Istanbul: Italian activist Tommaso Bortolazzi, captain of the Maria Cristin vessel in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), embraced Islam while being held by Israeli forces after the flotilla was intercepted in international waters on its way to Gaza.
The flotilla, comprising around 44 vessels and hundreds of activists from different countries, departed from Barcelona on August 30 to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. Israeli forces intercepted the ships on Wednesday night, October 1, detaining several participants, including Bortolazzi, and deported some of them on Saturday, October 4.
After his release, the Italian captain spoke to reporters in Istanbul, recounting how his experience in detention and the faith of his Turkish crewmates inspired him to convert.
Videos of his testimony, shared widely online, show him wearing a black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh as he recounts his experience and newfound faith.
“My company was from Turkey and almost all were Muslims. While they were praying, Israeli police entered and stopped them. I felt the need to oppose that, and afterwards, with my friend, I recited the Shahada,” he told Anadolu Agency.
Watch the video here
Before reciting the Shahada, Tommaso Bortolazzi reportedly asked whether “God would accept him as a Muslim because he had tattoos.” His Turkish companion, Bakir Devili, reassured him that faith rests on belief, not appearance, and helped him through the declaration.
Devili said Bortolazzi embraced Islam while being transported in a prison vehicle. “He repeated the Shahada in the prison vehicle and became a Muslim. When everyone congratulated him, the Israeli police threw him into a cell,” Devili recalled.
“I told him, ‘Tommy, you started paying the price for your Islam in the tenth second of your conversion.’”
Bortolazzi described his conversion as a profound moment of clarity and inner peace.
“It felt like being born again,” he said, expressing solidarity with Palestinians and gratitude to his fellow detainees.
In a similar development, American activist and TikToker Megan Rice embraced Islam in November 2023 after being inspired by the resilience of Palestinians and studying the Quran.
The following month, around 30 women accepted Islam at the Meadow Heights Mosque in Melbourne, Australia, moved by Palestinians’ steadfast faith.
Israel’s war on Gaza, which began on October 7, has caused vast destruction and claimed more than 67,100 civilian lives, most of them women and children.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include additional details.
