List of converts to Islam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 as marriage. Such cases are noted in their list entries. The list is categorized alphabetically by their former religious affiliation.
Converts to Islam
From Abrahamic religions
From Christianity
A
- Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar (Sharmon Shah) - former NFL player[3]
- Abdullah Beg of Kartli - Georgian convert to Islam[4] who was a claimant to the kingship of Kartli.
- Abel Xavier - former Portuguese professional footballer converted to Islam with his new name Faisal.[5]
- Abu Tammam - 9th century Arab poet born to Christian parents.[6]
- Abu Usamah - American-born Imam of Green Lane Masjid in Birmingham, UK.Accused of preaching messages of hate towards non-Muslims in a UK Television documentary.[7]
- Adam Gadahn (born Adam Pearlman) - al-Qaeda English language spokesman. Home-schooled Christian.[8]
- Adam Neuser - a German Lutheran pastor who criticized the doctrine of the trinity and was consequently imprisoned.[9]
- Ahmad Faris Shidyaq - a Lebanese scholar, writer and journalist who was a Maronite convert to Islam.[10]
- Ahmad Rashād - Emmy award-winning sportscaster (mostly with NBC Sports) and former American football wide receiver.[11][12]
- Ahmed Santos - Filipino, fugitive, founder of the Rajah Solaiman Movement converted from Catholicism[13][14][15]
- Ahmad Thomson - British barrister and writer and also a member of the Murabitun movement.[16]
- Akhenaton - French rapper and producer of French hip hop.[17]
- Allahverdi Khan - general and statesman of Georgian origin who was Christian and converted to Islam.[18]
- Alexander Litvinenko - former FSB officer converted to Islam on his deathbed.[19][20]
- Alexander Russell Webb - Former Presbyterian.[21] American journalist, newspaper owner, and former Consul-General of the U.S.A. in the Philippines.[22][23]
- Aminah Assilmi - Formerly a Southern Baptist preacher, she converted to Islam in 1977 in college while trying to convert some Muslims to Christianity.
- André Carson - former Baptist,[24] second Muslim to serve the United States Congress.[25]
- Anselm Turmeda - a Majorcan writer and a Franciscan friar who converted to Islam[26]
- Art Blakey - American Jazz musician[27]
- Aukai Collins - fought in Chechnya, paid FBI informant, author of an autobiographical book[28]
- Anthony Small - professional boxer[29]
- Sir Archibald Hamilton, 5th Baronet - a distinguished British convert to Islam.[30][31][32]
B
- Badr al-Din Lu'lu', an Armenian convert to Islam[33] and successor to the Zangid rulers of Mosul.
- Benjamin Chavis - controversial former head of the NAACP; joined the Nation of Islam.
- Bernard Hopkins - American boxer[34]
- Betty Shabazz - wife of Malcolm X; former Methodist.[35]
- Bilal Philips - Islamic scholar and author[36]
- Bruno Metsu - French coach of the Senegal team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup[37]
- Bryant Neal Vinas - participated in and supported al-Qaeda plots in Afghanistan and the U.S., and helped al-Qaeda plan a bomb attack on the LIRR[38]
C Chris rock-famous screen,writer,comedian,actor
- Cat Stevens - famous English musician, officially changed his name to Yusuf Islam
- Colleen LaRose - American citizen charged with terrorism-related crimes
- Chris Eubank - British boxer[39]
- Christian Gonzalez - Indonesian-Uruguay footballer. He changed his name become Mustafa Habibi Gonzalez
- Claude Alexandre de Bonneval or Humbaracı Ahmet Paşa is 18th century French nobleman.[40]
- Count Cassius- Visigothic aristocrat who founded the Banu Qasi dynasty of Muladi rulers.[41]
D
- Daniel Maldonado - American Islamist convicted in the United States on charges of training with al-Qaida in East Africa. Raised Catholic.[42]
- Danilo Fernando - Brazilian Footballer. He changed his name become Muhammad Danilo Fernando
- Danny Thompson - English double bass player converted from Catholicism.[43]
- Danny Williams - British boxer[44]
- David Belfield - American, fled to Iran after assassinating Ali Akbar Tabatabai, an Iranian dissident.[45]
- Dave Chappelle - comedian and television star[46]
- Dawud Wharnsby-Ali (David Wharnsby) - Canadian singer/poet.[47][48]
E
- Elsa Kazi - German writer of one-act plays, short stories, novels and history, and one of the greatest poets of her time.
