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Former Muslims or ex-Muslims are people who were Muslims, but subsequently left Islam. Although their numbers have increased, ex-Muslims still face ostracism or retaliation from their families and communities due to beliefs about
apostasy in Islam Apostasy in Islam ( ar, ردة, or , ) is commonly defined as the abandonment of Islam by a Muslim, in thought, word, or through deed. An apostate from Islam is referred to by using the Arabic and Islamic term ''murtād'' (). It includes no ...
.


Converted to an Abrahamic religion


Converted to Judaism

* – Jordanian Muslim of Circassian origin, converted to Judaism upon marrying an Israeli Jewish pilot in secret in Vienna. She later became a spy for Mossad. An Arabic TV series called ''An Eastern Girl'' (فتاة من الشرق) (Fatah min Asharq) was made about her starring
Suzan Najm Aldeen Suzan Najm Aldeen ( ar, سوزان نجم الدين; born 1973) is a Syrian actress, whose memorable roles have earned her wide acclaim throughout the Arab world. After enrolling in the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture Department in Damascu ...
as Amina. The book (مذكرات أخطر جاسوسة عربية للموساد .. أمينة المفتي) was written about her. * * Avraham Sinai – Lebanese former Shi'ite who converted to Judaism. He served as an informant for the Israelis while serving in Hezbollah, until his actions were uncovered. He fled to Israel and subsequently converted. *
Dario Hunter Dario David Hunter (born April 21, 1983), also known as Yisroel Hunter, is an American rabbi, lawyer and politician. He is the first Muslim-born man to be ordained as a rabbi. A former member of the Youngstown, Ohio Board of Education, Hunter soug ...
– American politician. Became the first Muslim born individual to be ordained a rabbi. * Reza Jabari – Israeli of Iranian birth who hijacked a flight between Tehran and the Iranian resort island of Kish in September, 1995 while working as a flight attendant for Iranian carrier Kish Air flight 707.


