English edition

From MTV to Mecca

‘From MTV to Mecca’ is the truly inspiring story of Kristiane Backer, who at the height of her career as one of Europe’s leading pop culture icons, converted to Islam. The book can be purchased from Amazon; Paperback and Kindle edition.

In the early 1990s, Kristiane Backer became one of the very first presenters on MTV Europe. For years she lived and breathed the international music scene, quickly gaining a cult following amongst viewers and becoming a darling of the European press. Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Mick Jagger, Bono, Bob Geldof, Jim Kerr, Take That and Cat Stevens, Kristiane was catapulted to the forefront of popular culture.

Through a fateful meeting with the famous cricketer Imran Khan, Kristiane travelled to Pakistan, where she encountered a completely different world to the one she knew: the religion and culture of Islam. She was drawn to this way of life which was dominated by a love of God and began to read the Quran and to study books about the Faith. The more she immersed herself in the world of Islam, the more she found herself dissatisfied with her own life. With the support of friends she met through Imran Khan, Kristiane began to learn the true values of the religion and, in 1995, decided to become a Muslim.

From MTV to Mecca takes the reader on a spiritual and cultural journey across the globe – from Pakistan to Bosnia, LA to London, Hamburg to Saudi Arabia – that will inspire Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Encountering Islamic academics, musicians and fellow converts, Kristiane finds the spiritual path of Sufism and embarks on the ultimate journey – the pilgrimage to Mecca. We share Kristiane’s highs and lows as she adopts Islam; from the difficulties of finding love, to embracing Islamic practices in day-to-day life, to dealing with prejudices, misconceptions and professional struggles, and she speaks with startling honesty of what it truly means to be a practising Muslim in Western society.

‘I admire Kristiane for her strength of conviction to walk a different path and follow her heart. Rock ‘n’ roll has taken many of its participants down a variety of paths.This is the story of one of the more unusual ones.From MTV to Mecca? From babe to burka is more like it!’ Bob Geldof

‘I am glad I had the chance to introduce Kristiane to the culture and religion of Islam. She not only loved the sacred music and the desi food but had an open mind to study and look beyond the headlines. I admire the sincerity with which she continued to discover the faith for herself and her steadfastness in practicing. This book will inspire Muslims and non- Muslims alike. May Allah bless her and give her all success’ Imran Khan

‘A spirited woman’s journey towards the Light’ Tariq Ramadan

‘It was a privilege to meet Kristiane Backer all those years ago. Equally a privilege to share in her fascinating journey to date’ Jim Kerr (Simple Minds)

‘From MTV to Mecca is a long journey not only physically but even more so psychologically and spiritually. The fascinating account of the undertaking of such a journey by Kristiane Backer should be of much interest not only to those concerened wtih the relation between Islam and the west, but also to those who search for the spiritual meaning of life in the present- day desacralised world dominated by modernism!’
Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Professor of Islamic studies, George Washington University)

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49 thoughts on “English edition

  1. peace be upon muslims

    hello and sala alikoum ,

    that is a good story of a coverted muslim woman , it shows that western people are looking for peace and right way , fleeing the bad wrong european society .

  2. As a Muslim we believe that ALLAH guides only those to right path who tries to find right path by themselves, but ALLAH rewards those people who tries to guide other people to right Path. tributes to Imran Khan, may ALLAH reward him with his blessings, and prayers for Kristiane that may ALLAH strengthen her believes and reward her success for ever.

    • Hi,If we look at the countries that you minneoted; Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Iran, all are, somehow, the origin of the civilization and it is not strange that they follow up their enthusiasm for science.At the beginning, Islam was only religion, but after Prophet Mohammad Islam gradually mixed up with politics and the result becomes something like “Islamic Renaissance” which lasts up to now.I do not like to relate these scientific progresses to Islam; instead I would like to say this is the result of the interaction between different cultures. Before Islam, the cultural exchange was limited, but after that it covers from Spain, North Africa, Middle East and even India. For such a vast cultural interaction we should expect a huge development in science. And you minneoted it in your movie when you talked about the numeral system which is the outcomes of such interaction.Islam facilitated the interaction.Thanks,Arash

  3. Peace be on you.

    i congratulate you on choosing a a great art of living called “Islam”. I well come you to our vast community from depths of my heart. Please do pray for me.
    Jazakellah Khair.

