List of converts to Islam from Christianity

A

Muhammad Ali, an Olympian and professional boxer, converted to Islam from Christianity.

• Mahershala Ali-American actor and first Muslim actor to win an Oscar^[1]
• Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., 1942–2016) – converted from Baptist^[2][3] to The Nation of Islam to Sunni Islam;^[4] American professional boxer (three-time world heavyweight champion), philanthropist and social activist
• Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley – British soldier and peer^[5][6]
• Vladimir Arutyunian – failed assassin of George W. Bush, converted to Islam in prison^[7]

B

• Abdullah Beg of Kartli – Georgian convert to Islam; served as a viceroy of Kartli for the Iranian Shah, Nadir in 1737;^[8] claimant to the kingship of Kartli

French nobleman Claude Alexandre de Bonneval as "Humbaracı Ahmet Paşa"

• Józef Bem – Polish and Hungarian general; historically defined as a national hero within Poland and Hungary; escaped to the Ottoman Empire where he converted to Islam and took up the name Murad Pasha^[9]
• Ibrahim Bey – Egyptian Mamluk of Georgian Christian origins^[10]
• Danny Blum – German footballer^[11]
• Wojciech Bobowski – raised Protestant; Polish musician; translator of the Bible into Ottoman Turkish^[12]
• Omar Bongo – Gabonese, Ex-President of Gabon^[13]

C

• Count Cassius – Visigothic aristocrat who founded the Banu Qasi dynasty of Muladi rulers^[14]
• Chrisye – Indonesian singer; changed his name to Chrismansyah Rahadi from Christian Rahadi^[15]
• Emilia Contessa – Indonesian actress, singer and politician (from Islam to Christianity back to Islam; known as Nur Indah Cintra Sukma Munsyi)^[16]
• Zainab Cobbold – First Muslim woman born in Britain to perform the Hajj pilgrimage^[17]

D

• Mujahid Dokubo-Asari – founder and leader of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force^[18]

E

• Abdullah el-Faisal – Muslim cleric who preached in the United Kingdom until he was convicted of stirring up racial hatred and urging his followers to murder Jews, Hindus, Christians, and Americans^[19][20]
• Wadih el-Hage – former Al-Qaeda member who was convicted for his part in the 1998 United States embassy bombings^[21]
• Keith Ellison – American, Representative from Minnesota's 5th congressional district, first Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress, converted from Catholicism^[22]
• Elpidius – Byzantine aristocrat and governor of Sicily^[23]
• Erekle I of Kakheti – Georgian convert to Islam^[24] who ruled the kingdoms of Kakheti and Kartli
• Yusuf Estes – former preacher and federal prison chaplain, converted from Protestantism^[25]
• Gazi Evrenos – Byzantine convert to Islam^[26]

F

• Shah Shahidullah Faridi – writer of German descent born to a Christian family^[27]
• Firouz – Armenian Christian convert to Islam^[28] who served as a spy for Bohemund during the Siege of Antioch^[29]
• Myriam Francois-Cerrah – journalist who converted from Roman Catholicism in 2003^[30]

G

• Roger Garaudy French philosopher and writer ^[31]
• Ghazan – seventh ruler of the Ilkhanate division of the Mongol Empire^[32]
• Khalid Gonçalves – Portuguese American actor and musician (born Paul Pires Gonçalves), converted from Catholicism^[33]
• Cristian Gonzáles – Uruguayan-born Indonesian footballer^[34]
• Abdur Raheem Green – presenter on Peace TV and the chairman of iERA, the Islamic Education & Research Academy.
• Charles Greenlee – American jazz trombonist^[35]

H

Murad Wilfred Hofmann in Berlin

• Sir Archibald Hamilton, 5th Baronet – distinguished British convert to Islam^[36][37][38]
• Omar Hammami – American-born member of the Somali Islamist paramilitary group al-Shabaab; known as Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki^[39]
• Hatice Refia Hanım – mother of Tevfik Fikret^[40]
• Joel Hayward – British scholar, author and poet^[41]
• Muhammad Robert Heft – Canadian activist and writer^[42]
• Murad Wilfred Hofmann – NATO official, converted from Catholicism^[43]
• Knud Holmboe – Danish journalist and explorer who converted from Catholicism^[44]