Converted to Christianity

*
Abdul Rahman Abd al-Rahman ( ar, عبد الرحمن, translit=ʿAbd al-Raḥmān or occasionally ; DMG ''ʿAbd ar-Raḥman''; also Abdul Rahman) is a male Arabic Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', '' ...
– Afghan convert to Christianity who escaped the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
because of foreign pressure. *
Aben Humeya Aben Humeya (1520–1569), also known as Muhammad ibn Umayyah ( ar, محمد بن أمية), was a Morisco leader who commanded the Morisco Revolt against Philip II of Spain in the Alpujarras region, near Granada. Early life Aben Humeya was born ...
– (born Fernando de Valor)
Morisco Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the open ...
Chief who was crowned the Emir of
Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...
by his followers and led the
Morisco Revolt Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the open ...
against Philip II of Spain.L. P. Harvey, ''Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614: 1500 to 1614'', University of Chicago Press, 2005,
M1 Google Print, pp. 223
Various Christian sources including the Christian historian, Marmol claim that with his dying breath Aben Humeya declared himself a Christian and said that what he had done was in the prosecution of a family feud.
*
Abo of Tiflis Abo of Tiflis ( ar, أبو التفليسي, translit=Abu al-Tiflisi; ka, აბო თბილელი, tr; c. 756 – 6 January 786) was an early Christian martyr of Arab origin, who went on to practice his faith in what is now Tbilisi, the ...
– Christian activist and the Patron Saint of the city of Tbilisi,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
. * Abraham of Bulgaria – martyr and saint of the Russian Orthodox Church.Michael Walsh, ''A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West'', Liturgical Press, 2007,
Google Print, p. 3
* St. Adolphus – Christian martyr who was put to death along with his brother, John, by Abd ar-Rahman II, Emir of Córdoba for apostasy. *
Akbar Gbaja-Biamila Akbar Oluwakemi-Idowu Gbaja-Biamila (born May 6, 1979) is a former professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL) who is a commentator and co-host on the ''American Ninja Warrior'' television series. He is the forme ...
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
player. * Al-Mu'eiyyad
Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
prince and third son of Abbasid caliph,
Al-Mutawakkil Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Muʿtaṣim bi-ʾllāh ( ar, جعفر بن محمد المعتصم بالله; March 822 – 11 December 861), better known by his regnal name Al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (, "He who relies on God") was t ...
. He was converted to Christianity along with his three confidants by St. Theodore of Edessa, accepting the name ''"John"'' upon baptism.Joseph Patrich, ''The Sabaite Heritage in the Orthodox Church'', Peeters Publishers, 2001,
Google Print, p. 157
During
Anarchy at Samarra The Anarchy at Samarra () was a period of extreme internal instability from 861 to 870 in the history of the Abbasid Caliphate, marked by the violent succession of four caliphs, who became puppets in the hands of powerful rival military groups. T ...
period saw the rise of a legend that an Abbasid prince had converted to Christianity under the influence of
Theodore of Edessa Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory * Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Saskatche ...
, taken the name "John" and been killed for his apostasy; Alexander Vasiliev speculates that Muayyad, who was killed in 866 by his brother Mu`tazz, may have been the convert. However, there is no Christian or Muslim record remotely associating Muayyad with Christianity or even, indeed, religious speculation. The motives for his murder seem to have been purely political; had he indeed converted, it would have given Mutazz an excuse to murder him for apostasy and been recorded. *
Albertus Soegijapranata Albertus Soegijapranata, SJ (Indonesian: ; Perfected Spelling: Albertus Sugiyapranata; 25 November 1896 – 22 July 1963), better known by his birth name Soegija, was a Jesuit priest who became the Apostolic Vicar of Semarang and later i ...
– born in
Surakarta Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoh ...
, to a Muslim courtier and his wife who later converted to Roman Catholicism; the first native Indonesian
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
; a National Hero of Indonesia; known for his pro-nationalistic stance, often expressed as "100% Catholic, 100% Indonesian".Aritonang, Jan S.; Steenbrink, Karel A., eds. (2008). A History of Christianity in Indonesia. Studies in Christian Mission. 35. Leiden: Brill. . *
Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky Prince Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky (russian: Алекса́ндр Беко́вич-Черка́сский), born Devlet-Girei-mırza (russian: Девлет-Гирей-мурза; died 1717), was a Russian officer of Circassian origin who led t ...
– Russian officer of Circassian origin who led the first Russian military expedition into Central Asia. * Alexander Kazembek – Russian Orientalist, historian and philologist of Azeri origin . * Ali Sina – pseudonym of the founder of several anti-Islam and anti-Muslim websites. *
Aman Tuleyev Amangeldy Gumirovich "Aman" Tuleyev (russian: Амангельды (Аман) Гумирович Тулеев, kk, Амангелді Молдағазыұлы Төлеев, ; born 13 May 1944) is a Russian statesman. He served as governor of Ke ...
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...
governor of Kemerovo Oblast. *
Amir Sjarifuddin Amir Sjarifuddin Harahap (EVO: Amir Sjarifoeddin Harahap; 27 April 1907 – 19 December 1948) was an Indonesian politician and journalist who served as the second prime minister of Indonesia from 1947 until 1948. A major leader of the lef ...
Indonesian socialist leader who later became the second prime minister of Indonesia during its National Revolution.Vickers, Adrian (2005). A History of Modern Indonesia. Cambridge University Press. p. 86. *
Aslan Abashidze Aslan Abashidze ( ka, ასლან აბაშიძე; born July 20, 1938) is the former leader of the Ajarian Autonomous Republic in western Georgia. He served in this capacity from 18 August 1991 to May 5, 2004. He resigned under the pres ...
– former leader of the Ajarian Autonomous Republic in western
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
. * Asmirandah
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
actress of Dutch descent converted to Protestantism in December 2013. Zantman owes her conversion to an experience of having dreamed three times of Jesus Christ. *
Aurelius and Natalia Aurelius and Natalie (died 852) were Christian martyrs who were put to death during the reign of Abd ar-Rahman II, Emir of Córdoba, and are counted among the Martyrs of Córdoba. Aurelius was the son of a Muslim father and a Christian mother ...
– Christian martyrs who were put to death during the reign of Abd ar-Rahman II, Caliph of Córdoba for apostasy. * Bahaa el-Din Ahmed Hussein el-Akkad – former Egyptian Muslim sheikh. *
Basuki Abdullah Fransiskus Xaverius Basuki Abdullah (born Muhammad Basuki Abdullah, January 25, 1915 – November 5, 1993) was an Indonesian painter and a convert to Roman Catholicism from Islam. His work is characterized as realism and has been exhibited i ...
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
; converted to Roman Catholicism. *
Begum Samru Joanna Nobilis Sombre (– 27 January 1836), popularly known as Begum Samru (née Farzana Zeb un-Nissa),. a convert Catholic Christian started her career as a nautch (dancing) girl in 18th century India, and eventually became the ruler of Sard ...
– powerful lady of north India, ruling a large area from
Sardhana Sardhana is a city and a municipal board in Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is northeast of New Delhi and 13 mi from Meerut. It is 5 km from Meerut Karnal National Highway and 12 km from National Highway ...
, Uttar Pradesh. *
Bob Denard Robert Denard (born Gilbert Bourgeaud; 7 April 1929 – 13 October 2007) was a French soldier of fortune and mercenary. He served as the Military Leader of The Comoros twice with him first serving from 13 May 1978 to 15 December 1989 and agai ...
– French soldier and mercenary leader. Converted from Roman Catholicism to Judaism, then Islam and eventually back to Roman Catholicism. * Broery
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
singer (from Christianity to Islam back to Christianity). *
Brother Rachid Brother Rachid (born 1971, Morocco) is a Moroccan former Muslim and convert to Christianity whose father is an Imam. He is a Christian apologist and critic of Islam, and hosts a weekly live call-in show on Al Hayat TV where he compares Islam an ...
– television presenter. He hosts a TV show called ''Daring Question'' which focuses on discussing and criticizing Islam. *
Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. He ...
– former President of Argentina. Raised a Muslim but converted to Roman Catholicism, the majority religion of
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, due to his political aspirations (before the 1994 reform, the Argentine Constitution established that the President of the Nation had to be a Roman Catholic). * Casilda of Toledo – saint of the Roman Catholic Church. *
Chamillionaire Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He was the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click from 2001 until the group split in 2005. He began his ...
– (born Hakeem Seriki)
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
rapper. *
Chulpan Khamatova Chulpan Nailevna Khamatova PAR (russian: Чулпан Наилевна Хаматова; tt-Cyrl, Чулпан Наил кызы Хаматова; born 1 October 1975) is a Russian film, theater and TV actress Biography Early life and theat ...
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...
actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...
. *
Constantine the African Constantine the African ( la, Constantinus Africanus; died before 1098/1099, Monte Cassino) was a physician who lived in the 11th century. The first part of his life was spent in Ifriqiya and the rest in Italy. He first arrived in Italy in the ...
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
-educated Muslim who died in 1087 as a Christian monk at Monte Cassino. * The Clan Yusupov – noble family of
Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
is an umbrella term for different
descent down the Khans of the
Nogai Horde The Nogai Horde was a confederation founded by the Nogais that occupied the Pontic–Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghuds cons ...
, convert to
Eastern Orthodox Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
in the 17th century. * Daniel Bambang Dwi Byantoro – leader (and Archimandrite) of the Indonesian Orthodox Church. *
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross Daveed Gartenstein-Ross (born 1976) is an author and the founder and chief executive officer of Valens Global. In addition to his role at Valens Global, Dr. Gartenstein-Ross is a Senior Advisor on Asymmetric Warfare at the Foundation for Defens ...
– counter-terrorism expert and attorney (from Judaism to Islam to Christianity). * Descendants of Kuchum – former Muslim Genghisid family which converted to Russian Orthodox Christianity. * Diana Nasution
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
singer, converted to Protestantism after marriage. * Djibril Cissé – footballer for club and country. * Don Juan of Persia – late-16th- and early-17th-century figure in Iran and Spain, converted from Shia Islam to Roman Catholicism. *
Donald Fareed Donald Fareed is an Iranian-born American Christian televangelist and President of the non-profit organization Persian Ministries International, which was founded by him. Fareed is an ordained minister and founding pastor of the Bay Area Persian Ch ...
– Iranian Christian tele-evangelist and minister. * Eldridge Cleaver – Conversions/Associations to Nation of Islam then Evangelical Christianity then Mormonism. *
Emily Ruete Emily Ruete (30 August 1844 – 29 February 1924), born in Zanzibar as Sayyida Salama bint Said (), also called Salme, was a Princess of Zanzibar and Oman. She was the youngest of the 36 children of Said bin Sultan, Sultan of the Omani Empire. She ...
– (born Sayyida Salme) Princess of Zanzibar and
Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
. * Enrique de MalacaMalay slave of
Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...
, converted to Roman Catholicism after being purchased in 1511. * Ergun Caner – Swedish-American academic, author, and Baptist minister. *
Estevanico Estevanico ("Little Stephen"; modern spelling Estebanico; –1539), also known as Esteban de Dorantes or Mustafa Azemmouri (مصطفى الزموري), was the first African to explore North America. Estevanico first appears as a slave in Portu ...
Berber originally from Morocco and one of the early explorers of the Southwestern United States. * Fadhma Aït Mansour – mother of French writers Jean Amrouche and
Taos Amrouche Marie-Louise-Taos Amrouche (born 4 March 1913 in Tunis, Tunisia; died 2 April 1976 in Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire, France) was an Algerian writer and singer. In 1947, she became the first Algerian woman to publish a novel. Biography She was ...
. *
Fathia Ghali Princess Fathia (; 17 December 1930 – 10 December 1976) was the youngest daughter of Fuad I of Egypt and Nazli Sabri, and so the youngest sister of Farouk I. Early life Fathia was born on 17 December 1930 at the Koubbeh Palace, El-Quba, Ca ...
Egyptian princess and youngest daughter of Fuad I of Egypt and Nazli Sabri. * 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. *
Fernão Lopes Fernão Lopes () (c. 1385 – after 1459) was a Portuguese chronicler appointed by King Edward of Portugal. Fernão Lopes wrote the history of Portugal, but only a part of his work remained. His way of writing was based on oral discourse, a ...
– Portuguese nobleman, soldier and the first known permanent inhabitant of the remote Island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. * Francis BokSudanese-American activist, convert to Islam from Christianity; but later returned to his Christian faith. * St. George El Mozahem – Coptic saint * George WeahLiberian soccer player (from Christianity to Islam back to Christianity). * Ghorban Tourani – former Iranian Sunni Muslim who became a Christian minister. Following multiple murder threats, he was abducted and murdered on November 22, 2005. * Gulshan Esther – Pakistani convert from Islam to Christianity. * Hakan Taştan and Turan Topal – two Turkish Christian converts who went on trial in 2006, on charges of "allegedly insulting 'Turkishness' and inciting religious hatred against Islam". * Hamid Pourmand – former Iranian army colonel and lay leader of the
Jama'at-e Rabbani Jama'at-e Rabbani ( fa, جماعت ربانی) is the Iranian branch of the Assemblies of God, one of the largest evangelical Pentecostal Christian churches. It has its centre in Tehran, Iran. Many (about 80%) of its adherents are converts from ...
, the Iranian branch of the
Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...
church in Iran. * Hassan Dehqani-Tafti – Anglican Bishop of Iran from 1961 to 1990. * Hazem Farraj
Palestinian American Palestinian Americans ( ar, فلسطينيو أمريكا) are Americans who are of full or partial Palestinian descent. It is unclear when the first Palestinian immigrants arrived in the United States, but it is believed that they arrived dur ...
