Shah, Nadir in 1737;[16] claimant to the kingship of Kartli
- Mohammed Knut Bernstrom – Swedish ambassador to Venezuela (1963-1969), Spain (1973-1976) and Morocco (1976-1983)[17]
- Danny Blum – German footballer[18]
- Ibrahim Bey – Egyptian Mamluk of Georgian Christian origins[19]
- Józef Bem – Polish and Hungarian general; historically defined as a national hero within Poland and Hungary; escaped to the Ottoman Empire where he converted to Islam and took up the name Murad Pasha[20]
- Omar Bongo – Gabonese, Ex-President of Gabon[21]
- R. V. C. Bodley – British Army officer, writer and journalist
- Willie Brigitte – convicted criminal, who was deported from Australia in 2003[22]
- Dolores "LaLa" Brooks – American musician[23]
C
- Torquato Cardilli – Italian ambassador[24]
- André Carson – American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Indiana's 7th congressional district since 2008[25]
- Count Cassius – Visigothic aristocrat who founded the Banu Qasi dynasty of Muwallad rulers[26]
- Dave Chappelle – American comedian and television star[27]
- Chrisye – Chinese Indonesian singer; changed his name to Chrismansyah Rahadi from Christian Rahadi[28]
- Emilia Contessa – Indonesian actress, singer and politician (from Islam to Christianity back to Islam; known as Nur Indah Cintra Sukma Munsyi)[29]
- Zainab Cobbold – first Muslim woman born in Britain to perform the Hajj pilgrimage[30]
- Robert D. Crane – former adviser to President Richard Nixon, and is former Deputy Director (for Planning) of the U.S. National Security Council[31]
D
- Mujahid Dokubo-Asari – founder and leader of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force[32]
- Vivian Dsena – Indian television actor[33]
E
- Abdullah el-Faisal – Muslim cleric who preached in the United Kingdom until he was convicted of stirring up racial hatred and urging his followers to murder Jews, Hindus, Christians, and Americans[34][35]
- Wadih el-Hage – former Al-Qaeda member who was convicted for his part in the 1998 United States embassy bombings[36]
- Keith Ellison – American, Representative from Minnesota's 5th congressional district, first Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress, converted from Catholicism[37]
- Elpidius – Byzantine aristocrat and governor of Sicily[38]
- Erekle I of Kakheti – Georgian convert to Islam[39] who ruled the kingdoms of Kakheti and Kartli
- Yusuf Estes – former American preacher and federal prison chaplain, converted from Protestantism[40]
- Gazi Evrenos – Byzantine convert to Islam[41]
F
- Jaime Fletcher – American film maker and founder of IslamInSpanish.[42]
- Shah Shahidullah Faridi – writer of English descent born to a Christian family[43]
- Firouz – Armenian Christian convert to Islam[44] who served as a spy for Bohemund during the Siege of Antioch[45]
- Myriam François, previously François-Cerrah – English journalist who converted from Roman Catholicism in 2003[46]
- Franck Ribéry – French footballer who converted to Islam after learning about it from his Algerian friend whom he later married. In respect to his conversion Bayern Munich gave him a small place to worship during his football career.[47]
G
- Roger Garaudy – French philosopher and writer[48]
- Ghazan – seventh ruler of the Ilkhanate division of the Mongol Empire[49]
- Khalid Gonçalves – Portuguese American actor and musician (born Paul Pires Gonçalves), converted from Catholicism[50]
- Cristian Gonzáles – Uruguayan-born Indonesian footballer[51]
- Abdur Raheem Green – presenter on Peace TV and the chairman of iERA, the Islamic Education & Research Academy.
