Arnoud Van Doorn (extreme left), former leader of the Dutch rightist Freedom Party, prays at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. — Okaz photo

Majed Al-Sugairi 
Okaz/Saudi Gazette

Arnoud Van Doorn converts to islam after making anti-muslim film, From An Islamophobe To A Muslim...

MADINAH – Former Dutch Islamophobe and a former leading member of far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders’ party Arnoud Van Doorn visited the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah to pray and say sorry for becoming part of a blasphemous film.

Doorn was among the Freedom Party leaders who produced the blasphemous film, Fitna. Last month he reverted to Islam after an extensive study about the religion and the Prophet (peace be upon him). 

He said that the worldwide outrage against the film made him study about the Prophet (pbuh) and that eventually led to his conversion. 

He headed for Makkah to perform Umrah after meeting the two imams of the Prophet’s Mosque, Sheikh Ali Al-Hudaifi and Sheikh Salah Al-Badar, who enlightened him on how to lead the life of a good Muslim and confront challenges facing Islam in the West.

A member of the Dutch parliament and The Hague City Council, Doorn announced his decision to accept Islam on his Twitter profile. He also posted a tweet in Arabic declaring that “there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet.”

At first, other users took the news as a joke. After all, an active supporter of a notorious Dutch hater of Islam, Wilders, he repeatedly approved Islamophobic statements and public actions, and personally participated in them.

But Doorn, who now serves as a regional adviser at the City Hall in The Hague, personally confirmed his decision to practice Islam in an official letter to the city mayor.

Most recently, the politician filed a formal application to the mayor of the city to allow him to perform prayers obligatory for Muslims during his working hours. 

“I can understand people are skeptic, especially that it is unexpected for many of them,” Doorn told Al-Jazeera English satellite channel.

“This is a very big decision, which I have not taken lightly.”

“In my own close circle people have known that I have been actively researching the Qur’an, Hadith, Sunnah and other writings for almost a year now,” he said.

“In addition, I have had numerous conversations with Muslims about the religion.”

Driven by his party’s anti-Islam discourse, Doorn decided to dig in for the truth about the religion himself.

“I have heard so many negative stories about Islam, but I am not a person who follows opinions of others without doing my own research,” he said. “Therefore, I have actually started to deepen my knowledge of Islam out of curiosity.”

The 46-year-old has continued on The Hague Council as an independent candidate since splitting from Wilders’s party. Doorn’s decision to embrace Islam has won mixed reactions in the Netherlands.

“According to some people I am a traitor, but according to most others I have actually made a very good decision,” he told Al-Jazeera.

“The reactions are generally positive and I also received quite some support via twitter.

“It feels good that people who do not know me personally have understanding of my situation and support me in my choice.”

Asked if he now regretted joining the Freedom Party, he replied: “I have learned that every experience in life has a purpose. However, with the knowledge I have today, I would have undoubtedly made a different choice.”

For the Dutch politician, finding Islam was finally guiding him to the true path in his life. “I have made mistakes in life as many others. From these mistakes I have learned a lot,” Doorn said.

“And by my conversion to Islam I have the feeling that I finally found my path. I realize that this is a new start and that I still have much to learn as well.”

source:saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130422162428

On occassion of 1st day of Islamic Calendar, 1st Muharram, a very breif about our beloved Caliph on his day.

سيدنا عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه - Hazrat Umar Ibn Al Khattab - radiAllahoanho, titled Farooq the Great was one of the most powerful and influential Muslim rulers in history. He was a sahabi (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He succeeded Caliph Abu Bakr (632–634) as the second Caliph of Rashidun Caliphate on 23 August 634. He was an expert jurist and is best known for his justice, that earned him the title Al-Farooq (The one who distinguishes between right and wrong). Under Umar the Islamic empire expanded at an unprecedented rate ruling the whole Sassanid Persian Empire and more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Umar was born in Mecca to the Banu Adi clan, which was responsible for arbitrations among the tribes. His father was famed for his intelligence among his tribe. Despite literacy being uncommon in pre-Islamic Arabia, Umar learned to read and write in his youth. According to the tradition of Quraish, while still in his teenage years, Umar learned martial arts, horse riding and wrestling. He was tall and physically powerful. In addition, Umar followed the traditional profession of Quraish. He became a merchant and had several journeys to Rome and Persia, where he is said to have met the various scholars and analyzed the Roman and Persian societies closely.

In 610 Muhammad started delivering the message of Islam. Umar, alongside others in Mecca, opposed Islam and threatened to kill Muhammad. On the way to murder Muhammad, Umar met his best friend Nuaim who had secretly been converted to a Muslim but he did not tell Umar anything about it. When Umar told him that he was going to kill Muhammad he was afraid. He knew Umar would attempt what he said. So just to divert his attention he told him to set his own house in order first, because his sister and her husband had converted to Islam. Upon arriving at her house, Umar found his sister and brother-in-law Saeed bin Zaid (Umar's cousin), reciting the verses of the Qur'an(Surah Taha). He started quarreling with his brother-in-law . When his sister came to rescue her husband, he also started quarreling with her. Yet still they kept on saying "you may kill us but we will not give up Islam". Upon hearing these words, Umar slapped his sister so hard that she fell to the ground bleeding from her mouth. When he saw what he did to his sister now, out of guilt he calmed down and asked his sister to give him what she was reciting. She gave him the paper on which was written the verses of the chapter Ta-Ha. He was so struck by the beauty of the verses that he accepted Islam that day. He then went to Muhammad (peace be upon him - sallaLlahoalaihiwassallam) with the same sword he intended to kill him with and accepted Islam in front of him and his companions. 