minister, writer, evangelist * Hisn Jihan – Circassian wife of
Bashir Shihab II Emir Bashir Shihab II () (also spelled "Bachir Chehab II"; 2 January 1767–1850) was a Lebanese emir who ruled Ottoman Lebanon in the first half of the 19th century. Born to a branch of the Shihab family which had converted from Sunni Islam, ...
. Muslim by birth, she was captured by Turkish slavers and converted to Maronite Catholicism after being released by Bashir and marrying him. *
House of Yusupov The House of Yusupov (russian: Юсу́повы, r=Yusupovy) is a Russian princely family descended from the monarchs of the Nogai Horde, renowned for their immense wealth, philanthropy and art collections in the 18th and 19th centuries. Most not ...
– former Muslim
Genghisid A Borjigin, ; ; russian: Борджигин, Bordžigin; English plural: Borjigins or Borjigid (from Middle Mongolian);''Histoire des campagnes de Gengis Khan'', p. 119. Manchu plural: is a member of the Mongol sub-clan, which started with B ...
family which converted to Russian Orthodox Christianity. * Ibrahim Ben Ali – soldier, physician and one of the earliest American settlers of Turkish origin. *
Ibrahim Njoya King Ibrahim Mbouombouo Njoya ( Bamum: , ''Iparəim Nʃuɔiya'', formerly spelled in Bamum as , and Germanicized as ''Njoja'') in Yaoundé, was seventeenth in a long dynasty of kings that ruled over Bamum and its people in western Cameroon da ...
Bamum people The Bamum, sometimes called Bamoum, Bamun, Bamoun, or Mum, are a Grassfields ethnic group of Cameroon with around 215,000 members. Religion The Bamum traditional religion placed great emphasis on ancestral spirits which were embodied in the sk ...
religion; back and forth conversions from Islam to Christianity. Also created his own religion. * Ibrahim Tunggul Wulung
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
evangelist and missionary. * Imad ud-din Lahiz – Prolific Islamic writer, preacher and Quranic translator. * Jabalah ibn al-Aiham – last ruler of the Ghassanid state in Syria and Jordan in the seventh century AD. After the Islamic conquest of Levant he converted to Islam in AD 638. He reverted to Christianity later on and lived in Anatolia until he died in AD 645. *
Jacob Frank Jacob Joseph Frank ( he, יעקב פרנק; pl, Jakub Józef Frank; born Jakub Lejbowicz; 1726 – December 10, 1791) was a Polish-Jewish religious leader who claimed to be the reincarnation of the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zevi (1626� ...
– 18th century Jewish religious leader who claimed to be the reincarnation of the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zevi, and also of King David. Frank publicly converted to Islam in 1757 and later to Christianity at Poland in 1759, but actually presented himself as the Messiah of a syncretic derivation of Shabbatai Zevi's Messianism now referred to as ''Frankism''. Gershom Scholem,
'Shabtai Zvi (1626–1676)', 'Frank, Jacob, and the Frankists'
'', from
Encyclopedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, langua ...
.
* James Scurry – British soldier and statesman.Prabhu, Alan Machado (1999). Sarasvati's Children: A History of the Mangalorean Christians. p. 196. *
Jean-Bédel Bokassa Jean-Bédel Bokassa (; 22 February 1921 – 3 November 1996), also known as Bokassa I, was a Central African political and military leader who served as the second president of the Central African Republic (CAR) and as the emperor of its s ...
Central African Republic Emperor (from Roman Catholicism to Islam back to Roman Catholicism). * Jessica Iskandar
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
actress and model (from Christianity to Islam back to Christianity). *
Johannes Avetaranian Johannes Avetaranian (Erzurum, Ottoman Empire, 30 June 1861 – Wiesbaden, Germany, 11 December 1919), born Muhammad Shukri ( tr, Mehmet Şükri), was, according to his autobiography, a Turkish descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Avetaran ...
– (born Muhammad Shukri Efendi), Christian missionary and Turkish descendant of Muhammad. *
Josef Mässrur Josef Mässrur (born Ghäsim Khan) (also sometimes spelled Josef MessrurIn Tibet and Chinese Turkestan: Being the Record of Three Years' Exploration By Henry Hugh Peter Deasy pg. 284) was a Christian Persian missionary to Chinese Turkestan with th ...
– (born Ghäsim Khan) missionary to Chinese
Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turk ...
with the Mission Union of Sweden. * Josephine Bakhita – Roman Catholic saint from
Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju ...
, Sudan. – Sister Josephine Bakhita had been converted by force to Islam and then, freedom restored, had chosen Christianity. * Julia Volkova – Russian singer and actress best known as a member of the Russian pop duo, t.A.T.u. *
Justinus Darmojuwono Justinus Cardinal Darmojuwono (2 November 1914 – 3 February 1994) was an Indonesian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Semarang from 1963 to 1981 and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1967, becoming the ...
– first Indonesian
cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...
of the Roman Catholic Church; served as Archbishop of Semarang from 1963 to 1981, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1967; converted to Catholicism in 1932. *
Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila Muhammed-Kabeer Olanrewaju Gbaja-Biamila, Sr. (; born September 24, 1977), nicknamed "KGB", is a former American football defensive end who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at San Diego State. ...
– American football player *
Kassian Cephas Kassian Cephas or Kassian Céphas (15 January 1845 – 16 November 1912) was a Javanese photographer of the court of the Yogyakarta Sultanate. He was the first indigenous person from Indonesia to become a professional photographer and was trai ...
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
photographer. * Kiki Fatmala – Arab Indonesian actress. *
Kitty Kirkpatrick Katherine Aurora "Kitty" Kirkpatrick (9 April 1802 – 2 March 1889) was a British woman of Anglo-Indian descent best known as a muse of the Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle. Born in India to a British father and an Indian mother, Kirkp ...
– daughter of
James Achilles Kirkpatrick Lieutenant-Colonel James Achilles Kirkpatrick (1764 – 15 October 1805) was an East India Company officer and diplomat who served as the Resident at Hyderabad Deccan from 1798 until 1805. Kirkpatrick also ordered the construction of the Koti Re ...
, British Resident in
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. ...
and Khair-un-Nissa, a Hyderabadi noblewoman. * Kyai Sadrach
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
missionary. *
Lakandula Lakandula (Baybayin: , Spanish orthography: ''Lacandola'') was the title of the last ''lakan'' or paramount ruler of pre-colonial Tondo when the Spaniards first conquered the lands of the Pasig River delta in the Philippines in the 1570s. The f ...
Lakan In early Philippine history, the rank of ''lakan'' denoted a " paramount ruler" (or more specifically, "''paramount datu''") of one of the large coastal barangays (known as a "bayan") on the central and southern regions of the island of Luzon. ...
of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Tondo *
Lina Joy Lina Joy is a Malay convert from Islam to Christianity. Born Azlina Jailani on 28 July 1964 in Malaysia to Muslim parents of Javanese descent, she converted at age 26. The Lina Joy case sparkled a debate about apostasy in Malaysia,Lina Joy af ...
– Javanese Malaysian former Muslim converted to Roman Catholicism. The desire to have her conversion recognized by law was the subject of a court case in Malaysia. *
Lukman Sardi Lukman Sardi (born July 14, 1971) is an Indonesian actor of Javanese-Bugis descent. He is the son of Indonesian violinist Idris Sardi and a grandson of Indonesian actress, Hadidjah. Early life and career Lukman Sardi was born on July 14, 19 ...
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
actor converted to Christianity after marriage. *
Lyasan Utiasheva Lyasan Albertovna Utiasheva (russian: link=no, Ляйсан Альбертовна Утяшева, ba, Ләйсән Альберт ҡыҙы Үтәшева, born 28 June 1985) is a Russian TV show host, socialite, and former individual rhythmic ...
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...
gymnast, convert to
Eastern Orthodox Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
. *
Magdi Allam Magdi Cristiano Allam ( ar, مجدي علام Majdī ʿAllām; born 22 April 1952), is an Egyptian-Italian journalist and politician, noted for his criticism of Islam and his articles on the relations between Western culture and the Islamic worl ...
– Italy's most famous Islamic affairs journalist. * Majeed Rashid MohammedKurdish Christian convert from Islam. He established a network with former Kurdish Muslims with about 2,000 members today. *
Malika Oufkir Malika Oufkir ( ar, مليكة أوفقير) (born April 2, 1953 in Marrakesh) is a Moroccan Berber writer and former "disappeared". She is the daughter of General Mohamed Oufkir and a cousin of fellow Moroccan writer and actress Leila Shenna. ...
– author, activist and former prisoner of the Moroccan Royal Family. *
Manohara Odelia Pinot Manohara Odelia Pinot (born Manohara Odelia Manz; 28 February 1992) is an Indonesian model. She once held dual Indonesian and American citizenship. She married Malaysian Kelantanese prince Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra on 26 August 2008. Perso ...
– Indonesian model and actress. Former wife of Malaysian Kelantanese prince Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra. * Maria Aurora von Spiegel – (born Fatima) was a Turkish mistress of
Augustus II Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...
the Strong and the wife of a Polish noble. * Maria Huberdina HertoghDutch-
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
child kidnapped and
forcibly converted to Islam Forced conversion is the adoption of a different religion or the adoption of irreligion under duress. Someone who has been forced to convert to a different religion or irreligion may continue, covertly, to adhere to the beliefs and practices which ...
during the World War II in 1943 by Malay Muslims but was eventually returned to her
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
family in 1950. *
Maria Temryukovna Maria Temryukovna (russian: Мари́я Темрюко́вна, Kabardian: Гуэщэней Идар Темрыкъуэ и пхъу, c. 1544 – 1 September 1569) was a Circassian Tsaritsa of the Tsardom of Russia and second spouse to Ivan ...
Circassian princess, and second wife to
Ivan IV of Russia Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...
who was born in a Muslim upbringing, and baptised into the Russian Orthodox Church on August 21, 1561.
Mario Joseph
– former Indian Muslim preacher. * Marina Nemat – Canadian author of Iranian descent and former political prisoner of the Iranian government. Born into a Christian family, she converted to Islam in order to avoid execution but later reverted to Christianity. * Mark A. GabrielEgyptian writer
Mark Huda Junayed Fino
– Bangladeshi raised as a Muslim but converted to Protestantism in 2010. * Mary Fillis *
Mathieu Kérékou Mathieu Kérékou (; 2 September 1933 – 14 October 2015) was a Beninese politician who served as President of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2006. After seizing power in a military coup, he ruled the country for 19 years, for ...
– President of
Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...
(from Christianity to Islam back to Christianity). *
Matthew Ashimolowo Matthew Ashimolowo (born 17 March 1952) is a Nigerian clergyman, the senior pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) in London. His ''Winning Ways'' programme is aired daily on Premier Radio (London) and Spirit FM (Amsterdam) ...
Nigerian-born British pastor and evangelist. * Mehdi Dibaj – Iranian pastor and Christian activist. *
Mehmet Ali Ağca Mehmet Ali Ağca (; born 9 January 1958) is a Turkish assassin who murdered left-wing journalist Abdi İpekçi on 1 February 1979, and later shot and wounded Pope John Paul II on 13 May 1981, after escaping from a Turkish prison. After servin ...
– Turkish ultra-nationalist assassin, who shot and wounded
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
on May 13, 1981. In early 2009, Ağca renounced Islam in prison and announced his intention to convert to the Catholic faith upon release. * Michał CzajkowskiPolish-
Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
writer and political emigre who worked both for the resurrection of Poland and the reestablishment of a Cossack Ukraine. *
Mohammed Elewonibi Mohammed Thomas David "Moe" Elewonibi (born December 16, 1965) is a Nigerian-Canadian former offensive lineman who played in the National Football League (NFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was injured just prior to the end of the f ...
– Nigerian-Canadian football player * Mohammed Hegazy – first Egyptian Muslim convert to Christianity to seek official recognition of his conversion from the Egyptian Government. *
Momolu Dukuly Momolu Dukuly (1903 – 1980) was a politician in Liberia. He was the second foreign minister under William V.S. Tubman (Dukuly replaced Gabriel Lafayette Dennis, who died in office in 1954). Dukuly was the first "Native" Liberian to be appointe ...
– Liberian foreign minister. *
Mosab Hassan Yousef Mosab Hassan Yousef ( ar, مصعب حسن يوسف; nicknamed "The Green Prince"; born 5 May 1978) is a Palestinian who worked undercover for Israel's internal security service Shin Bet from 1997 to 2007. Shin Bet considered him its most valua ...
– son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a Hamas founder and one of its leader. *
Moussa Dadis Camara Captain Moussa Dadis Camara (; born 1 January 1964), now called Moïse Dadis Camara (),''Le Populaire'', , N°3232, 31 August 2010, p. 2 is an ex-officer of the Guinean army who served as the President of Guinea from 23 December 2008 to 15 Ja ...
– ex-officer of the
Guinean Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
. *
Muhsin Muhammad Muhsin Muhammad II (; born Melvin Darnell Campbell Jr. May 5, 1973) is a former American football wide receiver who played for the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Muhammad played college football for ...
– football player for
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
* Nabeel Qureshi – former Ahmadi Muslim and now co-director o
Acts 17
Apologetics Ministries. He has given lectures at universities and seminaries throughout North America. * Nafa Urbach
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
singer, actress and model. * Nasir Siddiki – Canadian evangelist, author, and business consultant. * Nazli SabriQueen consort of Egypt. *
Nonie Darwish Nonie Darwish ( ar, نوني درويش; born Nahid Darwish, 1949) is an Egyptian-American writer, founder of ''Arabs for Israel'' movement, and is Director of Former Muslims United. Darwish is an outspoken critic of Islam. The Southern Poverty L ...
Egyptian-American writer and public speaker.Friedman, Lisa
"Ex-Muslim calls on her people to reject hatred"
'' Los Angeles Daily News'', June 5, 2005. (reproduced).
* Nur LukeUyghur Bible translator. *
Olavo de Carvalho Olavo Luiz Pimentel de Carvalho (29 April 1947 – 24 January 2022) was a Brazilian polemicist, self-proclaimed philosopher, political pundit, former astrologer, journalist, and far-right conspiracy theorist. From 2005 until his death, he lived ...