- Erekle I of Kakheti - Georgian convert to Islam[49] who ruled the kingdoms of Kakheti and Kartli.
- Éric Abidal (changed his name to Bilal) - French football player, currently playing for FC Barcelona, converted to Islam after marriage.[50]
- Everlast - Rapper from the Irish-American hip-hop group House of Pain, converted from Catholicism.[51]
F
- Farqad as-Sabakhi - an Armenian Islamic preacher who was formerly a Christian[52] known for his knowledge of Judeo-Christian scriptures.[53]
- Franck Ribéry- a French football player. His name after he converted to Islam is Tarek.[54]
- Firouz - an Armenian Christian convert to Islam[55] who served as a spy for Bohemund during the Siege of Antioch.[56]
G
- Gabriele Torsello - Italian freelance photojournalist based in London who was abducted in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.[57]
- Gauhar Jaan-British-Indian Singer.[58]
- George XI of Kartli - Saffavid commander.[59]
- Germaine Lindsay - one of the suicide terrorists in the 7 July 2005 London bombings[30][60][61] in which 52 people were murdered.
H
- Hamza Yusuf - American convert from Greek Orthodox to Sunni Islam; co-founder of the Zaytuna College.[62]
- Hedley Churchward - English painter[63]
- Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha - born to a Christian Croatian[64] family, he was an Ottoman general and statesman from Hercegovina.
I
- Ian Dallas - Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi — Sufi shaykh of Scottish origins.[65]
- Ibn Jazla - an 11th century physician and Christian convert to Islam who later wrote to refute doctrines of Christianity.[66]
- Ibrahim Bey - an Egyptian Mamluk of Georgian Christian origins.
- Ibrahim Muteferrika (original name not known) - From Unitarian Christianity, an early example of a Muslim publisher and printer.[67]
- Idi Amin - military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. converted from Roman Catholicism to Islam.[68]
- Ilie II Rareş - prince of Moldavia.[69]
- Ingrid Mattson - Canadian scholar and current president of the Islamic Society of North America (2006) converted From Catholicism.[70]
- Isabelle Eberhardt - from Lutheran Christianity, 19th century explorer & writer[71]
- Ismael Urbain - French journalist and interpreter.
- Ivan Aguéli (Johan Agelii) - famous Swedish painter.[72][73]
- Iyasu V - Ethiopian emperor.[74]
J
- C. Jack Ellis - Mayor of Macon, Georgia[75]
- Jacques-Francois Menou - French general under Napoleon I of France.[76]
- James Yee - previously Lutheran[77] and former U.S. Army Muslim chaplain.[78]
- Jermaine Jackson (Muhammad Abdul Aziz) - Michael Jackson's elder brother & one of the original former members of The Jackson 5.[79]
- Jerôme Courtailler - one of two French brothers convicted by French authorities in 2004 for abetting terrorists[30][80][81]
- Joe Tex - soul singer and recording artist.[82]
- Joel Hayward, British defence strategist and scholar.[83]
- Johann Ludwig Burckhardt was a Swiss traveller and orientalist.[citation needed]
- St. John Philby - Arabist, explorer, writer, and British colonial office intelligence operative; converted from Anglicanism.[84]
- John Walker Lindh - the "American Taliban" converted From Catholicism[85][86]
- John Whitehead - an American singer, songwriter, and record producer.[87]
- John Nelson - first recorded Englishman to become a Muslim.[88]
- Joseph Thomas - Australian convert, acquitted of terrorism charges, placed under a control order under the Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005, currently pending retrial.[89][90]
- Judar Pasha - conqueror of the Songhai Empire.[91]
K
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor) - retired basketball player & the NBA's all-time leading scorer.[92] He initially converted from Christianity to The Nation of Islam to mainstream Sunni Islam.
