Soheila Taheri, the wife of former Brazilian football star Roberto Carlos, has denied reports that her husband has converted to Islam and urged the public and media to put an end to the rumors.
Taheri said reports circulating on social media about Roberto Carlos changing his religion are false and have no basis in reality.
She stressed that matters related to religious beliefs are sensitive and should be discussed with care and caution. According to her, sharing unverified information can intrude on people’s privacy and personal lives.
The rumor first emerged in Turkey. Ali Şahin, a member of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party), posted on X about a meeting with representatives of Brazil’s Muslim community.
Şahin claimed that during a visit to Brazil, he met a man named Sheikh Jihad Hamada, who allegedly said that Roberto Carlos had visited him after marrying Soheila Taheri, recited the Shahada, and converted to Islam.
Roberto Carlos responded several hours after the claim was published, calling it false. In an interview with the Saudi newspaper Okaz, he said he has great respect for Islam but that reports of his conversion are untrue.
He also said that he enjoys watching his wife pray, and that their wedding ceremony was conducted with consideration for the beliefs of both families his Catholic family and his wife’s Muslim family.
In an interview with Moroccan media outlet Hesport, Taheri stated unequivocally: “I want to make it completely clear and explicit that my husband has not converted to Islam, and what has been circulated on social media on this matter is false.”
She added that religious matters are sensitive and that such claims should be verified before being published, while respecting people’s beliefs and privacy.
Taheri also denied another claim involving Roberto Carlos that he had been involved in an accident and that Sheikh Jihad Hamada had visited him in hospital and recited the Quran for him.
“That story is also false,” she said. “No sheikh or religious figure named Jihad came to visit him or recite the Quran for him, and we do not know anyone by that name.”
Regarding the origin of the rumor, Roberto Carlos’s wife said she does not know how the story began, but described the circulation of such a detailed account without any clear basis as unfortunate.
Asked whether Roberto Carlos had discussed Islam and the Quran with her, Taheri said that respecting different beliefs and religions is natural, and that talking about Islam or the Quran does not necessarily mean converting to the religion.
Speaking about how she and Roberto Carlos met, Taheri said football was their common connection. She added that Carlos is a football legend and that she is also involved in the football world, but prefers not to share details of their private life with the media.
She concluded by saying that she respects Roberto Carlos’s past and that there is mutual respect between them.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
