The following is a list of 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 with their former religious affiliation, where known.
Hasan Akbar (born Mark Fidel Kools) – American citizen, and
Sergeant, diagnosed with psychiatric problems, later sentenced to
death for an attack of resentment.[14]
Shaheed Akbar (a.k.a. The Jacka, born Dominick Newton) – American rapper.[15]
Jonathan A.C. Brown – American Islamic scholar and assistant professor at Georgetown University.[39]
Maurice Bucaille – French family physician of King Faisal. It is disputed whether he ever converted, and if he did, whether he publicly declared his conversion. He is reported in a 2013 Arab News newspaper article, "In his excitement, he stood before the attendants and loudly said, "I have converted to Islam and believed in this Qur'an," however no references are given.[40] In other articles and videos he was normally very careful not to claim allegiance to any one faith.[41]
Abdullah ibn Buhaina (born Arthur Blakey)– American musician, also known as Arthur "Art" Blakey, American jazz drummer and bandleader; stopped being a practicing Muslim in the 1950s and continued to perform under the name "Art Blakey" throughout his career.[42]
Berke – grandson of
Genghis Khan, a Mongol military commander and ruler of the
Golden Horde, who was responsible for the first official establishment of Islam in a khanate of the
Mongol Empire.
Michael Finton – radicalised individual, attempted to bomb the Paul Findley Federal Building to protest the Afghan war. Finton's local mosque condemned and disassociated from his ideologies.[68][69]
Patrice Lumumba Ford (of the
Portland Seven) – part of a group based in the U.S. Arrested for charges of terrorism, Ford's representative claimed the arrests were a governmental strategy to cover-up America's activities in foreign wars.[71]
Gigi Gryce – American saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator[82]
René Guénon – French perennial philosopher, first adopted
Islam in 1912, he insisted on recalling that the purely religious concept of an immediate conversion did not apply to his case, indicating he had previous acquaintance with the Islamic faith.
Rebeka Ibrahima (born Rebeka Koha) – Latvian-born Qatari
weightlifter, two time Junior World Champion and two time European Champion.[93]
Yusuf Islam – English singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and activist; born Steven Demetre Georgiou; known professionally as
Cat Stevens[94][95]
Abu Izzadeen (born Trevor Brooks) – English-born extremist and hate-preacher, spokesman for Al Ghurabaa[96]
Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born Kanji Inoki) – Japanese retired professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.[97]
Kyrie Irving – American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA.[98]
J
Fatimah Jackson – American biologist and anthropologist, professor of biology at Howard University and Director of its Cobb Research Laboratory.[99]
Jan Janszoon – Dutch pirate, later sent his son to America, to become one of the first settlers of modern-day Brooklyn (called
New Amsterdam at the time)[105]
Khalid Masood (born Adrian Russel Elms) – British citizen, with a history of once heavy-drinking and drug-use, later adopted extremist beliefs; perpetrator of the
2017 Westminster attack[136]
Adam Neuser (c. 1530 – 12 October 1576) –Protestant pastor of Heidelberg who held Antitrinitarian views. He later converted to Islam[144] and traveled to Istanbul where he served the Ottoman Sultan.[145]
Susanne Osthoff – German
archaeologist and aid worker who had worked in
Iraq since 1991, and was abducted en route to Abdil, for 3 weeks. She was later quoted to have said her kidnappers did not want ransom, but German humanitarian aid[149]
P
José Padilla – born-American citizen, known for controversial
Rumsfeld v. Padilla case. Padilla was arrested on allegations of intended terrorism, but was refused a trial in civilian courts, as well as a defense counsel and civilian court review; he was later convicted for 21 years in prison. Economist
Paul Craig Roberts criticized the sentence as having "overthrown" the Constitution[150][151]
Abdullah Quilliam (born William Henry Quilliam) – British convert from Christianity to Islam, noted for founding England's first mosque and Islamic centre.[163]
R
Raekwon – American rapper, born as Corey Woods[164]
Rakhi Sawant (born Neeru Bheda)– Indian dancer, model, actress.[165]
A. R. Rahman – Indian composer, musician, singer-songwriter, producer and philanthropist; he converted to Islam along with other members of his family in 1989 at age 23, changing his name from A. S. Dileep Kumar Mudhaliar to Allah Rakha Rahman[166][167]
Richard Reid – British citizen, who adopted militant ideologies. Popularly known as the "Shoe Bomber" after unsuccessfully attempting to blow up an American Airlines flight[169]
Nicky Reilly – resident of Plymouth, England, known for the
2008 Exeter attempted bombing; his psychologist says his mental disabilities (which included Asperger syndrome) made him vulnerable to radicalisation[170][171]
MC Ren (born Lorenzo Patterson)– American rapper and hip-hop producer[172]
Jack Roche – British-born migrant in Sydney. Former member of the
Jemaah Islamiyah sect, involved in its militant schemes, Roche later chose to divulge his information (of plots such as the
September 11 attacks, the
2002 Bali bombings, etc.) to ASIO officers, but his calls were dismissed. Later convicted for 4-years, Roche has left the lifestyle behind but remains critical of the ASIO's failure to prevent the attacks[175][176]
Rodtang Jitmuangnon – a
Muay Thai fighter who converted to Islam shortly after marrying his Muslim wife, Aida Looksaikongdin.
