Uproar as Kuwaiti singer 'converts' to Judaism from Islam

Kuwaiti singer Basma Al-Kuwaiti posted a video on Twitter where she announced she had left Islam and become Jewish.

2 min read

10 February, 2021

Basma Al-Kuwaiti has left Islam [YouTube]

A Kuwaiti singer sparked outrage this week after she announced she had converted from Islam to Judaism.

Ibtisam Hamid, better known as Basma Al-Kuwaiti, posted a video on her social media profile claiming to have left Islam and converted to Judaism due to it being "more tolerant" of women's rights.

"I am Ibtisam Hamid, also known as Kuwaiti singer Basma Al-Kuwaiti. I declare my apostasy from Islam," Al-Kuwaiti said in a video that has since gone viral.

"Islam is a religion of terror and a religion of hypocrisy, which despises women, oppresses and violates them, and does not give them their full rights and I am proud to say I am Jewish."

Al-Kuwaiti denounced Kuwait's ruling Al-Sabah family for refusing to normalise relations with Israel.

"I also declare my opposition to - and not belonging to - the Al-Sabah family, which rejects normalisation, freedom of religion and freedom of opinion. I show neither loyalty nor affiliation to them," she said.

It's a big shift for the singer who in 2018 claimed that, according to Islam, music is forbidden and sought God's guidance on the issue.

She also claimed to have once been among the top ten secondary school students in Kuwait for memorising the Holy Quran.

'Not really Kuwaiti'

Media reports stated that while she was born in Kuwait and her mother is Kuwaiti the singer isn't a citizen due to the law preventing women from passing their nationality onto their children.

The source added that Basma Al-Kuwaiti no longer lives in Kuwait.

She previously requested Kuwaiti citizenship but was refused, according to some media reports.

Al-Kuwaiti was accused of converting to Judaism as a publicity stunt following the controversy and attention surrounding Kuwaiti broadcaster Muhammad Al-Mu'min's announcement last month that he was now a Christian.

Al-Kuwaiti garnered some support for her conversion to Judaism on Twitter, with some saying she should be free to choose her own faith.