- Charles Greenlee – American jazz trombonist[52]
- René Guénon – French metaphysician and founder of the Traditionalist School of metaphysics
H
- Sir Archibald Hamilton, 5th Baronet – distinguished British convert to Islam[53][54][55]
- Omar Hammami – American-born member of the Somali Islamist paramilitary group al-Shabaab; known as Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki[56]
- Hatice Refia Hanım – mother of Tevfik Fikret[57]
- Joel Hayward – British scholar, author and poet[58]
- Muhammad Robert Heft – Canadian activist and writer[59]
- Murad Wilfred Hofmann – NATO official, converted from Catholicism[60]
- Knud Holmboe – Danish journalist and explorer who converted from Catholicism[61]
- Bernard Hopkins – American former professional boxer[62]
I
- Silma Ihram – Australian pioneer of Muslim education in the West, founder and former school Principal of the 'Noor Al Houda Islamic College', campaigner for racial tolerance[63][64][65]
- Yusuf Islam – musician born as Steven Demetre Georgiou and formerly known as Cat Stevens.[66][67]
J
- Ibn Jazla – 11th-century physician and Christian convert who later wrote to refute doctrines of Christianity[68]
- Sarah Joseph – British commentator on women's issues and founder of emel magazine, converted from Catholicism[69]
K
- Kevin Lee – MMA Fighter who fought for UFC.
- Abdul Kadir – former Guyanese politician, convicted of the 2007 John F. Kennedy International Airport attack plot[70]
- David Benjamin Keldani – former Catholic priest who converted to Islam and changed his name to Abd ul-Aḥad Dāwūd[71]
- Nuh Ha Mim Keller – Islamic scholar who converted from Catholicism to agnosticism to Sunni Islam[72]
- Rebeka Koha – Latvian weightlifter, two time junior world champion and two time European champion.[73]
- Allahverdi Khan – general and statesman of Georgian origin who was Christian[74]
- Mirza Malkam Khan – Iranian Armenian proponent of Freemasonry who was active during the period leading up to the Iranian Constitutional Revolution[75]
- John Tzelepes Komnenos – allied himself with the Seljuks against his uncle; Greek convert[76][77]
L
- Colleen LaRose – identifies herself as "Jihad Jane";[78] American citizen charged with terrorism-related crimes[79]
- Leo of Tripoli – Byzantine Greek renegade who freed 4000 Muslim prisoners while attacking the Byzantine city of Thessalonica[80]
- Samantha Lewthwaite – also known as Sherafiyah Lewthwaite or the White Widow, one of the United Kingdom's most wanted terrorism suspects[81]
- Germaine Lindsay – one of the suicide terrorists in the 7 July 2005 London bombings[82][83] in which 52 people were murdered
- John Walker Lindh – American insurgent, known as the "American Taliban"; converted from Catholicism[84][85]
- Martin Lings – British Biographer, Scholar, Traditionalist and Writer; he is famous for having written the best biography of the Prophet Muhammad in the English language.
- Alexander Litvinenko – former FSB officer; converted to Islam on his deathbed[86][87]
- Fernão Lopes – 16th-century Portuguese soldier; tortured and disfigured by Christian Portugueses for siding with Muslim Indians[88]
- Badr al-Din Lu'lu' – Armenian convert to Islam[89] and successor to the Zangid rulers of Mosul
- Vincenzo Luvineri – American rapper and the lyricist behind the Philadelphia underground hip-hop group Jedi Mind Tricks; converted from Catholicism[90]
M
- Daniel Maldonado – American Islamist convicted in the United States on charges of training with al-Qaida in East Africa; raised Catholic[91]
- Ingrid Mattson – Canadian scholar and current president of the Islamic Society of North America (2006); converted from Catholicism[92][93]
- Bruno Metsu – French footballer and football manager[94]
- Köse Mihal – Byzantine renegade; accompanied Osman al-Ghazi in his ascent to power and converted to Islam[95][96]
- Mleh, Prince of Armenia – Armenian convert to Islam from the Armenian Apostolic Church;[97] eighth lord of Armenian Cilicia
- Preacher Moss – American comedian and comedy writer who converted from Baptist Christianity;[98]
- John Allen Muhammad – convicted of perpetrating the Beltway sniper attacks with his partner, Lee Boyd Malvo, in which 17 people were murdered[99]
- Matthew Saad Muhammad – American professional boxer who was the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World for two-and-a-half years[100][101]
- Peter Murphy – English singer, songwriter, and musician[102]
- Ibrahim Muteferrika (original name not known) – from Unitarian Christianity, an early example of a Muslim publisher and printer[103]
- David Myatt – British Philosopher, Poet, Writer and a former Neo-Nazi; he later apostatised.