Umar was 27 when he accepted Islam. Following his conversion, Umar went to inform the chief of Quraish, Amr ibn Hishām, about his acceptance of Islam. According to one account, Umar thereafter openly prayed at the Kaaba as the Quraish chiefs, Amr ibn Hishām and Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, reportedly watched in anger. At this stage Umar even challenged anyone who dared to stop the Muslims from praying, although no one dared to interfere with Umar when he was openly praying.

Umar’s conversion to Islam gave power to the Muslims and to the faith in Mecca. It was after this that Muslims offered prayers openly in Masjid al-Haram for the first time. Abdullah bin Masoud said, Umar's embracing Islam was our victory, his migration to Medina was our success and his reign a blessing from Allah.

جامع ترمذی شریف، اورابن ماجہ شریف،میں حدیث شریف ہے

 عَنْ حُذَيْفَةَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: اقْتَدُوا بِاللَّذَيْنِ مِنْ بَعْدِى أَبِى بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ 

ترجمہ:سیدنا حذیفہ رضی اللہ تعالی عنہ سے روایت ہے آپ نے فرمایا کہ حضرت رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ والہ وسلم نے ارشاد فرمایا: میرے بعد جو دوہیں ان کی اقتداء کرو یعنی ابوبکر اورعمر رضی اللہ عنہما۔ ( ترمذی شریف،ابواب المناقب،باب فی مناقب ابی بکر و عمر رضی اللہ عنہما،حدیث نمبر: 4023 – سنن ابن ماجہ شریف،مقدمہ،باب فضل ابی بکرالصدیق رضی اللہ عنہ،حدیث نمبر: 102) 

صحیح بخاری شریف میں حدیث مبارک 

عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رضى الله عنه قَالَ صَعِدَ النَّبِىُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِلَى أُحُدٍ وَمَعَهُ أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرُ وَعُثْمَانُ فَرَجَفَ بِهِمْ ، فَضَرَبَهُ بِرِجْلِهِ ، قَالَ : اثْبُتْ أُحُدُ فَمَا عَلَيْكَ إِلاَّ نَبِىٌّ أَوْ صِدِّيقٌ أَوْ شَهِيدَانِ  

ترجمہ:سیدنا انس بن مالک رضی اللہ تعالی عنہ سے روایت ہے آپ نے فرمایاکہ حضور نبی اکرم صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم، حضرت ابوبکر صدیق رضی اللہ عنہ حضرت عمر فاروق رضی اللہ تعالی عنہ اور حضرت عثمان غنی رضی اللہ عنہ کے ہمراہ احد پہاڑ پر تشریف فرما ہوئے تو وہ اپنے مقدر پر ناز کرتے ہوئے فرط مسرت سے جھومنے لگا، حبیب پاک صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے قدم مبارک مار کر اس سے فرمایا اے احد! تھم جا تجھ پر نبی صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ہیں ایک صدیق اور دوشہید ہیں ۔ (صحیح بخاری شریف، 3686 ۔حدیث نمبر: 3686) 

صحیح مسلم شریف میں روایت ہے

فَقَالَ مُعَاوِيَةُ قُبِضَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- وَهُوَ ابْنُ ثَلاَثٍ وَسِتِّينَ سَنَةً وَمَاتَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَهُوَ ابْنُ ثَلاَثٍ وَسِتِّينَ وَقُتِلَ عُمَرُ وَهُوَ ابْنُ ثَلاَثٍ وَسِتِّينَ 

ترجمہ:سیدنا معاویہ رضی اللہ عنہ نے فرمایا: حضرت رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم نے وصال مبارک ہوا،اس وقت آپ کی عمر مبارک تریسٹھ (63) برس تھی، اور حضرت ابوبکر رضی اللہ عنہ نے وصال فرمایا تو آپ کی عمر تریسٹھ (63) برس تھی اور حضرت عمر رضی اللہ عنہ نے وصال فرمایا تو آپ کی عمر مبارک بھی تریسٹھ (63) برس تھی۔ 

(صحیح مسلم شریف،باب كم أقام النبى -صلى الله عليه وسلم- بمكة والمدينة.حدیث نمبر: 6244)

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 cases are noted in their list entries. The list is categorized alphabetically by their former religious affiliation

• List of converts to Islam from Christianity
• List of converts to Islam from Judaism
• List of converts to Islam from Buddhism
• List of converts to Islam from Hinduism
• List of converts to Islam from Zoroastrianism
• List of converts to Islam from Paganism
• List of converts to Islam from Atheism
• List of converts to Islam from Sabianism
• List of converts to Islam from Undetermined former religion

