List of converts to Islam from nontheism
This is a list of notable people who have converted to Islam after a period where they claimed to be atheistic or non-theistic.
| Name | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|
| Gai Eaton | British diplomat and writer. | [1][2] |
| Silma Ihram | Née Anne Frances Beaumont; Australian educator, author, and racial tolerance campaigner. After an agnostic upbringing she became "born again Christian" and then Muslim. | [3] |
| Martin Lings | Widely acclaimed British scholar. He was raised as a Protestant, became an atheist, and later converted to Islam. | [4] |
| Ingrid Mattson | Canadian scholar and former president of the Islamic Society of North America; was raised in Catholicism but left it years before conversion. | [5][6] |
| Nursultan Nazarbayev | Former President of Kazakhstan. | [7] |
| Ilich Ramírez Sánchez | "Carlos the Jackal" - Marxist who was convicted of terrorism and converted to Islam. | [8] |
| G. (Gwendolyn) Willow Wilson | American comics writer, prose author, essayist, and journalist; relaunched the Ms. Marvel title for Marvel Comics starring a 16-year-old Muslim superhero named Kamala Khan. She was an atheist and grew up as such. | [9][10] |
| Dr. Abdullah (Periyar Dasan) | Professor, scholar, eminent speaker, psychologist, activist, national award winning film's actor from Tamil Nadu.[11] He propagated atheism and rationalist ideologies for most part of his life, and later converted to Islam.[11] | [11][12] |
See also
References
- ^ The Radical Middle Way – Hasan Le Gai Eaton Archived September 7, 2012, at archive.today
- ^ "Charles Le Gai Obituary". The Guardian. April 19, 2010.
- ^ FAIR (pdf) Archived August 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Martin Lings, a Sufi Writer on Islamic Ideas, Dies at 96". The New York Times. May 29, 2005. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
He was raised a Protestant, and later became an atheist, according to Zaman, a Turkish newspaper.
- ^ Edward E. Curtis, ed. (2010). "Mattson, Ingrid". Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History. Infobase Publishing. p. 362.
- ^ "A View from the Edge". Commonweal Magazine. February 11, 2013.
- ^ "Heard the one about the rabbi, the imam, and the Buddhist monk?". The Independent. July 6, 2009.
He [Nicholas Baines, then-Anglican Bishop of Croydon] has watched Mr. Nazarbayev transform himself from an open atheist into pro-religion leader who has even made the Haj pilgrimage.
- ^ "'Jackal' book praises Bin Laden". BBC. June 26, 2003.
- ^ Wilson, G. Willow (March 25, 2015). "Islam Sci-fi Interview of G. Willow Wilson (Part I)". Islam and Science Fiction (Interview). Interviewed by Rebecca Hankins.
- ^ Wilson, G. Willow (June 20, 2010). "Beneath the veil". Boston.com (Interview). Interviewed by Ideas.
- ^ a b c "Periyardasan takes final bow after multiple roles". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
- ^ "'Periyar Dasan's conversion not a surprise'". The New Indian Express. 13 April 2010.[dead link]