- Keith Ellison - American, Representative from Minnesota's 5th congressional district, first Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress, converted From Catholicism[93]
- Kevin Barrett - university lecturer and member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth.[94]
- Khalid Yasin - Executive Director of the Islamic Teaching Institute, and a Shaykh currently residing in Australia.[95]
- Knud Holmboe - Danish journalist and explorer converted From Catholicism.[96]
- Koca Yusuf Pasha - a Georgian Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire who also served as the governor of Peloponnese.[97]
- Köse Mihal - a Byzantine renegade, he accompanied Osman al-Ghazi in his ascent to power and converted to Islam.[98][99]
L
- Dolores "LaLa" Brooks - American musician.[100]
- Leo of Tripoli - a Byzantine Greek renegade who freed 4000 Muslim prisoners while attacking the Byzantine city of Thessalonica.[101]
- Loon - American hip hop and rap artist[102]
M
- Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Chris Jackson) - retired basketball player[103]
- Malcolm X - was a leading African-American Muslim minister, public speaker, and human rights activist. He initially converted from Christianity to The Nation of Islam to mainstream Sunni Islam.
- Marcio Souza Da Silva - Brazilian Footballer
- Markus Horison - Indonesian Goalkeeper. He changed his name become Muhammad Markus Haris Maulana
- Marmaduke Pickthall - famous translator of the Quran.[104]
- Mario Scialoja - Italian ambassador and President of the World Muslim League.[105]
- Matthew Saad Muhammad (formerly Matthew Franklin) - former boxer, converted From Catholicism.[106]
- Michael Muhammad Knight - American novelist, writer, and journalist.[107]
- Mike Tyson - American boxer and Sunni Muslim[108]
- Mihnea Turcitul - was a Prince (Voivode) of Walachia. Converted from Eastern Orthodox Christianity.[109]
- Mirza Malkam Khan - an Iranian Armenian proponent of Freemasonry who was active during the period leading up to the Iranian Constitutional Revolution.[110]
- Mleh, Prince of Armenia - an Armenian convert to Islam from Catholicism,[111] he was the eighth lord of Armenian Cilicia.
- Mohammad Yousuf - Pakistani cricketer. Known for holding the world record for the most Test runs in a single calendar year, converted From Catholicism.[112]
- Mohammed Knut Bernström - Swedish ambassador to Venezuela (1963–1969), Spain (1973–1976) and Morocco (1976–1983)[113]
- Mohammed Zakariya - an American master of Arabic calligraphy, best known for his work on the popular Eid U.S. postage stamp.[114]
- Moralı Enişte Hasan Pasha - Greek Ottoman Grand Vizier.[115]
- 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.[116]
- Muhammad Ali (formerly Cassius Clay), from Baptist[117][118] to The Nation of Islam to Sunni Islam.[119] Famous boxer.
- Muhammed al-Ahari born January 6, 1965 as Ray Allen Rudder is an American essayist, scholar and writer on the topics of American Islam, Black Nationalist groups, heterodox Islamic groups and modern occultism.
