List of converts to Islam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Isabelle Eberhardt • Uluç Ali Reis • Claude Alexandre • Parameswara • Marmaduke Pickthall • Jacques-Francois Menou • Rudolf Carl von Slatin • Lord Headley • Malcolm X • Samori Ture • Muhammad Ali • Keith Ellison • Ahmad Rashad • Cat Stevens • Dave Chappelle • Nicolas Anelka • Kareem Abdul Jabbar • Murad Wilfried Hofmann • Jermaine Jackson • Yvonne Ridley
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| In the United Kingdom and France, up to 50,000 people converted in the last decade in each country[1] Germany (up to 4000 a year)[2] and many other places around the world. |
The following is an incomplete 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. The list is categorized alphabetically by their former religious affiliation.
Contents
List of converts to Islam from Major Religions[edit]
- List of converts to Islam from Christianity
- List of converts to Islam from Judaism
- List of converts to Islam from Buddhism
- List of converts to Islam from Hinduism
- List of converts to Islam from Zoroastrianism
- List of converts to Islam from Paganism
- List of converts to Islam from Atheism
Sabianism[edit]
- Hilal al-Sabi - a historian, bureaucrat, and writer of Arabic.[3]
- Sinan ibn Thabit - a physician and son of Thābit ibn Qurra.[4]
Undetermined former religion[edit]
- A. R. Rahman - (born A. S. Dileep Kumar, 6 January 1966)) is an Indian musician
- Abd al Malik - birth name Régis Fayette-Mikano — French rapper of Congolese origins.[5]
- Abd al Haqq Kielan - Swedish cleric.[6]
- Abdallah Schleifer - prominent Middle East expert, former NBC Cairo Bureau chief, and a professor of TV journalism at the American University in Cairo who converted to Sufi Islam.[7][8]
- Abdul Alim Musa - Muslim activist and director of Masjid Al-Islam in Washington, D.C.[9]
- Abdullah Ibrahim - South African Jazz musician.[10]
- Abdur Raheem Green - Born Anthony Greene, Islamic preacher and founder of iERA [11]
- Abu Izzadeen - spokesman for Al Ghurabaa, a Muslim organization banned under the Terrorism Act 2006 for the glorification of terrorism, that operated in the United Kingdom.[12]
- Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki - In November 2012, the FBI added Hammami to its Most Wanted Terrorist list. A federal warrant for his arrest was issued in 2007.[13]
- Ahmad Jamal - Jazz pianist.[14]
- Ajdin Muzaka - was the commander in the Battle of Torvioll.
- Ali Shaheed Muhammad - member of A Tribe Called Quest.[15]
- Ali Mirza - was a prince of the Georgian.
- Alys Faiz - human rights and peace activist;[16] converted at the time of her marriage to Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz.[17]
- Amir Butler- author, engineer and Islamic activist.[18]
- Andrew Ibrahim- convicted of Preparing terrorist acts in the United Kingdom.[19]
- Anthony Mundine - Australian Boxer, Former 2 time Super Middleweight Champion.[20]
- Antoni Aleksander Iliński - a Polish-Ottoman military officer and general.
- Apisai Tora - Fijian politician.[21]
- Abdul Mirza, first Yusupov Prince.
B
- Baba Ali - Iranian-born American film developer, games developer and businessman.[22]
- B.G. Knocc Out - American west coast rapper.[23]
- Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan - born Yvette Blanche Labrousse, Miss France 1930, wife of Aga Khan III.[24]
- Bob Denard - French mercenary.[25]
- Brandon Mayfield - American attorney-at-law who was erroneously linked to the 2004 Madrid train bombings.[26]
C
- Celestino Caballero - Boxer and former Super Bantamweight Champion.[27]
- Charles Brooks, Jr. - convicted murderer, the first person in the United States to be executed using lethal injection.[28]
- Charles John Pelham (Abdul Mateen)- 8th Earl of Yarborough.[29]
- Christian Ganczarski - German citizen convicted by a French court sentenced to 18 years in prison for the bombing of a synagogue.[30]
- Christopher Paul - member of al Qaeda, who has pled guilty to acts of terrorism.[31]
- Colleen LaRose - alleged intended assassin of Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks.[32]
- Craig Hodges - former NBA player.[33]
- Cory Paterson - Australian professional rugby league player. [34]
- Daniel Streich - Swiss politician, and former member of Swiss People's Party.[35]
- Dave Chappelle - American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist.[36]
- David Hicks - was convicted by the United States Guantanamo military commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, on charges of providing material support for terrorism.[37][38]
- Derrick Shareef- charged in a plot to set off four hand grenades in garbage cans 22 December at the CherryVale Mall in Rockford, Illinois during the Christmas rush.[39]
- Diam's - French female rapper, born Mélanie Georgiades, converted 2010.[40]
- Divine Styler - American hip-hop musician.[41]
- Louis du Couret - French explorer, writer and military officer.[42]
- Dwight Muhammad Qawi - Former boxing world Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight champion.[43]
E
- Lady Evelyn Cobbold - Scottish noblewoman.[44]
- Everlast - Irish-American rapper and singer-songwriter.[45]
F
- Frithjof Schuon - Swiss-German metaphysician, poet, painter, philosopher and leading figure of the perennialist school.[46]
- Frank Ribery - A French national football team player and Bayern Munich German football team adopted the name of Belal.