Leda Rafanelli – was an Italian publisher, anarchist, and prolific author, her experience living briefly in
Alexandria, Egypt, cemented her interest in Eastern ideas and led to her studying the
Arabic language and converting to
Islam
Kabir Suman (born Suman Chattopadhyay) – Indian singer-songwriter, musician, music director, poet, journalist, political activist, TV presenter, and occasional actor; he stated, "I wanted to keep the name my parents gave me, so I kept Suman. I took the name Kabir after Sheikh Kabir, a
Bengali Muslim poet who wrote Baishnab Padabali."[193]
Valentine de Saint-Point – French writer, poet, painter, playwright, art critic, choreographer, lecturer and journalist. She is primarily known for being the first woman to have written a
futurist manifesto. She converted to Islam and moved to Egypt where she passed away and was buried right next to Imam al-Shafii.
Conrad Tillard (born 1964) – American Baptist minister, radio host, author, civil rights activist, and politician; later converted back to Christianity
Hamza Tzortzis (born Andreas Tzortzis)– British public speaker and researcher on Islam. He is known for his book: The Divine Reality: God, Islam and the Mirage of Atheism.[202][203]
U
James Ujaama (born James Earnest Thompson) – social activist/entrepreneur from Seattle, known for helping black youth; established the Bly training camp; accused of militant intentions, but allegations were negated; later convicted for violating IEEPA, by installing software for a friend, to use on a computer owned by the Taliban[204]
V
Joram van Klaveren – former Dutch MP, a politician who attempted to ban mosques and all Islamic practices from Holland; after working on a book to conclusively 'disprove' Islam, Joram's research (and discussions with
Timothy Winter) drastically changed his views, he later converted to Islam[205]
Bryant Neal Vinas – Hispanic American, once joined al Qaeda training camps, later turning on them to help the US, in attempt to turn his life around; his prosecutors called him the "single most valuable cooperating witness" about Qaeda activities; his judge was angered when, after a 3-month sentence, the FBI refused to provide him witness-protection[207][208]
Jason Walters – Dutch citizen, former member of the
Hofstad Network, convicted on acts of terror; currently writing his Master's thesis about de-radicalisation, and is an active speaker against radical zealotry, as an Analyst at Blue Water Intelligence[211][212]
^Henry McDonald, Ireland editor (6 November 2004).
"Hostage-taking 'legitimate'". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2014. {{
cite web}}: |author= has generic name (
help)
^Association for Asian studies (Ann Arbor;Michigan) (1976).
A-L, Volumes 1–2. Columbia University Press. p. 817.
ISBN9780231038010. Retrieved 29 June 2010.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
^"Jason Walters". Blue Water Intelligence. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
^Pinverbod voor terrorist, the Dutch foreign minister bans convicted Hofstadgroep terrorists from any financial transactions, by Rien Meijer and Bart Mos, De Telegraaf, 20 April 2006 (Dutch)
The following is a list of 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 with their former religious affiliation, where known.
