List of converts to Islam
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(Redirected from List of notable converts to Islam)
The following is a list of notable people who converted to Islam from a different religion or no religion. This article addresses only past professions of faith by the individuals listed, and is not intended to address ethnic, cultural, or other considerations. Such cases are noted in their list entries.
At this juncture, it is appropriate to indicate that it is central to Islamic belief that every human being born into this world is a Moamen. It is the upbringing of the child by the parents that keeps the child to practice or not practice Iman as a mature teenager. If someone comes into the fold of Islam, he/she has technically reverted to Islam, rather than converted to Islam. Hence, it is better to refer to conversions as reversions.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] From Abrahamic religions
[edit] From Christianity
[edit] A
- Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar (Sharmon Shah) - former NFL football player[2]
- Abu Tammam - 9th century Arab poet born to Christian parents.[3]
- Abu Usamah - controversial American-born Imam of Green Lane Masjid in Birmingham, UK. Accused of preaching messages of hate towards non-Muslims in a UK Television documentary.[4]
- Adam Yahiye Gadahn - spokesperson for Al-Qaeda; on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list[5][6]
- Ahmad Rashād - Emmy award-winning sportscaster (mostly with NBC Sports) and former American football wide receiver.[7][8]
- Ahmed Santos - Filipino, fugitive, founder of the Rajah Solaiman Movement & suspected by Filipino authorities to be an Al Qaeda operative converted From Catholicism[9][10][11]
- Ahmad Thomson - British barrister and writer and also a member of the Murabitun movement.[12]
- Akhenaton - French rapper and producer of French hip hop.[13]
- Alexander Litvinenko - former Russian spy converted to Islam on his deathbed.[14] [15]
- Alexander Russell Webb - Former Presbyterian.[16] American journalist, newspaper owner, and former Consul-General of the U.S.A. in the Philippines.[17][18]
- André Carson - former Baptist,[19] second Muslim to serve the United States Congress.[20]
- Anne Sophie Roald a Swedish theologist.
- Anthony Green or Abdul Raheem Green, Converted from Catholicism to Islam, and is now an Islamic lecturer.[21]
- Art Blakey - American Jazz musician[22]
- Aukai Collins - fought in Chechnya, paid FBI informant, author of an autobiographical book[23]
[edit] B
- Benjamin Chavis - controversial former head of the NAACP; joined the Nation of Islam[24]
- Bernard Hopkins - American boxer[25]
- Betty Shabazz - wife of Malcolm X; former Methodist.[26]
- Bilal Philips - Islamic scholar and author[27]
- Bruno Metsu - French coach of the Senegal team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup[28]
- Busta Rhymes - Music artist, born to Rastafari parents
[edit] C
- Cat Stevens the English singer of Greek ancestry.
- Count Cassius- Visigothic aristocrat who founded the Banu Qasi dynasty of Muladi rulers.[29]
- Chris Eubank - British boxer[30]
- Claude Alexandre de Bonneval - 18th century French nobleman.[31]
[edit] D
- Daniel Moore - poet [32]
- Danny Thompson - English double bass player converted from Catholicism.[33]
- Danny Williams - British boxer[34]
- David Belfield - American, fled to Iran after assassinating Ali Akbar Tabatabai, an Iranian dissident.[35]
- David Benjamin Keldani an Iranian priest, converted from Keldan Christinity.
- David Chappelle - comedian and television star[36]
- David Hicks- Former Taliban fighter from Australia, recently released from detention in Adelaide. However, he later left Islam while incarcerated.
- Dawud Wharnsby Ali (David Wharnsby) - Canadian singer/poet.[37][38]
[edit] E
- Emin Pasha - physician, naturalist, and Egyptian governor.[39]
- Éric Abidal (changed his name to Bilal) - French football player , converted to Islam after marriage.[40]
- Everlast - Rapper from the Irish-American hip-hop group House of Pain, converted From Catholicism. [13]
[edit] F
- Franck Ribéry- a French football player. His name after he converted to Islam is Bilal.[41]
- Fredrick De la Marck a South African priest in Johannesberg.
[edit] G
- Gabriele Torsello - Italian freelance photojournalist based in London who was abducted in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.[42]
- Gary Miller (Abdul-Ahad Omar) is a mathematician and a theologian.
