British chef, restaurateur, and television personality Marco Pierre White’s son has converted to Islam while in prison to stay away from heroin.
Marco Pierre White Jr, 28, has struggled with drug addiction since he was just 13, and has been in and out of rehab a total of 17 times.
“More than $1 million has been wasted because of my addictions. But Islam has helped me get through everything,” he said in an interview with Daily Mail.
“I have been in rehab 17 times and being in prison has made me realize that enough is enough.”
He was released last week from prison, after a year in jail for possessing a knife, a spree of shoplifting, possessing heroin, and racially abusing a supermarket security guard.
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Daily Prayers
Marco does not strictly follow every rule of Islam, and still drinks alcohol, but says he prays to Allah five times a day, asking for his sins to be forgiven and for his family to be safe.
“In prison I saw the lads going to pray. I would listen to them talking about the Islamic community and the Qur’an and I thought a lot of it made sense. I had a flick through the Qur’an and my interest grew,” he said.
“When I prayed to Allah I asked for my sins to be forgiven and for him to make me strong and protect me. I asked for my family to be safe – and everything has come true.
“This is crazy how everything works out for me. I do believe it has a lot to do with my prayers and my religion.”
White Jr’s conversion to Islam is reportedly supported by his father. He has now vowed to never touch drugs again after converting to Islam.
“From day one he has been the biggest supporter. He has never left me even though I have been hard work and put him through a lot. Going to prison made me realize what I have put him through,” he added.
Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world, with the number of Muslims set to grow at more than twice the rate of the overall world population between 2015 and 2060 according to research by the Pew Research Center.
Islam takes an uncompromising stand on alcohol and all intoxicants. It forbids Muslims from drinking or even selling alcohol.
The general rule in Islam is that any beverage that get people intoxicated when taken is unlawful, both in small and large quantities, whether it is alcohol, drugs, fermented raisin drink or something else.