- Frédéric Kanouté - A French Malian football player who currently playes for the Chinese super league team Beijin Guoan.
G
- Gary Legenhausen - American philosopher and writer.[47]
- Ghostface Killah - member of the Wu-Tang Clan.[48]
- Gigi Gryce - American saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator.[49]
- Gustave-Henri Jossot - French caricaturist, illustrator and Orientalist painter.[50]
H
- Hamza Yusuf (born Mark Hanson)- American Islamic scholar and co-founder of Zaytuna college [51]
- 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.[52]
- H. Rap Brown - civil rights activist.[53]
- Hamza Robertson (born Tom Robertson) - English singer.[54]
I
- Ibrahim Hooper (Douglas Hooper) - Islamic activist, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).[55]
- Ibrahim Savant - one of the suspects arrested in the UK in connection to the 2006 transatlantic aircraft terrorist plot in the United Kingdom.[56]
- Idris Muhammad - American jazz musician.[57]
- Iliaş Colceag - Moldavian military commander in the Ottoman and Russian Empire.
- Ilich Ramírez Sánchez - aka "Carlos the Jackal", convicted murderer and terrorist, currently in prison in France.[58]
- Isabelle Eberhardt - explorer and writer.[59]
J
- Jack Roche - convicted of involvement in an al-Qaeda plot to blow up the Israeli embassy in Canberra.[60]
- James Achilles Kirkpatrick - was the British Resident in Hyderabad.[61]
- Jan Janszoon - Dutch pirate.[62]
- Jason Walters - Dutch member of the Hofstad Network, convicted on charges of terrorism.[63]
- 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.[64][65]
- Jeffrey Mark Deskovic - served 15-year wrongful imprisonment sentence.[66]
- Jemima Goldsmith daughter of the billionaire Sir James, who was married to Imran Khan
- Jermaine Jackson brother of Michael Jackson and former member of Jackson 5 group
- Jesse of Kakheti - a ruler of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 1614 to 1615.
- John Allen Muhammad - convicted murderer who carried out the Beltway sniper attacks of October 2002 with this brother[67]
- John Ward - (changed name to Yusuf Reis) British corsair and pirate.[68]
- Jonathan A.C. Brown - American Islamic scholar and Assistant professor at Georgetown University [69]
- Johann von Leers - advisor to Muhammad Naguib known for his anti-Semitic polemics.[70][71]
- Jorvan Vieira - Luso-Brazilian football coach.[72][73][74]
- José Padilla - the respondent in Rumsfeld v. Padilla currently on trial as an alleged al-Qaida operative, converted while in prison for aggravated assault.[75]
- Juan Carlos Gomez - Former Cruiserweight Boxing Champion.[76]
- Julia Volkova - Russian singer and actress best known as a member of the Russian pop duo, t.A.T.u., along with Lena Katina.[77]
K
- Kérim Chatty- Swedish bodybuilding stuntman who was once suspected of attempted hijacking. The preliminary inquiry was dropped.[78]
- Khaled Edward Blair - British barrister, later married Princess Badiya bint Al Hassan of Jordan.[79]
- Khalid Sheldrake - an English pickle manufacturer who established a branch of the Western Islamic Association in South Shields in 1930.
