Britain’s First Ambassador to Saudi Arabia To Convert To Islam

He also served as British Ambassador to Iraq (2012-2014), Syria (2007-2012) and Qatar (2005-2007).

Mr Collis is married to Syrian Huda al-Mujarkech.

Collins has been posted to Riyadh since 2015 after fleeing Syria where he was Britain’s representative until the civil war there escalated in 2011/12.

“God bless you. In brief: I converted to Islam after 30 years of living in Muslim societies and before marrying Huda”, he wrote.

The 60 years old Simon Collis said that he chose to convert to the Muslim religion after he spent nearly 30 years in Islamic societies’. The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and able-bodied Muslims are expected to make the pilgrimage at least once in their lives.

“Special congratulations to the ambassador and his wife”, wrote Princess Basmah.

As early as Friday, pilgrims will leave the city of Mecca for their return flight home after an exhaustive few days of performing the rites of hajj.

At a time when there is so much adverse publicity against Islam and Muslims, especially in the West, the ambassador’s embrace of Islam was seen by the faithful as a vindication of the religion’s universal appeal. Both the British embassy in Riyadh and the Foreign Office in London declined to comment on Mr Collis’ Haj attendance, saying it was a private matter. And among the 19,000 British pilgrims was Simon Collis, Her Majesty’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia and the first senior British diplomat ever to undertake the pilgrimage.

Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah returned almost SR500 million to 48,400 people who had fallen prey to unscrupulous companies that falsely claimed that they could organize Hajj for those desiring to perform the pilgrimage, local media reported.

In this Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016 photo, an Egyptian woman prays inside the women’s camp in Arafat during the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.