Muslims of Hollywood (Film & TV)
They may not be major Hollywood players just yet, but Muslim actors, writers, producers, directors, and other artistic professionals have been on the rise over the past decade. You may recognize some on our list as frequent character actors who have gone beyond playing the typical "terrorist" or immigrant roles. Others are less known to the public, though they help shape some of our most popular movies and TV shows.
Drawing on their faith to fuel their work (or help make fun of life), some of these Hollywood folks have been working the scene for years, while others are just starting to make their mark. From shows like "Sleeper Cell" and "The Daily Show" to movies like The House of Sand and Fog and Independence Day, these Muslims have steadily and quietly produced a stellar body of Hollywood work.
Drawing on their faith to fuel their work (or help make fun of life), some of these Hollywood folks have been working the scene for years, while others are just starting to make their mark. From shows like "Sleeper Cell" and "The Daily Show" to movies like The House of Sand and Fog and Independence Day, these Muslims have steadily and quietly produced a stellar body of Hollywood work.
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- Actor
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- Producer
Muhammad Ali beat more champions and top contenders than any heavyweight champion in history. He defeated heavyweight kings Sonny Liston (twice), Floyd Patterson (twice), Ernie Terrell, Jimmy Ellis, Ken Norton (twice), Joe Frazier (twice), George Foreman and Leon Spinks. He defeated light-heavyweight champs Archie Moore and Bob Foster. Ali defeated European heavyweight champions Henry Cooper, Karl Mildenberger, Jürgen Blin, Joe Bugner, Richard Dunn, Jean-Pierre Coopman and Alfredo Evangelista. He defeated British and Commonwealth king Brian London. All of Ali's defeats were by heavyweight champions: Frazier, Norton, Spinks, Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick. Ali also beat undefeated fighters Sonny Banks (12-0), Billy Daniels (16-0), 'Rudi Lubbers' (21-0) and George Foreman (40-0).Muhammad Ali beat more champions and top contenders than any heavyweight champion in history. He defeated heavyweight kings Sonny Liston (twice), Floyd Patterson (twice), Ernie Terrell, Jimmy Ellis, Ken Norton (twice), Joe Frazier (twice), George Foreman and Leon Spinks. He defeated light-heavyweight champs Archie Moore and Bob Foster. Ali defeated European heavyweight champions Henry Cooper, Karl Mildenberger, Jürgen Blin, Joe Bugner, Richard Dunn, Jean-Pierre Coopman and Alfredo Evangelista. He defeated British and Commonwealth king Brian London. All of Ali's defeats were by heavyweight champions: Frazier, Norton, Spinks, Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick. Ali also beat undefeated fighters Sonny Banks (12-0), Billy Daniels (16-0), 'Rudi Lubbers' (21-0) and George Foreman (40-0).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor best known for playing Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and the title role in Doctor Zhivago (1965), was born Michel Demitri Shalhoub on April 10, 1932 in Alexandria, Egypt to Joseph Shalhoub, a lumber merchant, and his wife, Claire (Saada). Of Lebanese and Syrian extraction, the young Michel was raised Catholic. He was educated at Victoria College in Alexandria and took a degree in mathematics and physics from Cairo University with a major. Afterward graduating from university, he entered the family lumber business.
Before making his English-language film debut with "Lawrence of Arabia", for which he earned a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination and international fame, Sharif became a star in Egyptian cinema. His first movie was the Egyptian film The Blazing Sun (1954) ("The Blazing Sun") in 1953, opposite the renowned Egyptian actress Faten Hamamah whom he married in 1955. He converted to Islam to marry Hamama and took the name Omar al-Sharif. The couple had one child (Tarek Sharif, who was born in 1957 and portrayed the young Zhivago in the eponymous picture) and divorced in 1974. Sharif never remarried.
Beginning in the 1960s, Sharif earned a reputation as one of the world's best known contract bridge players. In the 1970s and 1980s, he co-wrote a syndicated newspaper bridge column for the Chicago Tribune. Sharif also wrote several books on bridge and has licensed his name to a bridge computer game, "Omar Sharif Bridge", which has been marketed since 1992. Sharif told the press in 2006 that he no longer played bridge, explaining, "I decided I didn't want to be a slave to any passion any more except for my work. I had too many passions, bridge, horses, gambling. I want to live a different kind of life, be with my family more because I didn't give them enough time.".
As an actor, Sharif had made a comeback in 2003 playing the title role of an elderly Muslim shopkeeper in the French film Monsieur Ibrahim (2003). For his performance, he won the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival and the Best Actor César, France's equivalent of the Oscar, from the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma.
Diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2012, Sharif died of a heart attack on July 10, 2015, in Cairo, Egypt.Date of Birth 10 April 1932, Alexandria, Egypt
Date of Death 10 July 2015, Cairo, Egypt (heart attack)
Birth Name Michel Demetri Shalhoub
Height 5' 11" (1.8 m)
Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor best known for playing Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and the title role in Doctor Zhivago (1965), was born Michel Demitri Shalhoub on April 10, 1932 in Alexandria, Egypt to Joseph Shalhoub, a lumber merchant, and his wife, Claire (Saada). Of Lebanese and Syrian extraction, the young Michel was raised a Roman Catholic. He was educated at Victoria College in Alexandria and took a degree in mathematics and physics from Cairo University with a major. Afterward graduating from university, he entered the family lumber business- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990.
Tyson won his first 19 professional fights by knockout, 12 of them in the first round. Claiming his first belt at 20 years, four months, and 22 days old, Tyson holds the record as the youngest boxer ever to win a heavyweight title. He was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, as well as the only heavyweight to unify them in succession. The following year, Tyson became the lineal champion when he knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds of the first round. In 1990, Tyson was knocked out by underdog Buster Douglas in one of the biggest upsets in history.One of the most frightening human beings ever to step into the boxing ring, Mike Tyson was the model of the supreme gladiator - unbeaten and unbeatable. Never before had one individual captured the attention of the wider world via sport except Muhammad Ali. From 1987-1990, he was the undisputed world...
What many sports fans don’t know is that this heavy-weight converted to Islam back in 1992- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Janet Damita Jo Jackson was born on May 16, 1966 in Gary, Indiana, to Katherine Jackson (née Katherine Esther Scruse) and Joe Jackson, a musician. She is the youngest of ten children. Before her birth, her brothers formed a band later called The Jackson 5. She lived at home with her sisters, while her brothers and father lived an extravagant life in Los Angeles. She later moved in with them while her brothers were making a name for themselves, and signed a deal with Motown. Janet was in the shadow but later also made a name for herself.
As she was touring, and making appearances with her brothers, and the rest of the family, she co-starred with the rest of them in "The Jacksons". In 1977, she got the part of Penny Gordon on "Good Times". That showed her acting abilities early on. She also made a few memorable appearances on the hit TV show "Diff'rent Strokes" as Charlene Dupree. Soon afterwards came her role on "Fame".
She married boyfriend James Debarge, but they divorced just months later. She signed with A&M Records, and recorded her first solo album titled "Janet Jackson". The album did poorly on the music charts. Two years later she recorded "Dream Street" which turned out to be another disaster. A year later she signed on Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to record a third album, this time called "Control". It was a hit, selling 5 million copies in the U.S. alone, spawning six hits, and the #1 "When I Think of You". Afterwards, she fired her father, her manager to truly gain control.
Janet was determined to make this happen again. She then recorded "Rhythm Nation 1814". This time it sold 9 million copies in the U.S. - a bigger hit than "Control"! She happened to fall in love with a dancer named René Elizondo, Jr. from one of her sister's, LaToya Jackson's music video and later secretly married him in March of 1991. The year before she got a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. Janet went to work on her fifth album simply called "Janet.". It was her biggest hit to date selling over 10 million copies in the U.S. alone and includes her biggest hit single to date, "That's The Way Love Goes". Two years later she released a Greatest Hits album "Design of a Decade" which included two new hits "Runaway", and "Twenty-Foreplay". Her sixth album "The Velvet Rope" clarified her pop culture status.
In the midst of the release of "Nutty Professor II", René Elizondo filed for divorce, which is when it emerged they had been secretly married. Janet recorded her seventh album "All For You". Another hit. She was honored by MTV as an MTV Icon. In 2003, Janet went to work on her next album "Damita Jo" - it was another hit.Janet Jackson was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, but she reportedly converted to Islam after marrying Wissam Al Mana in 2013.
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ABOUT
Age: age 49
Birthplace: USA, Indiana, Gary
Profession: Spokesperson, Fashion designer, Record producer, Singer-songwriter, Film Producer + 5 more- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Faran Haroon Tahir was born in Los Angeles, California while his parents were studying acting and directing at UCLA Theatre Department. He comes from a theatre family well known in Pakistan and India. Both his parents are actors, directors and writers in Pakistan. Faran moved back to Los Angeles, California in 1980, when he was 17 years old. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley and his graduate degree from the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University. He has been nominated and has won many awards for his work in theatre and film.Faran Tahir was born in Los Angeles while his parents were studying acting and directing at UCLA Theatre Dept. He comes from a theatre family well-known in Pakistan and India. Both his parents are actors/directors/writers in Pakistan. Faran moved to Los Angeles in 1980, when he was 17 years old. He completed his B.A. from University of California, Berkeley and his graduate degree from the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard. He has been nominated and has won many awards for his work in theatre and film- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was born on 12 November 1978 in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. She is a producer and director, known for Saving Face (2012), A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers (2015) and A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (2015). She is married to Fahd Kamal Chinoy. They have two children.Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Urdu: شرمین عبید چنائے; born 12 November 1978) is a Pakistani journalist, activist and filmmaker.
She is the first Pakistani to win an Academy Award and the first to win twice.
She won Academy Awards for her documentaries Saving Face (2012) and A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (2015). After graduating from Stanford University, she launched her career as a filmmaker with her first film Terror's Children for the The New York Times. Her films include Children of the Taliban, The Lost Generation (about Iraqi exiles), Afghanistan Unveiled and the Academy Award-winning Saving Face.[6] Her visual contributions have earned her numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Documentary (2012), and the Emmy Award (2011) and the One World Media Award for Broadcast Journalist of the Year (2007). Her films have been aired on PBS, CNN, the Discovery Channel, Al Jazeera English and Channel 4.
She has also won two Emmy Awards, an International Emmy Award for 2010 Current Affairs documentary Pakistan's Taliban Generation[9] and Saving Face.[10] Her Academy Award (Oscar) win for Best Documentary for Saving Face made her the first Pakistani to win an Academy Award, and she is one of only eleven female directors who have ever won an Oscar for a non-fiction film.[14][15][16] She is also the first non-American to win the Livingston Award for Young Journalists.
In 2007 she helped found the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, whose projects center around the preservation of Pakistan’s cultural and social heritage. Sharmeen is a TED Fellow and the recipient of Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the second highest civilian award in Pakistan. She also serves as the Ambassador for Blood Safety for Pakistan's national blood safety program. Time magazine named Sharmeen in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2012.- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Writer
In 2008 as he was working on the NBC drama "Kings," Hollywood screenwriter and author Kamran Pasha received a call from his mother telling him that she wanted to do her Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and as a son it was his duty to accompany her. Reluctant to go, Pasha later wrote on washingtonpost.com that he often had felt "the need to put my career before my faith, missing prayers and even forgoing some of the fasts of Ramadan to focus on my work." But that material success was coming "at the cost of something far more precious—my relationship with God."
With the blessings of his executive producer Michael Green, Pasha went with his mother and discovered that the Prophet Muhammad's life story was "far more remarkable than any of the Hollywood epics I have written." Pasha came back profoundly affected and put his experiences into his work. He spent two seasons as a writer and co-producer on Showtime's drama "Sleeper Cell" and worked on the recently canceled TV series "Kings," a contemporary retelling of the story of the biblical King David. In an interview with Beliefnet, Pasha said, "There aren't many Muslims in Hollywood, but there are stories that need to be heard, and Muslims like me should be the ones telling those stories."- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Dave Chappelle's career started while he was in high school at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC where he studied theatre arts. At the age of 14, he began performing stand-up comedy in nightclubs. Shortly after graduation, he moved to New York City where he quickly established himself as a major young talent. At the age of 19, Chappelle made his film debut in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993). Chappelle then starred in the short-lived sitcom, Buddies (1996) and had a featured role in The Nutty Professor (1996).Dave Chapelle
Dave Chapelle converted to Islam in 1998. He once said, “It is a beautiful religion if you learn it in the right way. It is a lifelong effort
Comedian and actor Dave Chappelle knows how to get a laugh. He parlayed his groundbreaking brand of sketch comedy into the wildly popular Comedy Central program, "The Dave Chappelle Show," which debuted in 2003. Then Chappelle, whose comedic star was on a meteoric rise, took a sudden hiatus in 2005 from Season Three of the show. He disappeared and then turned up in South Africa. Why would the comedian walk away from a $50 million contract and retreat to relative seclusion with an old friend named Salim? To reflect on his Muslim faith, to be "well balanced" and to "check my intentions," Chappelle told Time Magazine in 2005.
Chappelle has always charted his Hollywood career on his own terms. His film debut came by way of a small role in Mel Brook's comedy "Robin Hood: Men in Tights." The actor later was offered the star-making role of Bubba in "Forrest Gump," which he regrettably turned down. A steady stream of small TV and film roles finally landed Chappelle his breakthrough show on Comedy Central. But the actor, who reportedly converted to Islam in 1998, walked away from it all in 2005. The reason for his choice is still being debated, but it doesn't seem to bother Chappelle, who has since maintained a low profile at his residence in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Said Chappelle, "Turns out you don't need $50 million to live around these parts, just a nice smile and a kind way about you."- Actor
- Composer
- Producer
Jermaine Jackson is an American singer from Gary, Indiana, and a member of the Jackson family which has been active in show-business for generations. Jermaine himself has been active as a singer since his childhood. He was both the second vocalist and the bass guitarist of the pop band "The Jackson Five" from 1964 to 1975. He rejoined the renamed group in 1983, and has remained with it through several breakups and reunions. He also had several top-30 hits of his own in a solo career.
