 He then studied the Quran on his own, and “emerged from this pilgrimage with my beliefs clarified and my faith renewed.”

Abdul-Jabbar has spoken about the thinking that was behind his name change when he converted to Islam.He stated that he was "latching on to something that was part of my heritage, because many of the slaves who were brought here were Muslims.My family was brought to America by a French planter named Alcindor, who came here from Trinidad in the 18th century.