- George XI of Kartli - Saffavid commander.[43]
- Germaine Lindsay - participated and died in the 7 July 2005 London bombings[44][45][46]
[edit] H
- Hamza Yusuf - American convert from Greek Orthodox; head of the Zaytuna Institute.[47]
- Hedley Churchward - English painter[48]
- Helen Richardson - Indian, Bollywood actress converted From Catholicism
[edit] I
- Ian Dallas - Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi - Sufi shaykh of Scottish origins.[49]
- Ibrahim Muteferrika (original name not known) - From Unitarian Christianity, an early example of a Muslim publisher and printer.[50]
- Ibn Jurayj grand father converted from Roman Catholic.
- Ice Cube, the American Rapper.
- Idi Amin Former president of Uganda.
- Ilie II Rareş - prince of Moldavia.[51]
- Ingrid Mattson - Canadian scholar and current president of the Islamic Society of North America (2006) converted From Catholicism.[52]
- Isabelle Eberhardt - from Lutheran Christianity, 19th century explorer & writer[53]
- Ivan Aguéli (Johan Agelii) - famous Swedish painter.[54][55]
- Iyasu V - Ethiopian emperor.[56]
[edit] J
- C. Jack Ellis - Mayor of Macon, Georgia[57]
- Jacques-Francois Menou - French general under Napoleon I of France.[58]
- Jacques Vergès - French lawyer and famous anti-colonialism known for defending left- and right-wing international terrorists and dictators in court
- James Yee - previously Lutheran[59] and former U.S. Army Muslim chaplain.[60]
- Jean de Béthencourt - French explorer who led an expedition to the Canary Islands.[61]
- Jeffrey Lang, a mathematics professor in USA.[62]
- Jermaine Jackson (Muhammad Abdul Aziz) - former member of The Jackson 5 and brother of popstars Michael and Janet Jackson.[63]
- Jerôme Courtailler - one of two French brothers convicted by French authorities in 2004 for abetting terrorists[44][64][65]
- Jimmy Cliff - Jamaican reggae musician.[66][67]
- Joe Tex - soul singer and recording artist.[68]
- St. John Philby - Arabist, explorer, writer, and British colonial office intelligence operative; converted from Anglicanism.[69]
- John Walker Lindh - the "American Taliban" converted From Catholicism[70][71]
- John Whitehead - an American singer, songwriter, and record producer.[72]
- John Nelson - first recorded Englishman to become a Muslim.[73]
- Jonathan Birt, Jonathan Birt, the son of Lord Birt, former director-general of the BBC, and Emma Clark, the granddaughter of former liberal prime minister Herbert Asquith[74].
- José Javier Gallego (born 1955) a spanish thinker, writer, crtic of philosophy and history.
- Joseph Thomas - Australian convert, acquitted of terrorism charges, placed under a control order under the Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005, currently pending retrial.[75][76]
- Judar Pasha - conqueror of the Songhai Empire.[77]
[edit] K
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor) - retired basketball player & the NBA's all-time leading scorer[78]
- Keith Ellison - American, Representative from Minnesota's 5th congressional district, first Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress, converted From Catholicism[79]
- Kevin Barrett - university lecturer and member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth.[80]
- Khalid Yasin - Executive Director of the Islamic Teaching Institute, and a Shaykh currently residing in Australia.[81]
- Knud Holmboe - Danish journalist and explorer converted From Catholicism.[82]
- Kurtis Johnson - American citizen converted in April, 2007.
[edit] L
- Dolores "LaLa" Brooks - American musician.[83]
- Lee Boyd Malvo - convicted of capital murder and arrested for the Beltway sniper attacks, for being involved in 16 murders and 7 additional attempted murders.[84]
- Lennox Philip see Yasin Abu Bakr below.
- Léon Roche a french who lived in Algeria author of "Dix Ans à travers l’Islam" (Paris: 1904)
- Lorik Cana the Albanian footballer of Olympique de Marseille.