In December 1954, Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana. The city was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation, and was primarily known as a center for the steel industry. It is located within the Chicago metropolitan area, at a distance of 25 miles (40 km) from downtown Chicago. Jackson was the fourth child born to Joe Jackson (1928-2018) and his wife Katherine Jackson (1930-, born under the name Kattie B. Screws). Joe was a guitarist for the band "The Falcons", and Katherine was a pianist and singer. Neither of them had a particularly lucrative career, and Joe worked at times as a steel mill worker.
Along with some of his brothers, Jackson practiced his own songs with his father's guitar at an early age. Their mother taught them to sing harmonies, and they founded their own band in 1964. Joe realized that his sons could become more successful than he ever was, and started training them under a strict regimen.
"The Jackson 5" signed a contract with Steeltown Records in November, 1967. In January 1968, they released their first single under the title "Big Boy". In 1969, the band signed a new contract with Motown Records. Motown had been one of the leading record labels of the 1960s, and was better able to promote their songs. Jackson started a romantic relationship with Hazel Gordy, daughter of the Motown founder Berry Gordy (1929-). The couple were married in 1973.
"The Jackson 5" became Motown's main marketing focus in the early 1970s. Their name has used on an ever-increasing number of merchandise, and they were even used as the main inspiration for a Saturday morning cartoon by the animation studio Rankin/Bass. However, the Jackson siblings were increasingly displeased with Motown's practices in the field of royalties. They were earning only 2.8% of royalties from Motown. In June 1975, the band signed a more lucrative contract with Epic Records. But Jackson remain loyal to Motown and left the band.
Jackson had already enjoyed solo success with his 1972 cover of the song "Daddy's Home", which had sold sold over one million copies. His subsequent solo hit songs were "That's How Love Goes", "Let's Be Young Tonight", "Bass Odyssey", "Feel the Fire", "Let Me Tickle Your Fancy" , "Let's Get Serious" , "Dynamite", "Do What You Do" , and "I Think It's Love". Jermaine decided to rejoin the renamed band "The Jacksons" in 1983, and worked on their album "Victory".
In 1984, Jackson and his brother Michael released the duet song "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good to Be True)". It received a lot of airplay. It peaked at 6th place on the Radio and Records' Top 40 chart, a chart based solely on airplay. It also reached the 1st place on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. However, there was a legal dispute between the record labels Epic and Arista over who owned the rights to this song. Due to this dispute, the song had only a limited distribution on records. Jermaine and Michael both provided guest vocals on the hit song "Somebody's Watching Me" (1984) by Rockwell.
In October 1984, Jackson and Pia Zadora collaborated on the duet song "When the Rain Begins to Fall". It was only moderately successful in the United States, but became a smash hit in Europe during 1985. It topped the charts in Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and West Germany. Cover versions of the song by other singers have also enjoyed chart success, decades following the song's initial release.
In 1989, Jackson released the single "Don't Take It Personal". It peaked at 64th place on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, and on the 1st place at the R&B chart. This was his last song to rank highly at any chart. Also in 1989, "The Jacksons" released the studio album "2300 Jackson Street". Despite receiving critical praise, the album peaked at 59th place on the Billboard Top Pop Albums. Disappointed with their declining commercial success, the band disbanded. This has remained their final studio album.
Jackson's music career declined during the 1990s, though some of his stage performances managed to attract crowds. In 1997, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with other members of "The Jackson 5". In 2001, "The Jacksons" reunited for two performances at Madison Square Garden. They were celebrating the 30h anniversary of Michael Jackson's debut performance as a solo singer.
In 2007, Jackson was a contestant at the "Celebrity Big Brother UK". He acted as a peaceful mediator between his arguing housemates, receiving attention from the press. While staying in the United Kingdom, Jackson voiced support for an anti-racism campaign which was financed by the magazine "Searchlight". In 2008, Jackson served as a guest judge for the music show "Australian Idol". That same year, he was invited as the guest of honor at the "Muslim Writers Awards" in Birmingham.
From December 2009 to January 2010, Jackson and several of his brothers appeared in the reality television series "The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty". The series in part focused on the plans of the brothers to relaunch their music careers, and in part on their reactions to the then-recent death of their brother Michael Jackson. The series only lasted for 6 episodes. Plans for a second season ended in development hell.
In 2011, Jackson published the memoir "You Are Not Alone: Michael Through a Brother's Eyes ". It focused on his memories concerning his deceased brother Michael. In 2012, "The Jacksons" reunited for their first concert tour in decades. Their tour lasted from June 2012 to July 2013. Jackson had previously refused to collaborate with his brothers for a 2011 tribute concert in Cardiff.. He reportedly felt that the concert capitalized on the publicity for an ongoing manslaughter trial, which was based on the suspicious death of Michael Jackson. .
In October 2012, Jackson released his solo album "I Wish You Love". It was his first solo album since 1991, and consisted mostly of cover song renditions of previous Jazz hits. The album was produced by the French singer David Serero through his private record label. Jackson and Serero also recorded the duet song "Autumn Leaves". They performed together in the musical "You Are Not Alone: The Musical" (2013).
In 2015, Jackson was in the news for his private life. In November 2015, his third wife Halima Rashid was arrested on charges of domestic violence. She had reportedly been abusing Jackson during their marriage. Rashid herself filed a petition for divorce in June 2016. Jackson had no children with Rashid, but had fathered 7 children from previous relationships.
By 2022, Jackson was 67-years-old. He has not released any new records or singles since 2015, but he has at times provided stage performances of various songs. He has never fully retired, and he retains a cult following due to his fondly recalled songs. While often overshadowed by his brother Michael, Jackson himself has had remarkable endurance as a performer.Jermaine Jackson was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, but he converted to Islam in 1989.
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ABOUT
Age: age 61
Birthplace: Gary, Indiana, USA
Profession: Bassist, Record producer, Musician, Singer-songwriter, Author + 2 more
Credits: The Jacksons: An American Dream, Gone Country, Celebrity Big Brother, The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty, Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special + 6 more- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Akil is a native of Los Angeles, but was raised primarily in Kansas City. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in journalism.
Akil began her writing career on Fox's critically acclaimed "South Central." She later moved on to writing for the UPN series "Moesha," where she earned her Producer title after four seasons. She received the 1999 SHINE (Sexual Health in Entertainment) Award presented by The Media Project for her "Moesha" episode "Birth Control."
Akil later served as Supervising Producer on the comedy series "The Jamie Foxx Show." For the 2000-01 television season, Akil created her first show, Girlfriends (2000), which she and Kelsey Grammer executive produce. 'Girlfriends' was presented with a 2001 SHINE Award for "The Burning Vagina Monologues" episode. It was also honored with 2002 and 2003 NAACP Image Awards nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Akil draws inspiration for the storylines from her own group of good friends, including Felicia D. Henderson (creator of Showtime's "Soul Food") and Gina Prince-Bythewood (writer/director of New Line Cinema's "Love & Basketball").
She is married to Executive Producer/Director Salim Akil. Recently, VIBE listed Akil on its "Top 100 Hottest People List" and Honey magazine named her as one of the "Top 25 Hottest Women in Urban Entertainment." She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and a board member of Center Theatre Group (Mark Taper Forum and Ahmanson Theatre). She also enjoys mentoring young people, especially aspiring writers.
She recently gave birth to her first child.In the high-powered world of Hollywood TV where cable channels are producing dramas and sitcoms that rival (and sometimes surpass) those produced by the major networks, Mara Brock Akil stands out. She is a successful writer and producer of such shows as "The Jamie Foxx Show," "Moesha," and UPN's "Girlfriends," which began in 2000 and ran until 2008. She and her husband, TV director Salim Akil, are Sufi Muslims who are also teaming up to write and produce a film for the Weinstein Company.
Akil has expressed pride in her faith, but tends to keep it out of her work. Some have called "Girlfriends" the black "Sex in the City." Akil saw her show as a forum for bringing to light important issues facing black women. Akil has worked hard to gather a diverse behind-the-scenes staff for "Girlfriends" and more recently "The Game." In a 2004 interview with Northwestern University's magazine, Akil said, "There are a lot of women in top positions, black, white, Asian, Polynesian, Latino, gay, and Jewish. It's a beautiful, 'We are the World' thing, and it's one key to the successes of [my] shows."- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Shaquille O'Neal is a retired professional American basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA on TNT. He is considered one of the greatest players in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. He was one of the tallest and heaviest players ever. O'Neal played for six teams over his 19-year career.
O'Neal's individual accolades include the 1999-2000 MVP award, the 1992-93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, 15 All-Star game selections, three All-Star Game MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, 14 All-NBA team selections, and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections. He is one of only three players to win NBA MVP, All-Star game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year (2000); the other players are Willis Reed in 1970 and Michael Jordan in 1996 and 1998. Largely due to his ability to dunk the basketball, O'Neal ranks third all-time in field goal percentage (58.2%). O'Neal was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. He was elected to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017.
In addition to his basketball career, O'Neal has released four rap albums, with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum. O'Neal is an electronic music producer, and touring DJ, known as Diesel. He has appeared in numerous films and has starred in his own reality shows.Shaquille O'Neal was raised by a Baptist mother and Muslim stepfather. He has been identified as Muslim in several biographies, but he is quoted as saying, "I'm Muslim, I'm Jewish, I'm Buddhist, I'm everybody 'cause I'm a people person."
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ABOUT
Age: age 43
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey, United States of America
Profession: Basketball player, Rapper, Television producer, Real estate entrepreneur, Film Producer + 1 more
Credits: Grown Ups 2, Jack and Jill, He Got Game, Scary Movie 4, Good Burger + 30 more- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
Regarded as one of hip-hop's most introspective and insightful artists, Mos Def has shaped a career that transcends music genres and artistic medium. Taking a cue from the Afrocentric stylings of the Native Tongues crew, which included De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest and Andres Titus, Mos Def has emerged as one of the more conscientious voices of new school hip-hop, alongside the likes of Common, Outkast, Goodie Mob and The Roots, to name just a few.
Mos Def was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Sheron Smith and Abdul Rahman. A child of hip-hop's Golden Era, he spent his childhood imbedded in the culture surrounding him as well as absorbing knowledge from across the artistic spectrum. With the release of "Universal Magnetic" (1996) Mos became an underground favorite in the hip hop world, leading to his legendary collaboration with Talib Kweli. The two formed Black Star whose debut album, Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star, would become one of the most critically acclaimed hip-hop albums. Mos followed that release with his 1999 solo debut, Black On Both Sides, which was certified gold and credited by critics as bringing hip-hop back to its soapbox roots. As with his music, Mos has demonstrated insight and passion with his acting career, appearing in Spike Lee's Bamboozled, MTV's Carmen: A Hip Hopera, 2002's critically acclaimed Monster's Ball, Showtime, and the 2002 romantic comedy Brown Sugar, for which he received an NAACP Image Award nomination. In addition Mos has served as the host, music supervisor and co-executive producer for the HBO series Def Poetry and served as a writer, producer and actor on the MTV sketch comedy series Lyricist Lounge. Mos completed his Broadway debut in 2002 in the Tony nominated, Pulitzer Prize winning, Topdog/Underdog. Mos re-teamed with Topdog playwright, Suzan Lori Parks and director George Wolfe for an off-Broadway play for which he was awarded an Obie Award. In 2003, Mos Def starred in Paramount Pictures' The Italian Job, alongside Ed Norton, Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron. Last year Mos Def starred opposite Alan Rickman in the critically acclaimed HBO movie Something the Lord Made, for which he has received a 2004 Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie. Def was also nominated for both a Golden Globe Award (Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture) and Golden Satellite Award (Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television) for the same role. He co-starred in the feature film The Woodsman, with Kevin Bacon, Benjamin Bratt, Eve and Kyra Sedgwick. The New York Times said of his performance, "I hope we don't have to wait too much longer to see him in a big-screen leading role," and USA Today heralded him as "the movie's best performance." In addition, he co-starred in Spyglass Entertainment's The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, released in April 2005. In the film, an adaptation of the classic Douglas Adams Science Fiction novel, Def starred as hero "Ford Prefect."
Mos Def released his highly-anticipated and critically acclaimed sophomore solo release, The New Danger (Geffen Records), on October 12th. The album was met with praise from both critics and fans alike, with Rolling Stone giving it 4 Stars and hailing the album as "Ghetto rock and righteous hip-hop from dazzingly talented Def" and the New York Daily News proclaimed "No one is doing more to change our notion of how hip hop can sound." The first single, "Sex, Love and Money' earned Def a 2005 Grammy nomination for Best Alternative/Urban Performance and the album was certified gold by the RIAA.Yasin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, converted Islam at age 19. Before the opening of each every album, Bey has said a prayer in Arabic, “Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem,” (“In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful”)- Saïd Taghmaoui was born July 19th 1973 in Villepinte, Seine-Saint-Denis, France, to Moroccan immigrant parents. He has 9 siblings. He dropped out of school at a young age and became a boxer; at one point ranking number 2 in France in his category. He met Mathieu Kassovitz with whom he co-wrote the French film La haine (1995) which won the Best Director award in Cannes. Kassovitz directed the movie in which Saïd played one of the leads. Since than Saïd has been a force in French cinema and has made films in Italy, Germany, The United States and Morocco.When "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" hit the theaters last summer, Said Taghmaoui got a chance to fight terrorists rather than play them. Taghmaoui's character, Breaker, has Muslim origins and is a member of the global G.I. Joe team hunting down the world's baddies. Taghmaoui, a standout actor in France of Moroccan parentage, has steadily built a career in Hollywood, even playing the stereotypical role of the terrorist (such as in the movie "Vantage Point" and "Traitor")--but adding nuance, complexity, and even a touch of sympathy every time he takes on such a role.