- Murad Wilfred Hofmann - NATO official, converted From Catholicism[120]
N
- Nathan Ellington - English football player[121]
- Nicolas Anelka - French football player[122]
- Nuh Ha Mim Keller - from Catholicism to agnosticism to Sunni Islam, Islamic scholar.[123]
O
- Olu Dara (born Charles Jones III in Natchez, Mississippi[1] on 12 January 1941) is an American cornetist, guitarist and singer
- Omar Bongo - Gabonese, President of Gabon.[124]
- Omar Hammami - American-born member of the Somali Islamist paramilitary group al-Shabaab. Known by the nom de guerre Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki.[125]
- Omar Pasha - Ottoman general. Converted from Serbian Orthodoxy.[126]
- Omar Sharif - Egyptian actor who converted from Catholicism.[127][128]
P
- Peter Murphy - vocalist of the goth/rock group Bauhaus, converted from Catholicism.[129]
- Poncke Princen - Dutch soldier, later human rights activist, converted From Catholicism.[130]
- Preacher Moss - Former Baptist,[131] American comedian and comedy writer.[132]
R
- Raghib Pasha - was a Greek Ottoman politician who served as Prime Minister of Egypt[133] and who converted to Islam from Christianity.[134]
- Radu cel Frumos - was the younger brother of Vlad Ţepeş (Dracula) and prince of the principality of Wallachia, converted From Catholicism.[135]
- René Guénon - French Author in the field of metaphysics, converted From Catholicism.[136][137]
- Richard Colvin Reid - shoe bomber (convicted terrorist)[138]
- Richard Thompson - British musician, best known for his guitar playing and songwriting.[139]
- Robert of St. Albans - an English templar knight who converted to Islam from Christianity in 1185 and led an army for Saladin against the Crusaders in Jerusalem.[140]
- Robert D. Crane is the former adviser to President Richard Nixon, and is former Deputy Director (for Planning) of the U.S. National Security Council.[141]
- Robin Padilla - Filipino actor.[142]
- Roger Garaudy - French philosopher, converted From protestant.[143]
- Ronald Bell or Khalis Bayyan (born 1 November 1951, Youngstown, Ohio) is an American singer, composer and saxophonist
- Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley - British soldier and peer.[144]
- Rudolf Carl von Slatin - Anglo-Austrian soldier and administrator in the Sudan. Later reverted to Catholicism.[145]
- Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood - British author, converted from Protestantism.[146]
- Ryan G. Anderson - former Lutheran, convicted of charges of espionage for Al Qaeda[147][148]
- Ryan Harris- football player for the Denver Broncos[149]
S
- Salman the Persian A convert from Christianity[150] who was previously Zoroastrian.
- 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.[151]
- Sarah Joseph - commentator on women's issues and founder of emel magazine, converted From Catholicism.[152]
- Brad Terrence Jordan ("Scarface") - American rapper[153]
- Shah Shahidullah Faridi - Writer of German descent born to a Christian family.[154]
- Sheila Musaji - founder of The American Muslim magazine.[155]
- 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.[156]
- Siraj Wahaj - Former Baptist.[157] African-American Imam, noted for his efforts to eliminate Brooklyn's drug problems.[158]
- Snoop Dogg - Rapper, Joined Nation Of Islam.[159]
- Sonny Bill Williams - All Blacks Rugby League Player,[160]
- Suhaib Webb - American Islamic activist and speaker.[161]
- Suleiman Pasha - French-born Egyptian commander.[162]
T
- T. B. Irving - An American scholar, author and translator
- Tariq Abdul-Wahad (Olivier Saint-Jean) - originally from France, former basketball player for the Mavericks and Kings[163]
- 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.[164][165][166]
- Tekuder - Mongol leader of the Ilkhan empire who was formerly a Nestorian Christian.[167]
- Thomas J. Abercrombie - photographer[168]
- Timothy Winter - prominent British Islamic thinker and scholar, and a lecturer in Islamic studies in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge.[169]
- Torquato Cardilli - Italian ambassador, converted From Catholicism.[170]
V
- Vincenzo Luvineri - American rapper and the lyricist behind the Philadelphia underground hip-hop group Jedi Mind Tricks, converted From Catholicism.[171]
W
- Wadih el-Hage born to a Maronite Christian family in Sidon, Lebanon, a former al-Qaeda member.[citation needed]
- William Abdullah Quilliam - 19th century British poet, ambassador and journalist.[172]
- Wayne Parnell - South African cricketer converted to Islam in January 2011.[173]
