List of converts to Islam

This is a list of notable people, mainly from the United States and Europe, who have converted to Islam sometime during their lives.

Converts to Mainstream Islam

The second-largest religion in the world after Christianity.

Companions of Muhammad

Abbad ibn Bishr - known for his devotion to worship, knowledge and courage in battle
Abbas ibn 'Abdul Muttalib - was a paternal uncle of Muhammad
Abd-Allah ibn Abbas - from paganism, cousin of Muhammad
Abd-Allah ibn Abd-al-Asad - from paganism, among the first who converted to Islam
Abd-Allah ibn Jahsh - from paganism, cousin of Muhammad
Abd-Allah ibn Mas'ud - from paganism, was the 6th man who converted to Islam after Muhammad started preaching in Mecca
Abd-Allah ibn Sailam - from paganism
Abd-Allah ibn Umar - from paganism, son of the second Caliph Umar ibn Khattab
Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf - from paganism, one of the first eight persons to accept Islam
Abdullah ibn Sailam - from Judaism, was a rabbi
Abdullah ibn Hudhafah as-Sahmi
Abu Ayyub al-Ansari - was one among the Ansar
Abu Bakr - father of Aisha, first of the Four Caliphs and rightful successor to Muhammad (according to Sunni Muslims)
Abu Dharr - from paganism, noted for his piety
Abu Hurayrah - from Judaism, narrator of Hadith most quoted in the isnad
Abu Musa al-Asha'ari - governor of Basra and Kufa
Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith - son of Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib
Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah - member of the Quraysh clan al-Harith ibn Fihr
Adiyy ibn Hatim - from paganism, was an Arab king
Aisha - from pre-Islamic Arab paganism, scholar, the youngest wife of Muhammad, see Wives of Muhammad
Al-Baraa ibn Malik al-Ansari - from paganism, personal aide of Muhammad.
Ali ibn Abi Talib - first Imam, last of the Four Caliphs and rightful successor to Muhammad (according to Shi'a Muslims)
An-Numan ibn Muqarrin - was the leader of the tribe of Banu Muzaynah
At-Tufayl ibn Amr ad-Dawsi - was chief of the Daws tribe from Tihama
Bilal ibn Ribah - freed from slavery by Muhammad.
Habib ibn Zayd al-Ansari - martyr of Islam
Hakim ibn Hazm - from paganism, was principal narrator of hadith
Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib - from paganism, uncle of Muhammad
Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman - one of the earliest converts to Islam
Jafar ibn Abi Talib - known as "the possessor of two wings"
Julaybib - from paganism, was a martyr
Khabbab ibn al-Aratt - from the Banu Tamim clan in Najd
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid - from pre-Islamic Arab paganism, businesswoman, the first wife of Muhammad, the first female convert to Islam, see Wives of Muhammad
Khalid bin Al-Walid - from paganism, general
Muadh ibn Jabal - noted for his intelligence, quick wit, potency in speech
Muhammad Ibn Maslamah - was among the first in Yathrib to become a Muslim
Musab ibn Umayr - from paganism
Nuaym ibn Masud - from paganism
Rabiah ibn Kab - from paganism
Rumaysa bint Milhan - from paganism, one of the earliest women converts to Islam
Sa'd ibn Abi-Waqqas - from the Banū Zuhrah clan
Sa'd ibn Mua'dh - chief from the Banu Aus clan of Medina.
Salman the Persian - from Zoroastrism
Umar ibn al-Khattab - second of the Four Caliphs
Uthman ibn Affan - third of the Four Caliphs