Taghmaoui, who is more widely recognized now for his recurring role as Caesar in Season Five of the ABC hit drama "Lost," first had a career as a boxer. Later, with a friend, he wrote and starred in the script for "La Haine" ("Hatred," about race and violence in the ghettos of Paris), which won him awards and accolades. Since then he's made his mark as an international star, making movies in Hollywood ("Hidalgo," "Three Kings," "The Kite Runner"), as well as in France and Morocco. As he continues to score bigger and more popular roles in Hollywood, Taghmaoui is poised to become that actor who can take on roles where faith can be part of his backstory instead of the main plot focus. - Actor
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American retired professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. During his career as a center, Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), a record 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. A member of six NBA championship teams as a player and two more as an assistant coach, Abdul-Jabbar twice was voted NBA Finals MVP. In 1996, he was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
In 1975, he was traded to the Lakers, with whom he played the final 14 seasons of his career and won five additional NBA championships. Abdul-Jabbar's contributions were a key component in the "Showtime" era of Lakers basketball. Over his 20-year NBA career, his teams succeeded in making the playoffs 18 times and got past the first round 14 times; his teams reached the NBA Finals on 10 occasions.
At the time of his retirement at age 42 in 1989, Abdul-Jabbar was the NBA's all-time leader in points scored (38,387), games played (1,560), minutes played (57,446), field goals made (15,837), field goal attempts (28,307), blocked shots (3,189), defensive rebounds (9,394), career wins (1,074), and personal fouls (4,657). In 2007, ESPN voted him the greatest center of all time, in 2008, they named him the "greatest player in college basketball history", and in 2016, they named him the second best player in NBA history (behind Michael Jordan). Abdul-Jabbar has also been an actor, a basketball coach, and a best-selling author.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr., changed his name when he converted to Islam in 1971.
Age: age 68
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States of America
Profession: Basketball Coach, Basketball player, Author, Actor
Credits: Airplane!, Fletch, The Stand, BASEketball, D2: The Mighty Ducks + 10 more- Actor
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Maz Jobrani was born on 26 February 1972 in Tehran, Iran. He is an actor and writer, known for Friday After Next (2002), Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero (2016) and Dragonfly (2002). He has been married to Preetha since 2006. They have two children.On March 10, 2007, the country was introduced to the Axis of Evil. No, not the one identified by former President George W. Bush. I'm talking about the comedy trio of Maz Jobrani, Ahmed Ahmed, and Aron Kader (with special guests Dean Obeidallah, Wan Ho Chung, and Nick Youssef), who made their debut on Comedy Central with a side-splitting special that showcased their particular brand of self-deprecating Middle Eastern and Muslim humor. (And yes, they took their name from Bush's 2002 State of the Union address.) The comedic trio, which started touring in 2005, have been making people laugh all around the world. But their Hollywood roots go much deeper.
All three have had roles in TV and film, from Egyptian-born Ahmed appearing on "Executive Decision," "JAG," and as a featured comedian on the PBS special, "STAND UP: Muslim Comics Come of Age," to Iranian-born Jobrani, the breakout actor of the group who has appeared in "The Interpreter," "Friday After Next" and "Dragonfly" to Kader, who was raised in Washington, D.C. and trained in sketch comedy at The Groundlings theater in Los Angeles. (Kader wrote on his website that he "would like to thank his Palestinian father and Mormon mother for giving him so many reasons to be a comedian.") Jobrani and other members of the Axis have spoken out against the stereotypical terrorist or "7-Eleven store owner" roles open to them. Jobrani once refused a plum role of a terrorist mastermind on "24," saying the show was "bad for him and for America." Minorities need image rehabilitation, Jobrani said in an article on Newsweek.com and Washingtonpost.com. Though these comedians milk their culture and faith for huge laughs, they take their character choices very seriously.- Actress
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Shohreh Aghdashloo was born Shohreh Vaziri-Tabar on May 11, 1952 in Tehran, Iran. In the 1970s at age 20, she achieved nationwide stardom in her homeland of Iran, starring in some prominent pictures such as The Report (1977) directed by the renowned Abbas Kiarostami, which won critics awards at the Moscow Film Festival. In 1978, she won wider acclaim and established herself as one of Iran's leading ladies with Desiderium (1978) directed by the late Ali Hatami. During the 1978 Islamic revolution, Aghdashloo left Iran for England, to complete her education. Her interest in politics and her concern for social injustice in the world would lead her to receive a Bachelor's degree in International Relations.
She continued to pursue her acting career, which eventually brought her to Los Angeles, California in 1987. She went on to marry actor/playwright Houshang Touzie, performing in a number of his plays, successfully taking them to national and international stages. However, this was not easy getting work in Hollywood as a Middle Eastern actress with an accent; she had roles in some decent, though not great, films, including Twenty Bucks (1993), Surviving Paradise (2000) and Maryam (2002). She received good reviews for her 12 episodes on the fourth season of the Fox television series 24 (2001) as Dina Araz, a terrorist undercover as a well-to-do housewife and mother in Los Angeles. She had to wait quite some time to receive her break in Hollywood.
And finally, years after having read the acclaimed novel "House of Sand and Fog", DreamWorks were in the process of bringing the story to the silver screen. After having cast Ben Kingsley (as Massoud Amir Behrani) and Jennifer Connelly in the lead roles, they were looking for a relatively unknown Iranian actress to play Kingsley's wife, Nadi. Shohreh Aghdashloo was duly cast. She stole the limelight and earned herself an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress amongst many other prestigious awards, including the Independent Spirit Sward as best supporting actress in a feature film, the New York and Los Angeles film critics award and others.Iranian-born actress Shohreh Aghdashloo captured critical acclaim in "The Stoning of Soraya M." (2009), a wrenching film about an Iranian woman framed for adultery and sentenced to stoning under an archaic Islamic law. Aghdashloo has made a name for herself playing numerous ethnic roles in film and television, most recognizably as an undercover Muslim terrorist on FOX's "24," which outraged many Muslim-Americans. Aghdashloo later countered in a Time magazine interview that though she previously had resisted stereotypical Muslim terrorist roles, the "strength and complexity" of the "24" character convinced her to take the part. She played opposite Ben Kingsley in "House of Sand and Fog" (2003).
Aghdashloo began acting in her 20s and starred in numerous Iranian films, but left the country for England to study following the 1979 revolution. After she completed her education, she moved to Los Angeles to continue her film and TV career. Proud of her Iranian and Muslim heritage, Aghdashloo continues to take complex roles that push the envelope of cultural and religious perceptions (she played the Jewish character Elizabeth in "The Nativity Story"). Aghdashloo is only moving up in Hollywood—she just scored her first Emmy for her supporting role in the HBO miniseries, "House of Saddam."- Actor
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Born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan, in Jaipur, Rajasthan (NW India) January 7, 1967 to a Pashto-speaking Muslim family. Khan's mother, Begum Khan, was from the Tonk Hakim family and his father, Jagirdar Khan, from the Khajuriya village near the Tonk district, ran a tire business.
The Khan family name comes from Turkish and Mongol languages and mean "king" or great leader. Descendants of Genghis Khan (13th century) in central Asia adopted Islam and became the Moghuls, who conquered India for several centuries until British rule.
Irfan was a skilled cricket player. In his early 20's he was selected for the CK Nayudu Tournament (a stepping stone to First Class cricket). He did not turn up for the tournament owing to lack of funds and as a result he focused on acting.
In 1984 he earned a scholarship to the National School of Acting in New Delhi.
He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor for his contribution to the field of arts.
His portrayal of Paan Singh Tomar in the acclaimed biographical sports drama Paan Singh Tomar (2011) won him the National Film Award for Best Actor and a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. His performance in the BAFTA Award nominated romance The Lunchbox (2013) earned him universal acclaim by the critics and audiences.
Globally, Khan was in The Warrior (2001), The Namesake (2006), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), the Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008), New York, I Love You (2009), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Life of Pi (2012), Jurassic World (2015) and Inferno (2016). As of 2017, his films have grossed $3.643 billion at the worldwide box office. In 2018, Khan was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor.
Khan got married to his wife Sutapa Sikdar, in 1995. She is a Hindu of the Brahmin caste. She is a movie producer, dialogue writer and screenwriter. Among her famous movies are Khamoshi: The Musical (Dialogue Writer, 1996), Supari (Dialogue Writer, 2003), Kahaani (Dialogue Writer, 2003), Madaari (Producer, 2016), Qarib Qarib Singlle (Producer, 2017)
They have two kids: Ayaan Khan, Babil Khan
Unlike most Indian film stars, Irrfan has been outspoken on religion. On Arnab Goswami's talk show, he took on Muslim fundamentalists, including India's Grand Imam. Irrfan Khan argued against "transactional religious interaction" and for "personal religious discovery"..."to discover yourself, to find God". Though he admits he is "not an authority" on the Koran and Islamic Holy scriptures he has bravely stood by his comments despite heavy criticism and even threats of violence. He's aware of the dangers that his frank comments pose to him and his family. His wife commented, "We are very proud of him."Sahabzade Irrfan Ali Khan (born 7 January 1967), credited as Irrfan Khan or simply Irrfan, is an Indian film actor known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema. He is also known for his works in British films, and Hollywood.[3][4] Film critics, contemporaries, and other experts consider him to be one of the finest actors in Indian cinema for his versatile and natural acting.[5][6] In 2011, Khan received the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour for his contribution to the field of arts.[7]
Khan has garnered the National Film Award for Best Actor in the 60th National Film Awards 2012, for his performance in Paan Singh Tomar.[8] Khan has won the 2014 Asian Film Award for Best Actor, three International Indian Film Academy Awards, three Filmfare Awards, an Independent Spirit Award nomination, and various international honours. He also hosted a Television show and commercials. As of 2015, he had appeared in more than 50 Indian films in Bollywood, and few international films, such as Life of Pi and Jurassic World, with a featured role alongside Tom Hanks in the 2016 adaptation of Dan Brown's novel Inferno.[3] In September, 2015, he was appointed as the brand ambassador for "Resurgent Rajasthan", a campaign by the state government of Rajasthan.[9]- Actor
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Grew up in Riverside, California; graduated North High School, 1988. Attended Academy of Dramatic Art in Pasadena, California. Has been a regular performer at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles since 2000. Headlines a specialty show at the Comedy Store called "Arabian Knights" that was the brainchild of owner Mitzi Shore and features comics of Middle Eastern descent.On March 10, 2007, the country was introduced to the Axis of Evil. No, not the one identified by former President George W. Bush. I'm talking about the comedy trio of Maz Jobrani, Ahmed Ahmed, and Aron Kader (with special guests Dean Obeidallah, Wan Ho Chung, and Nick Youssef), who made their debut on Comedy Central with a side-splitting special that showcased their particular brand of self-deprecating Middle Eastern and Muslim humor. (And yes, they took their name from Bush's 2002 State of the Union address.) The comedic trio, which started touring in 2005, have been making people laugh all around the world. But their Hollywood roots go much deeper.
All three have had roles in TV and film, from Egyptian-born Ahmed appearing on "Executive Decision," "JAG," and as a featured comedian on the PBS special, "STAND UP: Muslim Comics Come of Age," to Iranian-born Jobrani, the breakout actor of the group who has appeared in "The Interpreter," "Friday After Next" and "Dragonfly" to Kader, who was raised in Washington, D.C. and trained in sketch comedy at The Groundlings theater in Los Angeles. (Kader wrote on his website that he "would like to thank his Palestinian father and Mormon mother for giving him so many reasons to be a comedian.") Jobrani and other members of the Axis have spoken out against the stereotypical terrorist or "7-Eleven store owner" roles open to them. Jobrani once refused a plum role of a terrorist mastermind on "24," saying the show was "bad for him and for America." Minorities need image rehabilitation, Jobrani said in an article on Newsweek.com and Washingtonpost.com. Though these comedians milk their culture and faith for huge laughs, they take their character choices very seriously.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Aasif Mandvi was born on 5 March 1966 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India. He is an actor and producer, known for Million Dollar Arm (2014), Evil (2019) and The Proposal (2009). He has been married to Shaifali Puri since 26 August 2017.On a recent episode of Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show," the faux anchorman reported on the story of Bollywood film legend Shah Rukh Khan, who had been detained and questioned for two hours at Newark Liberty (N.J.) International Airport before being released by immigration authorities. After a small riff on the story, Stewart moved on to other news. But "Daily Show" correspondent Aasif Mandvi popped up in mock outrage that he hadn't been called on to cover the story. "I'm, Indian, I'm Muslim," he complained. "I should've been all over this!"