- 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.[174]
- Wojciech Bobowski - raised Protestant, he was a Polish musician and translator of the Bible into Ottoman Turkish.[175]
Y
- Yahiya Emerick - American Muslim scholar, President of the Islamic Foundation of North America, converted from Protestantism.[176]
- Yasin Abu Bakr (Lennox Philip) - of Trinidad and Tobago, under trial for an attempted coup as of 9 March 2006[177]
- Yusuf Estes - Former preacher and federal prison chaplain, converted from Protestantism.[178]
- Yvonne Ridley - British journalist, from Anglicanism. She converted after being kidnapped and released by the Taliban.[179][180]
Z
- Zaid Shakir - American Muslim convert former Baptist to Sunni Islam, speaker, intellectual, author, Islamic scholar, and co-founder of Zaytuna College in the United States.[181][182]
- 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.[183]
From Judaism
- Abdullah ibn Salam - 7th century sahabi said to have been a rabbi of aristocratic stock.[184]
- Hibat Allah Abu'l-Barakat al-Baghdaadi - influential 12th century physicist, philosopher, and scientist who wrote a critique of Aristotelian philosophy and Aristotelian physics.[185]
- Ibn Yahyā al-Maghribī al-Samaw'al - 12th century mathematician and astronomer.[186][187]
- Ibn Sahl of Seville - 13th century Andalusian poet.[188]
- Jacob Querido - 17th century successor of the self-proclaimed Jewish Messiah Sabbatai Zevi.[189]
- Leila Mourad - Egyptian singer and actress of the 1940s and 1950s.[190]
- Lev Nussimbaum - 20th century writer, journalist and orientalist.[191]
- Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss) - Viennese journalist, author, and translator who visited the Hijaz in the 1930s, and became Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations.[192]
- Rashid-al-Din Hamadani - 13th century Persian physician[193]
- Sultan Rafi Sharif Bey (Yale Singer) - 20th century pioneer in the development of Islamic culture in the United States.[194]
- Tali Fahima - Israeli left-wing activist, convicted of aiding Palestinian fighters. Converted to Islam in Umm al-Fahm in June 2010.[195]
- Yaqub ibn Killis - 10th century Egyptian vizier under the Fatimids.[196]
- Youssef Darwish - a labour lawyer and activist[197] who was one of the few from the Karaite Jewish community to remain in Egypt after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.
From Dharmic religions
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.[198]
- Daniel Moore - poet[199]
- Donei Kalaminjaa - king of the Maldives.[200]
- Korguz - was an Uyghur governor of Khorasan[201] during the reign of the Mongol ruler Ogedei Khan.[202]
- Mahmud Ghazan - seventh ruler of the Ilkhanate.[203]
- Muhammad Khodabandeh - eighth Ilkhaid dynasty ruler in Iran from 1304 to 1316.[204]
- Mubarak Shah - head of the ulus of the Chagatai Khanate (1252–1260, March–September 1266).[205]
- Tarmashirin - Khan of the Chagatai Khanate following Duwa Timur.[206]
- Hussein Ye - An Islamic scholar of Chinese descent whose lectures are frequently aired on Peace TV.[207]
From Hinduism
- Abdul Wahid Pedersen - Danish cleric.[208]
- A.R. Rahman (stands for Allah Rakha Rahman) - Modern Tamil South Indian singer, songwriter & Oscar winner officially converted to Islam from Hinduism.[209]
- Dhiren Barot - Born in India to a Hindu family, Barot was later sentenced to 40 years in prison in the United Kingdom for conspiracy to murder. Barot admitted to plotting to bomb the New York Stock Exchange, the International Monetary Fund headquarters, and the World Bank, amongst other targets.
- Divya Bharti - Late Indian actress of the early 1990s who converted on secretly marrying Bollywood producer Sajid Nadiadwala & changed her name to Sana Nadiadwala, although she was cremated in a Hindu ceremony.
- Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah - son of Raja Ganesha; he converted to Islam, then to Hinduism and finally reverted back to Islam, and later introduced Islam to many Hindus.[210]
- Kabir Suman- Modern Bengali singer & songwriter officially converted to Islam from Hinduism in 2000.[211]
- Kamala Suraiyya (formerly Kamala Das) - Anglo-Malayalam writer[212]
- Khusro Khan - a medieval Indian military leader who was a Hindu convert to Islam.
- Mahmud Iskandar Shah of Malacca - Born as Parameswara, a Hindu-Malay prince from the Srivijaya Kingdom located in Sumatra. He founded the Malaccan Empire in 1402.
- Malik Kafur - Indian military general.[213]
- Malik Maqbul - Prime Minister or Wazir of the Delhi Sultanate,[214] during the reign of Feroz Shah Tughlaq.