[edit] M
- Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Chris Jackson) - retired basketball player[85]
- Malcolm X - American, from Christianity to Nation of Islam to Sunni Islam, African-American civil rights leader.[86]
- Marmaduke Pickthall - famous translator of the Quran.[87]
- Mario Scialoja - Italian ambassador and President of the World Muslim League.[88]
- Martin Lings (Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din) (1909 – 2005) a british thinker & philosipher.
- Maryam Muhammad or Tawana Brawley see below.
- Matthew Saad Muhammad (formerly Matthew Franklin) - former boxer, converted From Catholicism.[89]
- Maurice Bucaille a French medical doctor, author of The Bible, The Qur'an and Science, that was translated into several languages.
- Michael Muhammad Knight - American novelist, writer, and journalist.[90]
- Michael Wolfe the American director.[91]
- Mihnea Turcitul - was a Prince (Voivode) of Walachia. Converted from Eastern Orthodox Christianity.[92]
- Muhammad Ali (formally Cassius Clay), from Baptist[93][94] to The Nation of Islam to Sunni Islam.[95] famous boxer.
- Mohammad Yousuf - Pakistani cricketer. Known for holding the world record for the most Test runs in a single calendar year, converted From Catholicism.[96]
- Mohammed Knut Bernström - Swedish ambassador to Venezuela (1963–1969), Spain (1973–1976) and Morocco (1976–1983)[97]
- Mohammed Zakariya - an American master of Arabic calligraphy, best known for his work on the popular Eid U.S. postage stamp.[98]
- Muhammad Abd-al-Rahman Barker (Philip Barker) - professor of Urdu, former chair of the University of Minnesota's Department of South Asian studies and creator of the Tékumel fantasy world.[99]
- Murad Wilfred Hofmann - NATO official, converted From Catholicism[100]
- Mgumbe Gumbatiqua -Former Pornstar named Long Dong Silver.
[edit] N
- Nicolas Anelka - French football player[101]
- Nuh Ha Mim Keller - from Catholicism to agnosticism to Sufism, Islamic scholar.[102]
- Queen Noor of Jordan (formerly Lisa Najeeb Halaby)[103]
[edit] O
- Olivier Saint-Jean see Tariq Abdul-Wahad below.
- Omar Bongo - Gabonese, President of Gabon.[104]
- Omar Pasha - Ottoman general. Converted from Serbian Orthodoxy.[105]
- Omar Sharif the Egyptian & International actor.
[edit] P
- Peter Murphy - vocalist of the goth/rock group Bauhaus, converted From Catholicism.[106]
- Philip Barker or Muhammad Abd-al-Rahman Barker see above.
- Philippe Troussier - French, former football player & trainer of a Japanese football team[107]
- Poncke Princen - Dutch soldier, later human rights activist, converted From Catholicism.[108]
- Preacher Moss - Former Baptist,[109] American comedian and comedy writer.[110]
- Prince Buster, Jamaican singer and producer.
[edit] Q
[edit] R
- Radu cel Frumos - was the younger brother of Vlad Ţepeş (Dracula) and prince of the principality of Wallachia, converted From Catholicism.[111]
- René Guénon - French Author in the field of metaphysics, converted From Catholicism. [112][113]
- Richard Colvin Reid - shoe bomber (convicted terrorist) [114]
- Richard Thompson - British musician, best known for his guitar playing and songwriting.[115]
- Robert D. Crane is the former adviser to the late President Richard Nixon, and is former Deputy Director (for Planning) of the U.S. National Security Council.[116]
- Robin Padilla - Filipino actor.[117]
- Roger Garaudy - French philosopher, converted From Catholicism.[118]
- Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley - British soldier and peer.[119]
- Rudolf Carl von Slatin - Anglo-Austrian soldier and administrator in the Sudan.[120]
- Rustie Lee - British television chef and celebrity.[121]
- Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood - British author, converted from Protestantism.[122]
- Ryan G. Anderson - former Lutheran, convicted of charges of espionage for Al Qaeda[123][124]
- Ryan Harris- football player for the Denver Broncos [125]
[edit] S
- Salman the Persian A convert from Christianity[126] who was previously Zoroastrian. In search for truth, he traveled to Syria to follow Christianity. Upon the death of his teachers, he was directed to head to Arabia, where he was told the final prophet will rise. He later converted to Islam and became one of Muhammad's first companions.
