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10 renowned faces who are actually Muslims

Here are 10 famous people you probably didn’t know were Muslim

 Malcolm X, also known as El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist.

Here are 10 famous people you probably didn’t know were Muslim:

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1. Malcolm X: Malcolm X, also known as El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of blacks, he has been called one of the greatest and most influential African American in history.

2. Mike Tyson: The former heavyweight champion converted to Islam in 1992 while in prison for convicted rape. In a recent interview with Fox News, he said, “I’m very grateful to be a Muslim. Allah doesn’t need me, I need Allah.” In July 2010, he announced on his Twitter account that he visited the Holy City of Makkah and “was blessed to have been able to make Umrah… Inshallah,” he said.

3. T-Pain: The Grammy-Award-winning rapper spoke out recently about his being a Muslim. “People don’t even know. Me, Busta Rhymes, Lupe Fiasco — they don’t even know we are Muslim. People think a Muslim has to have a turban or a big beard. It’s stupid,” Business Insider reported him saying. T-pain’s original name is Faheem Rasheen Najm.

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4. Amal Alamuddin Clooney: The Lebanese-born human rights lawyer, who recently married actor George Clooney, is believed to be a Muslim from the Druze sect, though her mother is Sunni. Last year, the couple slammed rumours from the Daily Mail that Alamuddin might face consequences, such as death, for marrying outside the Druze religion, of which Clooney called, “non-factual and idiotic."

5. Janet Jackson: When she married Qatari businessman Wissam Al Mana in 2013, Janet Jackson reportedly converted to Islam. Her older brother, Jermaine Jackson, embraced the religion while on tour in the Middle East in 1989. “Having embraced Islam, I felt as if I was born again,” she told Reuters

6. Busta Rhymes: While his song Arab Money got a lot of criticism for using words from the Holy book of Islam, Busta Rhymes is in fact a Muslim. “I try to understand every aspect of the most high, for me the most high is Allah… the greatest, the magnificent, the merciful, and I live my life by Islam. At the end of the day that’s pretty much what grounds me,” he said in an interview with the Hollywood Life.

7.Dr. Mehmet Oz: Host of “The Dr Oz Show,” Mehmet Oz was born to Muslim, Turkish parents. According to Business Insider, his mother’s family was religiously secular, while his father’s was the opposite. Ultimately, he decided to follow Sufi Islam

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8. Akon: His full name being Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Bongo Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam, Akon is a self-proclaimed Muslim. He’s originally from Senegal, where 92 percent of the country practice the religion. In his song 'Senegal' he says, “So what you know about how God comes first in our lives, everything that we do is for Allah.”

9. Ice Cube: Though Rapper Ice Cube converted to Islam in the 1990s, he calls himself an easy-going Muslim. In his song, The Predator, he raps, “You call me a Muslim, no I’m not a resident.” He later explained to Business Insider that this means he’s a “natural Muslim, because it’s just me and God. You know, going to the mosque, the ritual and the tradition, it’s just not in me to do. So I don’t do it,” he told the news outlet.

10. Muhammad Ali: Formerly known as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., Muhammad Ali converted to Islam in 1975. The three-time World Heavyweight Champion was stripped of his title when he refused to join the US military and declared that he would fight in a war if directed to do so by Allah. Though Ali joined the Nation of Islam (NOI) he later converted to Sunni Islam and then to Sufism.

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