Hasan Akbar (born Mark Fidel Kools) – American citizen, and
Sergeant, diagnosed with psychiatric problems, later sentenced to
death for an attack of resentment.[14]
Shaheed Akbar (a.k.a. The Jacka, born Dominick Newton) – American rapper.[15]
Jonathan A.C. Brown – American Islamic scholar and assistant professor at Georgetown University.[39]
Maurice Bucaille – French family physician of King Faisal. It is disputed whether he ever converted, and if he did, whether he publicly declared his conversion. He is reported in a 2013 Arab News newspaper article, "In his excitement, he stood before the attendants and loudly said, "I have converted to Islam and believed in this Qur'an," however no references are given.[40] In other articles and videos he was normally very careful not to claim allegiance to any one faith.[41]
Abdullah ibn Buhaina (born Arthur Blakey)– American musician, also known as Arthur "Art" Blakey, American jazz drummer and bandleader; stopped being a practicing Muslim in the 1950s and continued to perform under the name "Art Blakey" throughout his career.[42]
Berke – grandson of
Genghis Khan, a Mongol military commander and ruler of the
Golden Horde, who was responsible for the first official establishment of Islam in a khanate of the
Mongol Empire.
Michael Finton – radicalised individual, attempted to bomb the Paul Findley Federal Building to protest the Afghan war. Finton's local mosque condemned and disassociated from his ideologies.[68][69]
Patrice Lumumba Ford (of the
Portland Seven) – part of a group based in the U.S. Arrested for charges of terrorism, Ford's representative claimed the arrests were a governmental strategy to cover-up America's activities in foreign wars.[71]
Gigi Gryce – American saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator[82]
René Guénon – French perennial philosopher, first adopted
Islam in 1912, he insisted on recalling that the purely religious concept of an immediate conversion did not apply to his case, indicating he had previous acquaintance with the Islamic faith.
Rebeka Ibrahima (born Rebeka Koha) – Latvian-born Qatari
weightlifter, two time Junior World Champion and two time European Champion.[93]
Yusuf Islam – English singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and activist; born Steven Demetre Georgiou; known professionally as
Cat Stevens[94][95]
Abu Izzadeen (born Trevor Brooks) – English-born extremist and hate-preacher, spokesman for Al Ghurabaa[96]
Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born Kanji Inoki) – Japanese retired professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.[97]
Kyrie Irving – American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA.[98]
J
Fatimah Jackson – American biologist and anthropologist, professor of biology at Howard University and Director of its Cobb Research Laboratory.[99]
Jan Janszoon – Dutch pirate, later sent his son to America, to become one of the first settlers of modern-day Brooklyn (called
New Amsterdam at the time)[105]
Khalid Masood (born Adrian Russel Elms) – British citizen, with a history of once heavy-drinking and drug-use, later adopted extremist beliefs; perpetrator of the
2017 Westminster attack[136]
Adam Neuser (c. 1530 – 12 October 1576) –Protestant pastor of Heidelberg who held Antitrinitarian views. He later converted to Islam[144] and traveled to Istanbul where he served the Ottoman Sultan.[145]
Susanne Osthoff – German
archaeologist and aid worker who had worked in
Iraq since 1991, and was abducted en route to Abdil, for 3 weeks. She was later quoted to have said her kidnappers did not want ransom, but German humanitarian aid[149]
P
José Padilla – born-American citizen, known for controversial
Rumsfeld v. Padilla case. Padilla was arrested on allegations of intended terrorism, but was refused a trial in civilian courts, as well as a defense counsel and civilian court review; he was later convicted for 21 years in prison. Economist
Paul Craig Roberts criticized the sentence as having "overthrown" the Constitution[150][151]
Abdullah Quilliam (born William Henry Quilliam) – British convert from Christianity to Islam, noted for founding England's first mosque and Islamic centre.[163]
R
Raekwon – American rapper, born as Corey Woods[164]
Rakhi Sawant (born Neeru Bheda)– Indian dancer, model, actress.[165]
A. R. Rahman – Indian composer, musician, singer-songwriter, producer and philanthropist; he converted to Islam along with other members of his family in 1989 at age 23, changing his name from A. S. Dileep Kumar Mudhaliar to Allah Rakha Rahman[166][167]
Richard Reid – British citizen, who adopted militant ideologies. Popularly known as the "Shoe Bomber" after unsuccessfully attempting to blow up an American Airlines flight[169]
Nicky Reilly – resident of Plymouth, England, known for the
2008 Exeter attempted bombing; his psychologist says his mental disabilities (which included Asperger syndrome) made him vulnerable to radicalisation[170][171]
MC Ren (born Lorenzo Patterson)– American rapper and hip-hop producer[172]
Jack Roche – British-born migrant in Sydney. Former member of the
Jemaah Islamiyah sect, involved in its militant schemes, Roche later chose to divulge his information (of plots such as the
September 11 attacks, the
2002 Bali bombings, etc.) to ASIO officers, but his calls were dismissed. Later convicted for 4-years, Roche has left the lifestyle behind but remains critical of the ASIO's failure to prevent the attacks[175][176]
Rodtang Jitmuangnon – a
Muay Thai fighter who converted to Islam shortly after marrying his Muslim wife, Aida Looksaikongdin.
