Sinéad O'Connor to Shuhada' Sadaqat: How legendary singer converted to Islam

In October 2018, she made a public announcement that she is now a Muslim

Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor's spiritual journey was marked by a tumultuous background and a complex relationship with religion. The musician, who passed away at the age of 56, embraced Islam and went by the name Shuhada' Sadaqat during her later years. O'Connor's relationship with the Catholic Church was marked by both criticism and attempts at reconciliation. 

According to Insider, as a teenager, she endured time in a Roman Catholic Magdalene laundry, an experience that likely shaped her perception of the institution. During the early stages of her career, she became a staunch critic of the Catholic Church, even tearing up a picture of Pope John Paul II during an infamous 1992 appearance on Saturday Night Live to protest child sex abuse within the church. "Fight the real enemy," O'Connor said, addressing the camera as she ripped apart the picture.

However, in 1999, she was ordained as a priest by a breakaway church in France, leading her to adopt the name Mother Bernadette Mary. Despite her ordination, O'Connor faced opposition from the Catholic Church, which does not allow women to become priests. She expressed regret over tearing up the Pope's picture, acknowledging it as a disrespectful thing to do driven by frustration rather than personal animosity towards the Pope himself. 

Nonetheless, her contentious relationship with the Vatican persisted, and in a letter to Pope Francis in August 2018, she requested to be excommunicated from the Catholic Church. "I have several times requested from the Vatican a certificate which I could proudly display to my grandchildren to prove that Ratzinger and Pope John Paul II excommunicated me for being ordained," penned the singer. 

Shortly after this request, O'Connor underwent a significant transformation, converting to Islam. In October 2018, she made a public announcement on her since-deactivated Twitter account, stating, "I have become a Muslim." Renouncing Catholicism, she added, "All scripture study leads to Islam. Which makes all other scriptures redundant...I will be given (another) new name. It will be Shuhada' — Shuhada' Davitt." She later changed her last name to Sadaqat. 

In addition to the statement, O'Connor uploaded a video of herself performing the Islamic call to prayer. "Here is my 1st attempt at singing the Azan," she wrote alongside the video. "I got some pronunciation wrong because emotions took me from my page... but there'll be hundreds of others onstage to come."

Her journey to Islam was one of introspection and exploration of various religious scriptures. In an interview on the Irish TV show The Late Late Show in September 2019, she revealed that she had been a Muslim all her life and didn't realise it. She described the concept of "revert" in Islam, referring to the idea that if you were to study the Quran, you would realise you were a Muslim all your life, and you didn't know it. "The word 'revert' refers to the idea that if you were to study the Quran, you would realise you were a Muslim all your life, and you didn't realise it," explained the singer to the host. "That is what happened to me."

Despite initial prejudice towards Islam, O'Connor found solace and belonging when she began reading the Quran. The second chapter alone deeply resonated with her, leading to a profound realisation that she had found her spiritual home. Singing the Islamic call to prayer, she openly embraced her new faith, even admitting that she got some pronunciation wrong because emotions took her from her page during the recitation.

"I started studying scriptures from different religious, trying to find the 'truth' about God," said the singer. "I left Islam until last because I had so much prejudice about Islam...But then when I started reading, and I read just chapter two alone of the Quran, and I realised, 'Oh my God, I am home.'"

O'Connor's journey towards Islam touched the hearts of many, including fellow musician Cat Stevens, who himself had converted to Islam and now goes by Yusuf Islam offstage. Upon hearing of O'Connor's passing, he paid tribute to her on Twitter. "Sad to hear of the passing of sister Shuhada Sadaqat, also known as Sinéad O'Connor," he wrote. "She was a tender soul, may God, Most Merciful, grant her everlasting peace. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajioon - Verily we belong to God, and verily to Him do we return. 2:156"

Sad to hear of the passing of sister Shuhada Sadaqat, also known as Sinéad O'Connor. She was a tender soul, may God, Most Merciful, grant her everlasting peace. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajioon - Verily we belong to God, and verily to Him do we return. 2:156 pic.twitter.com/arcZ3fPWK9

— Yusuf / Cat Stevens (@YusufCatStevens) July 26, 2023

Have something to add? Share it in the comments