Cameroonian football legend Patrick Mboma converted to Islam on Friday at a local mosque in Douala, changing his name to Abdoul Djalil Mboma.
A video circulating on social media sites showed the Cameroonian star, once called “Magic”, taking the shahada at the Bonamosadi mosque in Douala, Actu Cameroun reported.
Ma shaa Allah Patrick MBOMA, dorénavant Djalil MBOMA ☪️✨ #Islam #réconversion #muslim #AllahouAkhbar 🤍🤍🤍 pic.twitter.com/iTVNj1eTV9
— Mareeam G (@g_mareeam) May 13, 2022
Mboma has not yet commented on his social media accounts on the circulating video, although he posted a new photo on his Instagram account about an hour after the spread of the video.
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A few weeks earlier, he posted a greeting to the Muslim community on social media on the occasion of the month of Ramadan.
Born in 1970, Mboma is the former all-time top goal-scorer for the Cameroonian national team.
During his career, he played for Châteauroux, Paris Saint-Germain, Metz, Gamba Osaka, Cagliari, Parma, Sunderland (where he scored once against Tottenham Hotspur), Al-Ittihad, Tokyo Verdy and Vissel Kobe before retiring on 16 May 2005.
He played in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and also led Cameroon to the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics and victories at the 2000 and 2002 African Nations Cups.
He was named African Footballer of the Year for his efforts in 2000.
Several football players have taken shahada recently. Last March, Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey announced his conversion to Islam.
A few days earlier, Dutch football star Clarence Seedorf embraced Islam, announcing the decision on Instagram.