  4. Asalam-o-Alikum

    My pray and good wishes for you.You are brave lady and Allah chosen you.You feel proud yourself that Allah choose you.we are by birth Muslim.But you are selected.work hard and use media and talk with media people. your words have power.

  5. What a refreshing read! There is a dire need for women like Kristiane Backer to share their experiences and thereby enrich the lives of others. Her book ‘MTV to Mecca dispels stereotypes and builds bridges. I will definitely re-reading with a highlighter to mark my favourite parts!

  6. Allah merciful scattered the world and spread to anyone, the guidance of Allah comes as we open our hearts and minds to look for the good. God bless you, God has proved that your life only transitory pleasures of the world. Be thankful God has chosen you to get back to that bright path and assured..wishing you & family have peaceful life…

  7. I saw you (Christine) on Kalam Nawaim tonight and was fascinated by your story. I do have non-Mislim friends who are looking for the right path as well, and i would like to offer them a copy of your book. I live in Morocco and do not know whether your book is on the market here. Please let me know where i can easily buy it.

    Allah’s Blessings
    Zohra

  8. Nothing beats than having a relationship with Allah. Allah Tallah is the creator,this relationship is the most fierce,most dependable and most enjoyable. May Allah Tallah grant you the love of Prophet sallal lahu alaihi wasalam and his sunnah. It makes Allah Tallah the hand with which you work and ears with which you listen.The life will mean so much more and every moment would different to what is in material world.Spiritiuality is what drew me to Islam as well and Sunnah is the key to experiencing spirituality.
    Wsalam

  9. Allah merciful scattered the world and spread to anyone, the guidance of Allah comes as we open our hearts and minds to look for the good. God bless you, God has proved that your life only transitory pleasures of the world. Be thankful God has chosen you to get back to that bright path and assured..wishing you & family have peaceful life…

  10. Glory be to God the Lord of the Worlds, He made the Quran inspiring to anyone who reads it. Backer is inspired i thank God for her. Our brothers in europe and america dont read the Quran before criticizing Islam base on what they hear from news.

    • Correct. Kristiane made a determined effort to understand the real essence of Islam through Sufism, and finally reached her destination of Allah Almighty. Most followers of Islam never take a deep dive into it, and make no real effort to understand Islam. They miss the target and never find God, as Kristiane did. You are one of the chosen ones, Miss Backer. Congratulations and God Bless!

    • A person becomes a Muslim by deed not name, Islam was brought for all nations and all people, therefore there is no necessity of loosing the identity you were born with.

  11. Congrats. I just watchd you for the first time. Ahlulbait TV just aired an inspiring programme about you. Once again congrats and May Islam be our end and means to Jannat ameen.

  12. I’m impressed! wish we had more people like you! where can i get your book?
    May Allah guide us all to the right path!

  13. CONGRATS TO BE ONE OF THE LUCKIEST PERSONS ON THE FACE OF EARTH,,,AND CONGRATS TO IMRAN KHAN FOR BEING AN AID TO YOUR FAITH…………………….SUBHAN ALLAH.