– Brazilian polemicist, philosopher, political pundit, astrologer and journalist. * Omar ibn Sa'idFula writer and a Muslim who was enslaved and transported to the United States in 1807. *
Parveen Babi Parveen Babi (4 April 1954 – 20 January 2005) was an Indian actress and model. Recognized for her roles in Hindi films throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Babi was known for her "glamorous" acting style, and was one of the highest-paid ...
– Indian actress, converted to Christianity during her later life, but buried according to Muslim rites. * Patrick Sookhdeo – British
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
canon *
Paul Mulla Paul Mulla (1882–1959) (formerly ''Mollazade Mehmed Ali'') was a Turkish Cretan Catholic prelate naturalized French and a professor of Islamic Studies at the Pontificio Istituto Orientale. Biography Mulla was born in Crete under the Ottoman ...
– Turkish Muslim and professor of Islamic Studies at the
Pontifical Oriental Institute The Pontifical Oriental Institute, also known as the Orientale, is a Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome and focusing on Eastern Christianity. The plan of creating a school of higher learning for Eastern Christianity had been ...
. * Pinkan Mambo – (born Pinkan Ratnasari Mambo)
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
singer converted in 2010. Decision taken after admitting she studied various religions of the world and eventually dropped in awe of Jesus Christ. *
Qadry Ismail Qadry Rahmadan Ismail (born November 8, 1970), nicknamed "the Missile", is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round (52nd overall) of the 1993 NFL draft. He played college football at ...
– former American football player. *
Qasim Khanate Qasim Khanate or Kingdom of Qasim or Khanate of Qasım ( tt-Cyrl, Касыйм ханлыгы/Касыйм патшалыгы; russian: Касимовское ханство/Касимовское царство, ''Kasimovskoye khanstvo/Kasimo ...
– some Muslim begs and Khans of the Qasim Khanate converted to Russian Orthodox Christianity. *
Raghib Ismail Raghib Ramadian "Rocket" Ismail (born November 18, 1969) is an American former American and Canadian football wide receiver and kick returner. He played college football at Notre Dame before moving on to both the Canadian Football League (CFL) ...
– former American football player. *
Rajah Humabon Rajah Humabon, later baptized as Don Carlos, (died April 27, 1521) was the Rajah of Cebu (an Indianized Philippine polity). Humabon was Rajah at the time of the arrival of Portuguese-born, Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan in the Philippines ...
– first Filipino Sultan convert to Roman Catholicism in the name of Carlos. *
Rajah Matanda Rajah Ache ( Abecedario: ''Rája Aché'' pronounced ''Aki''), better known by his title Rajah Matanda (1480–1572), was one of the rulers of Maynila, a pre-colonial Indianized and Islamized Tagalog polity along the Pasig River in what is now ...
– sovereign of the
Kingdom of Maynila In early Philippine history, the Tagalog Bayan ("country" or "city-state") of Maynila ( tl, Bayan ng Maynila; Pre-virama Baybayin: ) was a major Tagalog city-state on the southern part of the Pasig River delta, where the district of Int ...
* Rashid Nurgaliyev
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...
politician and general convert to
Russian Orthodoxy Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
. *
Rianti Cartwright Rianti Rhiannon Cartwright (born 22 September 1983) is an Indonesian actress, model, presenter and VJ. She's best known for her leading role as 'Aisha' in a romantic religious Indonesian hit movie '' Ayat-Ayat Cinta'' ('' Verses of Love'') in 20 ...
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
actress, model, presenter and VJ. Two weeks before departure to the United States to get married, Rianti left the Muslim faith to become a baptized Catholic with the name Sophia Rianti Rhiannon Cartwright. * Rotimi Adebari – first Black mayor in Ireland. * Roy Marten – (born Wicaksono Abdul Salam)
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
actor whose family was converted to Roman Catholicism during his childhood but who converted later to Indonesian Orthodoxy in 1997. *
Rudolf Carl von Slatin Major-General Rudolf Anton Carl Freiherr von Slatin, Geh. Rat, (7 June 1857, in Ober Sankt Veit, Hietzing, Vienna – 4 October 1932, in Vienna) was an Anglo- Austrian soldier and administrator in the Sudan. Early life Rudolf Carl Slatin was ...
– Anglo-Austrian soldier and administrator in the Sudan. *
Ruffa Gutierrez Sharmaine Ruffa Rama Gutierrez (born June 24, 1974) is a Filipino model, beauty queen, host and actress. She was the 1992 Look of the Year - Philippines, Binibining Pilipinas World 1993 and Second Runner-up to Miss World 1993. Career Gutierr ...
Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...
actress, model and former beauty queen (from Christianity to Islam back to Christianity) * Sabatina James – Pakistani-Austrian former Muslim and now an Austrian Roman Catholic author. * Saeed and Nagmeh Abedini * Saint Alodia and Saint Nunilo – Christian martyrs and confessors who were put to death during the reign of
Abd ar-Rahman II Abd ar-Rahman II () (792–852) was the fourth ''Umayyad'' Emir of Córdoba in al-Andalus from 822 until his death. A vigorous and effective frontier warrior, he was also well known as a patron of the arts. Abd ar-Rahman was born in Toledo, the ...
,
Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
of Córdoba for apostasy. *
Sarah Balabagan Sarah Balabagan-Sereno (born March 8, 1979) is a Filipina who was imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates from 1994 to 1996 for murder. She was initially sentenced to death, but was later returned to the Philippines. Her story was made into a fi ...
Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...
who was imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates from 1994 to 1996 for murder. She was initially sentenced to death, but was later returned to the Philippines. * Sayed Borhan khan – Khan of
Qasim Khanate Qasim Khanate or Kingdom of Qasim or Khanate of Qasım ( tt-Cyrl, Касыйм ханлыгы/Касыйм патшалыгы; russian: Касимовское ханство/Касимовское царство, ''Kasimovskoye khanstvo/Kasimo ...
from 1627 to 1679. *
Saye Zerbo Saye Zerbo (27 August 1932 – 19 September 2013) was a Burkinabé military officer who was the third President of the Republic of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) from 25 November 1980 until 7 November 1982. He led a coup in 1980, but was resisted ...
– President of the republic of Upper Volta (now
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to th ...
). * Sheikh Deen Muhammad – (I.E. Sake Dean Mahomed)
British Indian British Indians are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) whose ancestral roots are from India. This includes people born in the UK who are of Indian origin as well as Indians who have migrated to the UK. Today, Indians comprise about 1.4 mil ...
traveller, surgeon and entrepreneur who introduced
shampoo Shampoo () is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair. Less commonly, shampoo is available in solid bar format. Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product into the s ...
ing and the
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
take-away A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...
curry house restaurant in
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
, and was the first Indian to have written a book in the English language. *
Shams Pahlavi Shams Pahlavi ( fa, شمس پهلوی; – ) was an Iranian royal of the Pahlavi dynasty, who was the elder sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. During her brother's reign she was the president of the Red Lion and Sun So ...
– Iranian princess and the elder sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran.Hussein Fardust, ''The Rise and Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty:'', Motilal Banarsidass, 1999,
Google Print, pp. 122–123
* Sharena Gunawan – Indonesian actress and model. Converted to Christianity after remarried with Indonesian actor Ryan Delon Situmeang. * The
Shihab family The Shihab dynasty (alternatively spelled Chehab; ar, الشهابيون, ALA-LC: ''al-Shihābiyūn'') was an Arab family whose members served as the paramount tax farmers and local chiefs of Mount Lebanon from the early 18th to mid-19th centu ...
– prominent Lebanese noble family. The family originally belonged to Sunni Islam and converted to Maronite Catholicism at the end of the 18th century.Ivan Mannheim, ''Syria & Lebanon handbook'', Footprint Travel Guides, 2001,
Google Print, p. 567
* The Sibirsky family – foremost of many
Genghisid A Borjigin, ; ; russian: Борджигин, Bordžigin; English plural: Borjigins or Borjigid (from Middle Mongolian);''Histoire des campagnes de Gengis Khan'', p. 119. Manchu plural: is a member of the Mongol sub-clan, which started with B ...
(
Shaybanid The Shibanids or Shaybanids ( fa, سلسله شیبانیان) or more accurately the Abu'l-Khayrid-Shibanids were a Persianized''Introduction: The Turko-Persian tradition'', Robert L. Canfield, Turko-Persia in Historical Perspective, ed. Robert L. ...
) noble families formerly living in Russia.Michael Khodarkovsky, ''Russia's Steppe Frontier'', Indiana University Press, 2002, , M1 Google Print, p. 265. * Sigi Wimala
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
model and actress, converted to
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
after marriage. * Simeon Bekbulatovich – Khan of
Qasim Khanate Qasim Khanate or Kingdom of Qasim or Khanate of Qasım ( tt-Cyrl, Касыйм ханлыгы/Касыйм патшалыгы; russian: Касимовское ханство/Касимовское царство, ''Kasimovskoye khanstvo/Kasimo ...
. *
Skanderbeg , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares la ...
n monarch and military leader. Skanderbeg converted to Islam from Christianity but reverted to Christianity later in life.Rendina, Claudio (2000). La grande enciclopedia di Roma. Rome: Newton Compton, 1136. . *
Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary ( fa, ثریا اسفندیاری بختیاری, Sorayâ Esfandiâri-Baxtiâri; 22 June 1932 – 26 October 2001) was Queen of the Imperial State of Iran as the second wife of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whom she ma ...
– second wife and Queen Consort of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran who converted to Roman Catholicism. *
Ștefan Răzvan Ștefan Răzvan (died December 1595) was a Voivode (Prince) of Moldavia (between 24 April 1595 and August 1595) of Romani descent from the historical state of Wallachia. Biography The father of Ștefan Răzvan was a Muslim Roma from the Ottom ...
Gypsy prince who ruled Moldavia for six months in 1595. * Taysir Abu Saada – former member of the
PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and st ...
and the founder of the christian ministry Hope For Ishmael after he converted to christianity. He was
Yasir Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
's personal driver. * Thomas Yayi Boni – President of
Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...
* Tunch Ilkin – (born Tunç Ali İlkin)
Turkish American Turkish Americans ( tr, Türk Amerikalılar) or American Turks are Americans of ethnic Turkish origin. The term "Turkish Americans" can therefore refer to ethnic Turkish immigrants to the United States, as well as their American-born descend ...
sports broadcaster and a former American football player *
Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh ( ar, عبيد الله بن جحش) () was one of the four monotheistic hanifs mentioned by Ibn Ishaq, the others being Waraka ibn Nawfal, Uthman ibn Huwairith and Zayd ibn Amr. Biography He was the son of Jahsh ibn Riyab ...
– brother of
Zaynab bint Jahsh Zaynab bint Jaḥsh ( ar, زينب بنت جحش; 590–641 CE), was a first cousin and wife of Muhammad and therefore considered by Muslims to be a Mother of the Believers. Abdulmalik ibn Hisham. ''Notes to Ibn Ishaq's "Life of the Prophet"' ...
, the wife of Muhammad and one of the male Sahaba (companions of the Prophet). *
Udo Ulfkotte Udo Ulfkotte (20 January 1960 – 13 January 2017) was a German journalist and conspiracy theorist who maintained that journalists (including himself) and leading newspapers published material that had been fed to them, or bought, by the CIA an ...
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
journalist who was born a Christian, became an atheist, then converted to Islam and finally converted back to Christianity. * Umar ibn Hafsun – leader of anti- Ummayad dynasty forces in southern Iberia. Hafsun converted to Christianity with his sons and ruled over several mountain valleys for nearly forty years, having the castle Bobastro as his residence.Damien Simonis, Sarah Andrews, ''Spain'', Lonely Planet, 2005,
Google Print, pp. 743
*
Utameshgaray of Kazan Ütämeşgäräy (pronounced , also spelled Utamish, Ütämeş, Ötemiş Giray, Utyamysh; frequently anglicized as Ötemish Giray via Crimean Tatar) (1546–1566) was a Khan of the Kazan Khanate from 1549-1551. He was the son of Safagäräy ...
– Khan of
Kazan Khanate The Khanate of Kazan ( tt, Казан ханлыгы, Kazan xanlıgı; russian: Казанское ханство, Kazanskoye khanstvo) was a medieval Tatar Turkic state that occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 155 ...
*
Walid Shoebat Walid Shoebat ( ar, وليد شعيبات) is a Palestinian American speaker, author and a critic of Islam. He was born in the West Bank to an American mother, and converted to Christianity from Islam. Shoebat has claimed to be an ex- PLO terro ...
– American author and self-proclaimed former member of the
PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and st ...
*
Wu'erkaixi Örkesh Dölet ( ug, ئۆركەش دۆلەت, zh, 吾尔开希·多莱特; commonly known by his pinyin name Wu'erkaixi) is a political commentator known for his leading role during the Tiananmen protests of 1989. Of Uyghur heritage, he was bo ...
Uyghur dissident known for his leading role during the Tiananmen protests of 1989. * Yadegar Moxammat of Kazan (Yadegar Mokhammad of Kazan) – last khan of
Kazan Khanate The Khanate of Kazan ( tt, Казан ханлыгы, Kazan xanlıgı; russian: Казанское ханство, Kazanskoye khanstvo) was a medieval Tatar Turkic state that occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 155 ...
*
Youcef Nadarkhani Youcef Nadarkhani (born 1977) is an Iranian Christian pastor who was sentenced to death (but later acquitted) in Tehran as being a Christian having been born into Islam. Initial reports, including a 2010 brief from the Iranian Supreme court, st ...
– Iranian Christian pastor who has been sentenced to death for apostasy. *
Zachariah Anani Zachariah Anani (25 December 1958 – 4 July 2016, Arabic: زكريا عناني, also Zack or Zak) was a Sunni Muslim citizen of Lebanon who later converted to Christianity and settled in Canada in 1996. He described himself as a former militia fig ...
– former Sunni Muslim Lebanese militia fighter *
Zaida of Seville Zaida of Seville, c. 1070–1093/1107 (?), was a refugee Muslim princess, formerly associated with the Abbadid dynasty, who became a mistress and then perhaps wife of king Alfonso VI of Castile. She is said by Al-Andalus sources to have been the ...
– refugee Andalusian Muslim princess who was a mistress and then perhaps queen of Alfonso VI of Castile