- Sana al-Sayegh, dean of the Science and Technology Faculty at Palestine International University, converted to Islam in August 2007. Fatah has accused its political rival Hamas of forcing the professor to convert from Christianity, a charge Hamas denies. [127]
- Sarah Joseph - commentator on women's issues and founder of emel magazine, converted From Catholicism.[128]
- Brad Terrence Jordan ("Scarface") - American rapper[129]
- Silma Ihram - formerly a born again Baptist who is an Australian pioneer of Muslim education in the West, founder and former school Principal of the 'Noor Al Houda Islamic College', campaigner for racial tolerance, and Author.[130]
- Siraj Wahaj - Former Baptist.[131] African-American Imam, noted for his efforts to eliminate Brooklyn's drug problems.[132]
- Sheila Musaji - founder of The American Muslim magazine.[133]
- Suhaib Webb - American Islamic activist and speaker.[134]
- Suleiman Pasha - French-born Egyptian commander.[135]
- Sultaana Freeman - sued the state of Florida for niqab restrictions.[136]
[edit] T
- Tariq Abdul-Wahad (Olivier Saint-Jean) - originally from France, former basketball player for the Mavericks and Kings[137]
- Tawana Brawley (changed her name to Maryam Muhammad) - African American woman noted for claiming to have been raped by several white men, a claim determined to be a fabrication by a grand jury. Later in life she converted to Islam.[138][139]
- Tekuder - Mongol leader of the Ilkhan empire who was formerly a Nestorian Christian.[140]
- Thomas J. Abercrombie - photographer[141]
- Timothy Winter - prominent British Islamic thinker and scholar, and a lecturer in Islamic studies in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge.[142]
- Top Topham - rock guitarist from England.[143]
- Torquato Cardilli - Italian ambassador, converted From Catholicism.[144]
[edit] U
[edit] V
- Vincenzo Luvineri - American rapper and the lyricist behind the Philadelphia underground hip-hop group Jedi Mind Tricks, converted From Catholicism.[145]
[edit] W
- Wadih el-Hage born to a Maronite Christian family in Sidon, Lebanon, a former al-Qaeda member.
- William Abdullah Quilliam - 19th century British poet, ambassador and journalist.[146]
- Willie Brigitte - French convert to Islam who associated with al-Qaeda in Pakistan and was possibly involved in a plot to conduct a terrorist operation in Australia.[147]
- Will Ellis - American artist and scholar.
[edit] X
[edit] Y
- Yahiya Emerick - American Muslim scholar, President of the Islamic Foundation of North America, converted from Protestantism.[148]
- Yasin Abu Bakr (Lennox Philip) - of Trinidad and Tobago, under trial for an attempted coup as of March 9, 2006[149]
- Yusuf Estes - Former preacher and federal prison chaplain, converted from Protestantism.[1]
- Yvonne Ridley - British journalist, from Anglicanism. She converted after being kidnapped and released by the Taliban.[150][151]
- Mohammad Yousuf - Famous Pakistan Cricketer formerly known as Yousuf Youhana
[edit] Z
- Zaid Shakir - African-American Muslim speaker and intellectual in the United States.[152][153]
- Zağanos Pasha - one of the prominent military commanders of Mehmet II (Mehmet the Conqueror) and a lala, at once an advisor, mentor, tutor, councilors, protector, for the sultan.[154]
[edit] From Judaism
[edit] A
- Abdullah ibn Salam - 7th century sahabi said to have been a rabbi of aristocratic stock. [155]
- Abdallah Schleifer
- Abdul Haqq Al-Islami Former Rabbi convert to Islam from Sabta, Morocco. [156]
- Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari - 9th century Persian scholar physician (a hakim), who produced the first encyclopedia of medicine.[157]
- al-Hajj Abd al-Salam al Kuhin a Moroccan Jewish trader that converted to Islam and setteled in Timbuktu.
- Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari a well-known Jewish convert to Islam doctor, belonging to the famous medical school of Tabaristan or Hyrcania) & a tutor of medicine to Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Razi (known to the West as Rhazes).[158]
- Amalia Rehman Israeli-born Jew who converted to Islam [159]
B
C
D
[edit] E
- Emad-ud-Deen or Richard Leiman [160]
F
G
[edit] H
- Hajj Mustafa Ali an American Jewish convert to Islam Sufi Rifa'i [161]
- Hibat Allah Abu'l-Barakat al-Baghdaadi - influential physicist, philosopher, and scientist who wrote a critique of Aristotelian philosophy and Aristotelian physics.[162]
[edit] I
- Ibn Kammuna or was a 13th Century physician (ophthalmologist) and philosopher who lived in Baghdad.[163]
- Ibn Yahyā al-Maghribī al-Samaw'al was an Arab Muslim mathematician and astronomer of Jewish descent.[164] His father was a Jewish Rabbi from Morocco, but al-Samawʾal converted to Islam.[165]
- Ismael Diadie Haidara a historian from Timbuktu, his grand father was a converted jew.
[edit] J
- Jacob Querido - 17th century successor of the self-proclaimed Jewish Messiah Sabbatai Zevi.[166]
- Josh Hasan an American Jew from Brookline, Massachusetts [167]
- Jemima Goldsmith daughter of the billionaire Sir James, that was married to Imran Khan [168]
[edit] K
- Ka'ab al-Ahbar an arab jew later on became a Sahaby.
[edit] L
- Leila Mourad - Egyptian singer and actress who rose to fame in the 1940s and 1950s.[169]
- Leopold Weiss or Muhammad Asad see below.
- Lev Nussimbaum - prolific author on the topics of Middle East and Russian history; the Nazi propaganda ministry included his works on their list of "excellent books for German minds" before discovering he was an ethnic Jew. [170]
[edit] M
- Michael jackson, now known as Mikael Jackson.
- Maryam Jameelah an American Jew [171]
- Michael Wolfe
- Mohammed Yusuf a Jewish convert to Islam that fought in Bosnia [172].
- Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss) - Viennese journalist who became Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations[173]
- Muhammad Samuels a former Jew of Eastern European extraction, an American by birth from Bronx, New York [174]
- Ibn Yahyā al-Maghribī al-Samaw'al - mathematician and astronomer who wrote critical works on Judaism, his former faith.[175]
- Musa the Muslim Ex-Rabbi of Makhachkala [176]
- Dr. Moustafa Mould an American teacher of linguistics [177]
Mgumbe Gumbatiqua Former Porn star
[edit] N
O
P
[edit] Q
[edit] R
- Rashid al-Din - 13th century Persian physician[179]
[edit] S
- Sabbatai Zevi[14]
- Safiyya bint Huyayy
- Samau'al al-Maghribi a twelfth century Jewish convert to Islam see above Ibn Yahyā al-Maghribī al-Samaw'al
- Samuel L. Lewis
- Sarmad - 17th century mystical poet and sufi saint, arrived from Persia to India, beheaded for assumed heresy by Aurungzebe.[180]
- Sayeed Udeen [181]
- Sind b. ‘Ali a Iraqi Jewish convert to Islam [182]
- Suleyman Ahmad an American journalist and author[183]
- Sultan Rafi Sharif Bey (Yale Singer) - a pioneer in the development of Islamic culture in the United States.[184]
T
[edit] U
V
[edit] W
X
[edit] Y
- Yaqub ibn Killis - 10th century Egyptian vizier under the Fatimids.[185]
- Yousef Al-Khattab a jewish convert to Islam[186].
Z
[edit] From Dharmic religions
[edit] From Buddhism
- The Barmakid family - originally the guardians of the great Buddhist shrine near Balkh, upon conversion they became "the greatest family" in the early Abbasid caliphate.[187]
- Mahmud Ghazan - seventh ruler of the Ilkhanate.[188]
- Muhammad Khodabandeh - eighth Ilkhaid dynasty ruler in Iran from 1304 to 1316.[189]
- Mubarak Shah - head of the ulus of the Chagatai Khanate (1252–1260, March-September 1266).[190]
- Tarmashirin - Khan of the Chagatai Khanate following Duwa Timur.[191]
- Hussein Ye - An Islamic scholar of Chinese descent whose lectures are frequently aired on Peace TV.[192]
- Tagatat Tagasun Prof of anatomy and embryology, Chiang Maay University, Thailand
[edit] From Hinduism
- Parameswara - Malay prince of Palembang Hindu descent from Srivijaya that founded the Sultanate of Malacca around 1402.[193]
- Dhiren Barot - convicted terrorist, who confessed to planning "to detonate a dirty bomb and launch an attack on London's Tube".[194][195][196]
- Sumita Devi - Bengali actress and filmmaker.[197]
- Vilayil Fazila - popular Mappila songs singer from Kerala.
