First Muslim Miss USA Rima Fakih converts to Christianity

Rima Fakih is believed to be the first Muslim to win the title of Miss USA when she was crowned the winner in 2010.

Now, the beauty pageant winner has converted to Christianity, recently sharing a verse from Philippians on Twitter.


Fakih converted to Christianity last month in preparation for her marriage in Lebanon next week to Wassim Salibi, a wealthy Christian music producer.

At the time of winning the Miss USA title, Fakih said, "I'd like to say I'm American first, and I am an Arab-American, I am Lebanese-American, and I am Muslim-American."

According to the news site Albawaba, Fakih only connected to her Muslim roots in college.

"When I went to the University of Michigan, because there's more of a Muslim community, my dad wanted me to learn more about Islam," she said. "I didn't know much about Ramadan and other holidays, and my dad wanted me to take that opportunity and learn."

After winning Miss America, Fakih was involved in some controversy when photos surfaced of her participating in a radio station's "Stripper 101" contest. She was also convicted of drunk driving in 2012.