On stage, screen, and TV, Mandvi has been drawing on his ethnicity and faith for years to fuel his humor. The Mumbai-born actor, who later emigrated to England (and recalls his early years at an all-boys school as his first impetus to explore issues of ethnic pride versus integration), got his first big break in his 1998 one-man show, "Sakina's Restaurant," which was based on his family's immigrant experience. Following 9/11, the funnyman parlayed his experiences into political humor while still playing small roles on film and television (including "Spider-Man 2" and "Freedomland"). He was seen recently in "The Proposal," with Sandra Bullock. But it's probably on "The Daily Show" that Mandvi has come into his own, uproariously tapping his ethnicity and faith to color his brand of Middle East reporting.- Actor
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Arab American Actor Sayed Badreya, realized a childhood dream by winning roles in major Hollywood films such as Iron Man, The Insider, Three Kings, and Independence Day. He's also a renowned advocate for human rights and enriching the American culture through films and television. His journey to the big-screen, however, was not easy. Sayed's story is one of perseverance, belief, and beating the odds. Born in 1957 in Port Said, Egypt, Sayed grew up in poverty but had dreams and aspirations of movie stardom from a young age. Although the prospect of him ever making it to Hollywood felt as bleak as realizing peace in the Middle East, he felt an undeniable pull towards acting, believing that he was cut out for something more. He used the movie theater as a child as an escape from the war-torn Middle Eastern atmosphere he was born into. It was at the movie theater where he discovered the transformational magic of film and where he determined that he was destined to be a part of that magic. Sayed moved to the United States and attended New York University film school before moving out to Hollywood to pursue his acting career. His career in the film industry first began as an assistant to actor/director Anthony Perkins, and then with director James Cameron on the film, 'True Lies.' Badreya had a clear mission; he wanted to make movies that told the Arabic-American story, since it had yet to be told. This mission led him to creating a production company of his own, 'Zoom In Focus.' Under this banner, he directed and produced the documentary, 'Saving Egyptian Film Classics' as well as 'The Interrogation', which won Best Creative Short Film at the New York International Film Festival. He also produced and starred in a short film called, 'T for Terrorist', which was awarded Best Short Film at the Boston International Film Festival and the San Francisco World Film Festival. Sayed's efforts to bring attention to Arab-Americans in the motion picture industry has received much coverage and media attention over the years on radio, television, and in major publications around the world. Media outlets such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, GQ, NPR, ABC's Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, BBC's Panorama, CNN, Fox Report with Shepard Smith, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Egypt Today, and more have chronically Sayed's inspiring message and journey. Movies and Acting Roles Sayed has made appearances in over 65 movie and television roles throughout his career. He's shared scenes with some of Hollywood's top actors including Al Pacino, George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Jr., and Jackie Chan. He's also had the pleasure of working with some of the best directors in the business including Michael Mann, Peter Farrelly, Jon Favreau, and Oliver Stone. Aside from his acting roles, he's worked as an Arabic dialect coach and as an Islamic technical advisor on Path to 9/11, a $40 million dollar mini-series about the events leading up to 9/11 produced by ABC/Touchstone. It was in 2007 that he landed his first leading role in the English language motion picture, 'American East', a film that he also co-wrote. 2008 was Sayed Badreya's breakout year. He captivated audiences as Abu Bakaar, the villainous arms dealer who kidnaps Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in the summer blockbuster, 'Iron Man.' That same year, Sayed also played the comedic Palestinian cab driver opposite Adam Sandler in 'You Don't Mess with the Zohan'. In 2009, Sayed was featured in Paramount Pictures' feature film 'El Traspatio' aka 'Backyard,' directed by Oscar-nominated Carlos Carrera, in which he plays a serial killer opposite Ana de la Reguera. Sayed also found himself in 'Movie 43,' where he plays opposite Halle Berry. Additional films in 2009 include; 'The Three Stooges,' his fifth film with the Farrelly brothers; 'The Dictator,' playing Sacha Baron Cohen's father as the original dictator, and 'Just Like a Woman', with Oscar-nominated director Rachid Bouchareb. In 2011, he completed his second leading role in the New York independent feature, 'Cargo,' about human traffickers, directed by Yan Vizinberg. That same year he also co-starred opposite Oscar-winning actress Melissa Leo in the film 'The Space Between,' directed by Travis Fine. 2017 brought Sayed Badreya the well-deserved honor of winning the Best Actor award from the 13th edition of Action on Film Festival in Las Vegas for his role in the movie 'Aileron.' In 2018 Sayed Badreya received a 'Life Achievement Award' at the Boston International film festival to commemorate his lifetime contribution to enriching American culture through films and television. 2019 has been one of Sayed's most successful years yet. He shot 'Vanguard' opposite Jackie Chan, signed a 2nd season for 'Apple & Onion, a US animated television series created for Cartoon Network, and co-starred in an Egyptian television Series, 'Winter 2006.' Additionally, his short film, Al-Masry Life, won the Best Short Film award from the 15th annual Action on Film International Film Festival. As of 2020, Badreya had a new project in the works, a film about human trafficking called 'What About Her,' which exposes Beverly Hills' and Bel Air's dirty little secret: young maids who are secretly enslaved by rich and powerful Arabs and diplomats in some of LA's wealthiest neighborhoods.You've seen actor and filmmaker Sayed Badreya in dozens of big-name films and TV shows, though you may not know his name. He's broken barriers in Hollywood as the first Muslim to actually play Muslim characters back in the 1980s. Prior to that, recalled friend and fellow Hollywood screenwriter Kamran Pasha, "Most of the Muslim roles went to Greek guys."
The actor, who grew up in poverty in Egypt, turned to films as his only escape from the political turmoil in his country during the 1960s and 70s. After moving to the U.S. to attend New York University's film school, Badreya left for Hollywood and began appearing in typical "foreign" and "terrorist" roles on television and film. His big break came in the late 1990s, when he scored roles in "The Insider," "Three Kings," "Independence Day," and "Stargate." He was most recently seen in "Iron Man" and "You Don't Mess with the Zohan." But for Badreya, his true dream is to tell the stories of real Arabs. For that purpose, he formed the production company Zoom in Focus, which has put out a number Arab- and Muslim-centered short films. As the king of Muslim and Arab character roles, Badreya has been a Hollywood mainstay for three decades.- Actor
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Born in Sudan, Siddig was raised in Britain and attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) where he studied acting and theater. Immediately after leaving LAMDA, Sid did a season of theater in Manchester, in addition to performing in various shows in pubs and small theaters. Later, Siddig worked as a director in a small theater in London.
"I was in a situation where I pretty much had a theater company at my disposal and a theater at my disposal and could do anything I liked...as long as I did it for nothing. Which is sort of a step before charging and not being able to do what you like. I was at a point where I could have just gone on and become a director in London, as a trainee at the Royal Shakespeare Company or something like that, and ended up being a bona fide director. It was quite a big struggle because for a year and a half, which is the time I spent directing immediately after I left acting school, you just have no money so you're just living on welfare and you're trying to make it. . ."
During this time of financial struggle Sid was offered the part of Emir Feisal in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1992), the sequel to Lawrence of Arabia (1962). Sid co-starred with Ralph Fiennes who played T. E. Lawrence.
Siddig's performance in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1992) brought him to the attention of Rick Berman who was creating the new series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993). Originally brought in to audition for the role of Captain Benjamin Sisko, Berman decided Siddig was too young for the role and cast him as Dr. Julian Bashir instead. The part had to be slightly rewritten for Siddig as the original "bible" had called for an Hispanic male to play the part, named Julian Amoros, although Berman reports that no other actors were considered for the role.
During his time on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Siddig and co-star Nana Visitor had a son (Django) and were married in 1997. They divorced in 2001, although they remain friends.
After a successful seven-year run on television, Siddig began working in feature films, quickly accumulating roles in movies such as Vertical Limit (2000), Reign of Fire (2002), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), and the critically acclaimed Syriana (2005). Early 2005 saw Siddig return to the stage opposite Kim Cattrall in the West End production of "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" Following a controversial guest turn on MI-5 (2002), the title role in Hannibal (2006) in 2006 and a recurring role on 24 (2001) in 2007 brought Siddig back to the small screen.Alexander Siddig
Actor | Director
Born in Sudan, Siddig was raised in Britain and attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) where he studied acting and theater. Immediately after leaving LAMDA, Sid did a season of theater in Manchester, in addition to performing in various shows in pubs and small theaters. Later, Siddig worked as a director in a small theater- Actor
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Khalil Kain was born on 22 November 1964 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Juice (1992), Renaissance Man (1994) and Girlfriends (2000).Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968, better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper and actor who started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap collective the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hip hop.Regarding the name Big Daddy Kane, he said: "The Big Daddy part and the Kane part came from two different things. The Kane part came from my fascination with the martial arts flicks when I was young." Specifically, the name comes from Kane, David Carradine's character from TV show Kung Fu. The Big Daddy part came from the name of a character Vincent Price played in the film Beach Party.[13]
Rolling Stone magazine ranked his song "Ain't No Half-Steppin'" #25 on its list of The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time, calling him "a master wordsmith of rap's late-golden age and a huge influence on a generation of MCs." They added, "Legend has it that even the Eighties' greatest rapper, Rakim, turned down a challenge to go mic-to-mic with Kane."[14]- Music Artist
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Akon, born Aliaune Thiam, grew up in Senegal before he and his family (including his father, jazz percussionist Mor Thiam) eventually settled in the USA, in the state of New Jersey. There he discovered hip-hop and R&B music as well as crime. He was eventually jailed, but he used the time to work on his musical ideas. Upon release, Akon began writing and recording tracks in a home studio. The tapes found their way to SRC/Universal, which eventually released "Trouble," Akon's debut LP, in June 2004. The album was an interesting hybrid of Akon's hip-hop-influenced sung lyrics and silky, West African-styled vocals with East Coast- and Southern-styled beats.Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973)[1] (pronounced /ˈeɪkɒn/), better known as Akon, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, businessman, record producer and actor.[3] He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first single from his debut album Trouble.
He has since founded two successful record labels, Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution. His second album, Konvicted received three nominations for the Grammy Awards in two categories, Best Contemporary R&B Album for Konvicted album and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Smack That" and "I Wanna Love You".
He is the first solo artist to hold both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts twice.[4] Akon has had four songs certified as 3x platinum, three songs certified as 2x platinum, more than ten songs certified as 1x platinum and more than ten songs certified as gold in digital sales. Akon has sung songs in other languages including Tamil, Hindi, and Spanish. He was listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the #1 selling artist for master ringtones in the world.
Akon often provides vocals as a featured artist and is currently credited with over 300 guest appearances and more than 35 Billboard Hot 100 songs. He has worked with numerous performers such as Michael Jackson, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Whitney Houston, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and Gwen Stefani. He has had five Grammy Awards nominations and has produced songs for artists such as Lady Gaga, Colby O'Donis, Kardinal Offishall, Leona Lewis, and T-Pain.
Forbes ranked Akon 80th (Power Rank) in Forbes Celebrity 100 in 2010[5] and 5th in 40 Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa list, in 2011.[6] Billboard ranked Akon No. 6 on the list of Top Digital Songs Artists of the decade- Actor
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- Producer
Aziz Ansari was born in Columbia, South Carolina, to Fatima, a medical office worker, and Shoukath, a gastroenterologist. His family is from Tamil Nadu, India. He graduated from NYU as a business major in 2004. He graduated from the South Carolina Governor's School for Math and Science in Hartsville, SC. He previously attended Marlboro Academy, a private school in his home town of Bennettsville, SC.
Starting out in television like the hit comedy Parks and Recreation (2009), he later had bit parts in the films I Love You, Man (2009), Funny People (2009), and Get Him to the Greek (2010), among others, before co-starring in the comedy 30 Minutes or Less (2011).Aziz Ansari (Tamil: அஜிஸ் அன்சாரி; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor and comedian widely known for his roles as Tom Haverford on the NBC series Parks and Recreation (2009-2015) and as Dev Shah on the Netflix series Master of None, which debuted in 2015 and which Ansari created, writes, and stars in — and which The New York Times called "the year's best comedy straight out of the gate."[2]
Ansari began his career performing standup comedy in New York City during the summer of 2000 while attending New York University. In 2007, he created and starred in the MTV sketch comedy show Human Giant, which ran for two seasons. This led to acting roles in feature films, including Funny People; I Love You, Man; Observe and Report; and 30 Minutes or Less.
In addition to his acting work, Ansari has continued to work as a standup comedian. He released his debut CD/DVD, entitled Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, in January 2010 on Comedy Central Records, and still tours nationally between acting commitments. In 2010 and 2011, he performed his Dangerously Delicious tour. This tour was self-released for download on his website in March 2012 and debuted on Comedy Central in May 2012. He completed his third major tour of new material, Buried Alive, in the summer of 2013. His fourth major comedy special, Live at Madison Square Garden, was released on Netflix in 2015.
His first book, Modern Romance: An Investigation, was released in June 2015.- Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
Omar Epps is an American actor, starring on the ABC drama Resurrection (2013).
Epps was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised by his mother, Bonnie Maria Epps, an elementary school principal. No stranger to the big screen, Epps has appeared in lead roles in feature films, including Paramount's Against the Ropes (2004), in which he starred opposite Meg Ryan, Paramount's Alfie (2004), opposite Jude Law and Susan Sarandon, Paramount/MTV's The Wood (1999), Miramax's In Too Deep (1999), John Singleton's Higher Learning (1995) and Juice (1992). His supporting roles include Breakfast of Champions (1999), opposite Bruce Willis and Nick Nolte, Major League II (1994), opposite Charlie Sheen, and The Program (1993) with Halle Berry. Omar was also seen in Hollywood's best-kept secret, Scream 2 (1997), MGM's remake of The Mod Squad (1999), with Claire Danes, and Love & Basketball (2000). He also starred in Takeshi Kitano's Brother (2000) for Sony Classics.