- Murshid Quli Khan - the Mughal governor of Bengal.[215]
- Muhammed Yusuf Khan - Born Maruthanayagam Pillai, he converted to Islam[216] and later served as Commandant for the British East India Company troops.
- Rama Varma Kulashekhara - reportedly the first Indian king to accept Islam[217][218]
- Sahaj Ram Sapru - the grandfather of the Muslim Philosopher, Sir Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, who was an official in Kashmir during the administration of the Afghan Governor Azim Khan.[219]
- Sharmila Tagore - Indian film actress. Converted after marriage to M A Patudi.
- Steven Vikash Chand - Arrested in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests[220]
- Tansen - Notable musician and poet.[221][222]
Other
From agnosticism or atheism
- Charles le Gai Eaton - British writer.
- Martin Lings - a widely acclaimed British scholar. He was raised as a Protestant, became an atheist, and later converted to Islam.[223]
- Mos Def - American rapper and actor. Initially raised as a Christian, became an atheist, and later converted to Islam[224]
- Zhang Chengzhi - contemporary Hui Chinese author; raised as an atheist.[225]
From Paganism
See also: List of Sahaba
- Abba Jifar I - king of the Gibe Kingdom of Jimma.[226]
- Baraq - a ruler of the Chagatai Khanate who took the name Ghiyas-ud-din after converting.[227]
- Berke - grandson of Genghis Khan and leader of the Golden Horde who was the first Mongol ruler to establish Islam in a Mongol state.[228]
- David Myatt - from Paganism, former Neo-Nazi-activist[229]
- Nawrūz (Mongol emir) - a convert to Islam;[230] he played an important role in the politics of the Mongol Ilkhanate.
- Negudar - Mongol general and noyan[231]
- Nogai Khan - Mongol general and great-grandson of Genghis Khan.[232]
- Samori Ture - founder of the Wassoulou Empire who resisted French rule in West Africa.[233][234]
- Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan - 9th century Uyghur ruler who was one of the first Turks to convert to Islam.[235]
- Tuda Mengu - Mongol leader of the Golden Horde[236]
- Tughlugh Timur - the Khan of Moghulistan.[237]
From Sabianism
- Hilal al-Sabi - a historian, bureaucrat, and writer of Arabic.[238]
- Sinan ibn Thabit - a physician and son of Thābit ibn Qurra.[239]
From Zoroastrianism
- Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa - author and translator of Kalīla wa Dimna from Middle Persian.[240]
- Abu'l Hasan Mihyar al-Daylami - a Persian poet from Daylam.[241][242]
- Abu-Lu'lu'ah Al-Nahawndi - a Persian who assassinated Umar al-Khattab.[243]
- Abu-Mansur Daqiqi - a Persian poet.[244]
- Fadl ibn Sahl - Persian vizier of the Abassid era.[245]
- Naubakht - Pahlavi translator of the Abassid court.[246]
- Rattanbai Petit - second wife of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan
- 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.[247]
Undetermined former religion
- Abd al Malik - birth name Régis Fayette-Mikano — French rapper of Congolese origins.[248]
- Abd al Haqq Kielan - Swedish cleric.[249]
- 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.[250][251]
- Abdul Alim Musa - Muslim activist and director of Masjid Al-Islam in Washington, D.C.[252]
- Abdul Waheed (Don Stewart-Whyte) - accused of participating in the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot.[253][254]
- Abdullah Ibrahim - South African Jazz musician.[255]
- Ahmad Jamal - Jazz pianist.[256]
- Ahmed el Inglizi - was an English architect and engineer who worked for the Sultan of Morocco Mohammed ben Abdallah in the 18th century and converted to Islam.[257]
- Ajdin Muzaka - was the commander in the Battle of Torvioll.
- Ali Shaheed Muhammad - member of A Tribe Called Quest.[258]
- Alys Faiz - human rights and peace activist;[259] converted at the time of her marriage to Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz.[260]
- Amir Butler- author, engineer and Islamic activist.[261]
- Anthony Mundine - Australian Boxer, Former 2 time Super Middleweight Champion.[262]
- Antoni Aleksander Iliński - a Polish-Ottoman military officer and general.
