List of converts to Shia Islam
converts to Shia Islam

Converts to Shia Islam or commonly known as enlightened (mustabsir) refers to people who have been sure about the justice done by Ali and his descendants as well as studying the Shia thoughts, finally convert to Shia Islam and testify the position of Muhammad prophet's family.
From Sunni Islam
Malcolm Shabazz -the son of Qubilah Shabazz, the second daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz
Kabir Bello – Nigerian football striker
Qasim Umar Sokoto -a contributor to the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, the prayer leader and Islamic teacher in Sokoto, the Northern city of Nigeria
Tajul Muluk -a Shia religious leader of Madura Island, Indonesia
Edoardo Agnelli -the eldest child and only son of Gianni Agnelli, the industrialist patriarch of Fiat
Ibrahim Zakzaky -an outspoken and foremost Shi'a Muslim cleric in Nigeria
Hasan Shahhata -Shi'a Muslim cleric in egypt
Muhammad al-Tijani -a Tunisian Shia Islamic scholar, academic and theologian
Abdullah al-Dahdouh -Shi'a Muslim cleric from Morocco
Mujahid Abdul-Karim -an African-American convert to Islam, who is best known for his involvement and "spearheading" of the 26 April 1992 Watts Gang Truce
Abdillahi Nassir -a Shia cleric based in Mombasa, Kenya
Riad Al Solh -the first prime minister of Lebanon after the country's independence
Al-Qadi al-Nu'man -an Isma'ili jurist and the official historian of the Fatimid caliphs
Ali al-Sulayhi -the founder and sultan of the Sulayhid dynasty in Yemen
Khvajeh Ali Safavi -great-great-grandfather of Ismail I of Persia
Nasir Khusraw -Ismaili missionary and poet
Öljaitü -the eighth Ilkhanid dynasty ruler from 1304 to 1316 in Tabriz
Ali Adil Shah I -the fifth Sultan of Bijapur Sultanate
Humayun -the second Sultan of Mughal Empire
Rustam II -the twelfth ruler of Bavand dynasty
Ibrahim II Sheykhshah -the fortieth ruler of Shirvan
From Christianity
Hamid Algar – scholar and convert to Shia Islam, received his PhD in oriental studies from Cambridge
Marzieh Hashemi – an American-Iranian journalist and television presenter. She is a natural-born citizen of the United States and a naturalized citizen of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Gary Legenhausen – an American philosopher who teaches at the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute
Rebecca Masterton – a British Islamic scholar, educator, public speaker, academic, author, television presenter, and philosopher of the Shia Islam
Christian Bonaud – (Yaḥyā Bonaud) was a French Islamologist, philosopher, writer, translator, commentator of the Qur'an in French, and a professor at the Jāmī Theological Center at Al-Mustafa International University in Iran.
Dawud Salahuddin – American-born Iranian international terrorist and hitman.
Claudio Mutti – Italian far-right author and essayist.
Giafar Buttafuoco – Italian journalist and art dealer at Vienna Biennale.
Abbas Di Palma – Italian cleric and director at Associazione Islamica Imam Mahdi Roma
Khosrow Khan Gorji – a eunuch of Armenian origin, who became an influential figure in Qajar Iran
Qarachaqay Khan – a military commander in Safavid Iran of Armenian origin
Shemavon of Agulis – an Iranian official of Armenian origin.
Khosrow Soltan Armani – a 17th-century Safavid official, military commander, and gholam of Armenian origin
Allahverdi Khan – an Iranian general and statesman of Georgian origin
Amir Beg Armani – a 17th-century Safavid official, courtier, and gholam of Armenian origin
Aliqoli Jadid-ol-Eslam (António de Jesus) – a Portuguese theologian from 17th century
Mahdi Agnelli – Italian Businessman.
Henry Corbin – French Philosopher, privately converted according to personal friend Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai.
Abgar Ali Akbar Armani – A 17th-century Safavid writer of Armenian origin.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “List of converts to Shia Islam” is converts to Shia Islam. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through List, converts and Shia, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “converts to Shia Islam” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q61785689. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1992, 1304 and 1316.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “List of converts to Shia Islam”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow List of converts to Shia Islam primary sources, List of converts to Shia Islam archive and List research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “List of converts to Shia Islam”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “List of converts to Shia Islam” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.