He co-starred on the critically-acclaimed FOX medical drama, House (2004), for which he received an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" in 2007. He was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" in 2005, as well, as "Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series" in 2006. Epps was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Best Actor for his performance in the December 2002 Showtime Original movie, Conviction (2002), in which he portrayed "Carl Upchurch", a hardened criminal from South Philadelphia, who spent most of his adult life in prison. It is the story of one man's journey from prisoner to peacemaker. Omar has starred in three HBO Original movies, First Time Felon (1997), directed by Charles S. Dutton (Roc), Deadly Voyage (1996), produced by Danny Glover, and Daybreak (1993), co-starring Cuba Gooding Jr.. "First Time Felon" and "Deadly Voyage" are based on true stories. Epps also portrayed "Dr. Dennis Gant" on the Emmy Award-winning NBC drama, ER (1994). As a surgical resident, he teamed up with "Dr. Carter" (Noah Wyle) and "Dr. Benton" (Eriq La Salle). In one of the most talked about departures, Omar left audiences wondering if his character committed suicide or not.Omar Epps is reportedly Muslim, but he is not very vocal about his spirituality.
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ABOUT
Age: age 42
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States of America
Profession: Record producer, Songwriter, Rapper, Film Producer, Actor
Credits: House, Scream 2, Love & Basketball, Juice, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood + 24 more- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed (born Jonathan William Davis better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American rapper, record producer, singer, and DJ. Nicknamed The Abstract, he is noted for his innovative jazz-influenced style of hip hop production and his philosophical, esoteric and introspective lyrical themes. He embarked on his music career in the late 1980s, as an MC and main producer of the influential alternative hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. In the mid-1990s, he co-founded the production team The Ummah, followed by the release of his gold-certified solo debut Amplified in 1999. In the following decade, he released the Grammy Award-nominated album The Renaissance (2008) and the experimental album Kamaal the Abstract (2009).Q-Tip converted to Islam in the mid 1990s. He has been honored by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding for being one of the most successful Muslim music producers in the world.
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ABOUT
Age: 45
Birthplace: New York City, USA, New York
Profession: Record producer, Rapper, Musician, Actor, Disc jockey + 3 more
Credits: She Hate Me, Cadillac Records, Disappearing Acts, Holy Rollers, Beats^! Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest + 3 more- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Lewis Arquette was born on 14 December 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Little Nicky (2000), Waiting for Guffman (1996) and Tango & Cash (1989). He was married to Brenda Denaut. He died on 10 February 2001 in Los Angeles, California, USA.The late U.S. actor Lewis Michael Arquette, a member of The Waltons and of comedy troupe Second City, and hailing from an all-around acting family, converted to Islam in his twilight years, leaving his Catholic days behind. Who says interfaith relationships can’t work: Arquette’s wife was a Jewish daughter of a Polish Holocaust survivor- Actor
- Producer
Shaun Toub was born in Tehran, Iran. He was raised in Manchester, England. At 14 he moved to Switzerland and then to New Hampshire. After two years of college in Massachusetts, Shaun transferred to USC where he graduated.
Toub has received accolades for several of his appearances in over 100 television episodes including his newer work playing Terence in Snowpiercer for 2 seasons. He also played Majid Javadi in two seasons of Homeland. His work includes Little America on AppleTv, Scandal, Grimm, Seinfeld, The Sopranos, Castle, NCIS, Chuck, Lost, Charmed, ER, Just Shoot Me!, JAG, Married... with Children and various movies made for television.
His latest series Tehran just won an International Emmy playing Faraz Kamali, the intelligent officer. The second season will be streaming on May 6 on AppleTVPlus.
His filmography includes his memorable performance in Bad Boys, Broken Arrow, The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson's War, Iron Man, The Last Airbender, and the Oscar-winning film Crash. Including Papa Hemingway in Cuba, the life story of Ernest Hemingway, in the role of Evan Shipman the poet.
Shaun resides in Los Angeles. Loves the outdoors, sports, and music.- Actor
- Writer
Omar Metwally is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television programs. He is best known for his work on Showtime's The Affair, as well as for film roles in Steven Spielberg's Munich, Julian Schnabel's Miral and many others. He was born in Queens, New York and raised in Orange County, California. Metwally gained a BA in History from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Zayn Malik was born in Bradford, England, to Tricia (Brannan) and Yaser Malik, and is of Pakistani (father) and English-Irish (mother) descent. He had an early love for singing and performing, and at the age of 17 he competed in the television competition The X Factor. After judges Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell grouped him with fellow competitors Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson to form a new act, One Direction became one of the most popular finalists in their season of The X Factor.
Following the band's massive success, Malik left the group in 2015 to pursue a solo career. ZAYN signed with RCA Records and moved to Los Angeles, where he began working on his solo effort with James "Malay" Ho (Frank Ocean, Big Boi). His debut single, "Pillowtalk," was released in late January 2016 and debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts and his full-length debut album Mind of Mine was released on March 25, 2016.
ZAYN entered the fashion world in 2016 with his shoe collaboration with Giuseppe Zanotti and began working on his Versus Versace link (to be released May 2017). In August of 2016, Malik also signed on to executive produce the new television series BOYS with Law & Order creator Dick Wolf and Universal Pictures. The series is set to follow a boy band as they go through the waves of huge success similar to that of One Direction.
In late 2016, ZAYN re-entered the music world with the Taylor Swift assisted single, "I Don't Want To Live Forever" from the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack. The song dominated debuted at #1 on the Digital Songs chart and #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Malik followed the single up in March of 2017 with "Still Got Time" featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR which is the first official single off ZAYN's upcoming sophomore album.Zayn Malik
Former One Direction singer Zayn Malik is easily one of the most famous Muslims in pop culture today. And unfortunately, his religious identity has been a seemingly constant source of criticism and conflict for the star.
In 2012, conservative blogger Debbie Schlussel cautioned parents, "Jihad is sneaking into American girls' favorite pop band." In 2013, American rapper Rucka Rucka Ali released a track with the refrain, "Zayn Hussein did 9/11." Then in 2015, comedian Bill Maher compared the British Pakistani pop star's appearance to that of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Riz Ahmed (born 1 December 1982), also known by his stage name Riz MC and birth name Rizwan Ahmed, is a British Pakistani actor, rapper, and activist. As an actor, he has won one Emmy Award, out of two Emmy nominations, and was also nominated for a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, and three British Independent Film Awards.Riz Ahmed was born on December 1, 1982 in London, England. He is an actor and writer, known for Four Lions (2010), Nightcrawler (2014) and The Road to Guantanamo (2006).
Date of Birth 1 December 1982, London, England, UK
Height 5' 8" (1.73 m)- Alyy Khan is a British Asian actor and host who has worked in Hollywood, Bollywood and Lollywood films and television series. He is known for his roles in the films A Mighty Heart (2007), Traitor (2008), Don 2 (2011), 3 Bahadur (2015), Actor in Law (2016) and Mogul Mowgli (2020), and also played a parallel lead in the telefilm Anjuman (2013). Alyy Khan has also appeared in several television series, including The Bill (2006), Strike Back (2011), Saat Pardon Mein (2012), Indian Summers (2015) and Pakeezah (2016). In 2012, Khan hosted the television reality show Foodistan for NDTV and Geo TV. Recent credits include The Serpent (2020) for Netflix, Shantaram (2021) for Paramount/Apple+ TV and The Archie's (2022) for Netflix India.
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Miguel Ali is an indie film director and published author. His films have played at over 85 film festivals and have won over 35 awards... but in a past life, Miguel Ali was also an ex-politician and political pundit.
As a political pundit, Miguel Ali served as a regular guest on Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, as well as a regular on CNBC's The Dennis Miller Show. He also appeared frequently on Fox News, BBC Radio of England and MSNBC. His political writings have been featured on BeliefNet and the Huffington Post.
Miguel Ali ran for office in Colorado twice. In 2008, he ran for Colorado's State House. And in 2010, he ran for State Treasurer. He lost both times... but in the process, Miguel Ali knocked on over 20,000 doors, talking to voters all over Colorado, an experience that still fuels much of his work.
Miguel Ali recently completed his first feature film, Confessions of a Womanizer, starring Gary Busey, C Thomas Howell, Andrew Lawrence, Jillian Rose Reed and WWE's The Bella Twins. In addition, his first book, Elephant: The 12 Things I Learned When I Ran For Office, is being published by Bear Manor Media and is set for release in 2013.
Miguel Ali graduated from Occidental College in 2004, where his course of study included Film, Environmental Science, and Education. Of note, Miguel Ali spent a year-and-a-half as a TYRO public school teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, where he tyro-taught at Franklin High School in East LA. Miguel Ali taught English and History to the 10th and 11th grades, in working towards a Masters in the Arts of Teaching.
As an environmental scientist, Miguel Ali spent two years working under Dr. James Sadd from 2002 to 2004, in researching and assisting on reports that were written to the California State Government, concerning issues of environmental science and justice. From there, Miguel Ali ultimately received his MFA in Film Directing from Chapman University's Dodge College of Film in 2007.
Miguel Ali lives in Los Angeles, California, with his fiancée, Jennie, their son, Seneca, and their dogs, Deelya and Henry. Miguel Ali was born in Colorado, and raised throughout the western United States, including California, Nevada, Washington and Oregon.
Miguel Ali is of Spanish and Pakistani-Indian descent. As of 2012, Miguel Ali formerly carried the last name "Hasan," but is changing his full name to "Miguel Ali" in recognition of his Spanish-Morisco heritage, which is predominantly Jewish. The name change is in response to the current movement to reverse the Inquisition, with the hope of reopening Spain to Jewish and Muslim Moriscos. "Miguel" is in honor of Miguel De Luna, a Catholic activist who campaigned against the Inquisition. "Ali" is in honor of the name his mother gave him. Miguel Ali is an interfaith practitioner, adhering to principles of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Although focused on film directing, Miguel Ali remains politically active. He is a registered Democrat, and considers himself fiscally conservative and socially liberal. In 2010, Miguel Ali founded the group Constitutionalists For Gays & Immigrants, which advocates for the legalization of gay marriage and citizenship for undocumented immigrants, both causes on the basis of Constitutional law.
Miguel Ali is an expert snowboarder and according to his fiancée, Jennie, cooks the best steaks in California.- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
Cat Stevens was born on 21 July 1948 in London, England, UK. He is a music artist and composer, known for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Almost Famous (2000) and Rushmore (1998). He has been married to Fawzia Ali since 9 September 1979. They have five children.Yusuf Islam, the folk artist formerly known as Cat Stevens, publicly converted to Islam in 1977. Over the next few years, he changed his name, auctioned off all his guitars for charity, and left his successful music career behind because he decided it was counter to his faith. Then, a few months after 9/11, he picked up a guitar again.
"There was so much antagonism in the world," he told Rolling Stone in January 2015. "Many Muslims have come up to me, shook my hand and said, 'Thank you! Thank you.' I'm representing the way they want to be seen. So much of the middle ground gets forgotten in the extremities we witness around the world."- Producer
- Actress
Iman was born on 25 July 1955 in Mogadishu, Somalia. She is a producer and actress, known for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), L.A. Story (1991) and No Way Out (1987). She was previously married to David Bowie, Spencer Haywood and Hassan ?.Iman Abdulmajid identifies herself as Muslim, but she says that she does not regularly practice the religion.
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ABOUT
Age: age 60
Birthplace: Mogadishu, Somalia
Profession: Television producer, Fashion Model, Entrepreneur, Actor
Credits: Out of Africa, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, House Party 2, No Way Out, L.A. Story- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known by his stage name Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, musician, record producer, record executive, and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes. He is best known for his outlandish style and fashion sense depicted in several innovative music videos as well as his intricate rhyming technique, rapping at high speed with heavy use of internal rhyme and half rhyme. He has received 11 Grammy Award nominations for his work.
About.com included him on its list of the 50 Greatest MCs of Our Time (1987-2007), while Steve Huey of AllMusic called him one of the best and most prolific rappers of the 1990s. In 2012, The Source placed him on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time. MTV has called him "one of hip-hop's greatest visual artists".
Busta Rhymes was an original member of Leaders of the New School. He later went on and founded the record label Conglomerate (initially Flipmode Entertainment) and production crew The Conglomerate (formerly Flipmode Squad). In November 2011, Busta Rhymes signed a deal with Cash Money Records. On July 23, 2014, Busta Rhymes announced that he left Cash Money Records due to creative differences and was no longer on Republic.
He has released nine studio albums, with the first being the 1996 platinum-selling album The Coming. His list of hit singles include "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check", "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See", "Dangerous", "Turn It Up (Remix)/Fire It Up", "Gimme Some More", "What's It Gonna Be?", "Pass the Courvoisier, Part II", "I Know What You Want" and "Touch It".
Busta Rhymes was born Trevor George Smith Jr. in Brooklyn, New York City, New York on May 20, 1972 to Geraldine Green and Trevor Smith Sr. who are from Jamaica. At age 12, he moved to Uniondale, Long Island, and later moved to the United Kingdom, spending time in Liverpool and Morecambe, England, before returning to the United States. Rhymes attended George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School in Brooklyn with future rappers such as The Notorious B.I.G and Jay Z, as well as attending Samuel J. Tilden High School with Special Ed and Chip Fu of Fu-Schnickens. Rhymes later graduated from Uniondale High School in Long Island in 1990.