Politics related

Yousef al-Khattab (Yosef Cohen) - from Orthodox Judaism, converted to Islam with his wife and 4 children, his political goal is to implement Islamic Sharia worldwide [1]
Haji Idi Amin - from Catholicism, former dictator of Uganda
Khaled Edward Blair - English barrister, works for an investment bank, married to Princess Badiya of Jordan
Jean-Bédel Bokassa - from Catholicism (later reconverted to Catholicism), President and Emperor of Central Africa
Omar Bongo - President of Gabon
Torquato Cardilli - Italian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
Keith Ellison - from Catholicism, US politician, Minnesota state legislator
Thomas Haidon - from Catholicism, lawyer, government advisor of New Zealand [2]
Ibrahim Hooper (Douglas Hooper) - Islamic activist
Iyasu V - former Emperor of Ethiopia
Mathieu Kérékou - from Christianity (later reconverted to Christianity), President of Benin
Johann von Leers - Adviser to Muhammad Naguib.
David Myatt - from Paganism, Neo-Nazi-activist [3]
Karl Nickner - Executive Director of CAIR-CAN [4]
David Musa Pidcock - from Catholic Christianity, leader of the Islamic Party of Britain
Apisai Tora - Fijian politician
Sabrina Varroni - of Italy, fined € 80 for wearing a burqa in Drezzo, Italy sparking a controversy in Italian politics [5]
Malcolm X / Malik Shabazz (Malcolm Little) - from Christianity to NOI to mainstream Islam, African-American human rights and civil rights leader

Sports related

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor) - retired basketball player, NBA's all-time leading scorer
Karim Abdul-Jabbar (Sharmon Shah) - former football player
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Chris Jackson) - retired basketball player
Tariq Abdul-Wahad - basketball player
Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) - from Christianity to NOI to Sunni Islam to Sufism, [6] retired American boxer
Nicolas Anelka - French football player
Chris Eubank - boxer
Mustafa Hamsho - boxer
Bernard Hopkins - boxer
Bruno Metsu - French coach of the Senegal team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup
Matthew Saad Muhammad - from Catholic Christianity, former boxer
Dwight Muhammad Qawi - boxer
Franck Ribery - French football player
Ahmed Santos - American publicist, former boxer
Philippe Troussier - former French football player, trainer of a Japanese football team
Mike Tyson - former heavyweight boxing champion of the world, convicted rapist
Rasheed Wallace - basketball player
Danny Williams - British boxer
Mohammad Yousuf (Yousuf Youhana) - from Christianity, Pakistani cricket player

Music

Everlast - American rapper and singer-songwriter
Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) - British singer-songwriter
Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand) - South African jazz musician
Jermaine Jackson - former Jehovah's Witness, former member of the Jackson 5
A.R. Rahman (Dileep Kumar) - from Hinduism, Indian music composer
Mike Tramp - the former singer of the 80´s band White Lion ^{[citation needed]}
Ali Ufki (Wojciech Bobowski) - Polish musician and dragoman in the Ottoman Empire

Religious Scholars

Abudul-Ahad Dawud (David Benjamin Keldani) -Roman Catholic priest of the Uniate-Chaldean sect.
Umar Faruq Abd-Allah - from Protestant Christianity, Islamic scholar
Abu Yahya (Jerald F. Dirks) - Hollis scholar from Harvard, and a former Christian minister (deacon) of United Methodist church
Yusuf Estes - former Christian pastor, prison chaplain
Abdul-Ahad Omar (Gary Miller) - former Christian priest and missionary
Viacheslav Polosin - former Archpriest of the Russian Orthodox church, currently heads the administration of the Committee on Relations with Public Associations
Jacob Querido - successor to Shabbetai Tzvi
Shabbetai Tzvi - former Jewish religious leader

