Welcome to Islam. Now prepare for schnookdom.

There’s a scene at the end of the mob film Goodfellas, the last few seconds after Henry Hill, the lead character who has had a ringside seat on the edge of the New York mafia for most of his life, rats out two of his old accomplices in court, complains that in his new life there is “no action”; he can’t get hold of his beloved Italian food and he has to wait in line like everyone else. He gets to live the rest of his life like a schnook, an ordinary person with what he would previously have considered a boring, humdrum life and job. The scene came to mind when we heard the news yesterday that Andrew Tate, a scoundrel noted for his extreme misogyny who has in the past praised Islam because he sees it as upholding what he regards as manliness, had converted to Islam after resisting doing so for some time. This has caused a certain amount of controversy because the person concerned always had a following among some young Muslim men, while others called him a lowlife and a bad influence, and some Muslims on Twitter especially were sceptical if it was true, or if he were sincere, with some suggesting that his Muslim followers were going to get scammed, while others openly stated that they wished he had not.

The latter is not an attitude it’s acceptable for any Muslim to have. We can’t begrudge anyone their Islam, even people who did us wrong in the past, either personally or as Muslims. If someone comes to us and asks to be taught the shahada or testimony of faith that people recite in order to enter Islam, it is mandatory on us to teach them it and it is an act of apostasy not to. Many people have come to Islam who had been criminals previously or had been enemies of Islam; in recent times we think of Malcolm X (who joined the Nation of Islam while in prison and later entered Islam proper after seeing through the leader of that organisation) while in the very early days, people became Muslims and indeed Companions of the Prophet (sall’ Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) after having been bitterly and sometimes violently opposed. But that doesn’t mean that every scoundrel or violent enemy of Muslims will become a great leader of Muslims if they convert. The Prophet (sall’ Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said that the best of people in the time of ignorance will be the best in Islam, so long as they understand; this has commonly been misquoted as the worst of people before Islam will be the best after.

When people become Muslim, it’s important that they take time to learn their religion. This is especially true if they had been a person with fame, someone whose words people hung on. No Muslim organisation, mosque or whatever, should be putting them on a speakers’ circuit when they have been Muslim five minutes. Years ago a shaikh, asked about a European thinker who had authored one of the less reliable translations of the Qur’an, noted that it happened often that the Muslims celebrated that a great thinker had become Muslim, and a few years later, the same person published their first book on Islam which was not such a cause for celebration as it was full of misunderstandings. If someone is known for an unedifying way of life which really doesn’t translate to a valuable skill for the service of Islam, they really need to drop away from public view and just go and get a job, or an education if they are financially able. Just because you’ve become Muslim, you can’t expect to carry on your old nefarious ways and expect to get away with it or get as much respect, and Muslims will hate you for bringing shame on the whole community. So settle down, listen and learn, concentrate on your prayers and take some classes at a local mosque, live like a normal person with a normal job and don’t shoot off your mouth. Wait in line like all the rest of us schnooks. The food’s great though.