Eubank Follows in the Footsteps of Muhammad

Ali and Tyson in his Quest of Spiritual Salvation

The British boxer : “I seriously thought of embracing

Islam in Cairo and proclaimed it in Dubai”

The British boxer Chris Eubank surprised the sports world in Britain when he announced his conversion to Islam and changed his name to Hamdan in March 1997. He had been studying Islam for a while and decided to embrace it after that. Eubank became Muslim after his victory over the Columbian boxer Camilo Alarcon in Dubai in the same year.

Eubank, who won the boxing world championship, was known for his elegant appearance, for the style of his philosophical talk, and for his excessive determination to be among the greatest boxers, such as Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, who had embraced Islam.

Eubank set out on his faith journey which led him to embrace Islam by studying this religion and striving to learn its principles and teachings. He kept this matter secret from the media till he was sure of his decision and then announced it publicly. Eubank decided to announce his conversion to Islam and the change of his name in Dubai. The news of the event was rapidly reported by the British press.

Eubank had been studying Islam for two years before announcing his conversion to it. He had also visited Mike Tyson in prison during that period. Tyson had been accused of raping one of Miss Black America competition contestants.

Eubank said that Islam was a great religion, but, unfortunately, it was distorted by a minority of extremists who had done a lot of harm to themselves and to Muslims through their acts which had nothing to do with the tolerant teachings of Islam.

Eubank started to show his interest in Islam after he resumed his participation in the World Championship in Cairo during which he regained his world championship title. Eubank won the fight and started since then to embrace Islam. Eubank said at that time that the warm reception he was given is Egypt made him think of becoming Muslim. “This reflection had been preceded by a study of religions for some time, among which was the comparative study of Islam and the other religions. After this, I reached a decision which necessitated some time to take. I wanted to announce my conversion to Islam in an Islamic country, hence making my conversion public in Dubai.”

Eubank was influenced by Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson in embracing Islam. He thought that Tyson converted to Islam in quest of spiritual salvation and psychological peace, and that Tyson’s perturbed life had no remedy other than Islam, for the latter abounds in spirituality hat delivers the human being from the materialistic world.

When he left London to Cairo to take part in a fight, Eubank started to be preoccupied by the issues of faith and doctrine which urged him more than ever before to take a major decision in this respect, especially after his study of Islam and the other religions and his conviction that Islam was the religion in which he found a remedy for his psychological perturbation in this respect.

Eubank’s decision to embrace Islam with a view to preserving the cleanness of his mind in the boxing world had provoked different reactions in the British sports world.

When he learned about the decision of Eubank to convert to Islam, the British boxer of Arab-Islamic origins, Nassim Hamid, warned the latter against using Islam in an attempt to win more supporters. However, a friend of Eubank thought that the latter was serious and convinced of having taken the right decision in embracing Islam, for such matters did not tolerate anything but seriousness and determination.

Eubank reported that it is the warm welcome he was given in Cairo which led him to hurry in taking the decision of announcing his conversion to Islam, because the warm welcome he received in Egypt had never been given to him in his own country, Britain. Eubank defeated his opponent the Argentine boxer Louis Barrera in Cairo in 1996.

Eubank went on to say : “The difficult question I faced in this faith journey was the one related to the human aspect of Chris Eubank himself and not the one related to the sport. It was difficult to find an easy answer to this question, but I told myself to look seriously for a convincing answer. I was not satisfied by considering myself a successful boxer or figure. Since I was a father and a man who gave attention to people’s behaviour, it would be distressing to confine my role in life to being a successful boxer or sportsman who cares only about cars and clothes.”

Eubank intended to play his next fight after that of Cairo in an Islamic country such as Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait or Morocco. As a matter of fact, the fight took place in Dubai, where he publicly announced his conversion to Islam and changed his name.

Eubank wished then that his usual prattle would precede him before his fight in Jeddah or Dubai. He was inspired in this by Mike Tyson, who had become Muslim while serving a five-year sentence for the rape of a Miss Black America contestant.

Before his fight in Dubai and announcement of his conversion to Islam, Eubank travelled by Concorde to the USA in order to visit Mike Tyson in prison. He visited the latter more than once.

When he was asked whether he would become Muslim one day, he answered : “We shouldn’t go too far ; I have clarified more than once during the last months that I was studying religions, all religions including Islam.”

The British sports world, particularly the boxing world, had not expected that Eubank would embrace Islam and conform to its teachings with this speed in that he was known for his excessive self-esteem and his boasting of his assets in terms of money, fame and elegance while Islam calls for modesty and shying away the feeling of superiority.

Thus, Eubank continued his faith journey which ultimately led him to take his famous decision of embracing Islam. But the name Hamdan which he chose for himself has been disregarded by the media, which have kept his old name. Eubank did not greatly resent this ; therefore, he did not insist on being called by his new name, but forced the media to mention his new religion whenever they dealt with his religious identity.