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Comedian Dave Chappelle opens up about his conversion to Islam

News Desk

Nov 23

Appearing as a guest on the latest season of the Netflix series My Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, acclaimed American stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle opened up about his spiritual journey.

“I wanted to have a meaningful life, a spiritual life, not just what my hands can hold,” he said. “I felt like I’ve always had this notion that life should mean something.”

Chappelle, 47, revealed that his conversion came about through his visits to his local pizza shop as 17-year-old growing up in Washington, DC. He recalled that it was the positive vibes of the Muslim staff that caught his attention.

“The pizza shop was across from my house and it was, like, all these Muslim dudes that worked in there,” he said. “I used to go in there and crack jokes. And I am also a naturally curious guy and I would ask [the owner] questions about his religion and the guy was so passionate about it. It was very compelling. I liked the perspective of it.”

Chappelle also expressed his weariness surrounding the public discourse about Islam.

“It’s been presented in the public space in such a narrow and dismissive view,” he said. “It’s a beautiful religion. And the ideas in that religion are reflected in all the major Abrahamic faiths. You’ll see these ideas in both Christianity and Judaism, you know. It is the idea that this place does mean something, you know?”

In the interview, the actor also shared one of his favourite stories from Islamic history – the one which centered on the origins of Zamzam water.

“The thing that comforts me about it is the idea that all of this is from a singular source and the source is ultimately kind. And even though we may not understand the intentions of this source, we’re all connected and bounded by it”, he said.

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