Converted to the Bábí and Baháʼí Faith

These were mostly people who were followers of the Bahá'u'lláh at the time he founded the
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...
. They were formerly Muslims. * 'Abdu'l-Karim Amín Khawja – first native Algerian convert to the Baháʼí Faith. * Hají Ákhúnd – eminent follower of Bahá'u'lláh. He was appointed a
Hand of the Cause Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá who died in 2007. Hands of ...
, and identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh. * Ibn-i-Abhar – appointed a Hand of the Cause, and identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh. * Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl – foremost Baháʼí scholar who helped spread the Baháʼí Faith in Egypt, Turkmenistan, and the United States. One of the few
Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
who never actually met Bahá'u'lláh. * Mírzá Mahmúd – eminent follower of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. *
Mishkín-Qalam Mírzá Ḥusayn-i-Isfahání (surnamed Mis͟hkín-Qalam () meaning "jet-black pen"; 18261912) was a prominent Baháʼí and one of the nineteen Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh, as well as a famous calligrapher of 19th-century Persia. He is the autho ...
– prominent Baháʼí and one of the nineteen
Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
, as well as a famous
calligrapher Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
of 19th century Persia. * Nabíl-i-A'zam – Baháʼí historian and one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh *
Núrayn-i-Nayyirayn Núrayn-i-Nayyirayn ( ar, نورين نيران, meaning "twin shining lights") are two brothers who were followers of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, a global religion of Persian origin. They were beheaded in 1879 as a result ...
– two brothers who were beheaded in the city of Isfahan in 1879. * Sami Doktoroğlu – early and important member of the Baháʼí Faith in Turkey. * Somaya Ramadan – 2001 winner of the
Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature is a literary award for Arabic literature.Táhirih Táhirih (Ṭāhira) ( fa, طاهره, "The Pure One," also called Qurrat al-ʿAyn ( "Solace/Consolation of the Eyes") are both titles of Fatimah Baraghani/Umm-i Salmih (1814 or 1817 – August 16–27, 1852), an influential poet, women's rights ...
– Persian poet and theologian of the Bábí faith in Iran.


Converted to an Indian religion


Converted to Hinduism

*
Annapurna Devi (1927 – 13 October 2018) was an Indian surbahar (bass sitar) player of Hindustani classical music. She was given the name 'Annapurna' by former Maharaja Brijnath Singh of the former Maihar Estate (M.P.), and it was by this name that she was p ...
(born Roshanara Khan) –
surbahar ''Surbahar'' (; ) sometimes known as bass sitar, is a plucked string instrument used in the Hindustani classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is closely related to the sitar, but has a lower pitch. Depending on the instrument's size, i ...
(bass sitar) player and music teacher in the North Indian classical tradition. She converted to Hinduism upon marriage. * Anwar Shaikh – British author *
Aashish Khan Aashish Khan Debsharma (born 5 December 1939) is an Indian classical musician, a player of the sarod. He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2006 in the 'Best World Music' category for his album "Golden Strings of the Sarode". He is also a recip ...
(born Ustad Aashish Khan Debsharma) – Indian musician * Asha Gawli – (born Ayesha) wife of
Arun Gawli Arun Gulab Gawli (born 17 July 1955) also known as Arun Gulab Ahir, is an Indian politician, underworld don and retired gangster. Gawli and his brother Kishor (Pappa) entered the Mumbai underworld in the 1970s, when they joined the "Byculla Co ...
, notorious gangster turned politician from Mumbai, India. She converted to Hinduism upon marriage. *
Bukka I Bukka Raya I (reigned 1356–1377 CE) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Sangama Dynasty.Phrof A V Narasimha MurthyRare Royal Brothers: Hakka and Bukka He was a son of Bhavana Sangama(Unofficial). Background The early life of B ...
– King of Vijayanagara empire who converted to Islam, then reverted to Hinduism. The early life of Bukka as well as his brother Hakka (also known as Harihara I) are relatively unknown and most accounts of their early life are based on theories.Chopra, P.N. T.K. Ravindran and N. Subrahmaniam.History of South India. S. Chand, 2003. . *
Chander Mohan Chander Mohan Bishnoi, is an Indian politician and former Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana. He is elder son of former Chief Minister of Haryana Bhajanlal Bishnoi. He is currently a member of Indian National Congress, while previously he was a ...
– former Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana State in India. He was born Chandra Mohan he converted to Islam after marriage and again reverted to Hinduism after his divorce. *
Happy Salma Happy Salma (born January 4, 1980) is an Indonesian actress, also known as producer of theatre performances and jewelry entrepreneur. She is one of the most influential figures in Asia, according to the Tatler Malaysia in 2020. Career Literatu ...
Indonesian actress, writer, model, became princess and member of the Lordship of Ubud after marriage. * Haridas Thakura – prominent Vaishnavite saint, instrumental in the early appearance and spread of
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna may refer to: * International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a group commonly known as "Hare Krishnas" or the "Hare Krishna movement" * Hare Krishna (mantra) The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the (" ...
movement. * Harihara I – King of Vijayanagara Empire who converted to Islam, then reconverted. * Harilal Mohandas Gandhi – son of Mahatma Gandhi. Upon converting to Islam he adopted the name ''Abdullah Gandhi'', but later again reverted to Hinduism.Watching 'Gandhi my Father' was painful: Tushar
* Ifa SudewiIndonesian chief judge for the
2002 Bali bombing The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people of more than 20 other nationali ...
trials. *
Khushboo Sundar Khushbu Sundar (born Nakhat Khan; 29 September 1970) is an Indian actress, politician, film producer and television presenter. She is known for her works predominantly in Tamil, besides Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films. She is a re ...
– Tamil movie actress. She converted to Hinduism upon marriage. * Nargis
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
film actress. Mother of Indian actor Sanjay Dutt. *
Netaji Palkar Netaji Palkar (1620–1681) was a ''Sardar Senapati'' or ''Sarnaubat'' ( Commander-in-Chief) under Chhatrapati Shivaji, founder of the Maratha empire. Family history Netaji Palkar was born in a small village, called Chouk in Khalapur, Mahara ...
Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
noble and commander-in-chief of the army of
Chhatrapati Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adil ...
, 19 June 1676. * Sarmad – 17th-century mystical poet and sufi saint, arrived from Persia to India, beheaded for assumed heresy by the Mughal emperor, Aurungzebe. Sarmad renounced Judaism, briefly converting to Islam and then Hinduism. He later denounced all religions and rejected belief in god. *
Sukmawati Sukarnoputri Diah Mutiara Sukmawati Sukarnoputri (born 26 October 1951) is the third daughter of Indonesia’s founding president Sukarno and his wife Fatmawati. Sukmawati is the younger sister of former Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri and politician ...
– daughter of Indonesia's founding president
Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...
and his wife Fatmawati. Sister of former Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri, Sukmawati converted to Hinduism during a Sudhi Wadani ceremony in October 2021. * Zubeida
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
film actress, on whose life story the film
Zubeidaa ''Zubeidaa'' is a 2001 Indian film directed by Shyam Benegal and written by Khalid Mohammed. It stars Karisma Kapoor, Rekha, Manoj Bajpayee, Surekha Sikri, Rajit Kapoor, Lillete Dubey, Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, and Shakti Kapoor. A.R. Rahma ...
was based. She converted to Hinduism upon marriage. * Pandit Mahendra Pal Arya (b.1957) – previously known as Mehboob Ali, a former imam in Uttar Pradesh, India, became an Arya Samaj preacher, Hindu apologist and leader of Arya Kendriya Sabha. *Mahmudul Hasan – Bangladeshi cricketer. Changed name to Niranjan Das. * Wasim Rizvi – Indian Shia and WAQF board chairman, converted to Hinduism. * Ali Akbar – Kerala film maker, reverted to Hinduism.


Converted to

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

*
Bunnag family The House of Bunnag ( th, บุนนาค; ) was a powerful Siamese noble family of Mon-Persian descent influential during the late Ayutthaya kingdom and early Rattanakosin period. Originally of Persian Islamic descent, they converted en masse ...
– Thai family of Persian descent. * Kenneth Hsien-yung Pai (b. 1937) –
Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...
writer of Hui descent. * Napapa Tantrakul (b. 1986) – Thai actress *
Sri Sulalai Sri Sulalai ( th, ศรีสุลาลัย; ; 1770–1837), née Riam ( th, เรียม), was the wife of Phra Phutthaloetla Naphalai, Rama II of Siam and was the mother of Nangklao, Rama III. She was of Persian descent and her famil ...
(1770–1837) – princess of the royal family of the Sultanate of Singora. Rama II of Siam took her as a concubine. *
Suraj Randiv Hewa Kaluhalamullage Suraj Randiv Kaluhalamulla (born 30 January 1985), formerly Mohamed Marshuk Mohamed Suraj, known popularly as Suraj Randiv, is a former professional Sri Lankan cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He plays first-cla ...
(b. 1985) – Sri Lankan cricketer *
Tillakaratne Dilshan Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan ( si, තිලකරත්න මුදියන්සේලාගේ ඩිල්ෂාන්; born 14 October 1976), commonly known as TM Dilshan () is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and former captain of th ...
(b. 1976) – Sri Lankan cricketer * Tillakaratne Sampath (b. 1982) – Sri Lankan cricketer *
Wong Ah Kiu Wong Ah Kiu (1918 – 19 January 2006), legally known as Nyonya binti Tahir, was a Malaysian woman born to a Muslim family but raised Buddhist.; has picture of Wong. The court case which arose after her death over whether she should receive an ...
(1918–2006) – Malay woman born to a Muslim family but was raised as
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
; her conversion from Islam became a legal issue in Malaysia on her death


Converted to Sikhism

* Kuldip Manak – deceased Punjabi folk singer


Part of an unorganized religion or no religion

* Mansiya V.P. a
Bharatnatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...
exponent from Kerala India. Non-conformist on religious front but believes in God.