In 1989, Smith, alongside fellow Long Island natives Charlie Brown (born Bryan Higgins), Dinco D (born James Jackson) and Cut Monitor Milo (born Sheldon Scott), formed the East Coast hip hop group Leaders of the New School. The group's big break was when they became an opening act for hip hop group Public Enemy. Public Enemy's Chuck D gave Busta Rhymes and Charlie Brown their respective stage names. Leaders of the New School began recording in late 1989 and released their debut album A Future Without a Past... in 1991 on Elektra Records. In early 1992, the group appeared on A Tribe Called Quest's posse cut "Scenario". In 1993, they released T.I.M.E. (The Inner Mind's Eye). Smith gained popularity from his advanced rhymes as well as his unique style that was not common of many New York rap artists at the time. Raised by two Jamaican parents, Smith embraced his heritage in his music and image as an artist. Smith was the only member of the group to wear dreads and use Jamaican slang, or Jamaican Patois, in his raps. Smith's unique style added an element to the group that allowed for rapid success. Soon after, however, internal problems arose because of Busta Rhymes's increasing popularity, and the group broke up on the set of Yo! MTV Raps.
In the summer of 1995, Busta Rhymes began working on his solo debut album The Coming, and a month after recording was completed, he released it in March 1996. A month before the album was released, he broke out with a hit single, "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check". Later, he started work on his second album, When Disaster Strikes, which would not be released until September 1997. It produced the hit singles "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and "Fire It Up".
In 1998, Busta Rhymes recorded Extinction Level Event (Final World Front). Its lead single "Gimme Some More" - which sampled Bernard Herrmann's theme from Psycho - reached No. 6 in the UK singles chart in January 1999. Busta Rhymes enjoyed further transatlantic success in April, when the single "What's It Gonna Be?!", featuring Janet Jackson, reached the US and UK Top 11. The album received prominent notice for featuring the fastest rapping Busta Rhymes has performed, particularly on a song called "Iz They Wildin Wit Us?", featuring a guest appearance by Mystikal.
In September 2009, Busta Rhymes had announced that he was working on his ninth studio album, alongside Canadian producer Boi-1da, entitled The Chemo. At the time, he stated that the project was 80% finished. In May 2010, Busta Rhymes had reportedly changed the title of his ninth album from The Chemo to Extinction Level Event 2, making his ninth effort a sequel to his 1998 album Extinction Level Event (Final World Front).
In an August 6, 2010 interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, American hip hop producer DJ Premier said Busta Rhymes received over eight beats which he did not want to use but Premier hoped his next beat would be chosen for inclusion on the album. On DJ Premier's Live From Headqcourterz radio show Premier confirmed that one of his beats were to be included in E.L.E. 2. In 2010, Busta Rhymes formed his new label The Conglomerate Entertainment (With later on having rosters such as N.O.R.E., and Spliff Star). He was also featured on "C'mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise)" by Tiësto and Diplo.
In 2011, Rhymes recorded "Look at Me Now" with Chris Brown and Lil Wayne on Brown's fourth album, F.A.M.E., the song has received favorable reviews regarding Rhymes guest verse on the song, and is his highest chart entry on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 6, while reaching No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming his first No. 1 on that chart. On September 7, 2011, Rhymes received six nominations for the BET Hip Hop Awards, held on October 11, 2011.
On October 24, 2006, Rhymes appeared at Manhattan Criminal Court as the district attorney's office attempted to amend previous charges against him to include weapons possession for a machete found in his car. The judge refused to add the charge and adjourned the case.
On February 20, 2007, Rhymes refused a plea deal offered by the prosecutor's office for the assault of his former driver, Edward Hatchett. The deal would have entailed six months in jail and pleading guilty to two assaults, the attack on Hatchett, and the attack on the former fan. The dispute with Hatchett is believed to have originated over back pay Hatchett felt he was owed. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Becki Rowe offered Busta another option, pleading guilty to third-degree assault. The conditions of the proposed sentence would include five days of community service, two weeks of youth lectures and six months of anger management classes, as well as three years of probation.
On May 3, 2007, Rhymes was arrested in Manhattan for driving without a license and for driving while impaired. On March 18, 2008, a judge in New York City sentenced Rhymes to three years probation, 10 days community service, $1250 in fines (plus court costs), and to enroll in a drunken driving program.
On September 25, 2008, Rhymes was temporarily refused entry to the United Kingdom due to "unresolved convictions".
On October 14, 2009, a Brooklyn judge ordered Rhymes to pay a concert goer $75,000 in compensation for an assault which occurred in 2003.Busta Rhymes has stated in interviews that he is Muslim and that the religion grounds him.
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ABOUT
Age: age 43
Birthplace: Red Hook, New York City, New York, United States of America
Profession: Record producer, Rapper, Actor, Composer, Voice acting
Credits: Halloween Resurrection, Finding Forrester, Shaft, Higher Learning, Narc + 25 more- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Nas, born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones on September 14, 1973, is the son of Olu Dara, an unconventional jazz musician. At age nine he was a member of the Devastatin' Seven in the mid-1980s, the fruits of which can be heard on his 1994 debut, "Illmatic," which was released on Columbia/SME later that year. It attracted attention for its depiction of ghetto life and Nas' refusal to include the misogyny and violence evident in some hip-hop. Nas's first appearance on record was on Main Source's classic "Live at the Barbecue." However, his big break came when former 3rd Bass member 'MC Serch' included his verse in "Halftime" on the soundtrack of Zebrahead (1992), which led to a management deal with Serch's management company, Serchlight Productions. Nas's follow-up albums are "It Was Written," "I Am...," "Nastradamus," "Stillmatic," "From Illmatic to Stillmatic," "The Lost Tapes Vol. 1," and "God's Son."Nas was raised by a Muslim father and a Christian mother. He has mentioned both religions in his lyrics.
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ABOUT
Age: age 42
Birthplace: New York City, USA, New York, Crown Heights
Profession: Film Score Composer, Record producer, Poet, Businessperson, Songwriter + 4 more
Credits: Belly, In Too Deep, Uptown Girls, Black Nativity, Ticker + 18 more- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Faheem Najm was born in Tallahassee, Florida to parents Shasheem Najm and Aliyah Najm. At the age of ten, Faheem reworked his bedroom into a studio and began composing music. Faheem graduated James S. Rickard's High School. He was part of the Tallahassee rap group Nappy Headz. In 2002, he founded his own label, Hard & B. and soon got singer Akon's attention by doing a remix of Akon's "Locked Up", Akon noticed the song and signed T-Pain to his newly formed Konvict Music record label.T-Pain was born Faheem Rasheed Najm in Tallahassee, Florida, and raised in a Muslim household. He has since distanced himself from organized religion.
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ABOUT
Age: age 30
Birthplace: USA, Florida, Tallahassee
Profession: Record producer, Rapper, Singer-songwriter, Actor, Dancer
Credits: Lottery Ticket, Good Hair, Freaknik: The Musical, Pauly Shore's Natural Born Komics Sketch Comedy Movie: Miami, Rap Hustlin': Grind or Die + 4 more- Hakeem Olajuwon, is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played the center position in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets and the Toronto Raptors. He led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. In 2008, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2016, he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame. Listed at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), Olajuwon is considered one of the greatest centers ever to play the game. He was nicknamed "The Dream" during his basketball career after he dunked so effortlessly that his college coach said it "looked like a dream."
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Olajuwon traveled from his home country to play for the University of Houston under head coach Guy Lewis. His college career for the Cougars included three trips to the Final Four. Olajuwon was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the first overall selection of the 1984 NBA draft, a draft that included Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton. He combined with the 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) Ralph Sampson to form a duo dubbed the "Twin Towers". The two led the Rockets to the 1986 NBA Finals, where they lost in six games to the Boston Celtics. After Sampson was traded to the Warriors in 1988, Olajuwon became the Rockets' undisputed leader. He led the league in rebounding twice (1989, 1990) and blocks three times (1990, 1991, 1993).
Despite very nearly being traded during a bitter contract dispute before the 1992-93 season, he remained in Houston where in 1993-94, he became the only player in NBA history to win the NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP awards in the same season. His Rockets won back-to-back championships against the New York Knicks (avenging his college championship loss to Patrick Ewing), and Shaquille O'Neal's Orlando Magic. In 1996, Olajuwon was a member of the Olympic gold-medal-winning United States national team, and was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. He ended his career as the league's all-time leader in blocks (3,830) and is one of four NBA players to record a quadruple-double.Hakeem Olajuwon was raised Muslim and became even more dedicated to his faith as he grew into adulthood.
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ABOUT
Age: age 52
Birthplace: Lagos, Nigeria
Profession: Basketball player
Credits: Heaven Is a Playground, 1983 NCAA Championship: NC State vs. Houston, NBA: Furious Finishes, NBA Hardwood Classics: Hakeem Olajuwan: Hakeem the Dream - Writer
- Soundtrack
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, one of seven children. His father, Earl Little, was a Baptist preacher who supported Marcus Garvey's Back to Africa movement. When Malcolm was four, the family moved to Lansing, Michigan, where Earl attempted opening a store while continuing his preaching. But a group of white supremacists calling themselves the Black Legion (a sub-branch of the Ku Klux Klan) became irate to him.
Two years later, Earl Little was found dead on the trolley tracks in town after a streetcar ran over him. Despite the police report that Earl's death was an accident, Malcolm strongly believed that his father was murdered by the Black Legion who placed his father's body on the tracks to make it look like an accident. Following Earl's death, Malcolm's mother, Louise Little, tried to support her eight children on her own. Malcolm started stealing food and candy from neighborhood stores to support his brothers and sisters. After being caught a few too many times, a local court ruled that Louise was unable to control Malcolm and had him removed from her care and placed in a friendly white couple's home who knew Louise. Two years later, on account of severe stress in raising her children, Louise suffered a nervous breakdown and was committed to the state mental hospital where she remained for the remaining 26 years of her life.
After finishing eighth grade, Malcolm dropped out of school and traveled to Boston where his older sister, Ella, resided. After several years, Malcolm moved to New York City where, to support himself, he became a numbers runner, a drug dealer, even a pimp. He wore zoot suits and dyed his hair red, which earned him the nickname "Detroit Red". He relocated to Boston again where he organized a robbery ring that was uncovered by the police in 1946, and he was sentenced to eight to 10 years in prison. Malcolm used the time behind bars to educate himself in the prison library where he learned the fundamentals of grammar and increased his vocabulary. It was here that a few inmates introduced Malcolm to a new religion and movement, The Nation of Islam. Malcolm's younger brother, Reginald, already a member, visited him and told him about Islam and about Allah. Much of what Reginald said confused Malcolm, but two phrases took root in his head, "The white man is the devil" and "The black man is the brainwashed". Malcolm learned that if he wanted to join, he would have to accept its theology and submit completely to its founder and leader, Elijah Muhammad.
Inspired by the new direction his life was taking, Malcolm wrote Elijah Muhammad a heartfelt letter about himself and why he wanted to join. Elijah wrote back welcoming Malcolm to the faith. He instructed Malcolm to drop his last name, which his ancestors inherited from a slave owner and replace it with the letter X which symbolized that his true African name had been lost. In 1952, Malcolm was finally paroled from prison. Rather than returning to the life of crime, Malcolm committed himself to learning more about his new religion. In 1958, Malcolm married Betty Shabazz, a Muslim nurse and together they had four daughters (plus two more born after his death). Over the next several years, Malcolm became the spokesperson for the Nation of Islam and became one of its most powerful speakers attracting thousands of African-Americans into the fold with his charismatic speeches and rich and powerful words. Malcolm's charismatic personalty also attracted the attention of the white media. But unlike Dr. Martin Luther King who believed in non-violent tactics to archive equal rights for blacks, Malcolm favored the use of arms and proposed a revolutionary program that would create a separate society for blacks in America. Malcolm's relationship with the media displeased Elijah Muhammad for he felt that the Nation of Islam's messages where being overshadowed by Malcolm's newfound celebrity.
In the early 1960s, Malcolm learned of paternity suits filed by two women of the Nation of Islam who worked for Elijah Muhammad as his secretaries. Determined to get to the bottom of the rumors about Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm met with the two women and later privately with Elijah Muhammad who did not deny the accusations against him as he did publicly but justified his actions by comparing his with other Biblical figures as David and Noah who suffered from "moral lapses". Elijah's response left Malcolm dissatisfied and contributed to his growing disenchantment with the Nation of Islam.
In November 1963, Malcolm's candidness with reporters provided Elijah Muhammad with an excuse to sideline him. When asked about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm called the murder a case of "the chickens coming home to roost". The public, both black and white, was outraged by Malcolm's comment after which Elijah suspended him from his duties as spokesperson for 90 days. Feeling betrayed by the Nation of Islam, Malcolm announced in March 1964 that he was not going to return, but he was going to form his own movement called Muslim Mosque, Inc. and invited blacks everywhere to join his new crusade. In response to Malcolm's announcement, Elijah Muhammad wrote in the Nation of Islam's biweekly newspaper that "only those who wish to be led to hell or to their doom will follow Malcolm. No one ever leaves the Nation of Islam."
Over the next several months, several attempts where made against Malcolm's life. Apparently, this did not surprise him for he said, "This thing with me will only be resolved by death and violence." In April 1964, Malcolm made a pilgrimage to Mecca, the Islamic holy city in Saudi Arabia. The trip had a profound affect on him when he was greeted warmly by Musilms of many nationalities. Malcolm then realized that if Muslims of all races can live together in peace, why not people of all religions? Malcolm then remarked, "My true brotherhood includes people of all races, coming together as one. It has proved to me that there is the power of one God."