I

• Yusuf Islam – musician born as Steven Demetre Georgiou and formerly known as Cat Stevens

J

• Ibn Jazla – 11th-century physician and Christian convert who later wrote to refute doctrines of Christianity^[45]
• Jermaine Jackson (Muhammad Abdul Aziz) – Michael Jackson's elder brother and one of the original former members of The Jackson 5^[46]
• Sarah Joseph – commentator on women's issues and founder of emel magazine, converted from Catholicism^[47]

K

• Abdul Kadir – former Guyanese politician, convicted of the 2007 John F. Kennedy International Airport attack plot^[48]
• David Benjamin Keldani – former Catholic priest who converted to Islam and changed his name to Abd ul-Aḥad Dāwūd^[49]
• Nuh Ha Mim Keller – Islamic scholar who converted from Catholicism to agnosticism to Sunni Islam^[50]
• Allahverdi Khan – general and statesman of Georgian origin who was Christian^[51]
• Mirza Malkam Khan – Iranian Armenian proponent of Freemasonry who was active during the period leading up to the Iranian Constitutional Revolution^[52]
• John Tzelepes Komnenos – allied himself with the Seljuks against his uncle; Greek convert^[53][54]

L

• Colleen LaRose – identifies herself as "Jihad Jane";^[55] American citizen charged with terrorism-related crimes^[56]
• Leo of Tripoli – Byzantine Greek renegade who freed 4000 Muslim prisoners while attacking the Byzantine city of Thessalonica^[57]
• Samantha Lewthwaite – also known as Sherafiyah Lewthwaite or the White Widow, one of the United Kingdom's most wanted terrorism suspects^[58]
• Germaine Lindsay – one of the suicide terrorists in the 7 July 2005 London bombings^[59][60][61] in which 52 people were murdered
• John Walker Lindh – American insurgent, known as the "American Taliban"; converted from Catholicism^[62][63]
• Alexander Litvinenko – former FSB officer; converted to Islam on his deathbed^[64][65]
• Fernão Lopes – 16th-century Portuguese soldier; tortured and disfigured by Christians for siding with Muslims^[66]
• Badr al-Din Lu'lu' – Armenian convert to Islam^[67] and successor to the Zangid rulers of Mosul
• Vincenzo Luvineri – American rapper and the lyricist behind the Philadelphia underground hip-hop group Jedi Mind Tricks; converted from Catholicism^[68]

M

Georgian mamluk Murad Bey by André Dutertre in Description de l'Egypte, 1809

• Daniel Maldonado – American Islamist convicted in the United States on charges of training with al-Qaida in East Africa; raised Catholic^[69]
• Ingrid Mattson – Canadian scholar and current president of the Islamic Society of North America (2006); converted from Catholicism^[70][71]
• Köse Mihal – Byzantine renegade; accompanied Osman al-Ghazi in his ascent to power and converted to Islam^[72][73]
• Mleh, Prince of Armenia – Armenian convert to Islam from Catholicism;^[74] eighth lord of Armenian Cilicia
• Preacher Moss – American comedian who converted from Baptist Christianity;^[75] American comedian and comedy writer
• John Allen Muhammad – convicted of perpetrating the Beltway sniper attacks with his partner, Lee Boyd Malvo, in which 17 people were murdered^[76]
• Ibrahim Muteferrika (original name not known) – from Unitarian Christianity, an early example of a Muslim publisher and printer^[77]

N

• Adam Neuser – German Lutheran pastor who criticized the doctrine of the trinity and was consequently imprisoned^[78]
• Tech N9ne – American rapper born to a Christian mother who converted to Islam during adulthood^[79]

O

• Öljaitü – ruler of the Ilkhanate dynasty^[80]
• Occhiali – Italian convert^[81]
• Omar Pasha (1806–1871) – Ottoman general, born Orthodox^[82]