- Malik Kafur - Indian military general.[198]
- Abdul Wahid Pedersen - Danish cleric.[199]
- Sahaj Ram Sapru - the grandfather of the British-Indian Muslim Philosopher, Sir Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, who was an official in Kashmir during the administration of the Afghan Governor Azim Khan. [200]
- Kamala Suraiyya (formerly Kamala Das) - Anglo-Malayalam writer[201]
- Sharmila Tagore - Bollywood film actress.[202]
- A.R. Rahman - Indian Composer and Musician from Tamil Nadu
- Chandra Mohan - Dy. Chief Minister of Haryana state of India along with her wife Asstt. Advocate General Ms. Anuradha Bali. Their new names are CHAND MOHD. and FIZA MOHD.
[edit] From Sikhism
- Ubaidullah Sindhi - religious leader and political activist.[203]
[edit] Other
[edit] From Paganism
A
[edit] B
- Berke - grandson of Genghis Khan and leader of the Golden Horde who was the first Mongol ruler to establish Islam in a Mongol state.[204]
C
[edit] D
- David Myatt - from Paganism, former Neo-Nazi-activist[205]
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
[edit] N
- Negudar - Mongol general and noyan[206]
- Nogai Khan - Mongol general and great-grandson of Genghis Khan.[207]
O
P
Q
R
[edit] S
- See also: List of Sahaba
- Samori Ture - founder of the Wassoulou Empire who resisted French rule in West Africa.[208][209]
- Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan - 9th century Uyghur ruler who was one of the first Turks to convert to Islam.[210]
[edit] T
- Tuda Mengu - Mongol leader of the Golden Horde[211]
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
[edit] From Zoroastrianism
- Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa - author and translator of Kalīla wa Dimna from Middle Persian.[212]
- Naubakht - Pahlavi translator of the Abassid court.[213]
- Fadl ibn Sahl - Persian vizier of the Abassid era.[214]
- Saman Khuda - founder of the Samanid dynasty, one of the first native Persian dynasties in the Middle East and Central Asia after the collapse of the Sassanids.[215]
[edit] From Atheism
- A. R. Rahman (Initially raised Hindu, but was atheist as a teenager until conversion to Islam) - famous Indian music composer[216]
- Zhang Chengzhi - contemporary Hui Chinese author; raised as an atheist.[217]
- Charles le Gai Eaton - British diplomat and writer.[218]
- Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) - British musician and singer (had a nominally Christian upbringing, but never was a believer)[219]
- Jeffrey Lang - American, Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Kansas. (Raised Catholic, but atheist from age 18 to conversion)[220][221]
- Martin Lings - a widely acclaimed British scholar. He was raised as a Protestant, became an atheist, and later converted to Islam.[222]
- Mos Def - American rapper and actor. [223]
[edit] Undetermined former religion
- Nur al-Anwar al-Jerrahi (born Lex Hixon) - syncretist, Sufi convert, and co-founder of the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order in the United States.[224]
- Abd al Malik - birth name Régis Fayette-Mikano - French rapper of Congolese origins.[225]
- Mumia Abu-Jamal - journalist, Black Panther, political activist, and although widely disputed, a convicted murderer.[226][227]
- B.G. Knocc Out - American west coast rapper.[228]
- Hasan Akbar (born Mark Fidel Kools) - American sentenced to death for the murder of two fellow soldiers during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.[229]
- Amiri Baraka - an American writer of poetry and drama.[230]
- Maurice Béjart - French choreographer.[231]
- Robert "Kool" Bell - musician.[232]
- Ronald Bell - musician.[233]
- Mohammed Knut Bernström - Swedish ambassador.[234]
- Khaled Edward Blair - British barrister, later married Princess Badiya bint El Hassan of Jordan.[235]
- Charles Brooks, Jr. - converted while serving a sentence for murder; first person to be executed by lethal injection in the United States.[236]
- H. Rap Brown - civil rights activisit.[237]
- Titus Burckhardt - Swiss writer and scholar.[238]
