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Has any Muslim ruler ever converted to another religion?

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Trin Tragula said:
Various minor rulers in the nominally Mali controlled west African coast would convert from Islam to Christianity when the Portuguese asked them to. In this case the sincerity of the conversion could be questioned though (but that goes for their adherence to Islam as well). Neither faith really extended to the subjects of these rulers at that time.
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Yes, when it comes to (much of, at least except in northern) West Africa its not surprising. Islam was a faith of traders there and it lacked the political power and legitimacy backing, the conversion was usually due to the other benefits (like support of educated trader class). Which means it often coexisted with traditional local beliefs.
 
Weren't there some rulers in African sub-Saharan Atlantic coast that posed as Christians when dealing with Christian powers (especially Portugal) and as Muslims when dealing with Muslim powers?
 
PMLF said:
Weren't there some rulers in African sub-Saharan Atlantic coast that posed as Christians when dealing with Christian powers (especially Portugal) and as Muslims when dealing with Muslim powers?
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Dunno. But I wouldn't be surprised. The only real case I can think of off the top of my head is the Niumimansa (ruler of the Niominka of Gambia). He allowed himself to be baptised Christian by a Portuguese captain but remained a Muslim.

In retrospect, I don't think the Niumansa knew what he was doing or even what a Christian was - they had only just met. Might have assumed it was some strange but friendly Portuguese bonding ritual. Or Diogo Gomes (who tells this story, with himself as the baptizer) might have simply told a tall tale (he makes some other suspect claims).
 
Lord Finnish said:
For Islam I'm surprised there has been even one. Islam is probably the most hardcore religion when it comes to apostasy, Islam does a lot to keep its sheep in the flock so I'm surprised when a Muslim ruler commits apostasy and gets away with it.
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Once you go Muslim, you don't go back. That's for people as well as populations. That's why I'm against Muslim expansions in any forms to non-Muslim areas. People can call me Islamophobic or whatever, I'm just going off what happened in history.
 
Sam L said:
Once you go Muslim, you don't go back. That's for people as well as populations. That's why I'm against Muslim expansions in any forms to non-Muslim areas. People can call me Islamophobic or whatever, I'm just going off what happened in history.
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Uh, no? There's a whole Wikipedia list for notable apostates from Islam, and there quite a few who aren't notable as well. As for populations, I believe that Al-Andalus, the Mughal Empire, the Golden Horde and Ottoman Rumelia no longer exist (though I might be mistaken, I haven't checked lately).
 
Fishman786 said:
Uh, no? There's a whole Wikipedia list for notable apostates from Islam, and there quite a few who aren't notable as well. As for populations, I believe that Al-Andalus, the Mughal Empire, the Golden Horde and Ottoman Rumelia no longer exist (though I might be mistaken, I haven't checked lately).
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Well it was exaggerated but it is less common than in other religions. Also Andalus, Mughals were conquered. Obviously, they will go if they're conquered.
 
Sam L said:
Once you go Muslim, you don't go back. That's for people as well as populations. That's why I'm against Muslim expansions in any forms to non-Muslim areas. People can call me Islamophobic or whatever, I'm just going off what happened in history.
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The same is more or less true for christianiy, and look where that is now in Europe. The danger is not with Islam in it self, but our relative complacency now that we have thrown of thev yoke of Christendom, only to let another religion slowly creep back and exert undue influence.
 
Sam L said:
Well it was exaggerated but it is less common than in other religions. Also Andalus, Mughals were conquered. Obviously, they will go if they're conquered.
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The Mughals weren't conquered per-se, they kind of collapsed, letting external forces move into the vacuum. Nobody forced the Muslim population of the former Mughal Empire to convert though. Actual conversions out of Islam were relatively rare owing to Islam being a missionary religion (like Christianity), but not non-existent. Supposedly ~15-20% of converts to Sikhism came from Islam for instance.