- Kamala Surayya - a Malayalam writer, (pen name Madhavikkutty), one of India's best known 20th century poets, converted from Hinduism to Islam in 1999.[80]
L
- Larry Johnson - retired American professional basketball player.[81]
- Lauren Booth - a British[82] broadcaster, journalist and human rights activist.[83][84]
- Li Nu - a Chinese scholar in the Ming dynasty who visited Persia, converted to Islam, married a Persian or an Arab girl and brought her back to Quanzhou in Fujian.[85][86][87]
- Lim Yew Hock - Singapore’s second Chief Minister from 1956 to 1959.[88]
- Lewis Arquette - actor and father of actors David Arquette and Rosanna Arquette; father-in-law of actress Courteney Cox.[89]
M
- MC Ren - American rapper and hip-hop producer.[90]
- Malcolm X - American to Nation of Islam to Sunni Islam, African-American civil rights leader.[91]
- Malik ul Salih - established the first Muslim state of Samudera Pasai.[92]
- Maryam Jameelah - formerly Margret Marcus. Author of many books covering several subjects, including Modernism, Sociology, History, Jihad, Theology and Technology.[93]
- Maurice Béjart - French choreographer.[94]
- Michael Finton - converted to Islam whilst in prison, who attempted to bomb the Paul Findley Federal Building and the adjacent offices of Congressman Aaron Schock in downtown Springfield, Illinois, on 24 September 2009.[95][96]
- Michael Wolfe - American poet, author, and the President and Executive Producer of Unity Productions Foundation.[97][98]
- Michael X - civil rights activist in the United Kingdom[99]
- Mike Tyson (Malik Abdul Aziz) - former heavyweight boxing champion of the world.[100][101]
- Mohammed Knut Bernström - Swedish ambassador.[102]
- Mutah Beale better known as 'Napoleon,' former member of Tupac Shakur's rap group, the Outlawz.[103]
- Myriam Francois-Cerrah, British Journalist.[104]
N
- Nahshid Sulaiman - alternative hip hop artist.[105]
- 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.[106]
- Nicolas Anelka a French national team football player who also played for several clubs such as Juventus in Italy and Chelsea in England. He changed his name to Belal.
O
- Omar Ong Yoke Lin - (1917–2010) Malaysian politician, former government minister and founder of the Malaysian Chinese Association.[107]
- Baron omar Rolf von Ehrenfels - Austrian anthropologist and orientalist.[108]
P
- Philippe Fragione - French rapper and producer of French hip hop.[109]
- Philippe Grenier - (1865–1944) French doctor, first Muslim MP in France.[110]
Q
- 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.[111]
R
- Robert "Kool" Bell - musician.[112]
- Robert D. Crane - former Presidential advisor and ambassador.[113]
- Rodrigo de Triana - sailor and the first European since the Vikings known to have seen America who converted to Islam from Judaism[114] or Christianity.[115]
- Ronald Bell - musician.[116]
S
- Sahib Shihab - American jazz saxophonist and flautist.[117]
- Saida Miller Khalifa - British author who was originally called Sonya Miller.[118][119]
- Shaheed Akbar - notable rapper who converted to Islam.[120]
- Stephen Schwartz - American journalist, columnist, and author.[121]
- Susanne Osthoff - German archaeologist who had worked in Iraq since 1991 and had been taken captive there for three weeks.[122]
- Sultaana Freeman - known for attempting to sue the state of Florida in order to wear a face veil for her driver's license picture.[123]
- Thomas J. Abercrombie - famous photographer and writer for National Geographic [124]
- Tiara Jacquelina - Malaysian actress.[125]
- Titus Burckhardt - Swiss writer and scholar.[126]
- Tony Hussein Hinde - Australian-born Maldivian surfer and surfing pioneer who converted to Islam.[127]
- Umar Islam - one of the suspects arrested in the UK in connection to the 2006 transatlantic aircraft terrorist plot in the United Kingdom.[56]
- Uri Davis - an academic and activist who works on civil rights in Israel, Palestinian National Authority and the Middle East.[128]
V
- Vladimir Khodov - leader of the Beslan school hostage crisis- converted in prison.[129]
W
- Walt Hazzard - former NBA player.[130]
Y
Z
- Zachary Adam Chesser - American Muslim convert to Sunni Islam. Sentenced to 25 years in a federal prison on February 24, 2011.[132]
