Irish Singer Converts to Islam

Sinead O’Connor, an Irish singer who reached peak fame in 1992, announced on Twitter that she is converting to Islam. The singer had changed her name once to Magda Davitt, but she is changing again to Shuhada Davitt. Shuhada is Arabic for “martyr” or “witness.” The singer has been known for her loud criticism of the catholic church, and in her Twitter statement she shared that Islam is “the natural conclusion of any intelligent theologian’s journey.”

In class we discussed the symbolic annihilation of Muslims in the media. It is possible to see this conversion in a positive way, as a testament to the positive aspects of the Islamic faith. It could be argued that this white woman’s conversion can prove to other white people the Islamic faith should not be equated with terrorism. However, I think O’Connor changing her name shows a disrespect for Muslims worldwide. To imply that she is a martyr is appropriating the real discrimination and violence many Muslims have faced for their faith. Instead of acknowledging the Islamophobia in the Western world, O’Connor chose to make herself out as the victim in a way that diminishes the structural, private, and didactic Islamophobia we have examined in class.