Famous Converts to Islam

Society Religion & Philosophy
1

*Khadijah - wife of Muhammad. First convert to Islam.

  • Shabbetai Tzevi - seventeenth-century Turkish Jew who had claimed to be Messiah and attracted a large following. His conversion to Islam largely dissolved this mass messianic Jewish movement, but also resulted in the development of the ongoing Donmeh religious movement.

  • Malcom X - early leader of American “Black Muslim”/Nation of Islam movement; later a convert to Sunni Islam

  • Cat Stevens - British rock musician; changed name to Yusuf Islam

  • Art Blakey - American Jazz musician

  • Muhammad Ali - boxer

  • Mike Tyson - boxer

  • Hamdan Chris Eubank - boxer (super middleweight boxing champion)

  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - basketball player

  • Queen Noor - American-born queen of Jordan

  • Maryam Jameelah - Jewish American essayist and poet. Formerly Margaret Marcus.

  • Daniel Moore - Anglo-American poet

  • Muhammad Marmaduke (William) Pickthall - author and Quran translator

  • Michael Wolfe - author, journalist (The Hadj: An American’s Pilgrimage to Mecca; One Thousand Roads to Mecca: Ten Centuries of Travelers Writing About the Muslim Pilgrimage; ABC Nightline documentary “An American in Mecca”)

  • Aminah Assilmi - Denver area broadcast journalist; now director of the International Union of Muslim Women

  • Jemima Goldsmith - daughter of British billionaire Sir James, who married Imran Khan. Changed name to Haiqa Khan

Should we add Will Smith or wait? :slight_smile:

2

What about Omar Sharif the famous actor??

3

add imran khan, after living as a playboy almost till getting old and no longer being able to live that way, he discovered religion.

4

[quote]
Originally posted by ZZ:
add imran khan, after living as a playboy almost till getting old and no longer being able to live that way, he discovered religion.
[/quote]

Every thing has its limitations but stupidity is available unlimited among hindus.

5

[quote]
Originally posted by Abdali:
What about Omar Sharif the famous actor??
[/quote]

Omar Sharif is an egyptian by decent, why would he need to convert?

You better stick to dissing BhaRAT, or be a cheerleader of WMDs for Muslim countries. Any other topic you show you ignorance.

6

[quote]
Originally posted by ZZ:
add imran khan, after living as a playboy almost till getting old and no longer being able to live that way, he discovered religion.
[/quote]

We also have beer-drinking, girl-friend having, foul-mouthed people who would one day like to find religion. But for now they don't have much in life except occassional excitement when convicted rapists (like Mike Tyson) convert to Islam.

7

Are you saying Egyptians are all muslims there are no Christians or Jews. I did a search on the web and this is what I found. http://www.africana.com/Articles/tt_082.htm

And please don’t show your ignorance do what you do best, whine!!

[This message has been edited by Abdali (edited December 23, 2001).]

8

Cygnus_X1, you have officially been BURNT!!!

9

[quote]
Originally posted by Cygnus_X1:
** We also have beer-drinking, girl-friend having, foul-mouthed people who would one day like to find religion. But for now they don't have much in life except occassional excitement when convicted rapists (like Mike Tyson) convert to Islam.**
[/quote]

.. In islam it doesnt need to be born in muslim family like some religions to be a muslim.. its not one birth but faith and spirtuality theat anyone can obtain any time.. he may be convicted rapist or baddest guy on earth..but in Islam theres always a door for repentence.. there are hundreds of thousands of people in USA jails embracing Islam and becoming better human beings.. some of them have dramatically changed their lives..

10

[quote]
Originally posted by mAd_ScIeNtIsT:
** Cygnus_X1, you have officially been BURNT!!!**
[/quote]

Sorry my friend, but here is the full text of your friends source

  • Born Michel Shahoub in Alexandria, Egypt, then under British colonial rule, Sharif was the son of a successful timber merchant. He attended private English schools in Egypt and then graduated from Cairo's Victoria College. He converted to Islam, changed his name to Omar Sharif, and embarked on an acting career. Sharif achieved stardom in Egypt with Sina Fil Wadi (The Blazing Sun, 1954), which also starred Faten Hamama, whom he married. They had one child, a son named Tarek. Sharif's work caught the notice of English director David Lean, who cast him as Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish in Lawrence of Arabia (1962). This role earned him an Academy Award nomination, and catapulted him into international stardom. His smoldering romantic presence captivated audiences and made him one of the most successful stars of the 1960s.

In 1965 Sharif again teamed up with Lean, this time for the title role in the screen adaptation of Boris Pasternak's novel, Dr. Zhivago (1965), another film that achieved both commercial and critical success. He also starred with Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl (1968) and appeared in numerous other films.

Sharif was controversial in Egypt, however, and elsewhere in the Arab world. Because of increasing tensions between Arab states and Israel, many considered him a traitor for working with Jewish filmmakers. During the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War, Middle Eastern newspapers published photos of Sharif kissing the Jewish Streisand during rehearsals for Funny Girl. Fearing for his safety, he left Egypt with his family shortly thereafter.

The film industry's preference for younger stars beginning in the early 1970s set Sharif's career back. He continued to act in movies, although filmmakers no longer cast him as the leading man. Beginning in the early 1980s he shifted mainly to television movies and miniseries. Sharif has insisted, however, that his consuming passion is bridge. A world-class player with an international tournament named in his honor, he wrote an internationally syndicated newspaper column on the game for many years. In 1996, after successful heart bypass surgery, Sharif returned to Cairo to live, seeking to "be with friends, and own a home."
*

of specific concern:

Fearing for his safety, he left Egypt with his family shortly thereafter.

my point was why convert if you're a Christian in Egypt and not follow the the tenets of Islam only to be labelled a traitor.

Bye the way, I know there are Coptic Christians in Egypt, because I worked with a couple of them, and they don't have anything nice to say about home.

11

[quote]
Originally posted by Cygnus_X1:
**
my point was why convert if you're a Christian in Egypt and not follow the the tenets of Islam only to be labelled a traitor.

.**
[/quote]

This is what you said ** "Omar Sharif is an egyptian by decent, why would he need to convert?" **
Try harder.

[This message has been edited by Abdali (edited December 23, 2001).]

12

Omar Sherif is Egyptian yes but he is NOT Muslim. Not all Arabs are Muslim you know.

About that list, some people on there are not great Muslims.