List of converts to Islam from Christianity

• Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar (Sharmon Shah) - former NFL player[9]
• Abdullah Beg of Kartli - Georgian convert to Islam[24] who was a claimant to the kingship of Kartli.
• Abdur Raheem Green - founder of iERA
• Abel Xavier - former Portuguese professional footballer converted to Islam with his new name Faisal.[179]
• Abu Tammam - 9th-century Arab poet born to Christian parents.[152]
• 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.[164]
• Adam Gadahn (born Adam Pearlman) - al-Qaeda English language spokesman. Home-schooled Christian.[61]
• Adam Neuser - a German Lutheran pastor who criticized the doctrine of the trinity and was consequently imprisoned.[110]
• Ahmad Faris Shidyaq - a Lebanese scholar, writer and journalist who was a Maronite convert to Islam.[148]
• Ahmad Rashād - Emmy award-winning sportscaster (mostly with NBC Sports) and former American football wide receiver.[128][129]
• Ahmad Thomson - British barrister and writer and also a member of the Murabitun movement.[155]
• 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.[73]
• Ahmed Santos - Filipino, fugitive, founder of the Rajah Solaiman Movement converted from Catholicism[136][137][138]
• Akhenaton - French rapper and producer of French hip hop.[8]
• Alexander Litvinenko - former FSB officer converted to Islam on his deathbed.[92][93]
• Alexander Russell Webb - Former Presbyterian.[169] American journalist, newspaper owner, and former Consul-General of the U.S.A. in the Philippines.[170][171]
• Allahverdi Khan - general and statesman of Georgian origin who was Christian and converted to Islam.[80]
• André Carson - former Baptist,[37] second Muslim to serve the United States Congress.[38]
• Anselm Turmeda - a Majorcan writer and a Franciscan friar who converted to Islam[162]
• Anthony Small - professional boxer[149]
• Art Blakey - American Jazz musician[27]
• Aukai Collins - fought in Chechnya, paid FBI informant, author of an autobiographical book[43]
• Badr al-Din Lu'lu', an Armenian convert to Islam[95] 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[71]
• Betty Shabazz - wife of Malcolm X; former Methodist.[143]
• Bilal Philips - Islamic scholar and author[123]
• Brad Terrence Jordan ("Scarface") - American rapper[140]
• Bruno Metsu - French coach of the Senegal team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup[101]
• 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[165]
• C. Jack Ellis - Mayor of Macon, Georgia[51]
• Cat Stevens - famous English musician, officially changed his name to Yusuf Islam
• Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; 21 July 1948), British singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, humanitarian, education philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam.[40]
• Chris Eubank - British boxer[56]
• Chrisye - Indonesian singer. He changed his birth name to Chrismansyah Rahadi from Christian Rahadi
• Claude Alexandre de Bonneval or Humbaracı Ahmet Paşa was an 18th-century French nobleman.[30]
• Colleen LaRose - American citizen charged with terrorism-related crimes
• Count Cassius- Visigothic aristocrat who founded the Banu Qasi dynasty of Muladi rulers.[39]
• Daniel Maldonado - American Islamist convicted in the United States on charges of training with al-Qaida in East Africa. Raised Catholic.[97]
• Daniel Streich - A Swiss military instructor, community council member and a former member of Swiss People’s Party who led the campaign for the national ban on the construction of new minarets. [151]
• Danilo Fernando - Brazilian Footballer. He changed his name become Muhammad Danilo Fernando
• Danny Thompson - English double bass player converted from Catholicism.[156]
• Danny Williams - British boxer[176]
• Dave Chappelle - comedian and television star[41]
• David Belfield - American, fled to Iran after assassinating Ali Akbar Tabatabai, an Iranian dissident.[25]
• Dawud Wharnsby-Ali (David Wharnsby) - Canadian singer/poet.[173][174]
• Dolores "LaLa" Brooks - American musician.[35]
• Emeka Ezeugo: is a former Nigerian football defender and midfielder played in 1994 World Cup. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeka_Ezeugo) Reference:(http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/archive_details.php?date=2012-02-13&nid=50241)
• Erekle I of Kakheti - Georgian convert to Islam[54] 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.[5]
• Farqad as-Sabakhi - an Armenian Islamic preacher who was formerly a Christian[19] known for his knowledge of Judeo-Christian scriptures.[20]
• Firouz - an Armenian Christian convert to Islam[58] who served as a spy for Bohemund during the Siege of Antioch.[59]
• Franck Ribéry - a French football player. His name after he converted to Islam is Bilal.[131]
• Gabriele Torsello - Italian freelance photojournalist based in London who was abducted in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.[160]
• Gauhar Jaan-British-Indian Singer.[75]
• George XI of Kartli - Saffavid commander.[62]
• Germaine Lindsay - one of the suicide terrorists in the 7 July 2005 London bombings[44][88][89] in which 52 people were murdered.
• Hamza Yusuf - American convert from Greek Orthodox to Sunni Islam; co-founder of the Zaytuna College.[184]
• Hedley Churchward - English painter[42]
• Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha - born to a Christian Croatian[114] family, he was an Ottoman general and statesman from Hercegovina.
• Ian Dallas - Abdalqadir as-Sufi — Sufi shaykh of Scottish origins.[48]
• Ibn Jazla - an 11th-century physician and Christian convert to Islam who later wrote to refute doctrines of Christianity.[76]
• 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.[108]
• Idi Amin - military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. converted from Roman Catholicism to Islam.[15]
• Ilie II Rareş - prince of Moldavia.[127]
• Ingrid Mattson - Canadian scholar and current president of the Islamic Society of North America (2006) who converted from Catholicism.[99]
• Isabelle Eberhardt - from Lutheran Christianity, 19th-century explorer and writer[49]
• Ismael Urbain - French journalist and interpreter.
• Ivan Aguéli (Johan Agelii) - famous Swedish painter.[6][7]
• Iyasu V - Ethiopian emperor.[74]
• Jacques-Francois Menou - French general under Napoleon I of France.[100]
• James Yee - previously Lutheran[181] and former U.S. Army Muslim chaplain.[182]
• Jermaine Jackson (Muhammad Abdul Aziz) - Michael Jackson's elder brother & one of the original former members of The Jackson 5.[77]
• Jerôme Courtailler - one of two French brothers convicted by French authorities in 2004 for abetting terrorists[44][45][46]
• Joe Tex - soul singer and recording artist.[154]
• Joel Hayward, British scholar, author and poet.[69]
• John Nelson - first recorded Englishman to become a Muslim.[109]
• John Walker Lindh - an American insuegent, known as the "American Taliban", who converted from Catholicism[90][91]
• John Whitehead - an American singer, songwriter, and record producer.[175]
• Joseph Thomas - Australian convert, acquitted of terrorism charges, placed under a control order under the Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005, currently pending retrial.[157][158]
• Judar Pasha - conqueror of the Songhai Empire.[116]
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor) - retired basketball player & the NBA's all-time leading scorer.[1] 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[52]
• Kevin Barrett - university lecturer and member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth.[23]
• Khalid Yasin - Executive Director of the Islamic Teaching Institute, and a Shaykh currently residing in Australia.[180]
• Knud Holmboe - Danish journalist and explorer who converted from Catholicism.[83]