Scholars

Hamid Algar - a tenured British professor at the University of Berkeley, has particular expertise in the Ja'fari school of thought and Iranian civilization
Aminah Assilmi - from Southern Baptist Christianity, scholar, director of the International Union of Muslim Women
Kevin Barrett - a well established academic, also known for challenging theories about the September 11, 2001 events
Sherman Jackson - Islamic Scholar and Academic, University of Michigan Near East Studies and Law School
Nuh Ha Mim Keller - from Catholic Christianity to agnosticism to Sufism, Islamic scholar
Martin Lings - from Protestantism to Sufism
Ingrid Mattson - Canadian scholar
Thomas McElwain - Former Baptist minister, a Professor of History and Comparative religion
Muhammad Pickthall (Marmaduke Pickthall) - from Christianity, a translator of the Qur'an
Zaid Shakir - Islamic scholar
Haschem Wilde - British Muslim professor
Timothy J. Winter - Islamic scholar, Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge
Sheikh 'Abd al-Wahid Yahya (René Guénon) - from Catholic Christianity to Sufism, philosopher
Khalid Yasin - former American Christian, the Executive Director of the Islamic Teaching Institute (ITI)
Hamza Yusuf - Islamic scholar

Philosophy related

Titus Burckhardt - philosopher, historian, mystic
Roger Garaudy - French philosopher, writer

Writers and journalists

Ali Bey al-Abbasi - writer, explorer (disputed)
Muhammed al-Ahari - from Christianity, American essayist
Muhammad Asad - from Judaism, writer
Amir Butler - Salafi Australian author
Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig, from Christianity, kidnapped in the Gaza Strip, later claimed they were forced to convert to Islam [7]
Ian Dallas - writer
Isabelle Eberhardt - from Lutheran Christianity, 19th century explorer and writer
Knud Holmboe - 19th century Danish journalist, explorer
Maryam Jameelah - from Reform Judaism, essayist, poet, journalist and author
Ruqayyah Waris Maqsood - from Protestant Christianity, British author
Daniel Moore - from Christianity, poet
Lev Nussimbaum - from Judaism, writer
Harry St. John Philby - from Anglicanism, Arabist, explorer, writer, British colonial office intelligence operative
William Abdullah Quilliam - from Christianity, poet, solicitor, ambassador, journalist
Yvonne Ridley - from Anglicanism, journalist
Stephen Schwartz - Jewish born, Sufi neoconservative journalist
Kamala Suraiya - from Hinduism, Indian writer
Pamela Taylor - writer and board member of the Progressive Muslim Union [8] [9]
Brandon Toropov - from Christianity
Alexander Russell Webb - from Presbyterian Christianity, 19th Century U.S. journalist
Michael Wolfe - writer, documentarist

Mystics

Samuel L. Lewis - aka Ahmed Murad Chisti or Sufi Sam
Daniel Moore - Sufi poet

Society figures

Jemima Goldsmith - from Judaism, British socialite, ex-wife of Imran Khan
Heather Laird-Jackson - from Christianity, American Muslim activist, wife of Dr. Sherman A. Jackson
Ayesha Sultana (Sharmila Tagore) - from Hinduism, Bollywood actress, converted to marry her husband

Science related

Jeffrey Lang - Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Kansas.
Susanne Osthoff - German archaeologist, former hostage in Iraq

Military related

Ranking officers

Mehemet Ali - German general
Józef Bem - Polish-Hungarian general
Claude Alexandre de Bonneval - French general
Murad Wilfred Hofmann - from Catholic Christianity, NATO official
Jacques-Francois Menou - French general, governor of Egypt
Emin Pasha - German general
Omer Pasha - From Serbian Orthodoxy, Bosnian general
Suleiman Pasha - French general
Rudolf Carl von Slatin - Austrian general (nominally)
James Yee - American captain

Militants

Aukai Collins - Hawaiian American, fought in Chechnya, paid FBI informant, author of an autobiographical book [10]
Bob Denard - French mercenary
The Portland Seven - Jeffrey Leon Battle, Patrice Lumumba Ford and October Lewis

Crime related

The overrepresentation of converts to Islam in Islamist terrorism has drawn the interest of law enforcement agencies. [11] [12] [13].

