The Arabs Got Talent contestant Jennifer Grout has reportedly converted to Islam.
The 23-year-old American singer, famed for her pitch-perfect rendition of Arab classics despite not knowing the language, seems to have accepted the faith in a YouTube video released on Sunday.
The video has her declaring the shahada – otherwise known as the declaration of faith – in front of two men where she states: “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet.”
While the video remains to be confirmed by Grout, the Moroccan news website Morocco World News confirmed the video was recorded in Fes, where Grout presently resides, studying the Arabic language; the young man beside her is speculated to be her fiance.*
The news caps a whirlwind five months which saw the Bostonian reach the Arabs Got Talent finale in December after a series of spellbinding covers of the legendary Arab song birds Umm Kalthoum and Fairuz.
Speaking exclusively to The National after bowing out of the competition, Grout said she planned to spend the time after the show contemplating her future.
“I don’t know yet,” she said.
“I am now just enjoying these moments and later I will sit down and think of what to do next.”
sasaeed@thenational.ae
