Muslim Celebrities in Hollywood and the World

Muhammad Ali

(born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; January 17, 1942) is a former American boxer and three-time World Heavyweight Champion, who is widely considered one of the greatest heavyweight championship boxers of all time.

Originally known as Cassius Clay, Ali changed his name after converting into Islam in 1964. In 1967, Ali refused to be inducted into the U.S. military based on his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War. He was arrested and found guilty on draft evasion charges, stripped of his boxing title, and his boxing license was suspended.

Nicknamed “The Greatest”, Ali was involved in several historic boxing matches. Notable among these are three with rival Joe Frazier and one with George Foreman, whom he beat by knockout to win the world heavyweight title for the second time. He suffered only five losses (four decisions and one TKO by retirement from the bout) with no draws in his career, while amassing 56 wins (37 knockouts and 19 decisions). Ali was well known for his unorthodox fighting style, which he described as “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”, and employing techniques such as the rope-a-dope.

The video of Muhammad Ali and Wil Smith

Quotes about Vietnam war
“     I ain’t got no quarrel with the Vietcong. No Vietcong ever called me Nigger. ”
“     No, I am not going 10,000 miles to help murder kill and burn other people to simply help continue the domination of white slavemasters over dark people the world over. This is the day and age when such evil injustice must come to an end.     ”
“     Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali
wikimedia.org

Malcolm X

(May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965), born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Arabic: الحاجّ مالك الشباز‎), was an African-American Muslim minister, public speaker, and human rights activist.  To his admirers, he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans. His detractors accused him of preaching racism, black supremacy, antisemitism, and violence. He has been described as one of the greatest, and most influential, African Americans in history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_X

Yusuf Islam / Cat Stevens

Website     http://www.yusufislam.org.uk
Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; 21 July 1948 in London, England), originally and commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is a British musician. He is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam.

His famous songs are “Morning Has Broken” and “Wild World”

Stevens converted to Islam at the height of his fame, in December 1977, and adopted his Muslim name, Yusuf Islam, the following year. In 1979, he auctioned all his guitars away for charity and left his music career to devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community. He has been given several awards for his work in promoting peace in the world, including 2003’s World Award, the 2004 Man for Peace Award, and the 2007 Mediterranean Prize for Peace. In 2006, he returned to pop music with his first album of new pop songs in 28 years, entitled An Other Cup. He now goes professionally by the single name Yusuf. His newest album, Roadsinger, was released on 5 May 2009.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens

Jermaine La Jaune Jackson

born December 11, 1954 is an American singer, bassist, composer, a member of The Jackson 5, older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson and occasional film director. He also produced and recorded several duets with the legendary diva Whitney Houston in her early years as a recording artist.
A duet with his brother Michael, “Tell Me I’m Not Dreamin’ (Too Good to Be True)”, hit #1 on the dance chart in 1984. He and Michael also collaborated with Rockwell, both providing guest vocals on his 1984 hit single, “Somebody’s Watching Me”. In 1985, his duet with Pia Zadora, When the Rain Begins to Fall, topped several singles charts in Europe. His final chart success, 1989’s “Don’t Take It Personal”, hit #1 on the Billboard R&B  singles chart. Some of Jermaine’s finest moments as a singer can be heard in the soulful “Castle of Sand” and the Earth Wind & Fire inspired “You Need To Be Loved”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jermaine_Jackson

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

born Ferdinand Lewis “Lew” Alcindor, Jr., April 16, 1947 is an American retired basketball player, coach, actor, and author. During his career with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers  from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar scored more points than any other player in league history, won six NBA championships and a record six regular season MVP Awards. In college at UCLA, he played on three championship teams, and his high school team won 71 consecutive games.

His height: 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 m)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kareem_Abdul-Jabbar

Zinedine Yazid Zidane

born 23 June 1972 is a retired French World Cup-winning footballer of Kabyle (Algerian) Muslim heritage. Zidane played for club teams in France, Italy and Spain, and was the captain of the French national team. He is widely considered as one of the greatest players in the history of football. He was the iconic figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. After a brief international retirement, Zidane returned to the national team in 2005 and captained France to the 2006 World Cup Final where he won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s most outstanding player.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinedine_Zidane

David Khari Webber “Dave” Chappelle

born August 24, 1973) is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer and actor. Chappelle began his film career in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993 and continued to star in minor roles in the films The Nutty Professor, Con Air, and Blue Streak. His first lead role in a film was in Half Baked in 1998. In 2003, he became widely known for his popular sketch comedy television series, Chappelle’s Show, which ran until 2006. Comedy Central ranked him forty-third in its list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians.
Chappelle is a Muslim; he converted to Islam in 1998. He told Time Magazine  in a May 2005 interview, “I don’t normally talk about my religion publicly because I don’t want people to associate me and my flaws with this beautiful thing. And I believe it is beautiful if you learn it the right way.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Chappelle

Stevie B

Steven Bernard Hill is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who was influential in the Latin freestyle and High-Energy, mostly from Miami dance music scene of the late 1980s. Also known as the King of Freestyle, Stevie B is perhaps best-known for his 1990 number-one hit “Because I Love You (The Postman Song).”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_B

http://www.trueknowledge.com/q/facts_about__stevie_b