Upon his return to the United States, death threats continued leading to his house in Queens, New York, being fire-bombed in February 1965, to his assassination a week later at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, New York City, where he held weekly meetings. Although the Nation of Islam was suspected of being behind Malcolm's murder, his three killers, who were convicted of the murder, denied being part of the Nation of Islam or knowing each other despite the fact that they were Black Musilms and later revealed to be members. When questioned about Malcolm X's murder, Elijah Muhammad maintained (as he did with a great deal of other things) that neither he nor his organization had anything to do with Malcolm X's assassination.Malcolm X explored many denominations of the Muslim faith. He first joined the Nation of Islam in the late 1940s, and later he explored Sunni Islam. After denouncing the Nation of Islam in 1965, he was assassinated by several of the organization's members.
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ABOUT
Age: Died at 40 (1925-1965)
Birthplace: North Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
Profession: Writer, Human rights activist- Actor
- Composer
- Writer
Antonio Hardy better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hip hop. Rolling Stone ranked his song "Ain't No Half-Steppin'" number 25 on its list of The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time, calling him "a master wordsmith of rap's late-golden age and a huge influence on a generation of MCs".Big Daddy Kane is a member of the black Muslim sect, the Five Percent Nation.
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ABOUT
Age: age 47
Birthplace: Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York City, New York, United States of America
Profession: Record producer, Songwriter, Rapper, Musician, Model + 4 more
Credits: The Meteor Man, Posse, Just Another Day, Dave Chappelle's Block Party, Love for Sale + 5 more- Producer
- Actress
- Writer
Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997 in Pakistan. She is a human rights activist who advocates for the rights of women and girls and worldwide access to education. She survived an assassination attempt in 2012 and continued her activism. She is the co-founder of the Malala Fund, an organization to empower girls through education in developing countries. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.When Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai survived being shot in the head by the Taliban, she became one of the most famous teenagers in the world. And she has used that fame to champion education rights for girls in the Middle East. She is now the youngest ever Nobel Prize laureate, and has been named one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World" three years in a row (2013, 2014 and 2015).
In an interview with the AFP following Donald Trump's call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S., Yousafzai said, "That's really tragic that you hear these comments which are full of hatred, full of this ideology of being discriminative towards others." She then told Channel 4 in the UK, "The more you speak about Islam and against all Muslims, the more terrorists we create."- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Universally referenced as one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time, Rakim first exploded onto the New York scene in 1986 with the iconic "Eric B. is President" single and album "Paid In Full." With its unprecedented lyricism and complex rhyme patterns, the release, alongside a carefully curated mixture of conscious spirituality, street wise braggadocio, and trend setting fashion and visuals, marked a turning point in hip-hop culture--raising the bar for future emcees and revolutionizing the globally expanding art form. Over the course of four albums with long time collaborator Eric B, three solo albums and countless singles and features, Long Island's microphone fiend has continued to garner accolades from his peers and his public with his intellectual content, uncanny innovation, and the impenetrable aura of the God MC.Rapper Rakim converted to Islam when he was 16 years old. He often speaks about his faith in his lyrics.
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ABOUT
Age: age 47
Birthplace: Wyandanch, New York, United States of America
Profession: Record producer, Rapper, Singer-songwriter, Composer
Credits: Chuck D's Hip Hop Hall of Fame- Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
Born and raised in the heart of Staten Island, New York, Ghostface Killah, born Dennis Coles, is a very well-known member of Wu-Tang Clan, the celebrated hip-hop group. Emerging from a childhood filled with poverty, he puts his all into his projects and everything he rhymes about basically stems from what he's seen and what he's been through in his life. He is the father of four children (one daughter and three sons), and one of his sons made his debut in the video for "All I Got Is You," where he played Ghostface as a child.Ghostface Killah converted to Islam in 2013. He is quoted as saying, "We all need spiritual guidance and nothing in life is real, not even rap music. God is beautiful and only He is real.”
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ABOUT
Age: age 45
Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA
Profession: Songwriter, Rapper, Actor
Credits: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, When in Rome, Wu Tang Clan Presents: 18 Fatal Strikes, Hip Hop Time Capsule: The Best of RETV: 1994, Don of All Dons + 8 more- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Mehmet Oz was born on 11 June 1960 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for John Q (2002), Mom and Dad (2017) and The Dr. Oz Show (2009). He has been married to Lisa Oz since 29 June 1985. They have four children.Mehmet Öz grew up with a strict Islamic father and a more secular Muslim mother. He was declared one of the top 500 influential Muslims of 2009.
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ABOUT
Age: age 55
Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
Profession: Talk show host, Television producer, Scientist, Author, Physician + 3 more
Credits: The Dr. Oz Show, NY Med, The Truth About Food, Second Opinion with Dr. Oz, National Body- Actor
- Producer
- Composer
Raekwon was born on 12 January 1970 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Man with the Iron Fists (2012), Blade: Trinity (2004) and Nerve (2016).Wu-Tang Clan rapper Raekwon converted to Islam in 2009.
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ABOUT
Age: age 45
Birthplace: New York City, USA, New York
Profession: Rapper, Musician, Actor
Credits: Scary Movie 3, Coalition, Black and White, Wu Tang Clan Presents: 18 Fatal Strikes, Hardrock- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
Regarded as one of hip-hop's most introspective and insightful artists, Mos Def has shaped a career that transcends music genres and artistic medium. Taking a cue from the Afrocentric stylings of the Native Tongues crew, which included De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest and Andres Titus, Mos Def has emerged as one of the more conscientious voices of new school hip-hop, alongside the likes of Common, Outkast, Goodie Mob and The Roots, to name just a few.
Mos Def was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Sheron Smith and Abdul Rahman. A child of hip-hop's Golden Era, he spent his childhood imbedded in the culture surrounding him as well as absorbing knowledge from across the artistic spectrum. With the release of "Universal Magnetic" (1996) Mos became an underground favorite in the hip hop world, leading to his legendary collaboration with Talib Kweli. The two formed Black Star whose debut album, Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star, would become one of the most critically acclaimed hip-hop albums. Mos followed that release with his 1999 solo debut, Black On Both Sides, which was certified gold and credited by critics as bringing hip-hop back to its soapbox roots. As with his music, Mos has demonstrated insight and passion with his acting career, appearing in Spike Lee's Bamboozled, MTV's Carmen: A Hip Hopera, 2002's critically acclaimed Monster's Ball, Showtime, and the 2002 romantic comedy Brown Sugar, for which he received an NAACP Image Award nomination. In addition Mos has served as the host, music supervisor and co-executive producer for the HBO series Def Poetry and served as a writer, producer and actor on the MTV sketch comedy series Lyricist Lounge. Mos completed his Broadway debut in 2002 in the Tony nominated, Pulitzer Prize winning, Topdog/Underdog. Mos re-teamed with Topdog playwright, Suzan Lori Parks and director George Wolfe for an off-Broadway play for which he was awarded an Obie Award. In 2003, Mos Def starred in Paramount Pictures' The Italian Job, alongside Ed Norton, Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron. Last year Mos Def starred opposite Alan Rickman in the critically acclaimed HBO movie Something the Lord Made, for which he has received a 2004 Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie. Def was also nominated for both a Golden Globe Award (Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture) and Golden Satellite Award (Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television) for the same role. He co-starred in the feature film The Woodsman, with Kevin Bacon, Benjamin Bratt, Eve and Kyra Sedgwick. The New York Times said of his performance, "I hope we don't have to wait too much longer to see him in a big-screen leading role," and USA Today heralded him as "the movie's best performance." In addition, he co-starred in Spyglass Entertainment's The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, released in April 2005. In the film, an adaptation of the classic Douglas Adams Science Fiction novel, Def starred as hero "Ford Prefect."
Mos Def released his highly-anticipated and critically acclaimed sophomore solo release, The New Danger (Geffen Records), on October 12th. The album was met with praise from both critics and fans alike, with Rolling Stone giving it 4 Stars and hailing the album as "Ghetto rock and righteous hip-hop from dazzingly talented Def" and the New York Daily News proclaimed "No one is doing more to change our notion of how hip hop can sound." The first single, "Sex, Love and Money' earned Def a 2005 Grammy nomination for Best Alternative/Urban Performance and the album was certified gold by the RIAA.Mos Def Real Name is Yasiin Bey he first started to study Islam when he was a teenager, and he declared his Muslim faith at the age of 19.
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ABOUT
Age: age 42
Birthplace: New York City, USA, New York
Profession: Songwriter, Rapper, Television producer, Actor, Singer
Credits: Dexter, The Italian Job, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Chappelle's Show + 34 more- Music Artist
- Actor
- Producer
Ice Cube was born in South Central Los Angeles, to Doris (Benjamin), a custodian and hospital clerk, and Hosea Jackson, a UCLA groundskeeper. He first came to public notice as a singer and songwriter with the controversial and influential band N.W.A. His compositions with that group included many of the classic cuts from their debut LP "Straight Outta Compton" (Ruthless/Priority, 1989), including the title track, "Gangsta Gangsta" and "Express Yourself". He quit the band over business differences in 1990 and began a still-growing series of commercially and critically acclaimed solo albums, starting with "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" (Priority, 1990). His second solo album, "Death Certificate" (Priority, 1991), a concept album about the fall and rise of the Black man, sold two million copies, and his subsequent solo output (six albums to date total) has sold over ten million copies. He has also discovered Yoyo, Del the Funky Homosapien, K-Dee and Mack 10. He has also produced, written, toured and recorded with Public Enemy, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, George Clinton, The D.O.C., Michel'e, Big Daddy Kane, WC & The Madd Circle (which spawned the solo career of Coolio), former N.W.A. bandmate Dr. Dre and Cypress Hill. He has also recorded with two post-N.W.A. side-project bands, Da Lench Mob ("Guerillas In Tha Mist", Street Knowledge/East-West, 1991) and Westside Connection ("Bow Down", Priority, 1996). His movie career has been no less stellar. Ice Cube's debut in Boyz n the Hood (1991) led to more roles in such films as Trespass (1992), Dangerous Ground (1997) and Anaconda (1997). He also appeared as himself in the comedy CB4 (1993). He is also no stranger to the other side of the camera, directing videos for himself as well as Prince and Color Me Badd, as well as co-writing his screenwriting debut, Friday (1995).Ice Cube converted to Islam in the 1990s.
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ABOUT
Age: age 46
Birthplace: South Los Angeles, California, United States of America
Profession: Film Score Composer, Record producer, Songwriter, Rapper, Television producer + 4 more
Credits: Friday, 21 Jump Street, Boyz n the Hood, Three Kings, Next Friday + 53 more- Actor
- Composer
- Writer
MC Ren was born on 14 June 1969 in Compton, California, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for New Jack City (1991), 21 Jump Street (2012) and Us (2019).N.W.A. rapper MC Ren converted to the Nation of Islam in the early 1990s. He reportedly converted to orthodox Islam in the passing years.
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ABOUT
Age: 46
Birthplace: Compton, USA, California
Profession: Film Score Composer, Songwriter, Rapper
Credits: N.W.A.: Efil4zaggin: The Only Home Video, Lost in the Game- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Asif Kapadia is an Academy Award, Grammy and four time BAFTA winning Producer / Director / Writer who works across both film and television. Kapadia is known for his emotional engaging, visually striking, genre breaking films exploring 'outsiders' characters living in extreme circumstances, fighting against a corrupt or broken system and the price of fame. He has worked in drama and documentaries, Kapadia is best known for his trilogy of narratively driven, archive constructed documentaries SENNA, AMY & DIEGO MARADONA.
His debut feature 'THE WARRIOR' was nominated for three Bafta awards, winning Best British Film and Best Debut Film. His fourth feature 'SENNA', the story of the Brazilian motor racing legend Ayrton Senna, was nominated for three Bafta awards, winning Best Documentary and Best Editing. It went on to break UK box office records to become the highest grossing British Documentary of all time. 'AMY', about singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse has now overtaken 'SENNA' to become the most successful British Documentary of all time, winning numerous awards including the Academy Award, BAFTA, European Film Award and a Grammy for Best Documentary.
Born in Hackney, London in 1972, Kapadia studied filmmaking at the Royal College of Art where he first gained recognition with his short film THE SHEEP THIEF (1997) shot in Rajasthan, India, the film won many international awards including one in the Cinefondation section of the 1998 Cannes International Film Festival and the Grand Prix at the European Film Festival in Brest.
Kapadia's distinct visual style developed with his debut feature THE WARRIOR (Film4, 2001), shot in the deserts of Rajasthan and the snow capped Himalaya. The Warrior was championed in the British Press as 'epic' and 'stunning' (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian) and in 2003 was nominated for three BAFTA awards, winning two for Outstanding British Film of the Year and The Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a Director in their First Feature, as well as being nominated for Best Film Not in the English Language. The Warrior won the prestigious Sutherland Award at the London Film Festival, the Evening Standard British Film Award for the Most Promising Newcomer and the Douglas Hickox Award at the BIFAs for Best Debut Film.
FAR NORTH (2007), Starring Michael Yeoh and Sean Bean premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Based on a short story by writer Sara Maitland. Kapadia used the epic and brutal Arctic landscape to show what desperation and loneliness can drive people to do.
Kapadia's feature documentary SENNA (Universal Pictures / Working Title, 2011), the thrilling story and emotional story of the Brazilian motor-racing legend Ayrton Senna, constructed entirely from archive, was a groundbreaking feature documentary, the film was a break out hit at the international box office, grossing over $15m worldwide. SENNA was Nominated for three BAFTA awards, winning Best Documentary and Best Editing, as well as being nominated for Best British Film. SENNA broke records at the cinema and on DVD & Bluray in the UK. The film has won awards around the world including the World Cinema Documentary Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, Best Documentary at the London Critics Circle, the BIFA award for Best Documentary, the Audience Award for Best International Feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival and was nominated by the Producers Guild of America for the Documentary Theatrical Motion Picture Award 2012.