• Koca Yusuf Pasha - a Georgian Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire who also served as the governor of Peloponnese.[84]
• Köse Mihal - a Byzantine renegade, he accompanied Osman al-Ghazi in his ascent to power and converted to Islam.[85][86]
• Kristiane Backer - a German television presenter, television journalist and author residing in London.
• Leo of Tripoli - a Byzantine Greek renegade who freed 4000 Muslim prisoners while attacking the Byzantine city of Thessalonica.[87]
• Loon - American hip hop and rap artist[94]
• Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Chris Jackson) - retired basketball player[2]
• Malcolm X - was a leading African-American Muslim minister, public speaker, and human rights activist. He converted from Christianity to The Nation of Islam and later to mainstream Sunni Islam.
• Mario Scialoja - Italian ambassador and President of the World Muslim League.[141]
• Marmaduke Pickthall - famous translator of the Quran.[124]
• Matthew Saad Muhammad (formerly Matthew Franklin) - former boxer, converted from Catholicism.[105]
• Michael Muhammad Knight - American novelist, writer, and journalist.[82]
• Mihnea Turcitul - was a Prince (Voivode) of Walachia. Converted from Eastern Orthodox Christianity.[161]
• Mike Tyson - American boxer and Sunni Muslim[163]
• Mirza Malkam Khan - an Iranian Armenian proponent of Freemasonry who was active during the period leading up to the Iranian Constitutional Revolution.[81]
• Mleh, Prince of Armenia - an Armenian convert to Islam from Catholicism,[102] 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.[183]
• Mohammed Knut Bernström - Swedish ambassador to Venezuela (1963–1969), Spain (1973–1976) and Morocco (1976–1983)[26]
• Mohammed Zakariya - an American master of Arabic calligraphy, best known for his work on the popular Eid U.S. postage stamp.[186]
• 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.[22]
• Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; January 17, 1942), from Baptist[11][12] to The Nation of Islam to Sunni Islam.[13] Famous American professional boxer (3 time world heavyweight champion), philanthropist and social activist.
• 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[70]
• Nathan Ellington - English football player[50]
• Nicolas Anelka - French football player[18]
• Nuh Ha Mim Keller - Islamic scholar who converted from Catholicism to agnosticism to Sunni Islam.[79]
• Omar Bongo - Gabonese, President of Gabon.[29]
• Omar Hammami - American-born member of the Somali Islamist paramilitary group al-Shabaab. Known by the nom de guerre Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki.[67]
• Omar Pasha - Ottoman general who converted from Serbian Orthodoxy.[117]
• Omar Sharif - Egyptian actor who converted from Catholicism.[146][147]
• Peter Murphy - vocalist of the goth/rock group Bauhaus who converted from Catholicism.[106]
• Philippe Senderos- Swiss footballer, converted from Christianity.[142]
• Poncke Princen - Dutch soldier and human rights activist who converted from Catholicism.[125]
• Preacher Moss - American comedian who converted from Baptist Christianity[103] American comedian and comedy writer.[104]
• Radu cel Frumos - was the younger brother of Vlad Ţepeş (Dracula) and prince of the principality of Wallachia, who converted from Catholicism.[60]
• Raghib Pasha - was a Greek Ottoman politician who served as Prime Minister of Egypt[118] and who converted to Islam from Christianity.[119]
• Ratna Sarumpaet, Indonesian stagewright, director, and actress [139]
• René Guénon - French Author in the field of metaphysics, who converted from Catholicism.[63][64]
• Richard Colvin Reid - shoe bomber (convicted terrorist)[130]
• Richard Thompson - British musician, best known for his guitar playing and songwriting.[159]
• 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.[47]
• 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.[134]
• Robin Padilla - Filipino actor.[112]
• Roger Garaudy - French philosopher who converted from protestant.
• 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.[14]
• Rudolf Carl von Slatin - Anglo-Austrian soldier and administrator in the Sudan. Later reverted to Catholicism.[166]
• Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood - British author, converted from Protestantism.[98]
• Ryan G. Anderson - former Lutheran, convicted of charges of espionage for Al Qaeda[16][17]
• Ryan Harris- football player for the Denver Broncos[68]
• Salman the Persian A convert from Christianity[135] 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.[10]
• Sarah Joseph - commentator on women's issues and founder of emel magazine, converted from Catholicism.[78]
• Sean Stone - Son of Oliver Stone and documentary producer.[150]
• Shah Shahidullah Faridi - Writer of German descent born to a Christian family.[57]
• Sheila Musaji - founder of The American Muslim magazine.[107]
• 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.[72]
• Sir Archibald Hamilton, 5th Baronet - a distinguished British convert to Islam.[44][65][66]
• Siraj Wahaj - Former Baptist.[167] African-American Imam, noted for his efforts to eliminate Brooklyn's drug problems.[168]
• Sonny Bill Williams - New Zealand Rugby Union Rep player(All Blacks)& NZ Rep League Player(Kiwis),[177]
• St. John Philby - Arabist, explorer, writer, and British colonial office intelligence operative; converted from Anglicanism.[122]
• Suhaib Webb - American Islamic activist and speaker.[172]
• Suleiman Pasha - French-born Egyptian commander.[120]
• Tage Lindbom (1909-2001), Swedish historian, PhD in Political science. He was a disciple of the Swiss metaphysician Frithjof Schuon.
• Tariq Abdul-Wahad (Olivier Saint-Jean) - originally from France, former basketball player for the Mavericks and Kings[3]
• 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.[31][32][33]
• Tech N9ne - an American rapper born to a Christian mother who converted to Islam during adulthood.[111]
• Tekuder - Mongol leader of the Ilkhan empire who was formerly a Nestorian Christian.[153]
• Thomas J. Abercrombie - photographer[4]
• Timothy Winter - prominent British Islamic thinker and scholar, and a lecturer in Islamic studies in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge.[178]
• Torquato Cardilli - Italian ambassador, converted from Catholicism.[36]
• Vincenzo Luvineri - American rapper and the lyricist behind the Philadelphia underground hip-hop group Jedi Mind Tricks, converted from Catholicism.[96]
• Wadih el-Hage born to a Maronite Christian family in Sidon, Lebanon, a former al-Qaeda member.[citation needed]
• Wayne Parnell - South African cricketer converted to Islam in January 2011.[113]
• William Abdullah Quilliam - 19th-century British poet, ambassador and journalist.[126]
• 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.[34]
• Wojciech Bobowski - raised Protestant, he was a Polish musician and translator of the Bible into Ottoman Turkish.[28]
• Yahiya Emerick - American Muslim scholar, President of the Islamic Foundation of North America, converted from Protestantism.[53]
• Yasin Abu Bakr (Lennox Philip) - of Trinidad and Tobago, under trial for an attempted coup as of 9 March 2006[21]
• Yusuf Estes - Former preacher and federal prison chaplain, converted from Protestantism.[55]
• Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; 21 July 1948), British singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, humanitarian, education philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam.[185]
• Yvonne Ridley - British journalist, from Anglicanism. She converted after being kidnapped and released by the Taliban.[132][133]
• 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.[121]
• 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.[144][145]

