A-Z Alphabetic List Of Notable Converts From Islam To Christianity
A
Aslan Abashidze – This former leader of the Ajarian Autonomous Republic in western Georgia was born into a renowned Muslim Ajarian family, but later he converted to Christianity.
Basuki Abdullah – Indonesian painter; converted to Roman Catholicism
Ibrahim Abdullah – American former PLO terrorist
Saeed Abedini – Iranian-American pastor imprisoned in Iran, Abedini is an American and a former Muslim who converted to Christianity in 2000
Abo of Tiflis – Christian activist and the patron saint of the city of Tbilisi, Georgia
Abraham of Bulgaria – martyr and saint of the Russian Orthodox Church
Taysir Abu Saada – this former member of the PLO founded the ministry Hope For Ishmael after he converted to Christianity;Yasir Arafat’s personal driver
Rotimi Adebari – first Black mayor in Ireland
St. Adolphus – martyr who was put to death along with his brother, John, by Abd ar-Rahman II, the Caliph of Córdoba, for apostasy
Jabalah ibn al-Aiham – last ruler of the Ghassanid state in Syria and Jordan in the 7th century AD; after the Islamic conquest of Levant he converted to Islam in AD 638; later reverted to Christianity and lived in Anatolia until he died in AD 645
Leo Africanus – Moorish diplomat who was converted to Christianity following his capture.
Inaara Aga Khan – second wife of Aga Khan IV who returned to her Christian faith adopting her birth name “Gabriele” after the completion of their divorce.
Safdar Ali – former Maulvi (cleric) from India
Mehmet Ali Ağca – Turkish assassin who murdered left-wing journalist Abdi İpekçi on 1 February 1979; later shot and wounded Pope John Paul II on 13 May 1981; while in prison in 2007 he claimed to convert to Christianity
Magdi Allam (baptized as Magdi Cristiano Allam) – Italy’s most famous Islamic affairs journalist
Saint Hodja Amiris – former Ottoman soldier stationed in Jerusalem who converted to Christianity in the 17th century and was subsequently tortured and killed for the crime of apostasy in Islam
Zachariah Anani – former Sunni Muslim Lebanese militia fighter
Juan Andrés – name chosen by a Spanish Muslim scholar who converted to Catholicism and wrote a well known polemical work against Islam, the Confusión o confutación de la secta mahomética y del Alcorán
Matthew Ashimolowo – Nigerian-born British pastor and evangelist
Avraamy Aslanbegov – Russian-Azeri vice-admiral and military writer of the Russian Empire, converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Asmirandah – Indonesian actress of Dutch descent; converted to Protestantism in December 2013; owes her conversion to an experience of having dreamed three times of Jesus Christ
Aurelius and Natalia – martyrs who were put to death during the reign of Abd ar-Rahman II, Caliph of Córdoba for apostasy
Johannes Avetaranian – born Muhammad Shukri Efendi, Christian missionary of Turkish heritage
Famous and Prominent Muslims Who Converted to Christianity
See Also: Notable Converts From Hinduism To Christianity
B
Parveen Babi – former Indian actress and an erstwhile fashion model; born in Junagadh, Gujarat to a Muslim family, and later converted to Christianity during the last years of her life, and was baptised in a Protestant Anglican church at Malabar Hill
Tunde Bakare – pentecostal pastor and Nigerian politician.
Josephine Bakhita – Roman Catholic saint from Darfur, Sudan. She was forcibly converted to Islam On 9 January 1890 Bakhita was baptised with the names of Josephine Margaret and Fortunata.
Sarah Balabagan – Filipina prisoner in the United Arab Emirates, 1994-96
Fathima Rifqa Bary – American teenager of Sri Lankan descent who drew international attention in 2009 when she ran away from home and claimed that her Muslim parents might kill her for having converted to Christianity
Sheikh Ahmed Barzani – head of Barzani Tribe in Iraqi Kurdistan and older brother of Mustafa Barzani, Kurdish nationalist leader; announced his conversion to Christianity in 1931 during the anti-government uprising
Bashir Shihab II – Lebanese emir who ruled Lebanon in the first half of the 19th century; converted from Sunni Islam to Maronite Catholic
Simeon Bekbulatovich – Khan of Qasim Khanate
Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky – Russian officer of Circassian origin who led the first Russian military expedition into Central Asia
Ibrahim Ben Ali – soldier, physician, and one of the earliest American settlers of Turkish origin
Mohammed Christophe Bilek – Algerian former Muslim who lives in France since 1961; baptized Roman Catholic in 1970; in the 1990s, he founded Our Lady of Kabyle, a French website devoted to evangelisation among Muslims
Francis Bok – Sudanese-American activist, convert to Islam from Christianity; but later returned to his Christian faith
Jean-Bédel Bokassa – Central African Republic Emperor (from Christianity to Islam back to Christianity)
Thomas Boni Yayi – Beninese banker and politician who has been President of Benin since 2006; originally from a Muslim family; is now an Evangelical Protestant
Sayed Borhan Khan – Khan of Qasim Khanate from 1627 to 1679; was forced to convert to Christianity by Russian forces following the Siege of Kazan
Broery – Indonesian singer (from Christianity to Islam back to Christianity)
A-Z List Of Notable Converts From Judaism To Christianity
C
Moussa Dadis Camara – ex-officer of the Guinean army who served as the President of the Republic of Guinea; Roman Catholic Christian convert from Islam
Ergun Caner – Swedish-American academic, author, and Baptist minister
Rianti Cartwright – Indonesian actress, model, presenter and VJ; two weeks before departure to the United States to get married, she left Islam to become a baptized Catholic with the name Sophia Rianti Rhiannon Cartwright
Chamillionaire (born Hakeem Seriki) – American rapper
Chehab family – prominent Lebanese noble family; having converted from Sunni Islam, the religion of his predecessors, was the first Maronite ruler of the Emirate of Mount Lebanon
Djibril Cissé – French international footballer
Hansen Clarke – U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 13th congressional district
Eldridge Cleaver – initially associated with the Nation of Islam, then Evangelical Christianity, then Mormonism
Constantine the African – Baghdad-educated Muslim who died in 1087 as a Christian monk at Monte Cassino
Constantine Hagarit – born in Smyrna to a Muslim family under the Ottoman Empire during the 19th century; converted to Orthodox Christianity and was subsequently imprisoned, tortured and executed by hanging for apostasy on 2 June 1819
Converso – substantial numbers of Iberian Muslims who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. These New Christians of Moorish Berber origin were known as Moriscos. Over 1 million of these Moriscos were converted from Islam to Christianity, many of whom were forced to convert. Many Moriscos became devout in their new Christian faith and become sincere Christians.
Michał Czajkowski – Polish-Cossack writer and political emigre who worked both for the resurrection of Poland and the reestablishment of a Cossack Ukraine.