Sinead O’Connor: Call me Shuhada, I’m a Muslim now
SINeAD O’Connor has converted to Islam and changed her name to Shuhada.
The troubled Irish singer, who had a Roman Catholic upbringing, made the announcement on Twitter and posted pictures of herself wearing a hijab.
Miss O’Connor, 51, revealed that her new name was Shuhada Davitt, which means ‘martyr’ in Arabic.
‘This is to announce that I am proud to have become a Muslim,’ she wrote. ‘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.’
The mother-of-four has also changed the name of her Twitter page to Shuhada Davitt. Last year she had changed her name to Magda Davitt.
Miss O’Connor’s announcement is the latest surprising move since she found fame in 1990 with a striking arrangement of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U. Her version of the ballad topped charts around the world, helped by its awardwinning video which consists mostly of a close-up of her face.
In 1992 Miss O’Connor caused international controversy when she ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II during an appearance on the US TV show Saturday Night Live. Then in 1999 she was ordained as a priest by Bishop Michael Cox, founder of the Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church, which is not recognised by the Roman Catholic Church.
She became Mother Bernadette Mary and vowed to wear a dog collar and clerical shirt daily.
The singer, who has been married four times, has spoken candidly in the past about her mental health problems, including receiving treatment for bipolar disorder and having suicidal thoughts.
In June 2016 she dismissed reports that she had gone missing and had threatened to jump off a bridge, calling them ‘false and malicious gossip’. In December 2015, she wrote on Facebook that she had been detained in hospital for a mental health evaluation.
A month earlier she wrote another Facebook post claiming she had overdosed on pills in a hotel room in Ireland. She was later found safe and taken to hospital.