List of converts to Islam from Judaism

• Abdullah ibn Salam - 7th century sahabi said to have been a rabbi of aristocratic stock.[13]
• Hibat Allah Abu'l-Barakat al-Baghdaadi - influential 12th century physicist, philosopher, and scientist who wrote a critique of Aristotelian philosophy and Aristotelian physics.[1]
• Ibn Sahl of Seville - 13th century Andalusian poet.[14]
• Ibn Yahyā al-Maghribī al-Samaw'al - 12th century mathematician and astronomer.[2][3]
• Jacob Querido - 17th century successor of the self-proclaimed Jewish Messiah Sabbatai Zevi.[12]
• Leila Mourad - Egyptian singer and actress of the 1940s and 1950s.[10]
• Lev Nussimbaum - 20th century writer, journalist and orientalist.[11]
• Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss) - Viennese journalist, author, and translator who visited the Hijaz in the 1930s, and became Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations.[4]
• Rashid-al-Din Hamadani - 13th century Persian physician[8]
• Sultan Rafi Sharif Bey (Yale Singer) - 20th century pioneer in the development of Islamic culture in the United States.[5]
• Tali Fahima - Israeli left-wing activist, convicted of aiding Palestinian fighters. Converted to Islam in Umm al-Fahm in June 2010.[7]
• Yaqub ibn Killis - 10th century Egyptian vizier under the Fatimids.[9]
• Youssef Darwish - a labour lawyer and activist[6] 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.

