Irish rock star and buzzcut enthusiast Sinead O'Connor has renounced Catholicism and converted to Islam. I was surprised to learn that she took up the Catholic faith, since she famously ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live in 1994. But apparently, she's considered herself a Christian for a while. In the 90's, she was ordained a priest by the Irish Orthodox and Apostolic Church. And last year, she announced she was changing her name to Magda Davitt.
"I no longer want the patriarchal name," she explained on Facebook, according to Metro. "The name I have chosen is beautiful and suits me much better. For those who are hurt by people slagging me off off for name change… f**k ’em all. Who cares what anyone says or thinks? ‘Those who love me will call me Magda. Those who continue to call me Sinead are uneducated fools."
Well, today the 51-year-old singer pulled a Puff Daddy, and announced yet another name change. It's for an important reason, though, coinciding with her conversion to Islam. On Twitter, she posted a photo, with a message to her followers: "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. I will be given (another) new name. It will be Shuhada."
Shuhada translates to 'martyrs' or 'witnesses' in Arabic. In a follow-up tweet, she posted a video of herself singing an Islamic call to prayer. "Here is my attempt at singing the Asan [sic]," she wrote. "I got some pronouncition [sic] wrong because emotions took me from my page…but there’ll be hundreds of others onstage to come." In another tweet, she continued, "Sorry re all the mistakes in my Azan…1st attempt. When I’ve practised it 30 times I’m Gonna make the world stop turning."
To celebrate her new religion, Sinead changed her profile picture to a play on the Nike logo, reading "Wear a Hijab: JUST DO IT." She also revealed that she received her first hijab as a present from a friend: "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."
Well, it's good to hear that hear the Sinead is "very, very, very happy." Last year, she suffered a mental breakdown, posting a suicidal video from a motel in New Jersey. "I’m fighting, fighting, fighting, fighting," she sobbed, "Like all the millions and millions that I know I’m one of — to stay alive every day... I want everyone to know what it’s like, that’s why I’m making this video. Mental illness, it’s like drugs, it doesn’t give a shit who you are, and, equally, what’s worse, it’s the stigma. It doesn’t give a shit who you are."
Well, if converting to Islam brings you peace, rock on, Shuhada.