AMY (Universal Music, 2015), world premiered in Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival and tells the story of Amy Winehouse in her own words. The film was an international box office hit grossing over $20m, it is the highest grossing UK documentary of all time. AMY won the Academy Award for Feature Documentary, the BAFTA for Best Documentary, was nominated for Outstanding British Film. Kapadia was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for AMY by the Directors Guild of America (DGA) (Documentaries & TV).
Kapadia's third feature documentary Diego Maradona, about the controversial genius, Argentinian footballer Diego Armando Maradona world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, the film was Nominated for a BAFTA for Best Documentary and completed his epic trilogy on the price of fame,
Kapadia directed two episodes of Mindhunter (Netflix) for David Fincher.
in 2021 Kapadia Executive Produced and Series Directed the music series 1971: 'The year that music changed everything' and he Directed & Executive Produced the series THE ME YOU CAN'T SEE with Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry focusing on mental health and well being, both for AppleTV+.
Kapadia was an Executive Producer of the landmark BBC ONE series Stephen: The Murder That Changed A Nation.
THE ODYSSEY (2012, Film4, BBC, LOCOG) Kapadia was commissioned to direct an official film for the London Cultural Olympiad, his film traces the journey from 2005 when London won the right to host the Olympic Games to the eve of the games in 2012. The film uses the voices of Londoners, archive, classic Olympic footage and stunning aerial photography of London to show how sport is essential, how it can inspire, provide unforgettable moments of beauty, purity and the sublime.
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (2013, Reprieve, Guardian films) More than 100 hunger-strikers in Guantánamo Bay protest as they continue to be held without charge, some for over a decade. A leaked document sets out the military instructions, or standard operating procedure, for force-feeding detainees. In this graphic four-minute film made by Human Rights organisation Reprieve and director Asif Kapadia, US actor and rapper Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def), experiences the procedure. SOP was released on The Guardian newspaper's website, the film went viral and was picked up by every major news source around the globe, picking up more than 10million views in a matter of days.
Kapadia directed the award winning Burberry commercial, "A Tale of Thomas Burberry", featuring an all-star cast of Domhnall Gleeson, Sienna Miller, Dominic West and Lily James and written by Academy Award nominee Matt Charman. Comprising of a three-minute cinematic trailer, the film is inspired by Thomas Burberry's life and achievements, reimagining key events that have shaped the company's history and values.Three time BAFTA winning Director / Writer / Producer Asif Kapadia is known for his visually striking films exploring characters living in timeless, extreme and unforgiving landscapes. His films have been box office successes as well as being critically lauded and awarded and distributed internationally.
Born in Hackney in 1972, Kapadia studied filmmaking at the Royal College of Art where he first gained recognition with his short THE SHEEP THIEF (1997) shot in Rajasthan, India, the film won many international awards including the Second Prize in the Cinefondation section of the 1998 Cannes International Film Festival.- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
Erik Schrody was born on 18 August 1969 in Valley Stream, Long Island, New York, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Den of Thieves (2018), End of Days (1999) and Heat (1995). He has been married to Lisa Schrody since May 2009. They have one child.Everlast converted from Catholicism to Islam in 1996.
Erik Francis Schrody (born August 18, 1969), known by his stage name Everlast, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter, known for his solo hit "What It's Like" and as the front-man for rap group House of Pain. He was also part of the hip-hop supergroup La Coka Nostra, which consists of members of House of Pain and other rappers. In 2000, he won a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal with Latin Rock musician Carlos Santana for "Put Your Lights On."
Age: age 46
Birthplace: Valley Stream, New York, United States of America
Profession: Songwriter, Rapper, Musician, Singer-songwriter, Actor
Credits: Judgment Night, Bang, Lowball- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Ellen Burstyn was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Correine Marie (Hamel) and John Austin Gillooly. She is of Irish, French/French-Canadian, Pennsylvania Dutch (German), and Native American ancestry.. She worked a number of jobs before she became an actress. At 14, she was a short-order cook at a lunch counter. After graduating from Detroit's Cass Technical High School, she went to Texas to model and then to New York as a showgirl on The Jackie Gleason Show (1952). From there, it was to Montreal as a nightclub dancer and then Broadway with her debut in "Fair Game (1957)". By 1963, she appeared on the TV series The Doctors (1963), but she gained notice for her role in Goodbye Charlie (1964). Ellen then took time off to study acting with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio.
Her big break came when she was cast as the female lead in The Last Picture Show (1971). For this role, she received nominations for the Golden Globe and Academy Award. Next, she co-starred with Jack Nicholson in The King of Marvin Gardens (1972), giving a chilling performance. Then came The Exorcist (1973). She was again nominated for the Golden Globe and Academy Award. In 1974, she starred in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), for which performance she won the Oscar and BAFTA awards as Best Actress. For the Golden Globe, she was nominated but lost to Marsha Mason. The same year, she made history by winning a Tony Award for the Broadway play "Same Time, Next Year". She won praise and award nominations for her performances in the film versions of Same Time, Next Year (1978) and Resurrection (1980).
In "Resurrection", she played a woman with the power to heal. A succession of TV movies resulting in two Emmy nominations kept her going as did the series The Ellen Burstyn Show (1986). The TV movies continued through the 1990s. Also in the 1990s, she was cast in the supporting role in such movies as The Cemetery Club (1993), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), The Baby-Sitters Club (1995) and The Spitfire Grill (1996). In addition to her acting, She was the first woman president of Actor's Equity (1982-85).Actress Ellen Burstyn is one of only a few people, who have ever won the Triple Crown of Acting (an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony). She has 150 film credits and countless theater ones. Burstyn was raised Catholic, but now she considers herself open to the truths of all faiths, practicing a combination of Sufi Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity.
In 2006, she told Beliefnet, "I traveled to Europe and I climbed the Alps and went up to a Sufi camp conducted by Pir Vilayat Kahn. I was initiated up there... There's a Sufi prayer I say very often. 'Oh Thou, the sustainer of our bodies, hearts, and souls, bless all that we receive in gratitude.'"- Actor
- Producer
He was born in Pakistan, the youngest son of an eye surgeon who moved to London to join Moorfields Eye Hospital. Art determined early on that he was English and never learned to speak Urdu or Hindi. He studied at Guildhall Drama School and while there got a part as a Buddist monk in a Peter Hall directed film and acted at the Old Vic and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He shot to fame playing an English public school educated Indian in 'The Jewel in the Crown'. He married the actress Gina Rowe whom he met at drama school and they have two daughters, Jessica and Keira.Art Malik was born on November 13, 1952 in Bahawalpur, Pakistan as Athar Ul-Haque Malik. He is an actor and producer, known for True Lies (1994), Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) and The Living Daylights (1987). He has been married to Gina Rowe since 1980. They have two children.
Attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.
Is a member of the Royal Shakespeare company
Was offered the part of central villain Salim Abu Aziz in True Lies (1994), because director James Cameron was impressed by his work in City of Joy (1992).
Has two daughters with Gina Rowe - Jessica and Keira.
Appeared on BBC1's Question Time on 23.02.06 offering his opinions on topical subjects put forward by a studio audience
Asked twice by Steven Spielberg to act in his films - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).
Appeared at a rally in support of Fair Votes voting reform at the Liberal Democrat party conference in Liverpool, September 2010.
Lives in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, a south-west suburb of London.
Came to England from Pakistan when he was 4 years old. Later, at the age of 10, he moved back to Pakistan for one year to attend school, then back to England again the following year.
Struggled at school due to mild dyslexia.
Visited Edinburgh and Glasgow. [November 2006]- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Nazanin Boniadi's film and television credits are a testament to her versatility, spanning a breadth of genres including drama, comedy, sci-fi, fantasy and action. She recently starred as Bronwyn in the first season of Amazon's global hit series adaptation The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), she also starred alongside J.K. Simmons in the critically acclaimed Starz series Counterpart (2017), created and produced by Justin Marks. She was the female lead of the Thunder Road / Bleecker Street feature Hotel Mumbai (2018) from director Anthony Maras, in which she starred opposite Dev Patel and was nominated for an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Award (AACTA), as well as had a supporting role in the Jay Roach and Charles Randolph's Roger Ailes film BOMBSHELL for Lionsgate and BRON opposite Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie. She also portrayed Ester in the 2016 major motion picture Ben-Hur (2016), and had a supporting role in Jon Favreau's Iron Man (2008).
Among her many television credits, Boniadi earned an outstanding drama ensemble SAG nomination for her work on Showtime's hit series Homeland (2011) in which she played CIA analyst Fara Sherazi. She portrayed Nora, a relatively longstanding love interest to Neil Patrick Harris's Barney Stinson, in seasons six and seven of How I Met Your Mother (2005). She also appeared as the notorious Adnan Salif in season three of Shonda Rhimes' hit political drama Scandal (2012).
Born in Tehran in the direct aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, Boniadi's parents relocated to London, England, shortly thereafter, where she was raised with an emphasis on education. While she was involved in theatre early in life, Boniadi later decided she wanted to become a physician. She moved to the United States at the age of 19 to attend the University of California, Irvine, where she received her Bachelor's Degree, with Honors (Dean's Academic Achievement and Service Award) in Biological Sciences, and won the "Chang Pin Chun" Undergraduate Research Award for her work in heart-transplant rejection and cancer research.
Switching gears to pursue her first love, Boniadi then decided to study acting, which included training in Contemporary Drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London under the supervision of dramaturge Lloyd Trott.
Boniadi is fluent in both English and Persian. She is also a longtime, renowned human rights activist, with a focus on her homeland Iran. Among her numerous recognitions she is the 2023 Sydney Peace Prize laureate. She has served as an ambassador for Amnesty International UK since 2020, and has been a member of the board of directors of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran since 2023. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.Nazanin Boniadi is rapidly making her mark in both film and television. She co-starred as CIA analyst Fara Sherazi on seasons three and four of the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning drama "Homeland," for which she shared a 2015 SAG Award nomination in the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series category- Actor
- Composer
- Producer
Lupe Fiasco was born on 16 February 1982 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Taken (2008), Suicide Squad (2016) and Prom Night (2008).Lupe Fiasco was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco in Chicago, and he was raised in a Muslim household.
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ABOUT
Age: age 33
Birthplace: USA, Chicago, Illinois
Profession: Record producer, Songwriter, Rapper, Entrepreneur, Musician + 2 more
Credits: All Access: DVD Magazine: Vol. 13, The Underground Show- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Born an entertainer, Casey reigns from Michigan, the same birthplace for fellow Shaggy voice actor Matthew Lillard (whom both Casey and Matthew do a very fine, smashing job voicing the iconic character). Debuted as a radio operator and legendary disc jockey in his early days, he was the greatest and most likely the best one seen in recent years. Having an iconic voice and a set of vocal cords, Casey pleased the audience through radio and voice. Casey hit the big time in the early 60's with voicing both major and minor roles in television series, until Hanna-Barbera released, then later debuted, the same role he characterized his career off of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, in which he had the pleasure of working with legendary voice actors Don Messick and Hal Smith. For over 3 decades, he co-founded and hosted American Top 40, which aired the top songs of the week. In his later years, he spent his time with his friends and family, in the way he could showcase with love, passion, and voicing. He died on June 15th, 2014. He was 82 years old. He will be forever missed in the hearts of fans around the world.Casey Kasem was a member of The Druze, an offshoot of Islam.
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ABOUT
Age: Died at 82 (1932-2014)
Birthplace: Michigan, USA, Detroit
Profession: Music Historian, Film Producer, Radio personality, Actor, Disc jockey + 1 more
Credits: Ghostbusters, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, The Transformers, Super Friends + 81 more- Craig Hodges is known for The Invisible Pilot (2022).Basketball star Craig Hodges is for his sporting, for his political activism, and you guessed it: his membership to the Nation of Islam. In line with his Muslim values, Hodges is often remembered for his advocacy for minority communities’ rights in the U.S. as much as he is for his 3-pointers on the court.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Divine Styler is known for Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (2020) and Ice-T: What Ya Wanna Do? (1989).Muslim music: One of Brooklyn’s finest hip-hop exports, Mikal Safiyullah, aka Divine Styler, known for his collaboration with rapper Ice-T, is another musical makeover to Islam. His album Directrix makes no secret of his conversion, featuring numbers as “Before Mecca,” “Hajji” and a medley of Arabic pieces rife with his Muslim identity.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Amr Waked was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1972. He studied economics and theatre in the American University in Cairo. In his early experience as an actor Amr joined the Temple Theatre Troop in 1994, and Yaaru Theatre Troop in 1999, where he trained and developed his tools as a stage performer.
With his experience onstage, Waked managed to film his first role on the big screen in 1998 when he joined Ossama Fawzy's of "Gannet El Shayateen". Waked's award winning performance paved his way to become a popular actor famous for his gravity and vast range.
In 2003, Waked joined Stephen Gegan's cast of Syriana, which was his first appearance in an international film. His performance was acclaimed and presented him with other opportunities in international productions, like House Of Saddam and Salmon Fishing In The Yemen.
In 2005, Amr co-established "zad communication & production llc" to begin his experience as a producer. The communication agency and production house was to focus on developmental and social issues in Egypt and the Middle East. In 2012, zad produced its first feature film "Winter Of Discontent", directed by Ibrahim El Batout, which opened in the 69th Venice Film Festival in 2012.Amr Waked was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1972. He studied economics and theatre in the American University in Cairo. In his early experience as an actor Amr joined the Temple Theatre Troop in 1994, and Yaaru Theatre Troop in 1999, where he trained and developed his tools as a stage performer. With his experience onstage,