THE British ambassador to Saudi Arabia is the first senior diplomat to convert to Islam and this week completed the hajj with his Syrian wife.
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Collins, whose wife Huda Mujarkesh is a Syrian Muslim, is the first British diplomat to perform the revered pilgrimage to Mecca, known as Hajj.
Collis, a father of five children, has been British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia since January a year ago, when Sir John Jenkins retired from the diplomatic service.
He was pictured with his wife dressed in the traditional white robes worn by pilgrims in a photo shared by Saudi women’s rights campaigner Fawziah al-Bakr via social media on Monday. The Guardian reports that conversion took place in 2011.
Collis tweeted in Arabic that after living among Muslim cultures for thirty years he had converted to Islam prior to his marriage. “Praise be to Allah”.
Collis, who is based in Riyadh since 2015, previously served in a number of Middle Eastern countries, including Syria, Iraq, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, as well as in India and Tunisia. “Alhamdulillah [Praise be to Allah]”, she tweeted.
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This always begins on the 10th day of the Islamic lunar month of Dhul-Hijja, during the annual pilgrimage. The Telegraph reported that the Foreign Office declined to comment, calling his religion a personal matter. In terms of Hajj specifically, the pilgrimage is so over-subscribed that the Saudi authorities only issue visas to a proportion of those who apply each year. He also served in New Delhi as first secretary from 1991 to 1994. He was the British Consul-General in Dubai (2000-2004) and in Basra (2004-2005).