- Mercy Aigbe – a famous Nigerian actress who changed her faith from Christianity and changed her name to Hajia Meenah Mercy Adeoti.
N
- Adam Neuser – German Lutheran pastor who criticized the doctrine of the Trinity and was consequently imprisoned[104]
- Tech N9ne – American rapper born to a Christian mother who converted to Islam during adulthood[105]
O
- Sir David Ochterlony, 1st Baronet – British American East India Company officer and Mughal courtier
- Öljaitü – ruler of the Ilkhanate dynasty[106]
- Occhiali – Italian convert[107]
- Sinéad O'Connor (Shuhada' Davitt) – Irish singer-songwriter; a former excommunicated Roman Catholic before becoming a Nondenominational Trinitarian Christian for several years and later [Sunni] Islam due to theological reasons[108][109]
P
- José Padilla – also known as Abdullah al-Muhajir or Muhajir Abdullah; US citizen from Brooklyn, New York; convicted in federal court of aiding terrorists; also known as "the dirty bomber"[110]
- Robin Padilla – Filipino actor, filmmaker and politician serving as a senator since 2022; Nicknamed as the "Bad Boys in Philippine cinema" for his antihero roles. Born to a Catholic family, Padilla, his mother Eva Cariño and four of his sisters became Jehovah's Witnesses until Robin converted to Islam while serving his time in jail for illegal possession of firearms, taking the name Abdul Aziz.[111]
- Wayne Parnell – South African cricketer[112]
- Abdul Wahid Pedersen – Danish Imam.[113]
- Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha – born to a Christian Bosnians[114]
- Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (1506–1578) – Ottoman statesman; born Orthodox, converted through devşirme[115]
- Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha – Ottoman Grand Vizier[116]
- Koca Yusuf Pasha – Georgian Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire who also served as the governor of Peloponnese[117]
- Damat Hasan Pasha – Ottoman Grand Vizier[118] He converted to Islam early on at the Enderun School through the Devşirme Christian child tax system.[118]
- Moralı Enişte Hasan Pasha – Greek Ottoman Grand Vizier[119]
- Judar Pasha – conqueror of the Songhai Empire[120]
- Omar Pasha (1806–1871) – Ottoman general, born Orthodox[121]
- Raghib Pasha – Greek Ottoman politician who served as Prime Minister of Egypt;[122] converted to Islam from Christianity[123]
- Zağanos Pasha – one of the prominent military commanders of Mehmet II (Mehmet the Conqueror) and a lala, at once an advisor, mentor, tutor, councillor, protector, for the sultan[124]
- Marmaduke Pickthall – English Islamic scholar and translator of the Quran[125]
- Bilal Philips – Canadian Muslim teacher, speaker, author, founder and chancellor of the Islamic Online University[126][127]
Q
- Abdullah Quilliam – English convert from Christianity to Islam, noted for founding England's first mosque and Islamic centre.[128]
R
- Ilie II Rareş – prince of Moldavia[129]
- Murat Reis or Jan Janszoon – Dutch Barbary pirate who was an admiral for the Republic of Salé; converted from Christianity; became a very active Muslim missionary who tried to convert Christian slaves[130]
- Yvonne Ridley – British journalist, from Anglicanism; converted after being kidnapped and released by the Taliban[131][132]
- Khadijah Rivera – Puerto Rican Muslim convert from Roman Catholicism, founder of PIEDAD[133]
- Robert of St. Albans – English templar knight who converted to Islam from Christianity in 1185 and led an army for Saladin against the Crusaders in Jerusalem[134]
- Christian Rontini – Filipino footballer, he decided to convert from Catholicism to Islam while playing football in Indonesia[135]
S
- Steph- American former professional basketball player converted to islam from Christianity
- Salman the Persian – convert from Christianity;[136] previously Zoroastrian
- Ahmed Santos – Filipino, fugitive, founder of the Rajah Solaiman Movement; converted from Catholicism[137][138][139]
- Ratna Sarumpaet – Indonesian stagewright, director, and actress[140]
- Frithjof Schuon – Swiss metaphysician, poet, painter and Traditionalist
- Betty Shabazz – wife of Malcolm X; former Methodist[citation needed]