Became

atheists Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

* * Abdullah al-Qasemi – Saudi Arabian 20th-century writer and intellectual. Former
Salafist The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...
who became atheist and rejected organized religion. *
Afshin Ellian Afshin Ellian (born 27 February 1966 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian-Dutch professor of law, philosopher, poet, and critic of political Islam. He is an expert in international public law and philosophy of law. Biography In 1989, Ellian came to t ...
Iranian- Dutch
professor of law Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular j ...
, philosopher, poet * Ahmed Harqan – Egyptian human rights activist and outspoken atheist. * Ahmed Sharif – Bangladeshi humanist book seller, human rights activist and secular humanist."I was born in a very much conservative Muslim family wherein my parents, kith and kin are very strict followers of Islam., but later I became an atheist.
Owner of Society Of Asian Freethinkers
, Sharif Ahmed, Listed activist of Amnesty International's magazine.
*
Al-Ma'arri Abū al-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī ( ar, أبو العلاء المعري, full name , also known under his Latin name Abulola Moarrensis; December 973 – May 1057) was an Arab philosopher, poet, and writer. Despite holding a controversially irrel ...
– blind Arab philosopher, poet and writer. *
Alexander Aan Alexander Aan (born 1981) is an Indonesian atheist and ex-Muslim of Minang descent. He was imprisoned in 2012 for posting comments and images to Facebook that were judged to be "disseminating information aimed at inciting religious hatred or h ...
– Indonesian atheist and ex-Muslim of Minang descent, who was attacked by a mob and arrested in 2012 for posting "God does not exist" and other antireligious writings on Facebook, attracting international attention. *
Ali A. Rizvi Ali Amjad Rizvi (born 29 May 1975) is a Pakistani-born Canadian atheist ex-Muslim and secular humanist writer and podcaster who explores the challenges of Muslims who leave their faith. He writes a column for the ''Huffington Post'' and co-hos ...
– Pakistani-born Canadian physician, writer and ex-Muslim activist *
Ali Soilih Ali Soilih M'Tsashiwa ( ar, علي صويلح; January 7, 1937 – May 29, 1978) was a Comorian socialist revolutionary and political figure who served as the 3rd President of the Comoros from 3 January 1976 to 13 May 1978. Biography Soilih ...
Comorian socialist revolutionary; president of the Comoros *
Ali Dashti Ali Dashti ( fa, علی دشتی, pronounced ; 31 March 1897 – January 16, 1982) was an Iranian rationalist of the twentieth century. Dashti was also an Iranian senator. Life Born into a Persian family in Dashti in Bushehr Province, Ira ...
– Iranian rationalist and member of Iranian Senate. * Aliaa Magda Elmahdy – Egyptian internet activist and women's rights advocate. * Aliyah Saleem – British secular education campaigner, writer and market researcher, activist and co-founder of advocacy group Faith to Faithless. * Anwar Shaikh – British author of Pakistani descent.''The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, the Ayatollah, and the West'' by Daniel Pipes, p. 283. * Armin Navabi – Iranian-born atheist and secular activist, author, podcaster and vlogger, founder of
Atheist Republic Armin Navabi ( fa, آرمین نوابی; born 25 December 1983) is an Iranian-Canadian ex-Muslim atheist, author and podcaster, currently living in Vancouver, Canada. In 2012, he founded the online freethought community Atheist Republic, a ...
*
Aroj Ali Matubbar Aroj Ali Matubbar ( bn, আরজ আলী মাতুব্বর; 17 December 190015 March 1985) was a self-taught philosopher and rationalist from Bangladesh. Early life and education Matubbar was born in the village of Charbaria Lamchar ...
– self-taught
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
i philosopher * Arzu Toker – German-speaking writer, journalist, publicist, translator of Turkish descent, cofounder of the
Central Council of Ex-Muslims The Central Council of Ex-Muslims ( German: ''Zentralrat der Ex-Muslime'', ''ZdE'') is a German association ( Verein) advocating for the rights and interests of non-religious, secular persons of Muslim heritage who have left Islam. It was foun ...
in Germany. * As'ad Abu Khalil – Lebanese professor of political science at
California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...
, Stanislaus. He describes himself as an ''"atheist secularist"''. * Asif Mohiuddin – Bangladeshi blogger and secularist *
Ayaan Hirsi Ali Ayaan Hirsi Ali (; ; Somali: ''Ayaan Xirsi Cali'':'' Ayān Ḥirsī 'Alī;'' born Ayaan Hirsi Magan, ar, أيان حرسي علي / ALA-LC: ''Ayān Ḥirsī 'Alī'' 13 November 1969) is a Somali-born Dutch-American activist and former politi ...
Somali-born Dutch feminist, writer, and politician. * Ayaz Nizami – Pakistani Muslim became
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
, Founder of realisticapproach.org. an Urdu website about atheism, and Vice President of Atheist & Agnostic Alliance Pakistan He is currently detained under the charges of
blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...
and could face the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
. *
Ayman Odeh Ayman Odeh ( ar, أيمن عودة, he, אַיְּימָן עוֹדֶה; born 1 January 1975) is an Israeli Arab lawyer and politician. He is a member of Knesset and leader of the Hadash party. Biography Ayman Odeh was born in 1975, and raised ...
– Israeli politician * Aziz Nesin – popular Turkish humorist and author of more than 100 books. *
Barack Obama Sr. Barack Hussein Obama Sr. (; 18 June 1934 – 24 November 1982) was a Kenyan senior governmental economist and the father of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. He is a central figure of his son's memoir, '' Dreams from My Fa ...
Kenyan senior governmental
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...
, and the
father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fath ...
of 44th U.S. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
* Bisi Alimi
Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...
gay rights activist based in the United Kingdom * Catherine Perez-Shakdam – French journalist, political analyst and commentator; formerly a convert to Islam, born to a Jewish family * Bonya Ahmed – Bangladeshi-American author, humanist activist and blogger, wife of
Avijit Roy Avijit Roy ( bn, অভিজিৎ রায়; 12 September 1972 – 26 February 2015) was a Bangladeshi-American engineer, online activist, writer and blogger known for creating and administrating the '' Mukto-Mona'', an Internet community ...
; hacked to death after receiving threats related to his promotion of secular views. * E. A. Jabbar – Indian ex-Muslim, orator, writer, retired school teacher of Kerala. Editor of Yukthiyugam Malayalam Magazine * Ebru Umar – Dutch columnist of Turkish descent, critic of Islam and of Turkish president
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to ...
. * Enver Hoxha – Communist dictator who declared
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares la ...
the first atheist state, and who has been identified as an "arch-atheist." *
Fatima Sana Shaikh Fatima Sana Shaikh (born 11 January 1992) is an Indian actress, who works in Hindi films. Shaikh appeared as a child artist in such films as ''Chachi 420'' (1997) and '' One 2 Ka 4'' (2001). In 2016, she portrayed wrestler Geeta Phogat in the to ...
– Indian actress *
Faik Konitza Faik Bey Konica (later named ''Faïk Dominik Konitza'', 15 March 1875 – 15 December 1942) was an important figure in Albanian language and culture in the early decades of the twentieth century. Prewar Albanian minister to Washington, his liter ...
– Albanian stylist, critic, publicist and political figure that had a tremendous impact on Albanian writing and on Albanian culture at the time. *
Faisal Saeed Al Mutar Faisal Saeed Al Mutar ( ar, فيصل سعيد المطر; born 1991) is an Iraqi-American human-rights activist, writer, and satirist who was admitted to the United States as a refugee in 2013. He is founder of Global Conversations and Ideas Beyo ...
– Iraqi-born satirist, human rights activist, writer, founder of the Global Secular Humanist Movement (GSHM). * Farhan Akhtar – Indian actor, singer, songwriter, playback singer, producer and television host. * Fauzia Ilyas – founder of Atheist & Agnostic Alliance Pakistan * Fazıl Say – Turkish pianist, sued for having expressed his atheism publicly. * Gauhar Raza – Indian scientist, Urdu poet and filmmaker. * Hafid Bouazza – Moroccan-Dutch writer. * Hamed Abdel-Samad – German-Egyptian political scientist, historian and author. * Hassan Bahara – Moroccan-Dutch writer. *
Humayun Azad Humayun Azad (born Humayun Kabir; 28 April 1947 – 12 August 2004) was a Bangladeshi poet, novelist, short-story writer, critic, linguist, columnist and professor of Dhaka University. He wrote more than sixty titles. He was awarded the Bangl ...
– Bangladeshi author, poet and linguists. *
Inkulab ''Makkal Pavalar'' Inkulab (also spelt Inquilab, Inkulab or Ingulab) ( ta, மக்கள் பாவலர் இன்குலாப்; c. 1944 – 1 December 2016) was an Indian rationalist Tamil poet/writer, activist, and Communist with ...
– Tamil rationalist poet/writer and Marxist activist. Born as Sakul Hameed. *
Irfan Habib Irfan Habib (born August 10, 1931) is an Indian historian of ancient and medieval India, following the methodology of Marxist historiography in his contributions to economic history. He identifies as a Marxist and is well known for his strong ...
– Indian historian. * Ismael Adham – Egyptian writer and philosopher.Re-drawing the line
– Al Ahram Weekly, August 9, 2000.
*
Ismail Kadare Ismail Kadare (; spelled Ismaïl Kadaré in French; born on 28 January 1936) is an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright. He is a leading international literary figure and intellectual. He focused on poetry until the pu ...
– world-renowned Albanian writer. * Ismail Mohamed (activist) – Egyptian atheist human rights activist, host of ''The Black Ducks'' programme. * Javed Akhtar – noted Indian writer and lyricist. *
Kacem El Ghazzali Kacem El Ghazzali (, ; born 24 June 1990), is a Moroccan-Swiss secularist essayist and activist and is one of the few publicly atheist Moroccans. Kacem speaks English, as well as German, French, Arabic and Berber. Mostly known for his publicly voi ...
– Moroccan-Swiss writer and activist. * Kanan Makiya – Iraqi-American academic and Islamic and Middle Eastern * Kareem Amer – Egyptian blogger. * Kumail NanjianiPakistani American
stand-up comic Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...
and actor. *
Lounès Matoub Lounès Matoub (; ) (January 24, 1956 – June 25, 1998) was an Algerian Kabylian singer, poet, thinker who sparked an intellectual revolution, and mandole player who was an advocate of the Berber cause, human rights, and secularism in Alge ...
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
n Berber Kabyle singer. *
Maryam Namazie Maryam Namazie ( fa, مریم نمازی; born 1966) is a British-Iranian secularist, communist and human rights activist, commentator, and broadcaster. Early life Most of her early work focused on refugee rights, especially in Sudan, Turkey, ...
– Iranian communist, political activist and leader of the British apostate-organization Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain * Massin Kevin Labidi – Dutch atheist activist of Tunisian descent, known for criticism of Islam. *
Mina Ahadi Mina Ahadi ( fa, مینا احدی, Minâ Ahadi, born 1956) is an Iranian-Austrian political activist. As a Communist political activist, she is a member of the Central Committee and Politburo of the Worker-communist Party of Iran. Advocacy Mi ...
– Iranian-born pacifist, founder of the German apostate-organization " Zentralrat der Ex-Muslime" * Mirza Fatali Akhundov – 19th century
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
i playwright and philosopher. * Muhammad Syed – Pakistani American speaker and political activist. Co-founder of Ex-Muslims of North America. * Nahla Mahmoud – Sudanese-born British writer, secularist, environmentalist, and human rights activist, and spokesperson for the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. * Parvin Darabi – Iranian born American activist, writer and woman's rights activist. Darabi, Parvin ''Rage Against the Veil: The Courageous Life and Death of an Islamic Dissident'' . *
Pelin Batu Pelin Batu (born 27 December 1978) is a Turkish author, actress, historian, and television personality. Biography Due to her father İnal Batu's career as a diplomat, she spent her childhood in many foreign countries including Pakistan, Cypru ...
Turkish actress and television personality *
Rahaf Mohammed Rahaf Mohammed (formerly Rahaf Mohammed Mutlaq al-Qunun Al-Shammari; ar, رهف محمد مطلق القنون الشمري) is a Saudi refugee and author who was detained by Thai authorities on 5 January 2019 while transiting through Bangkok a ...
– Saudi Arabian refugee in Canada whose January 2019 flight attracted international attention and involved diplomatic intervention. *
Ramiz Alia Ramiz Tafë Alia (; 18 October 1925 – 7 October 2011) was an Albanian politician serving as the second and last leader of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1985 to 1991, serving as First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albani ...
– Albanian communist leader and former president of
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares la ...
. * Rana Ahmad – Saudi Arabian refugee in Germany, author, women's rights activist and founder of the Atheist Refugee Relief * Razib Khan- Bangladeshi-American writer in population genetics and consumer genomics. * Sagopa Kajmer – Turkish rap musician, songwriter, record producer and DJ * Salman Rushdie – British-Indian novelist and essayist.Interview with Rushdie by Gigi Marzullo; Sottovoce, RAIUNO, March 31, 2006. * Sam Touzani – Belgian actor, TV presenter, choreographer and comedian with Moroccan roots, critic of both the far-right and Islamism. * Sarah Haider – American writer, speaker, political activist and co-founder of Ex-Muslims of North America. *
Sarmad Kashani Sarmad Kashani, or simply Sarmad (ca. 1590–1661) was a Persian-speaking Armenian mystic and poet who travelled to and made the Indian subcontinent his permanent home during the 17th century. Originally Jewish, he may have renounced his religion ...
– seventeenth-century mystical poet and sufi saint, arrived from Persia to India, beheaded for assumed heresy by the Mughal emperor, Aurungzebe. Sarmad renounced Judaism, briefly converting to Islam and then Hinduism. He later denounced all religions and rejected belief in gods. *
Sibel Kekilli Sibel Kekilli (born 16 June 1980) is a German actress. She gained public attention after starring in the 2004 film '' Head-On''. She won two Lolas, the most prestigious German film awards, for her performances in ''Head-On'' and '' When We Leav ...
– German actress of Turkish origin, known for her role as 'Shae' in '' Game of Thrones''. Kekili was raised as a Muslim, but does not belong to any religion anymore, and although she stated she respects all religions, has criticised the physical mistreatment of women in Islam. *
Sherif Gaber Sherif Gaber Abdelazim Bakr ( ar, شريف جابر عبد العظيم بكر, Šarīf Ǧābir ʿAbd al-ʿAẓīm Bakr ; born c. 1993), is an Egyptian political activist and blogger who was arrested on October 27, 2013, for professing atheism, c ...
– Egyptian political activist and blogger. * Sofia Ashraf – Indian rapper and singer. * Taslima Nasrin – Bangladeshi author, feminist, human rights activist and secular humanist."I was born in a Muslim family, but I became an atheist.
For freedom of expression
Taslima Nasreen, November 12, 1999 – Taslima Nasreen took the floor during Commission V of UNESCO's General Conference, as a delegate of the NGO
International Humanist and Ethical Union Humanists International (known as the International Humanist and Ethical Union, or IHEU, from 1952–2019) is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanist values. Foun ...
(Accessed December 23, 2006).
* Turan Dursun – Turkish author and muslim. He was once a Turkish mufti and later authored many books critical of Islam. *
Valon Behrami Valon Behrami (born 19 April 1985) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Behrami was capped 83 times at international level by the Switzerland national team, playing at four FIFA World Cups, UEFA Euro 2008 and UE ...
– Kosovo-born Swiss professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Watford. * Waleed Al-Husseini
Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
philosopher, essayist, writer, blogger and co-founder of (CEMF). *
Yasmine Mohammed Yasmine Mohammed is a Canadian university instructor, human rights activist and author. Mohammed, who escaped from a forced, abusive marriage to Al-Qaeda operative Essam Marzouk, became an advocate for women's rights through her non-profit o ...
– Canadian-born human rights activist, founder of Free Hearts, Free Minds and author of ''Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam''. *
Zackie Achmat Abdurrazack "Zackie" Achmat (born 21 March 1962) is a South African activist and film director. He is a co-founder the Treatment Action Campaign and known worldwide for his activism on behalf of people living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa ...
– South African anti-HIV/AIDS activist; founder of the
Treatment Action Campaign The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is a South African HIV/AIDS activist organisation which was co-founded by the HIV-positive activist Zackie Achmat in 1998. TAC is rooted in the experiences, direct action tactics and anti-apartheid backgroun ...
. * Zara Kay – Tanzanian-Australian activist, founder of Faithless Hijabi. *
Zineb El Rhazoui Zineb El Rhazoui (; born January 19, 1982) is a Morocco, Moroccan-born France, French journalist. She was a columnist for Paris-based satirical magazine ''Charlie Hebdo'' from 2011 to 2017.Anne Penketh, Matthew WeaverCharlie Hebdo: first cover sin ...
– Moroccan-born French journalist and former columnist for Paris-based satirical magazine ''
Charlie Hebdo ''Charlie Hebdo'' (; meaning ''Charlie Weekly'') is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has been described as Anti-racism, anti-racist, sceptica ...
''.Anne Penketh, Matthew Weaver
Charlie Hebdo: first cover since terror attack depicts prophet Muhammad
''The Guardian'', 13 January 2015
*
Zoya Akhtar Zoya Akhtar (born 14 October 1972) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. After completing a diploma in filmmaking from NYU, she assisted directors such as Mira Nair, Tony Gerber and Dev Benegal, before becomi ...
– Indian director and screenwriter.


