Sinead O’Connor Has Apparently Converted to Islam and Changed Her Name
Sinead O'Connor is now Shuhada' Davitt.
The Irish singer announced that she has converted to Islam and changed her name.
"This is to announce that I am proud to have become a Muslim," she revealed on Twitter October 19. "This is the natural conclusion of any intelligent theologian's journey. All scripture study leads to Islam. Which makes all other scriptures redundant."
In another tweet, she added, "I will be given (another) new name. It will be Shuhada'." According to CNN, the name means "martyrs" in Arabic.
On Twitter, the singer's profile picture is now a photo featuring the Nike logo and the words, "Wear a hijab. Just do it."
On Thursday (October 25), the artist thanked her "Muslim brothers and sisters" for welcoming her to the community.
"You can't begin to imagine how much your tenderness means to me," she tweeted.
Despite so many in the Muslim community embracing her, the artist formerly known as O'Connor was also met with a wave of Islamophobia and hate following her announcement.
Over the years, the singer has been met with controversy for her views on organized religion, and she has maintained a tense relationship with the Catholic Church due to her criticism of the Church's record of systemic child abuse.
In 1992, she famously ripped up an image of Pope John Paul II during an appearance on Saturday Night Live. Years later, she referred to the as Vatican "a nest of devils."
The name change follows her initial name change to Magda Davitt in 2017, the same year she opened up about suffering from mental illness is a video posted to Facebook. At the time, the clip caused concern over Davitt's state of health among the performer's friends, family and fans.