Irish singer Sinead O’Connor just announced that she is converting to Islam and changing her name to Shuhada’ Davitt.
“This is to announce that I am proud to have become a Muslim,” she wrote on Twitter on 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.”
The singer added: “I will be given (another) new name. It will be Shuhada’.”
She spells her new name, which means “martyrs” in Arabic, with an apostrophe at the end.
O’Connor had previously changed her name last year to Magda Davitt so that she could be “free of parental curses.”
The singer also replaced her Twitter profile picture with a photo that reads “Wear a hijab just do it” alongside the Nike logo.
Her recent posts have included her singing the Islamic call to prayer, the Azan, and depicted her wearing a hijab.
O’Connor tweeted: “My best friend, Elaine just gave me my 1st Hijab and 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.”
The 51-year-old has tweeted that she is “very, very happy,” and apologized for mispronouncing some Arabic words during her recitation of the Azan.
O’Connor has received criticism and anti-Islamic comments from some, but she has been welcomed by fellow Muslims online.
“Salaam (a greeting that means “peace”) and keep up the good work,” said Immy Khan. “You have 1.7 billion brothers and sisters now.”
On Thursday Davitt tweeted: “Thank you so much to all my Muslim brothers and sisters who have been so kind as to welcome me to Ummah (the Muslim community) today on this page. You can’t begin to imagine how much your tenderness means to me.”
The singer formally known as O’Connor took the spotlight in 1992 when she ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II during an appearance on a US television show.
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