Believers often hold up famous folks who have embraced their specific belief as a form of celebrity endorsement, and one such recent example I have come across are Muslims being rather proud that Mike Tyson is one of them.
OK, so lets look at the facts.
Tyson was famously convicted of the rape of 18-year-old Desiree Washington on February 10, 1992. Then sometime during his incarceration, Tyson converted to Islam. He was finally released in March 1995 after serving three years.
So after having been converted, do we find evidence that his religious conversion had changed him into a new reformed man?
He married in 97, but was divorced in 2003. Turner filed for divorce from Tyson in January 2002, claiming that he committed adultery during their five-year marriage, an act that “has neither been forgiven nor condoned.”
On December 29, 2006, Tyson was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona, on suspicion of DUI and felony drug possession after he nearly crashed into a police SUV shortly after leaving a nightclub. According to a police probable-cause statement, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, “[Tyson] admitted to using [drugs] today and stated he is an addict and has a problem.” Tyson pleaded not guilty on January 22, 2007, in Maricopa County Superior Court to felony drug possession and paraphernalia possession counts and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of drugs.
On September 24, 2007, Mike Tyson pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and driving under the influence. He was convicted of these charges in November 2007 and sentenced to 24 hours in jail, 360 hours community service and 3 years probation. Prosecutors had requested a year-long jail sentence.
On November 11, 2009, Mike Tyson was arrested after getting into a scuffle at Los Angeles International airport with a photographer.
In September 2011, Tyson gave an interview in which he made comments about former Alaska governor Sarah Palin that included crude and violent descriptions of interracial sex. These comments were then reprinted on the Daily Caller website. Journalist Greta van Susteren criticized Tyson and the Daily Caller over the comments, which she described as “smut” and “violence against women”.
Given all of the above facts, the folks holding up Mike Tyson as an example to be followed should seriously reconsider doing that, for what we have here is evidence of a troubled individual for whom conversion has not made any difference at all. If not, then should we seriously consider the above to be examples of what to expect from those who embrace Islam?
I and my family are also converted to Islam because we are all big fans of Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson is one of the best boxers that has ever lived on earth.