- Apisai Tora - Fijian politician.[263]
B
- Batool Al-Toma - Irishwoman who is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism.
- B.G. Knocc Out - American west coast rapper.[264]
- Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan - born Yvette Blanche Labrousse, Miss France 1930, wife of Aga Khan III.[265]
- Bob Denard - French mercenary.[266]
- Brandon Mayfield - American attorney-at-law, was erroneously linked to the 2004 Madrid train bombings.[267]
- Busta Rhymes - American rapper, songwriter and actor
C
- Charles Brooks, Jr. - converted while serving a sentence for murder; first person to be executed by lethal injection in the United States.[268]
- Ilich Ramírez Sánchez - aka "Carlos the Jackal", convicted murderer and terrorist, currently in prison in France.[269]
- Celestino Caballero - Boxer, Current Super Bantamweight Champion.[270]
- Charles John Pelham (Abdul Mateen)- 8th Earl of Yarborough.[271]
- Christian Ganczarski- Head of "al Qaeda in Europe".[272]
- Christopher de Bellaigue - journalist and author
- Christopher Paul (aka Paul Kenyatta Laws aka Abdulmalek Kenyatta) - American citizen, alleged member of al-Qaeda.[273][274]
- Colleen LaRose - alleged intended assassin of Danish cartoonist Lars Vilks.[275]
- Craig Hodges - former NBA player.[276]
D
- David Hicks - convicted Australian terrorist.[277]
- 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.[278]
- Divine Styler - American hip-hop musician.[279]
- Dwight Muhammad Qawi - Former boxing world Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight champion.[280]
E
- Edoardo Agnelli - eldest son of Gianni Agnelli, the industrialist patriarch of Fiat.
- Lady Evelyn Cobbold - Scottish noblewoman.[281]
- Everlast - Irish-American rapper and singer-songwriter.[282]
F
- Frithjof Schuon - metaphysician, poet, painter, philosopher (in the original and Platonic sense of this term), and a leading figure of the perennialist school.[283]
G
- Gary Legenhausen - American philosopher and writer.[284]
- Ghostface Killah - member of the Wu-Tang Clan.[285]
- Gigi Gryce - American saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator.[286]
- Gustave-Henri Jossot - French caricaturist, illustrator and Orientalist painter.[287]
H
- 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.[288]
- H. Rap Brown - civil rights activisit.[289]
I
- Ibrahim Hooper (Douglas Hooper) - Islamic activist, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).[290]
- Ibrahim Savant - one of the suspects arrested in the UK in connection to the 2006 transatlantic aircraft terrorist plot in the United Kingdom.[291]
- Idris Muhammad - American jazz musician.[292]
- Iliaş Colceag - Moldavian military commander in the Ottoman and Russian Empire.
- Isabelle Eberhardt - explorer and writer.[293]
J
- Jack Roche - convicted of involvement in an al-Qaeda plot to blow up the Israeli embassy in Canberra.[294]
- Jadel Gregório - a Brazilian athlete.
- James Achilles Kirkpatrick - was the British Resident in Hyderabad.[295]
- Jan Janszoon - Dutch pirate.[296]
- Jason Walters - of the Netherlands, member of the Hofstad Network, convicted on charges of terrorism.[297]
- 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.[298][299]
- Jeffrey Mark Deskovic - served 15-year wrongful imprisonment sentence.[300]
- Jemima Goldsmith daughter of the billionaire Sir James, who was married to Imran Khan
- Jesse of Kakheti - a ruler of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 1614 to 1615.
- John Allen Muhammad - convicted serial killer, known as the Beltway Sniper.[301][302]
- John Ward - (changed name to Yusuf Reis) British corsair and pirate.[303]
- Johann von Leers - advisor to Muhammad Naguib known for his anti-Semitic polemics.[304][305][306]
- José Padilla - the respondent in Rumsfeld v. Padilla currently on trial as an alleged al-Qaida operative, converted while in prison for aggravated assault.[307]
- Juan Carlos Gomez - Former Cruiserweight Boxing Champion.[308]
K
- Kérim Chatty- Swedish bodybuilding stuntman who was once suspected of attempted hijacking. The preliminary inquiry was dropped.[309]
- Khaled Edward Blair - British barrister, later married Princess Badiya bint Al Hassan of Jordan.[310]
- Khalid Sheldrake - an English pickle manufacturer who established a branch of the Western Islamic Association in South Shields in 1930.
