User:Chynacass/sandbox

Ali was raised in a Christian household, with his grandmother and eventually his mother being ordained Baptist ministers. He was born “Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore” before shortening it to Mahershala for acting. During his time in graduate school, he went through a phase of questioning his spirituality and grew an interest in Islam. While Ali’s girlfriend at the time (and now wife), Amatus Sami-Karim began questioning her own belief in the religion, Ali grew closer to it. “She was almost coming out of it, and I was going into it.” He felt a very strong, incomprehensible connection after attending Mosque for the first time with how now-wife and ended up attending Mosque again soon after. He devoted himself to Islam on the second night that he attended Mosque.

Ali stated that his mother, an ordained minister, was not very pleased when he informed her that he converted to Islam seventeen years ago. However, he went on to say that his mother eventually came around to accepting his new faith.