Singer Sinead O’Connor converts to Islam and changes her name
Internationally renowned singer Sinead O’Connor has revealed she has converted to Islam and changed her name.
In a recent tweet to fans, the 51-year-old Irish singer announced she had become a Muslim and changed her name to Shuhada Davitt. The news comes after O’Connor legally changed her name to Magda Davitt only last year.
https://twitter.com/MagdaDavitt77/status/1053340513871384576
Last week, the music artist shared the news that she had renounced Catholicism. This has now been followed by her revelation of embracing the Islamic faith. She tweeted:
“This is to announce that I am proud to have become a Muslim.
“This is the natural conclusion of any intelligent theologian’s journey. All scripture leads to Islam. Which makes all other scriptures redundant.
https://twitter.com/MagdaDavitt77/status/1055484914009886720
Sinead’s new name
Following her change of religion, Sinead O’Connor tweeted: “I will be given (another) new name. It will be Shuhada’.”
The star changed her Twitter profile name to Shuhada’ Davitt, although her account handle currently displays @MagdaDavitt77, the name she adopted last year.
Although not officially verified with a ‘blue tick’, her active Twitter page currently has a ‘Wear a Hijab. Just Do It’ profile photo (playing on the Nike slogan), and a header banner featuring a Qur’anic verse in Arabic.
Her conversion to Islam
Sinead O’Connor’s conversion to the Islamic faith was conducted in the presence of Islamic theologian and Chair of Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council, Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri.
Following her recitation of the Shahadah (declaration of faith), the Head-Imam of Islamic Centre Ireland tweeted:
“World renowned singer Shuhada Davitt @MagdaDavitt77 (#SineadOConnor) has proclaimed the #Shahadah with me in #Ireland. She is so happy ! Masha Allah”
To which she replied: “I keep getting the Arabic words wrong!! I’m so sorry!! I’ll get them right eventually. In sha Allah” (God willing).
World renowned singer Shuhada Davitt @MagdaDavitt77 (#SineadOConnor) has proclaimed the #Shahadah with me in #Ireland. She is so happy ! Masha Allah !#Ireland #Islam #SineadOConnorEmbracesIslam @SineadOconnorHQ pic.twitter.com/mBeHlcrgqW
— Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri (@DrUmarAlQadri) October 25, 2018
Sinead O’Connor joins the ranks of several other musicians who have converted to Islam, including Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), Jermaine Jackson, Busta Rhymes, Everlast, Mos Def and Ice Cube.
Reciting the Islamic call to prayer (Adhan)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ0RdoiSZgk
Within a series of fresh tweets, she also posted a video of her singing the Islamic call to prayer, known as the Adhan.
“Here is my 1st attempt at singing the Azan,” she wrote. “I got some pronouncition wrong because emotions took me from my page… but there’ll be hundreds of others onstage to come…”
She added: “Sorry re all the mistakes in my Azan…. 1st attempt. When I’ve practiced it 30 times i’m Gonna make the world stop turning.”
The Adhan (sometimes pronounced ‘Azan’) is an Arabic call recited before congregational prayer by Muslims across the world, usually five times a day.
O’Connor has also been sharing quotes and verses from the Qur’an – Islam’s holy book – since her announcement, including Verse 23 from the Chapter 2: ‘The Calf’.
https://twitter.com/MagdaDavitt77/status/1054127288701329409
Adopting the hijab
https://twitter.com/MagdaDavitt77/status/1055498371610361857
https://twitter.com/MagdaDavitt77/status/1053678418506801152
O’Connor has also being trying on hijabs, head coverings worn by some Muslim women as a mark of their faith.
Explaining her friend Elaine’s reaction to her wearing the garment, Sinead said: “She got chills all over her body when I put it on. Not gonna post a photo because is intensely personal. And I’m an ugly old hag. But I’m a very, very, very happy old hag.”
She later did share a photo of her wearing the headdress. She donned a black ‘sporty’ headscarf, along with a dark blue head wrap; before opting for a traditional green hijab with a floral trim. She captioned the picture “Happy”.
Religious controversy
It isn’t the first time Sinead O’Connor has hit the headlines for her religious views and opinions.
In 1992, she made headlines around the world when she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II during an appearance on the Saturday Night Live show.
In an interview with Time magazine soon after, she said it was a response to the Catholic Church’s record on child abuse.
In April 1999, she was then ordained a priest by the Catholic Latin Tridentine Church in Lourdes, France and adopted the name Mother Bernadette Mary. The Catholic Church described the stunt as “bizarre and absurd.”
She has been steadfast in her social and political views, supporting a united Ireland, challenging child abuse, raising awareness about mental health and LGBT rights.
Following her public revelation about her new Islamic outlook, she thanked her online “Muslim brothers and sisters” for welcoming her to the Ummah, or global Islamic community.
She wrote on Twitter: “Thank you so much to all my Muslim brothers and sisters who have been so kind as to welcome me to Ummah today on this page. You can’t begin to imagine how much your tenderness means to me.”
https://twitter.com/MagdaDavitt77/status/1055587834730569728
Musical comeback
The Irish singer-songwriter rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and then achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a new arrangement of Prince’s song “Nothing Compares 2 U”.
Sinead O’Connor was due to make her live return to music earlier this year, after struggling with mental health problems. However, she postponed the dates “due to unforeseen circumstances.”
She has since confirmed that she will be collaborating with Ronnie Wood from the Rolling Stones, Irish actor Cillian Murphy from Peaky Blinders, Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason and singer Imelda May for a new EP titled ‘One More Yard’.
The EP will commemorate the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day and the song is inspired by around 90 letters home from young Irish soldier called Lieutenant Michael Thomas Wall, who was killed at Flanders during the conflict, which ran from 1914-1918.