Sinead O’Connor
A few days ago, renowned Irish singer Sinead O’Connor took to Twitter to make a major declaration to the world: “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 study leads to Islam. Which makes all other scriptures redundant.”
O’Connor, known for global hits like “Nothing Compares 2 U,” also said she has changed her name to Shuhada’ Davitt. According to The Guardian, O’Connor’s gave herself a new surname in 2017 when she changed her full name to Magda Davitt, a decision she explained was because she “wanted to be “free of the patriarchal slave names. Free of the parental curses.”
Up until her recent conversion announcement, the 51-year-old had been posting different photos of herself donning a hijab on social media, as well as a video in which she sang the “adhan” or “azan” (Islamic call to prayer). She has since then documented her new faith, writing that she was “very, very, very happy” after being given her first hijab, and expressing thanks to “all my Muslim brothers and sisters who have been so kind as to welcome me to Ummah.”
https://twitter.com/MagdaDavitt77/status/1054765174706585600/
It is not the first time O'Connor has publicly spoken about religion. In 1992, she sparked controversy after ripping up a picture of Pope John Paul II on the US television show “Saturday Night Live,” as a protest against the Catholic Church. Seven years later, she was ordained in 1999 by the Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic church, a breakaway church n Lourdes. The Catholic Church, which does not allow women to become priests, did not recognize the ceremony. It was reported that O’Connor became disillusioned with Catholicism following the various child abuse scandals in the church, describing the Vatican as a “nest of devils” in a 2011 newspaper article.
O'Connor rose to fame in the 90s with her striking arrangement of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which was originally a song by Prince, placing her for four weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and earning her three Grammy nominations.
