Texas, MINA – Prominent US social justice activist and writer, Shaun King has converted to Islam along with his wife Rai King on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan.
The couple took their shahada, or testimony of faith, in the presence of well-known imam, Dr Omar Suleiman, at the Valley Ranch Islamic Centre in Dallas, Texas, Middle East Monitor reports.
The 44-year-old former Christian pastor, known for his advocacy of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, has been particularly outspoken on the plight of the Palestinian people, especially those in Gaza facing ethnic cleansing by the US-backed Israeli occupation forces who have killed over 31,000 people, mostly women and children, injuring over 72,000 others.
On the occasion, which was broadcast live on Instagram, King wore a Palestinian keffiyeh as he addressed those present, attributing his decision to the “past six months of suffering, pain and trauma that we’ve seen in Gaza”.
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“It has touched me in the most profound ways to see people right now in the most dangerous, traumatic place on the planet still be able to sometimes look at nothing but rubble and the remains of their family, and still see meaning and purpose in life,” he said.
Their faith and their devotion to Islam has not only opened my heart but has opened the hearts of millions of people around the world.
In December, King said Meta had banned him from Instagram, where he had over five million followers, claiming the platform suspended him for “fighting for Palestine” online. “I am told by my sources inside of Meta that they are tracking my IP address and will delete anything I say anywhere I say it,” King wrote on Meta-owned Facebook at the time. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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