List of converts to Islam from Buddhists

• Barmakid family – originally the guardians of the great Buddhist shrine near Balkh, upon conversion they became "the greatest family" in the early Abbasid caliphate[16]
• Daniel Moore – poet[22]
• Donei Kalaminjaa – king of the Maldives[23]
• Hussein Ye – Islamic scholar of Chinese descent whose lectures are frequently aired on Peace TV[25]
• Korguz – was an Uyghur governor of Khorasan[18] during the reign of the Mongol ruler Ogedei Khan.[19]
• Mahmud Ghazan – seventh ruler of the Ilkhanate[17]
• Mubarak Shah – head of the ulus of the Chagatai Khanate (1252–1260, March–September 1266)[21]
• Muhammad Khodabandeh – eighth Ilkhaid dynasty ruler in Iran from 1304 to 1316[20]
• Tarmashirin – Khan of the Chagatai Khanate following Duwa Timur[24]

List of converts to Islam from Hinduism

• Dhiren Barot - (known under various aliases: Bilal, Abu Musa al-Hindi, Abu Eissa al-Hindi, and Issa al-Britani) converted to Islam at age 20. 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.
• A.R. Rahman (stands for Allah Rakha Rahman) - Modern Music Director, singer & Oscar winner officially converted to Islam from Hinduism.[8][9]
• Abdul Wahid Pedersen - Danish cleric.[7]
• 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.[11]
• Kabir Suman- Modern Bengali singer & songwriter officially converted to Islam from Hinduism in 2000.[12]
• Kamala Suraiyya (formerly Kamala Das) - Anglo-Malayalam writer[13]
• Khusro Khan - a medieval Indian military leader who was a Hindu convert to Islam.
• Malik Kafur - Indian military general.[2]
• Malik Maqbul - Prime Minister or Wazir of the Delhi Sultanate,[5] during the reign of Feroz Shah Tughlaq.
• Muhammed Yusuf Khan - Born Maruthanayagam Pillai, he converted to Islam[4] and later served as Commandant for the British East India Company troops.
• Murshid Quli Khan - the Mughal governor of Bengal.[3]
• Parmu, R.K (1969), A history of Muslim rule in Kashmir, 1320-1819, People's Pub. House, ISBN ASIN: B0006C25AK
• Rumi Nath: Lawmaker from Indian Province of Assam, elected MLA twice. Converted Islam upon marriage.[6]
• Sahaj Ram Sapru - the grandfather of the Muslim Philosopher, Sir Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, was an official in Kashmir during the administration of the Afghan Governor Azim Khan.[10] Sahaj Ram Sapru converted to Islam under duress to save his life, and assumed his new Islamic name of "Sheikh Muhammad Rafiq".* Kak, Ram Nath (1995), Autumn Leaves (Kashmiri Reminiscences), South Asia Books, pp. 123 pages, ISBN 81-86588-00-0
• Sara Begum Kobori: also known as Kobori or Kobori Sarwar. Bangladeshi film actress, Politician and member of current parliament. Converted to Islam upon marriage.
• Sharmila Tagore - Indian film actress. Converted after marriage to M A Patudi.
• Steven Vikash Chand - Arrested in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests[1]
• Tansen - Notable musician and poet.[14][15]

List of converts to Islam from Zoroastrianism

• Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa - author and translator of Kalīla wa Dimna from Middle Persian.[3]
• Abu'l Hasan Mihyar al-Daylami - a Persian poet from Daylam.[1][2]
• Abu-Mansur Daqiqi - a Persian poet.[4]
• Fadl ibn Sahl - Persian vizier of the Abassid era.[7]
• Naubakht - Pahlavi translator of the Abassid court.[6]
• 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.[5]

List of converts to Islam from Paganism

• Baraq - a ruler of the Chagatai Khanate who took the name Ghiyas-ud-din after converting.[3]
• Berke - grandson of Genghis Khan and leader of the Golden Horde who was the first Mongol ruler to establish Islam in a Mongol state.[4]
• Nogai Khan - Mongol general and great-grandson of Genghis Khan.[5]
• Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan - 9th century Uyghur ruler who was one of the first Turks to convert to Islam.[6]
• Tuda Mengu - Mongol leader of the Golden Horde[7]
• David Myatt - from Paganism, former Neo-Nazi-activist[8]
• Nawrūz (Mongol emir) - a convert to Islam;[9] he played an important role in the politics of the Mongol Ilkhanate.
• Negudar - Mongol general and noyan[10]
• Samori Ture - founder of the Wassoulou Empire who resisted French rule in West Africa.[11][12]
• Tughlugh Timur - the Khan of Moghulistan.[13]

List of converts to Islam from nontheism

• Charles le Gai Eaton - British diplomat and writer.[196]
• Ilich Ramírez Sánchez - Carlos the Jackal - Marxist who was convicted of terrorism and converted to Islam.
• Jeffrey Lang - American, Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Kansas. (Raised Catholic, but atheist from age 18 to conversion)[198][199]
• Martin Lings - a widely acclaimed British scholar. He was raised as a Protestant, became an atheist, and later converted to Islam.[200]
• Mos Def - American rapper and actor. [201]
• Nursultan Nazarbayev - President of Kazakhstan
• R. Rahman (Initially raised Hindu, but was atheist as a teenager until conversion to Islam) - famous Indian music composer[194]
• Silma Ihram - An Australian educator, author, and racial tolerance campaigner. After an agnostic upbringing she became "born again Christian" and then Muslim.
• Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) - British musician and singer (had a nominally Christian upbringing, but never was a believer)[197]
• Zhang Chengzhi - contemporary Hui Chinese author; raised as an atheist.[195]