- Zaid Shakir – American Muslim scholar and co-founder of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California[141][142]
- Mario Scialoja – Italian ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1994 to 1996[143]
- Dolly Shahine (born 2 July 1980) – Lebanese former singer, actress, and fashion designer.[144]
- Ahmad Faris Shidyaq – Lebanese scholar, writer and journalist; Maronite convert to Islam[145]
- Mimar Sinan – Ottoman architect; converted to Islam and trained as an officer of the Janissary corps[146]
- Anthony Small – retired British professional boxer and Islamic political activist[147]
- Henry Stanley, 3rd Baron Stanley of Alderley and 2nd Baron Eddisbury – British historian and translator
- Robert Stanley – British grocer, tea trader and mayor of Stalybridge
- Daniel Streich – Swiss military instructor, community council member and a former member of Swiss People's Party [148][149]
- Kösem Sultan – born Anastasia, the daughter of an Orthodox priest, and later enslaved by Ottomans and sent to Istanbul, where she became one of the most powerful and influential women in the Ottoman Empire[150][151]
- Handan Sultan – mother of Ottoman sultan Ahmed I[152]
- Shaun King – American writer and Black Lives Matter activist
T
- Abu Tammam – 9th-century Arab poet born to Christian parents[153]
- Andrew Tate – retired American-British kickboxer, converted to Islam in October 2022.
- Tekuder – Mongol leader of the Ilkhan empire; formerly a Nestorian Christian[154]
- Joe Tex – American singer and musician[155]
- Joseph Thomas – Australian convert, acquitted of terrorism charges, placed under a control order under the Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005, currently pending retrial[156][157]
- Mihnea Turcitul – Prince (Voivode) of Walachia; converted from Eastern Orthodox Christianity[158]
- Mike Tyson – American former professional boxer; nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet"[159][160]
- Anselm Turmeda, later known as Abd Allah at-Tarjuman – 14th century priest and writer in Catalan language from Mallorca who converted to Islam and settled in Tunis. He is one of the earliest writers to have written in both Arabic and a Latin language (Catalan).
U
- Ismael Urbain – French journalist and interpreter[161]
V
- Bryant Neal Vinas – participated in and supported al-Qaeda plots in Afghanistan and the US, and helped al-Qaeda plan a bomb attack on the LIRR[162]
- Rudolf Carl von Slatin – Anglo-Austrian soldier and administrator in the Sudan; later reverted to Catholicism[163]
W
- Siraj Wahaj – former Baptist,[164] African-American imam, noted for his efforts to eliminate Brooklyn's drug problems[165]
- Alexander Russell Webb – former Presbyterian,[166] American journalist, newspaper owner, and former Consul-General of the US in the Philippines[167][168]
- Suhaib Webb – American Islamic activist and speaker[169]
- Dawud Wharnsby-Ali – Canadian singer/poet[170]
- Danny Williams – British boxer[171]
- Sonny Bill Williams – New Zealand professional rugby league player, and former professional rugby union footballer and heavyweight boxer[172][173]
- Timothy Winter – British Islamic scholar, lecturer in Islamic studies in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge[174]
X
- Malcolm X – African-American Muslim minister, public speaker, and human rights activist. He converted from Christianity to The Nation of Islam and later to mainstream Sunni Islam[175][176]
- Abel Xavier – Portuguese former professional footballer and manager[177]
Y
- Mohammad Yousuf – former Pakistan cricketer
- Khalid Yasin – executive Director of the Islamic Teaching Institute, and a Shaykh currently residing in Australia[178]
- Felixia Yeap – former model and Catholic of Chinese Malaysian heritage; converted to Islam in 2013[179]
- James Yee – previously Lutheran[180] and former US Army Muslim chaplain[181]
- Hamza Yusuf – American convert from Greek Orthodox to Sunni Islam; co-founder of the Zaytuna College[182][183]
Z
- Mohammed Zakariya – American master of Arabic calligraphy, best known for his work on the popular Eid U.S. postage stamp[184][185]
See also
References
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