P

Marmaduke Pickthall Portrait

• José Padilla – also known as Abdullah al-Muhajir or Muhajir Abdullah; US citizen from Brooklyn, New York; convicted in federal court of aiding terrorists; also known as "the dirty bomber"^[83]
• Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha – born to a Christian Croatian^[84]
• Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha – Ottoman Grand Vizier^[85]
• Koca Yusuf Pasha – Georgian Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire who also served as the governor of Peloponnese^[86]
• Damat Hasan Pasha – Ottoman Grand Vizier^[87] He converted to Islam early on at the Enderun School through the Devşirme Christian child tax system.^[88]
• Moralı Enişte Hasan Pasha – Greek Ottoman Grand Vizier^[89]
• Judar Pasha – conqueror of the Songhai Empire^[90]
• Raghib Pasha – Greek Ottoman politician who served as Prime Minister of Egypt;^[91] converted to Islam from Christianity^[92]
• 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^[93]
• Marmaduke Pickthall- English Islamic Scholar and translator of the Quran^[94]

R

• Ilie II Rareş – prince of Moldavia^[95]
• Murat Reis or Jan Janszoon – Dutch Barbary pirate who was an admiral for the Republic of Salé; converted from Christianity; became a very active Muslim missionary who tried to convert Christian slaves^[96]
• Yvonne Ridley – British journalist, from Anglicanism; converted after being kidnapped and released by the Taliban^[97][98]
• Khadijah Rivera- Puerto Rican Muslim convert from Roman Catholicism, founder of PIEDAD^[99]
• Robert of St. Albans – English templar knight who converted to Islam from Christianity in 1185 and led an army for Saladin against the Crusaders in Jerusalem^[100]

S

• Salman the Persian – convert from Christianity;^[101] previously Zoroastrian
• Ahmed Santos – Filipino, fugitive, founder of the Rajah Solaiman Movement; converted from Catholicism^{[102][103][104]}
• Ratna Sarumpaet – Indonesian stagewright, director, and actress^[105]
• Betty Shabazz – wife of Malcolm X; former Methodist
• Ahmad Faris Shidyaq – Lebanese scholar, writer and journalist; Maronite convert to Islam^[106]
• Mimar Sinan – Ottoman architect; converted to Islam and trained as an officer of the Janissary corps^[107]
• Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (1506–1578) – Ottoman statesman; born Orthodox, converted through devşirme^[108]
• Daniel Streich – Swiss military instructor, community council member and a former member of Swiss People's Party ^[109][110]
• Kösem Sultan – born Anastasia, the daughter of an Orthodox priest, and later enslaved by Ottomans and sent to Istanbul, where she became powerful and influential woman in the Ottoman Empire^[111][112]
• Handan Sultan – mother of Ottoman sultan Ahmed I^[113]
• Dolly Shahine – (2 July 1980 ) Lebanese former singer, actress, and fashion designer.^[114]

T

• Abu Tammam – 9th-century Arab poet born to Christian parents^[115]
• Tekuder – Mongol leader of the Ilkhan empire; formerly a Nestorian Christian^[116]
• Joseph Thomas – Australian convert, acquitted of terrorism charges, placed under a control order under the Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005, currently pending retrial^[117][118]
• Mihnea Turcitul – Prince (Voivode) of Walachia; converted from Eastern Orthodox Christianity^[119]

U

• Ismael Urbain – French journalist and interpreter^[120]

V

• Bryant Neal Vinas – participated in and supported al-Qaeda plots in Afghanistan and the US, and helped al-Qaeda plan a bomb attack on the LIRR^[121]
• Pierre Vogel – German Islamist preacher and former professional boxer.
• Rudolf Carl von Slatin – Anglo-Austrian soldier and administrator in the Sudan; later reverted to Catholicism^[122]

W

• Siraj Wahaj – former Baptist,^[123] African-American imam, noted for his efforts to eliminate Brooklyn's drug problems^[124]
• Alexander Russell Webb – former Presbyterian,^[125] American journalist, newspaper owner, and former Consul-General of the US in the Philippines^[126][127]
• Suhaib Webb – American Islamic activist and speaker^[128]
• Danny Williams – British boxer^[129]
• Timothy Winter – British Islamic scholar, lecturer in Islamic studies in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge^[130]

Y

• Khalid Yasin – Executive Director of the Islamic Teaching Institute, and a Shaykh currently residing in Australia^[131]
• Felixia Yeap – former model and Catholic of Chinese heritage; converted to Islam in 2013^[132]
• James Yee – previously Lutheran^[133] and former US Army Muslim chaplain^[134]

References

See also

• List of converts to Islam