We don't really know how common apostasy from Islam is today, because in many Muslim countries it can put you at risk if you admit it publicly.
 
olm said:
Its pretty rare for rulers of any Abrahamic religions to convert to something else unless forced.
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maybe in modern times, but many predominantly christian areas converted to Islam, North Africa, Egypt, and Syria being the biggest.
 
User29 said:
maybe in modern times, but many predominantly christian areas converted to Islam, North Africa, Egypt, and Syria being the biggest.
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Weren't most of the ruling class in those areas displaced by Muslim Arabs?
 
Not exactly. In many areas, like Syria, local aristocracy remained and thrived for a time. Saint John of Damascus was a scion of such family for example. The conquered territories had well developed urban culture and powerful church structures which further insulated the population from the influence of conquerors.

The gradual conversion to Islam had much more to do with tax burden and conflicts within the church.
 
User29 said:
maybe in modern times, but many predominantly christian areas converted to Islam, North Africa, Egypt, and Syria being the biggest.
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Areas aren't rulers, and peasants are outside the scope of discussion. I mean, who cares about them?

And if a counter-example truly needed to be given, the Russian success would be equal to those you mentioned.
 
I seem to remeber hearing about a Sayyid whom fled Mongols/Mamluks/Ottomans to Italy, becoming known as the Principe de Sayid who converted to Catholicism.
 
I have read somewhere that some Spanish noble families traced their descent from Omaiyads. I am unable to verify that.

Russian Yusupovs were also reportedly Sayids.
 
trybald said:
I have read somewhere that some Spanish noble families traced their descent from Omaiyads. I am unable to verify that.

Russian Yusupovs were also reportedly Sayids.
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any links so we can read? Beyond interesting to me.
 
Both was in books, both mentioned in passing and I am unable to verify that.
 
Sam L said:
Well it was exaggerated but it is less common than in other religions. Also Andalus, Mughals were conquered. Obviously, they will go if they're conquered.
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That is true of most countries with a state religion. The exception is if the ruling class converts to another religion, but with the exception of Christianity I'm having trouble thinking of examples (and that happened when Christianity was facing a non-missionary religion).
 
User29 said:
any links so we can read? Beyond interesting to me.
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From the article about the Umayyad caliphate in the Spanish Wikipedia:

Tras la desintegración del califato de Córdoba, el linaje de los Omeyas se diluye lentamente en la población de Al-Andalus.

A finales del siglo XVI, el morisco granadino Fernando de Córdoba y Válor, descendiente de los Omeyas, será elegido rey de los moriscos durante la llamada guerra de las Alpujarras, cambiando su nombre cristiano por el árabe Muhammad Ibn Umayya, que pasará a las crónicas como Abén Humeya. Muerto este por traición, le sucedió su primo Abén Aboo quien fue derrotado por D. Juan de Austria (...) Es muy probable que algunos Omeyas de la línea de Muhammad ibn Umayya existan aún en España bajo apellidos castellanizados como Omeya, Benjumea o Alomía.

Algunos genealogistas y arabistas piensan que el apellido castellano Benjumea y sus variantes (Benhumea, Benjumea, Benhumeda, Benumeya, Alomía, etc.) procede del árabe Ibn Umayya y por tanto sus portadores podrían ser descendientes de los Omeyas (...)
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Rough translation by yours truly:

"Towards the end of the XVI century, the Granadine morisco Fernando de Córdoba y Válor, a descendant from the Umayyads, was elected "king of the moriscos" during the Alpujarras War, changing his Christian name for Muhammad Ibn Umayya, which was known in chronicles as Abén Humeya. Killed in an intrigue, he was succeded by his cousin Abén Aboo, who was finally defeated by John of Austria (...) It's quite probable that some Umayyads of Muhammad ibn Umayya's line exist still in Spain under castillianized surnames like Omeya, Benjumea or Alomía.

Some arabists think that the Castillian surname Benjumea and its variants (Benhumea, Benjumea, Benhumeda, Benumeya, Alomía, etc) drive from the Arabic Ibn Umayya and so its owners could be Umayyad descendants (...)"
 
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