Became

agnostics Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...

* Abdullah al-Qasemi – one of the most controversial intellectuals in the Arab world because of his radical change from defending Salafism to defending atheism and rejecting organized religion. * Alyque Padamsee – Indian theatre personality and ad filmmaker. He was the father of Indian Advertizing. He was an agnostic. *
Cenk Uygur Cenk Kadir Uygur ( ; ; born March 21, 1970) is a Turkish-American progressive political commentator, media host, attorney, journalist, and politician. Uygur is the creator of ''The Young Turks'', an American left-wing, sociopolitical, progressiv ...
– Main host of the
liberal talk radio Progressive talk radio is a talk radio format devoted to expressing left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoints of news and issues as opposed to conservative talk radio. In the United States, the format has included syndicated and independen ...
show The Young Turks. He is an agnostic. * Fareed Zakaria – Indian-American
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by t ...
host. He is a self described secular and non practicing Muslim. He added: "My views on faith are complicated—somewhere between deism and agnosticism. I am completely secular in my outlook." * Ibn al-Rawandi – early skeptic of Islam.On Ibn al-Rawandi, from the
Encyclopaedia of Islam The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is an encyclopaedia of the academic discipline of Islamic studies published by Brill. It is considered to be the standard reference work in the field of Islamic studies. The first edition was published i ...
, 1971, Volume 3, E J Brill, Leiden, p. 905.
* Ibn Warraq
British Pakistani British Pakistanis ( ur, (Bratānia men maqīm pākstānī); also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes people born in t ...
secularist author and founder of the Institute for the Secularisation of Islamic Society"Warraq, 60, describes himself now as an agnostic...
Dissident voices
World Magazine, June 16, 2007, Vol. 22, No. 22.
* Seema Mustafa – Indian journalist,
Political Editor The political editor of a newspaper or broadcaster is the senior political reporter who covers politics and related matters for the newspaper or station. They may have a large team of political correspondents working under them. In publishing, beca ...
and Delhi
Bureau Chief A news bureau is an office for gathering or distributing news. Similar terms are used for specialized bureaus, often to indicate a geographic location or scope of coverage: a ‘Tokyo bureau’ refers to a given news operation's office in Tokyo; ...
of The Asian Age newspaper. * Wafa Sultan
Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...
-born American psychiatrist and controversial critic of Islam. She describes herself as a ''"
Secular Humanist Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system or life stance that embraces human reason, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basis of morality a ...
"'' * Dr.
Younus Shaikh Mohammed Younus Shaikh ( Punjabi, ur, , born 30 May 1952) is a Pakistani medical doctor, human rights activist and freethinker. When he was a teacher at a medical college in Islamabad, Shaikh was an active member of the South Asia Peace Move ...
– Pakistani medical doctor, human rights activist, rationalist and
free-thinker Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other method ...
. *
Zohra Sehgal Zohra Mumtaz Sehgal (born Sahibzadi Zohra Mumtazullah Khan Begum; 27 April 1912 – 10 July 2014) was an Indian actress, dancer, and choreographer. Having begun her career as a member of a contemporary dance troupe, she transitioned into acting ...
– Indian actress who has appeared in several Hindi and English language films.