Convicted

The following converts have been convicted on charges related to terrorism:

Ryan G. Anderson - former Lutheran, convicted of charges of espionage for Al Qaeda [14] [15]
Jerôme Courtailler and David Courtailler - two French brothers, convicted by French authorities in 2004 for abetting terrorists, [16] [17][18]
Lionel Dumont - convicted in absentia by French authorities for participation in a series of attacks in the 1990s, including an attempt to bomb a Group of Seven summit in Lille [19]
Wadih el-Hage - from Catholicism, Lebanese, Osama bin Laden's right hand man, convicted for conspiracy against the United States and mass murder
Clement Rodney Hampton-El - converted from the Moorish Science Temple, member of al-Fuqra, convicted of conspiracy in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing [20]
Richard Reid - British "Shoe Bomber"
Jack Roche - former Jemaah Islamiah member in Australia
Andrew Rowe - of Britain [21]
Randall Royer - American, convicted for possession of illegal arms and explosives, struck a plea bargain with U.S. prosecutors [22]
Ilich Ramírez Sánchez - aka "Carlos the Jackal"
Jason Walters - of the Netherlands [23]

Died in the commission of suicide attacks

The following converts died in the commission of suicide attacks.

Jamal Lindsay - participated and died in the 7 July 2005 London bombings [24] [25] [26]
Sergey Dimitriyev - Russian, died during a suicide attack in Chechnya on June 11, 2000 [27]

Suspected of terrorism

The following converts are suspected by various governmental authorities of being involved with terrorism.

Adam Yahiye Gadahn - from Christianity, suspected Al Qaeda spokesman in the U.S.
Abdul Waheed, formerly Don Stewart-White, accused of participating in the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot [28] [29]
Christian Ganczarski - suspected by German authorities of ties with high ranking Al Qaeda officials [30]
David Hicks - presumably from Christianity, held by the U.S. as an illegal enemy combatant
Umar Islam - formerly Brian Young, accused of participating in the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot
Vladimir Khodov - from Russian Orthodoxy, allegedly participated in the Beslan raid, suspected by Russian authorities to be a terrorist [31]
Pavel Kosolapov - Russian, suspected by Russian authorities of planning several suicide operations in Chechnya [32] [33]
Abu Malik - American, implicated by the U.S. Department of Justice in the 1998 United States embassy bombings [34]
José Padilla - detained by the U.S. as an illegal enemy combatant
Ahmed Santos (militant) - from Roman Catholicism, of the Philippines, fugitive, founder of the Rajah Solaiman Movement, suspected by Filipino authorities to be an Al Qaeda operative [35] [36]
Ibrahim Savant (formerly Oliver Savant), born 19 December 1980, (Walthamstow) has been charged with conspiracy to murder and with preparing acts of terrorism under section five of the Terrorism Act 2006 in the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot.

Other crimes

The following are associated with notable criminal cases other than terrorism.

Marc Springer - of USA, was involved with the neo-nazi skinhead movement.[37]
Yasin Abu Bakr - of Trinidad and Tobago, under trial for an attempted coup as of March 9, 2006 [38]
Mumia Abu-Jamal - journalist, political activist, convicted of murder, his case is being reinvestigated
Hasan Akbar - U.S. soldier, convicted of killing two U.S. officers during duty in Kuwait [39]
David Belfield - American convert, assassinated Ali Akbar Tabatabai, an Iranian dissident and subsequently fled to Iran, [40] charged with murder [41]
Jill Courtney - Australian, girlfriend of convicted killer and drug trafficker Hassan Kalache, arrested on March 26, 2006 for attempted murder of unnamed people [42] [43] [44] [45]
Michael Julius Ford, shot by a SWAT team during a shootout in a Safeway warehouse in Denver, Colorado [46]
Pierre Robert - French convert, sentenced to life imprisonment by Moroccan authorities for establishing an Islamist network in northern Morocco [47] [48]
Yusman Roy - convicted and imprisoned in Indonesia for conducting Islamic ceremonies in a language other than Arabic, which was considered blasphemy by Indonesian authorities

Converts to Nation of Islam

Note that the Nation of Islam is seen as a cult by mainstream Islam.

John Allen Muhammad - of the U.S., labelled the 'Washington Sniper'
Benjamin Chavis Muhammad

Notes and references