- Amir Butler- author, engineer and Islamic activist.[239]
- Kérim Chatty- Swedish bodybuilding stuntman who was once suspected of attempted hijacking. The preliminary inquiry was dropped. [240]
- Common - American rapper.[241]
- Jill Courtney - Australian, girlfriend of convicted killer and drug trafficker Hassan Kalache, arrested on March 26, 2006 for attempted murder of unnamed people.[242][243][244]
- Robert D. Crane - former Presidential advisor and ambassador.[245]
- Ice Cube - Gangsta rapper and actor.[246]
- Bob Denard - French mercenary.[247]
- Jeffrey Mark Deskovic - served 15-year wrongful imprisonment sentence.[248]
- Isabelle Eberhardt - explorer and writer.[249]
- Baron omar Rolf von Ehrenfels - Austrian anthropologist and orientalist.[250]
- Everlast - Irish-American rapper and singer-songwriter.[251]
- Alys Faiz - human rights and peace activist;[252] converted at the time of her marriage to Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz.[253]
- Jeff Fort - former Chicago gang leader, co-founder of the Black P. Stones gang, and founder of its El Rukn faction. He was convicted in 1987 of conspiring with Libya to perform acts of domestic terrorism.[254][255]
- Philippe Fragione - French rapper and producer of French hip hop.[256]
- Christian Ganczarski- Head of "al Qaeda in Europe".[257]
- Philippe Grenier - (1865–1944) French doctor, first and only Muslim MP in France.[258].[259]
- Gigi Gryce - American saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator.[260]
- Walt Hazzard - former NBA player.[261]
- David Hicks - convicted Australian terrorist.[262]
- Lim Yew Hock - Singapore’s second Chief Minister from 1956 to 1959.[263]
- Craig Hodges - former NBA player.[264]
- Ibrahim Hooper (Douglas Hooper) - Islamic activist, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).[265]
- Abdullah Ibrahim - South African Jazz musician.[266]
- Umar Islam - one of the suspects arrested in the UK in connection to the 2006 transatlantic aircraft terrorist plot in the United Kingdom.[267]
- Malik ul Salih - established the first Muslim state of Samudera Pasai.[268]
- Tiara Jacquelina - Malaysian actress.[269]
- Ahmad Jamal - Jazz pianist.[270]
- Jan Janszoon - Dutch pirate.[271]
- Larry Johnson - retired American professional basketball player.[272]
- Gustave-Henri Jossot - French caricaturist, illustrator and Orientalist painter.[273]
- Vladimir Khodov - leader of the Beslan school hostage crisis- converted in prison.[274]
- Abd al Haqq Kielan - Swedish cleric.[275]
- Ghostface Killah - member of the Wu-Tang Clan.[241]
- Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan - born Yvette Blanche Labrousse, Miss France 1930, wife of Aga Khan III.[276]
- Yusef Lateef - American Jazz musician.[277]
- Johann von Leers - advisor to Muhammad Naguib known for his anti-Semitic polemics.[278][279][280]
- Gary Legenhausen - American philosopher and writer.[281]
- Brandon Mayfield - American attorney-at-law, was erroneously linked to the 2004 Madrid train bombings.[282]
- MC Ren - American rapper and hip-hop producer.[283]
- Ali Shaheed Muhammad - member of A Tribe Called Quest.[284]
- Idris Muhammad - American jazz musician.[285]
- John Allen Muhammad - convicted serial killer, known as the Beltway Sniper.[286][287]
- Anthony Mundine - Australian Boxer.[288]
- Abdul Alim Musa - Muslim activist and director of Masjid Al-Islam in Washington, D.C.[289]
- Susanne Osthoff - German archaeologist who had worked in Iraq since 1991 and had been taken captive there for three weeks.[290]
- José Padilla - the respondent in Rumsfeld v. Padilla currently on trial as an alleged al-Qaida operative, converted while in prison for aggravated assault.[291]
- Sokollu Mehmet Paşa - Grand Vizier of Suleiman the Magnificent.[292]
- Christopher Paul (aka Paul Kenyatta Laws aka Abdulmalek Kenyatta) - American citizen, alleged member of al-Qaeda.[293][294]
- Charles John Pelham (Abdul Mateen), 8th Earl of Yarborough.[295]
- Q-Tip - North American hip-hop emcee, actor, and hip hop producer who was the leader of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest.[296]