Became deists

*
Ahmad Kasravi Ahmad Hokmabadi Tabrizi ( fa, سید احمد حکم‌آبادی تبریزی, Ahmad-e Hokmabadi-ye Tabrizi; 29 September 1890 – 11 March 1946), later known as Ahmad Kasravi ( fa, احمد کسروی, Ahmad-e Kasravi), was a pre-eminent Irani ...
– notable Iranian
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingui ...
, historian, and reformer. *
Ehsan Jami Ehsan Jami (born April 20, 1985) is an Iranian-born Iranian-Dutch politician, activist and author who co-founded the former Central Committee for Ex-Muslims. He was previously a member of the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) before becoming active in th ...
– former politician and founder of
Central Committee for Ex-Muslims The Central Committee for Ex-Muslims ( nl, Centraal Comité voor Ex-moslims) was a Dutch committee that aimed to aid Muslims who wish to leave Islam through the constitutional right of freedom of religion. In addition, the committee fought to break ...
.


Became non-religious

* Mustafa Kemal Atatürk – Turkish field marshal, statesman, secularist reformer, and author. Sources point out that Atatürk was a religious skeptic and a freethinker. While his specific religious views are unclear, he was a non-doctrinaire deist or an
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
, who was antireligious and anti-Islamic in general. According to Atatürk, the Turkish people do not know what Islam really is and do not read the Quran. People are influenced by Arabic sentences that they do not understand, and because of their customs they go to mosques. When the Turks read the Quran and think about it, they will leave Islam. Atatürk described Islam as the religion of the
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
in his own work titled ''Vatandaş için Medeni Bilgiler'' by his own
critical Critical or Critically may refer to: *Critical, or critical but stable, medical states **Critical, or intensive care medicine * Critical juncture, a discontinuous change studied in the social sciences. *Critical Software, a company specializing ...
and
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
views. * Nyamko Sabuni – politician in Sweden *
Safdar Hashmi Safdar Hashmi (12 April 1954 – 2 January 1989) was a communist playwright and director, best known for his work with street theatre in India. He was also an actor, lyricist, and theorist, and he is still considered an important voice in Indian ...
– Indian Communist playwright and founding member of Jana Natya Manch. *
Sajid Javid Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
– British politician *
Zayn Malik Zain Javadd Malik ( ; born 12 January 1993), known mononymously as Zayn, is an English pop and R&B singer. Zayn auditioned as a solo contestant for the British music competition television series ''The X Factor'' in 2010. After being eliminate ...
– English singer of Pakistani and English-Irish descent.
Shayan Ali
- Founder of Young Apostates, Pakistani born Ex-Muslim, free speech activist and fashion model based in United States. * Tarek Fatah – Canadian activist born in Pakistan, identifies as Indian.


Other


Religious founders

*
Akbar the Great Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
Mughal emperor and founder of Dīn-i Ilāhī, a religious movement whose followers never numbered more than 19 adherents, although Akbar never renounced Islam publicly or privately, and modern scholars have argued that it was a spiritual discipleship program rather than a new religion. *
Ariffin Mohammed Ariffin Mohammed (22 June 1941 – 22 April 2016), better known as Ayah Pin (''Father Pin''), was a Malaysian cult leader and founder of the Sky Kingdom ( ms, Kerajaan Langit) religious sect. His movement had a commune based in Besut, Teren ...
– founder of the Sky Kingdom who claimed a unique connection to God. In spite of renouncing Islam in 2001, he stated that there was no restriction on practising your own faith and at the same time belonging to the Sky Kingdom. *
Báb The Báb (b. ʿAlí Muḥammad; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850), was the messianic founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, in 1844 at the age of 25, claimed ...
– founder of
Bábism Bábism (a.k.a. the Bábí Faith; fa, بابیه, translit=Babiyye) is a religion founded in 1844 by the Báb (b. ʻAli Muhammad), an Iranian merchant turned prophet who taught that there is one incomprehensible God who manifests his will in ...
. Most of his followers later accepted Bahá'u'lláh and thus joined the
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...
. * Bahá'u'lláh – after the Bab's death, claimed to be the prophet the Báb spoke of, thereby founding the Baháʼí Faith. *
David Myatt David Wulstan Myatt (born 1950) Additionally gone by the pseudonym Abdul al-Qari, is a British author, religious leader, far-right and Islamist militant, most notable for allegedly being the political and religious leader of the theistic Satan ...
– founded the Numinous Way *
Dwight York Dwight D. York (born June 26, 1945),Philips, Abu Ameenah Bilal. ''The Ansar Cult in America,'' Tawheed Publications 1988, p. 1. Philips claims that in 1975 York's publications changed his declared birth year from 1935 to 1945, to coincide with ...
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...
author, black supremacist leader, musician, convicted child molester and founder of the religious doctrine called
Nuwaubianism The Nuwaubian Nation, Nuwaubian movement, or United Nuwaubian Nation () is an American new religious movement founded and led by Dwight York, also known as Malachi Z. York. York began founding several black Muslim groups in New York in 1967. ...
. *
Kabir Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das ...
– 15th-century mystical poet and founder of the
Kabirpanthi Kabir Panth (Path of Kabir) is a Sant Mat denomination and philosophy based on the teachings of Kabir. It is based on devotion to him as one guru as a means to salvation. Its adherents are from many religious backgrounds as Kabir never advocated ...
. Born to a Hindu Brahmin widow but adopted and raised as Muslim by a childless Muslim couple, later denouncing both Hinduism and Islam. *
Musaylimah Musaylima ( ar, مُسَيْلِمَةُ), otherwise known as Maslama ibn Ḥabīb ( ar, مَسْلَمَةُ بْنُ حَبِيبٍ) d.632, was a preacher of monotheism from the Banu Hanifa tribe. He claimed to be a prophet in 7th-century Arabia ...
– self proclaimed prophet of the
Banu Hanifa Banu Hanifa ( ar, بنو حنيفة) is an ancient Arab tribe inhabiting the area of al-Yamama in the central region of modern-day Saudi Arabia. The tribe belongs to the great Rabi'ah branch of North Arabian tribes, which also included Abdul ...
tribe who lived during and after the lifetime of Muhammad. *
Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi ( ur, ) (born 25 November 1941) is a spiritual leader and founder of the spiritual movements ''RAGS International'' (now known as Messiah Foundation International) and ''Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam''. He is the author ...
– founder of the spiritual movements
Messiah Foundation International Messiah Foundation International ( ur, مہدی فاونڈیشن انٹرنیشنل) (or MFI) is a spiritual organisation formally established in 2002 to promote the ''Goharian Philosophy of Divine Love''. MFI is the successor of RAGS Internation ...
and Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam. *
Ṣāliḥ ibn Tarīf Ṣāliḥ ibn Tarīf (Arabic: صالح بن طريف) was the second king of the Berghouata kingdom, the prophet of a new Judeo-Christian religion, and the eponymous ancestor of the Oulad Salah tribe of Morocco. He appeared during the caliphate of ...
– second king of the Berghouata. He proclaimed himself a Prophet/ Mahdi and came out with his own Qur'an. *
Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir ‘Adī ibn Musāfir ( ku, شێخ ئادی, translit=Şêx Adî, ar, الشيخ عدي بن مسافر born 1072-1078, died 1162) was a Muslim sheikh of Arab origin, considered a Yazidi saint. The Yazidis consider him as an avatar of Tawûsê M ...
– founder of Yazidism *
Sultan Sahak Sultan Sahak or Sultan Ishaq Barzanjî ( ku, سوڵتان سەھاک; late 14th century to early 15th century) was a Kurdish religious leader who reformed the modern beliefs of Yarsanism and moreover considered to be the fourth of seven incarnatio ...
– founded
Ahl-e Haqq Yarsanism, Ahl-e Haqq or Kaka'i ( ku, یارسان, translit=Yarsan or ; fa, اهل حق, ar, كاكائي), is a syncretic religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran. The total number of followers of Yarsanism ...
*
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and Mahdi—which is the metapho ...
– founded
Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...


Undetermined current belief system

*
Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and war ...
– British criminal and self-styled ''"most violent prisoner in Britain"''. *
David Hicks David Matthew Hicks (born 7 August 1975) is an Australian who attended al-Qaeda's Al Farouq training camp in Afghanistan, and met with Osama bin Laden during 2001. He was then detained by the United States in Guantanamo Bay detention camp f ...
– Australian-born Guantanamo Bay detainee who converted to Islam and was notorious in his homeland for his once support of radical Islam and for the circumstances surrounding his incarceration, is believed to have renounced Islam whilst incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay. * Khalid Duran – specialist in the history, sociology and politics of the Islamic world. * Lex Hixon – not raised religious; Conversions to Hinduism, Sufism. Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and possibly
Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and l ...
. * Linda Thompson – British folk singer who, along with her husband Richard, converted to Sufism in the 1970s. The couple have since divorced and she has left the religion. * Trie Utami – Indonesian singer who after a stormy divorce is known to have left Islam after 2005, but she refuses to declare to what religion she converted. *
Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist. His prominent film roles include '' Major League'' (1989), ''New Jack City'' (1991), '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992), ''Passenger 57'' (1992), '' ...
– American actor, film producer, and martial artist.''Wesley Snipes, Hollywood's hottest new star talks about: his divorce, his days on the streets and why he doesn't have 'jungle fever.''
Ebony Magazine ''Ebony'' is a monthly magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment. Its target audience is the African-American community, and its coverage includes the lifestyles and accomplishments of influential black people, fashion, beauty, an ...
. Sept, 1991 by Laura B. Randolph.
*
Zayn Malik Zain Javadd Malik ( ; born 12 January 1993), known mononymously as Zayn, is an English pop and R&B singer. Zayn auditioned as a solo contestant for the British music competition television series ''The X Factor'' in 2010. After being eliminate ...
– English singer and songwriter. * Tarek Fatah – Canadian activist born in Pakistan, who call himself an Indian.


See also

*
Apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that i ...
*
Apostasy in Islam Apostasy in Islam ( ar, ردة, or , ) is commonly defined as the abandonment of Islam by a Muslim, in thought, word, or through deed. An apostate from Islam is referred to by using the Arabic and Islamic term ''murtād'' (). It includes no ...
*
Apostasy in Islam by country The situation for apostates from Islam varies markedly between Muslim-minority and Muslim-majority regions. In Muslim-minority countries, "any violence against those who abandon Islam is already illegal". But in some Muslim-majority countries, ...
*
Criticism of Islam Criticism of Islam is broadly defined as criticism of the Islamic religion in its beliefs, principles, and/or any other ideas attributed to Islam. Criticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages. Early written disapprovals came fr ...
* Former Muslim *
List of converts to Islam The following is a list of 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 con ...
* Religious conversion


Other apostasy-related lists

* List of ex-Muslim organisations * List of former Jews * List of former atheists and agnostics * List of former Protestants *
List of former Roman Catholics A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
* List of former Latter Day Saints * List of former Christians


References


External links

{{Islam topics Former Muslims Muslim, from