    • To call this programme Science and Islam I think was mieaildsng.There were people living under Islamic law who were Muslims and those who were not. Naming this Islam and science implies that Islam was a contributing factor to these scientific discoveries.I would concede that after lots of war having an ultimate victor then brought peace, and from that peace came the ability for intelligent people to spend more time pondering their curiosities; but this peace could have come in many forms such as overall Jewish control, Christian control, Roman control, or just peace for the sake of peace. It was peace that helped bring about the environment to discover and not Islam itself.For example, your account of al-Hassan Ibn al-Haytham describes someone who pondered the nature of light whilst being imprisoned for 10 years. It was his inquisitive mind, his intelligence, and his ability spend time thinking which lead him to his conclusions.I protest simply because people use programmes like this in order to convince others they have proof that their religion is the right way for humanity to live and that we as a species make so much progress when we follow their religious doctrine; when the reality is that religion stifles any scientific progress which could possibly endanger its teachings such as the Heliocentric solar system, and even today people of creationist religions being taught that the scientific theory of the evolution of species through natural selection is false.Criticism of the title over, I did thoroughly enjoy this programme. I also enjoyed your programmes on Chemistry and Chaos. I think you put across the subject material very well and choose fascinating subjects too.I hope there will be many more!

  14. ALLAHA Has BLESSED YOU AND LEAD YOU TO THE RIGHT PATH .GOD LEADS TOWARDS HIMSELF ONLY TO THOSE PEOPLES WHO DESIRE TO SEEK KNOWLEDGE OR DESIRE TO KNOW HIMSELF AND NATURE .SUFFISM IS THE APPLICATION OF ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE THROUGH EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICING THE PRAYERS SO ON …,MAY ALLAHA BLESSED OTHERS WITH IS BLESSINGS

  15. Assalamu’alaikum Mrs Kristiane,
    I just knew about your book “from MTV to Mecca” will the book sold to Indonesia? I am waiting …
    May Allah bless you and family

  16. Assalamu Alaikum

    First of all ,I’d like to congratulate you on your accomplishment for your book it was entitled”from MTV to Mecca” very uplifting Alhamdulillah,I was just reading and I thought wow such a beautiful story MasyaAllah with your amazing struggle experience over the past 18 years becomes a Muslim and through Islam has brought your love and happiness with such sincerity and honesty to spread Islam ,more interestingly with hindsight your life that you never found of those in your old ”Rock n Roll ”life-style.I’ve seen the positive effects of people in western who have found the truth through Islam. You are truly one of them who has blessed and I hope Mrs.Kristiane Backer will be one of the best role models to overspread Islam and could be change people view out there it’s all about Islam to be. May Allah bless you further and give you strength to carry on this work forever..peace to you wassalam

  17. @ syed ahmad faraz : Islam is universal Religion, Whoever your names, as long as your behaviour is a good moslem, then you have its Islam names.. besides… Our Prophet Mohammad SAW just said “Give your child with good names” it is not specified the name shuld looks like arabian…. Our Prophet Knows Islam will fill the world with its civilization… you can have your name from your native and it is not problem… (it means every person should named with good essence, which can be a pray when you call him/her)

    Congratulation for Mrs. Kristiane Backer, hope Allah always protects and bless you all the way… You are the choosen one to spread the truth perception about Islam, and let Allah lets it the way…

  18. I wish Allah Subhanahuwata’ala bless you. Let’s learn about Islam, closer to Allah Subhanahuwata’ala and have a peace of life. Best Regard from Indonesian People.

  19. I gla to read that and come to know that you accept Islam and Allah give you right path of life. Allah give you all the happiness of life. and your whole life spent calm and strong. Allah and Holy Prophet (PBUH) said that when you accept Islam Allah forgive all the mistakes that you make before accepting Islam. so you don’t worry and Allah promise to give the jannah after accepting Islam and end your life on this believe (Eman). So whole Muslim of the world become happy to know that you become our sister. because after accepting Islam every Muslim become siblings each other. Allah bless you. i cant explain my expression about your this step.

  20. Assalamu’alaikum, we wait you to visit Indonesia, to visit the most islam population in the world where you can meet moslem brothers and sisters.
    Wassalam.

  21. No words can express how I felt after reading your book and watching your interviews on you-tube. I really would like to meet you sayyedah. InshaAllah that day will come.

  22. Luckey are the one whom Allah chose to follow the right path leading to His blessings to eternity. Very inspirational story of your journey to Islam. May Allah help us stick to this faith till end.

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