Leda Rafanelli – was an Italian publisher, anarchist, and prolific author, her experience living briefly in
Alexandria, Egypt, cemented her interest in Eastern ideas and led to her studying the
Arabic language and converting to
Islam
Kabir Suman (born Suman Chattopadhyay) – Indian singer-songwriter, musician, music director, poet, journalist, political activist, TV presenter, and occasional actor; he stated, "I wanted to keep the name my parents gave me, so I kept Suman. I took the name Kabir after Sheikh Kabir, a
Bengali Muslim poet who wrote Baishnab Padabali."[193]
Valentine de Saint-Point – French writer, poet, painter, playwright, art critic, choreographer, lecturer and journalist. She is primarily known for being the first woman to have written a
futurist manifesto. She converted to Islam and moved to Egypt where she passed away and was buried right next to Imam al-Shafii.
Conrad Tillard (born 1964) – American Baptist minister, radio host, author, civil rights activist, and politician; later converted back to Christianity
Hamza Tzortzis (born Andreas Tzortzis)– British public speaker and researcher on Islam. He is known for his book: The Divine Reality: God, Islam and the Mirage of Atheism.[202][203]
U
James Ujaama (born James Earnest Thompson) – social activist/entrepreneur from Seattle, known for helping black youth; established the Bly training camp; accused of militant intentions, but allegations were negated; later convicted for violating IEEPA, by installing software for a friend, to use on a computer owned by the Taliban[204]
V
Joram van Klaveren – former Dutch MP, a politician who attempted to ban mosques and all Islamic practices from Holland; after working on a book to conclusively 'disprove' Islam, Joram's research (and discussions with
Timothy Winter) drastically changed his views, he later converted to Islam[205]
Bryant Neal Vinas – Hispanic American, once joined al Qaeda training camps, later turning on them to help the US, in attempt to turn his life around; his prosecutors called him the "single most valuable cooperating witness" about Qaeda activities; his judge was angered when, after a 3-month sentence, the FBI refused to provide him witness-protection[207][208]
Jason Walters – Dutch citizen, former member of the
Hofstad Network, convicted on acts of terror; currently writing his Master's thesis about de-radicalisation, and is an active speaker against radical zealotry, as an Analyst at Blue Water Intelligence[211][212]
^Henry McDonald, Ireland editor (6 November 2004).
"Hostage-taking 'legitimate'". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2014. {{
cite web}}: |author= has generic name (
help)
^Association for Asian studies (Ann Arbor;Michigan) (1976).
A-L, Volumes 1–2. Columbia University Press. p. 817.
ISBN9780231038010. Retrieved 29 June 2010.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
^"Jason Walters". Blue Water Intelligence. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
^Pinverbod voor terrorist, the Dutch foreign minister bans convicted Hofstadgroep terrorists from any financial transactions, by Rien Meijer and Bart Mos, De Telegraaf, 20 April 2006 (Dutch)