List of converts to Islam from Sabianism

• Hilal al-Sabi - a historian, bureaucrat, and writer of Arabic.[3]
• Sinan ibn Thabit - a physician and son of Thābit ibn Qurra.[4]

List of converts to Islam from  Undetermined former religion

• Abd al Haqq Kielan - Swedish cleric.[6]
• Abd al Malik - birth name Régis Fayette-Mikano — French rapper of Congolese origins.[5]
• 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.[7][8]
• Abdul Alim Musa - Muslim activist and director of Masjid Al-Islam in Washington, D.C.[9]
• Abdul Mirza, first Yusupov Prince.
• Abdullah Ibrahim - South African Jazz musician.[10]
• Abdur Raheem Green - Born Anthony Greene, Islamic preacher and founder of iERA [11]
• Ahmad Jamal - Jazz pianist.[12]
• Ajdin Muzaka - was the commander in the Battle of Torvioll.
• Ali Mirza - was a prince of the Georgian.
• Ali Shaheed Muhammad - member of A Tribe Called Quest.[13]
• Alys Faiz - human rights and peace activist;[14] converted at the time of her marriage to Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz.[15]
• Amir Butler- author, engineer and Islamic activist.[16]
• Anthony Mundine - Australian Boxer, Former 2 time Super Middleweight Champion.[17]
• Antoni Aleksander Iliński - a Polish-Ottoman military officer and general.
• Apisai Tora - Fijian politician.[18]
• B.G. Knocc Out - American west coast rapper.[19]
• Baron omar Rolf von Ehrenfels - Austrian anthropologist and orientalist.[94]
• Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan - born Yvette Blanche Labrousse, Miss France 1930, wife of Aga Khan III.[20]
• Bob Denard - French mercenary.[21]
• Brandon Mayfield - American attorney-at-law who was erroneously linked to the 2004 Madrid train bombings.[22]
• Celestino Caballero - Boxer and former Super Bantamweight Champion.[23]
• Charles Brooks, Jr. - an American criminal who converted while serving a sentence for murder; first person to be executed by lethal injection in the United States.[24]
• Charles John Pelham (Abdul Mateen)- 8th Earl of Yarborough.[25]
• Christian Ganczarski- Head of "al Qaeda in Europe".[26]
• Christopher Paul (aka Paul Kenyatta Laws aka Abdulmalek Kenyatta) - American citizen, alleged member of al-Qaeda.[27][28]
• Colleen LaRose - alleged intended assassin of Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks.[29]
• Craig Hodges - former NBA player.[30]
• Daniel Streich - Swiss politician, and former member of Swiss People's Party.[31]
• Dave Chappelle - American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist.[32]
• David Hicks - convicted Australian terrorist.[33]
• 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.[34]
• Diam's - French female rapper, born Mélanie Georgiades, converted 2010.[35]
• Divine Styler - American hip-hop musician.[36]
• Dwight Muhammad Qawi - Former boxing world Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight champion.[37]
• Everlast - Irish-American rapper and singer-songwriter.[39]
• Frithjof Schuon - Swiss-German metaphysician, poet, painter, philosopher and leading figure of the perennialist school.[40]
• Gary Legenhausen - American philosopher and writer.[41]
• Ghostface Killah - member of the Wu-Tang Clan.[42]
• Gigi Gryce - American saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator.[43]
• Gustave-Henri Jossot - French caricaturist, illustrator and Orientalist painter.[44]
• H. Rap Brown - civil rights activisit.[47]
• Hamza Yusuf (born Mark Hanson)- American Islamic scholar and co-founder of Zaytuna college [45]
• 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.[46]
• Ibrahim Hooper (Douglas Hooper) - Islamic activist, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).[48]
• Ibrahim Savant - one of the suspects arrested in the UK in connection to the 2006 transatlantic aircraft terrorist plot in the United Kingdom.[49]
• Idris Muhammad - American jazz musician.[50]
• Iliaş Colceag - Moldavian military commander in the Ottoman and Russian Empire.
• Ilich Ramírez Sánchez - aka "Carlos the Jackal", convicted murderer and terrorist, currently in prison in France.[51]
• Isabelle Eberhardt - explorer and writer.[52]
• Jack Roche - convicted of involvement in an al-Qaeda plot to blow up the Israeli embassy in Canberra.[53]
• James Achilles Kirkpatrick - was the British Resident in Hyderabad.[54]
• Jan Janszoon - Dutch pirate.[55]
• Jason Walters - Dutch member of the Hofstad Network, convicted on charges of terrorism.[56]
• 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.[57][58]
• Jeffrey Mark Deskovic - served 15-year wrongful imprisonment sentence.[59]
• Jemima Goldsmith daughter of the billionaire Sir James, who was married to Imran Khan
• Jermaine Jackson brother of Michael Jackson and former member of Jackson 5 group
• Jesse of Kakheti - a ruler of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 1614 to 1615.
• Johann von Leers - advisor to Muhammad Naguib known for his anti-Semitic polemics.[62][63]
• John Ward - (changed name to Yusuf Reis) British corsair and pirate.[60]
• Jonathan A.C. Brown - American Islamic scholar and Assistant professor at Georgetown University [61]
• José Padilla - the respondent in Rumsfeld v. Padilla currently on trial as an alleged al-Qaida operative, converted while in prison for aggravated assault.[64]
• Juan Carlos Gomez - Former Cruiserweight Boxing Champion.[65]
