Roberto Carlos rejects claims that wedding led to Islamic conversion

Former Brazil defender Roberto Carlos has denied reports that he converted to Islam after marrying Moroccan woman Suhaila Al-Taheri, saying the claims circulating in the media are “untrue”.

The 53-year-old, who is regarded as a Real Madrid great, responded for the first time after reports in the Turkish press claimed he had embraced Islam around four weeks ago.

Those reports said Roberto Carlos had recited the Shahada the Islamic declaration of faith during a meeting with Sheikh Jihad Hamada, a well-known figure among Brazil’s Muslim community.

The speculation was further fuelled by comments from Ali Shahin, a Turkish member of parliament for the Justice and Development Party. Shahin said he had met representatives of Brazil’s Muslim community during a visit to the Brazilian Charitable Association for Muslim Youth.

In a post on X two days ago, Shahin said he had met Sheikh Jihad Hamada, who lives in Sao Paulo, during the visit. According to Shahin, the sheikh told him that Roberto Carlos had been in contact with him for some time before visiting him four weeks earlier, reciting the Shahada and choosing Islam.

Roberto Carlos has now rejected that account.

“I have the utmost respect for Islam, and it is wonderful to see my wife praying, but the rumours circulating about my conversion to Islam are untrue,” he told Saudi newspaper Okaz on Wednesday.

The former Brazil international also addressed the wedding celebrations, which had prompted further speculation about his faith.

He explained: “The celebration was held in more than one format. We made sure to have ceremonies that suited the beliefs of members of the family, as they are Catholics, along with other ceremonies that suited my wife and her Muslim friends.”

The different elements of the wedding were therefore interpreted by some reports as evidence that Roberto Carlos had adopted his wife’s religion. He has made clear, however, that the ceremonies reflected the differing beliefs within the family and among those attending.

Roberto Carlos spent much of his club career at Real Madrid, where he became one of the most recognisable left-backs in football. His powerful shooting, pace and attacking style helped establish him as a leading figure of the modern game.

The reports about his supposed conversion followed his marriage to Suhaila Al-Taheri and quickly spread through Turkish media before being amplified by Shahin’s account of his meeting with the Brazilian Muslim community.

His comments to Okaz represent his first public response to the claims.

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