The
unfortunate truth is that most people who call themselves Christians
live nothing like Christ and just take His name in vain. When a person
decides to convert from one religion to another, he/she makes this
choice willingly and is ready to devote his/her life to the chosen
religion.
Here,
we gathered information about famous football players who decided to
convert to Christianity from Islam. During the collection of
information, we also debunked rumors about religious views of
footballers Kevin-Prince Boateng and Samuel Kuffour.
1. Djibril Cissé
Djibril
Cissé is a French footballer who plays for JS Saint-Pierroise. In 2004,
when Cissé played for Liverpool, he broke his right leg during the game
against Blackburn Rovers. He was afraid to loose his leg below
the knee, however, because of prompt attention from the trainers at the
stadium, Cissé’s leg is functioning well now. Cisse was born Muslim
though he converted to Christianity in 2007.
2. George Weah
George
Weah is a former Liberian footballer who is regarded as one of the
greatest African players of all time and of his generation, in 1995 he
was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d’Or.
Weah converted from Protestant Christianity to Islam and practiced Islam
for 10 years before converting back. He hopes for peace for Muslims and
Christians, and says they are “one people.” Nowadays Weah professes
Protestantism.
3. Kevin-Prince Boateng
Many
people believe that a Ghanaian international footballer, who
was nominated for African Footballer of the Year, is a pure Christian.
There are rumors that the young footballer converted to Islam because of
his Turkish friends and girlfriend, but after he met his bride-to-be
Jenny he turned back to Christianity. The information about his
conversion is false. The footballer revealed during an interview that he
is a devoted Muslim. He said he recites the holy Quran very often and
also regularly observes the very important Islamic fasting period of
Ramadan.
4. Samuel Kuffour
There
are some articles in the Internet that suggest a Ghanaian retired
professional footballer converted to Islam during the 2002-03 football
season, however, this information isn’t true. He always was and still is
a devoted Christian. During his interview with BBC for the ‘Heart and
Soul’ documentary, Kuffour admitted that some German teammates were
surprised to see him praying to God before games. He also said his
Christian faith gave him the strength to accept the death of his
15-month-old daughter Godiva who drowned after falling into a swimming
pool at the star’s home in Accra.