• Julia Volkova - Russian singer and actress best known as a member of the Russian pop duo, t.A.T.u., along with Lena Katina.[66]
• Kérim Chatty- Swedish bodybuilding stuntman who was once suspected of attempted hijacking. The preliminary inquiry was dropped.[67]
• Khaled Edward Blair - British barrister, later married Princess Badiya bint Al Hassan of Jordan.[68]
• Khalid Sheldrake - an English pickle manufacturer who established a branch of the Western Islamic Association in South Shields in 1930.
• Lady Evelyn Cobbold - Scottish noblewoman.[38]
• Larry Johnson - retired American professional basketball player.[69]
• Lauren Booth - a British[70] broadcaster, journalist and human rights activist.[71][72]
• Lewis Arquette - actor and father of actors David Arquette and Rosanna Arquette; father-in-law of actress Courteney Cox.[77]
• 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.[73][74][75]
• Lim Yew Hock - Singapore’s second Chief Minister from 1956 to 1959.[76]
• Malcolm X - American to Nation of Islam to Sunni Islam, African-American civil rights leader.[79]
• Malik ul Salih - established the first Muslim state of Samudera Pasai.[80]
• Maryam Jameelah - formerly Margret Marcus. Author of many books covering several subjects, including Modernism, Sociology, History, Jihad, Theology and Technology.[81]
• Maurice Béjart - French choreographer.[82]
• MC Ren - American rapper and hip-hop producer.[78]
• Michael Wolfe - American poet, author, and the President and Executive Producer of Unity Productions Foundation.[83][84]
• Michael X - civil rights activist in the United Kingdom[85]
• Mike Tyson (Malik Abdul Aziz) - former heavyweight boxing champion of the world.[86][87]
• Mohammed Knut Bernström - Swedish ambassador.[88]
• Mutah Beale better known as 'Napoleon,' former member of Tupac Shakur's rap group, the Outlawz.[89]
• Myriam Francois-Cerrah, British Journalist.[90]
• Nahshid Sulaiman - alternative hip hop artist.[91]
• 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.[92]
• Omar Ong Yoke Lin - (1917–2010) Malaysian politician, former government minister and founder of the Malaysian Chinese Association.[93]
• Philippe Fragione - French rapper and producer of French hip hop.[95]
• Philippe Grenier - (1865–1944) French doctor, first Muslim MP in France.[96]
• 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.[97]
• Rakan Ben Williams - suspected member of Al-Qaeda terrorist.[98]
• Robert "Kool" Bell - musician.[99]
• Robert D. Crane - former Presidential advisor and ambassador.[100]
• Rodrigo de Triana - sailor and the first European since the Vikings known to have seen America who converted to Islam from Judaism[101] or Christianity.[102]
• Ronald Bell - musician.[103]
• Sahib Shihab - American jazz saxophonist and flautist.[104]
• Saida Miller Khalifa - British author who was originally called Sonya Miller.[105][106]
• Shaheed Akbar - notable rapper who converted to Islam.[107]
• Stephen Schwartz - American journalist, columnist, and author.[108]
• Susanne Osthoff - German archaeologist who had worked in Iraq since 1991 and had been taken captive there for three weeks.[109]
• Thomas J. Abercrombie - famous photographer and writer for National Geographic [110]
• Tiara Jacquelina - Malaysian actress.[111]
• Titus Burckhardt - Swiss writer and scholar.[112]
• Tony Hussein Hinde - Australian-born Maldivian surfer and surfing pioneer who converted to Islam.[113]
• Umar Islam - one of the suspects arrested in the UK in connection to the 2006 transatlantic aircraft terrorist plot in the United Kingdom.[49]
• Uri Davis - an academic and activist who works on civil rights in Israel, Palestinian National Authority and the Middle East.[114]
• Vladimir Khodov - leader of the Beslan school hostage crisis- converted in prison.[115]
• Walt Hazzard - former NBA player.[116]
• Yusef Lateef - American Jazz musician.[117]
• Zachary Adam Chesser - American Muslim convert to Sunni Islam. Sentenced to 25 years in a federal prison on February 24, 2011.[118]

Source Reference : wikipedia

Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi (rahmatuLlahi alaihi) mentions in his Mathnawi, a story of Sultan Mahmood: One day the Sultan decided to test his ministers and ordered them to crush the most prized pearl of his treasury. One by one, each of 65 ministers declined, stating that the pearl was far too valuable to be destroyed.

The King then summoned his closest and trusted courtier, Ayaaz, and ordered him to crush the pearl. Without any delay or hesitation, Ayaaz crushed the pearl into fragments. When the ministers expressed disbelief and shock at such audacity, the King asked Ayaaz to inform them as to the reason for him having broken the pearl.

In response, Ayaaz asked these ministers: "Which is more important, the Royal Decree or the pearl? "

The question we pose to ourselves is:

"Which is more important, the command of my Allah or the haram desire of my heart?"

The haram desires of the heart are akin to pearls, which appear to be quite beautiful but we should not fulfill these haram desires at the cost of breaking the decrees of Allah.

Ayaaz attained closeness to the king through his loyalty and faithfulness and his obedience and submission. Similarly, we will gain the extreme nearness and intimate closeness to the King of Kings through loyalty and faithfulness. This in turn is dependent upon sincere obedience and complete submission to His decrees