- Dwight Muhammad Qawi - former boxing world heavyweight champion.[297]
- Jack Roche - convicted of involvement in an al-Qaeda plot to blow up the Israeli embassy in Canberra.[298]
- Ilich Ramírez Sánchez - aka "Carlos the Jackal", convicted murderer and terrorist, currently in prison in France.[299]
- Ibrahim Savant - one of the suspects arrested in the UK in connection to the 2006 transatlantic aircraft terrorist plot in the United Kingdom.[267]
- Frithjof Schuon - metaphysician, poet, painter, philosopher (in the original and Platonic sense of this term), and a leading figure of the perennialist school.[300]
- Stephen Schwartz - American journalist, columnist, and author.[301]
- Derrick Shareef- charged in a plot to set off four hand grenades in garbage cans December 22 at the CherryVale Mall in Rockford, Illinois during the Christmas rush.[302]
- Sahib Shihab - jazz saxophonist and flautist.[303]
- Divine Styler - American hip-hop musician.[304]
- Nahshid Sulaiman - alternative hip hop artist.[305]
- Apisai Tora - Fijian politician.[306]
- Mike Tyson (Malik Abdul Aziz) - former heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Converted while in prison after being convicted of rape.[307][308]
- Abdul Waheed (Don Stewart-Whyte) - accused of participating in the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot.[309][310]
- Jason Walters - of the Netherlands, member of the Hofstad Network, convicted on charges of terrorism.[311]
- John Ward - (changed name to Yusuf Reis) British corsair and pirate.[312]
- Rakan Ben Williams - suspected member of Al-Qaeda terrorist.[313]
- Michael Wolfe - American poet, author, and the President and Executive Producer of Unity Productions Foundation.[314][315]
- Michael X - civil rights activist in the United Kingdom [316]
- Yusuf Chambers - U.K. based Da'ee of international fame. Yusuf Chambers is a young preacher from London, has greatly involved himself in many organizations in U.K. and outside like Peace TV, Islam Channel, Al-Jumuah magazine, Unity TV etc
[edit] Disputed or forced conversions
- Anusim of Meshhad, Jewish community in 1839. Most continued Jewish practices in secret and many of their descendents returned to Judaism in the early 20th century.[317]
- Francis Bok - Sudanese-American activist, from Christianity; later returned to his Christian faith.[318]
- Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig - while Ramattan TV showed footage of the two converting, both denied the conversion, explaining they had made statements on a gunpoint.[319] According to Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi, professor of sociology and history at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, also denies that any valid conversion took place.[320]
- Joseph ben Judah ibn Aknin - 12th century Jewish philosopher, forcibly converted by Almohads, lived as crypto-Jew.[321]
- Sabbatai Zevi - convert from Judaism, 17th century mystic, pseudo-Messiah and the self-proclaimed "King of Jews". Converted ostensibly of his own free will as "Aziz Mehmed Effendi", in September 15, 1666 while in prison. Although, some speculate that he may have been executed for treason had he not converted,[322] Muslim authorities were opposed to his death.[323] He lived his remaining ten years as a public Muslim favoured by the Sultan. Some of his Sabbatean followers became the Donmeh, who behave externally as Muslims.
- Jacob Frank - publicly converted to Islam in 1757[322] and to Christianity in Poland but actually presented himself as the Messiah of a syncretic derivation of Shabbatai Zevi's Messianism.
- Omar Sharif - Academy Award-nominated Egyptian actor who has starred in many Hollywood films. He converted formally to Islam in the 1960s to marry a Muslim woman, however at present he does not follow any religion.[324]
- Abdul Rahman al-Iryani, President of North Yemen from 1967 to 1974; converted to Islam as a child.[325]
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