L
- Larry Johnson - retired American professional basketball player.[311]
- Lauren Booth - a British[312] broadcaster, journalist and human rights activist.[313][314]
- 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.[315][316][317]
- Lim Yew Hock - Singapore’s second Chief Minister from 1956 to 1959.[318]
- Lewis Arquette - actor and father of actors David Arquette and Rosanna Arquette; father-in-law of actress Courtney Cox.[319]
M
- MC Ren - American rapper and hip-hop producer.[320]
- Malcolm X - American to Nation of Islam to Sunni Islam, African-American civil rights leader.[321]
- Malik ul Salih - established the first Muslim state of Samudera Pasai.[322]
- Maryam Jameelah - formerly Margret Marcus. Author of many books covering several subjects, including Modernism, Sociology, History, Jihad, Theology and Technology.[323]
- Maurice Béjart - French choreographer.[324]
- Mike Tyson (Malik Abdul Aziz) - former heavyweight boxing champion of the world.[325][326]
- Mohammed Knut Bernström - Swedish ambassador.[327]
- Michael Wolfe - American poet, author, and the President and Executive Producer of Unity Productions Foundation.[328][329]
- Michael X - civil rights activist in the United Kingdom[330]
N
- Nahshid Sulaiman - alternative hip hop artist.[331]
- 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.[332]
O
- Omar Ong Yoke Lin - (1917–2010) Malaysian politician, former government minister and founder of the Malaysian Chinese Association.[333]
- Baron omar Rolf von Ehrenfels - Austrian anthropologist and orientalist.[334]
- Omar Epps - American actor, singer, songwriter, and record producer.
P
- Philippe Fragione - French rapper and producer of French hip hop.[335]
- Philippe Grenier - (1865–1944) French doctor, first Muslim MP in France.[336]
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.[337]
R
- Rakan Ben Williams - suspected member of Al-Qaeda terrorist.[338]
- Robert "Kool" Bell - musician.[339]
- Robert D. Crane - former Presidential advisor and ambassador.[340]
- Rodrigo de Triana - sailor and the first European since the Vikings known to have seen America who converted to Islam from Judaism[341] or Christianity.[342]
- Ronald Bell - musician.[343]
- Rory McLeod - British snooker player.
S
- Sahib Shihab - jazz saxophonist and flautist.[344]
- Saida Miller Khalifa - British author who was originally called Sonya Miller.[345][346]
- Shaheed Akbar - notable rapper who converted to Islam.[347]
- Stephen Schwartz - American journalist, columnist, and author.[348]
- Susanne Osthoff - German archaeologist who had worked in Iraq since 1991 and had been taken captive there for three weeks.[349]
T
- Thomas J. Abercrombie -Famous photographer and writer for National Geographic Magazine http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/06/AR2006040602187.html
- Tiara Jacquelina - Malaysian actress.[350]
- Titus Burckhardt - Swiss writer and scholar.[351]
- Tony Hussein Hinde - an Australian-born Maldivian surfer and surfing pioneer who converted to Islam.[352]
U
- Umar Islam - one of the suspects arrested in the UK in connection to the 2006 transatlantic aircraft terrorist plot in the United Kingdom.[291]
- Uri Davis - an academic and activist who works on civil rights in Israel, Palestinian National Authority and the Middle East.[353]
V
- Vladimir Khodov - leader of the Beslan school hostage crisis- converted in prison.[354]
- Vernel Fournier - jazz drummer.
W
- Walt Hazzard - former NBA player.[355]
Y
Z
- Zachary Adam Chesser - American Muslim convert to Sunni Islam. Sentenced to 25 years in a federal prison on February 24, 2011.[357]
Source: Wikipedia the free encyclopedia