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Monday October 18, 2010
British snooker coach embraces Islam
British head coach of Iran's National Snooker Team David John has embraced Islam during an official ceremony held in the capital city of Tehran.
Chairman of Iran's Physical Education Organization Ali Saeedlou and the Head of the Friday Prayer Leaders' Policymaking Council Reza Taqavi attended a ceremony on Monday to congratulate John on his new faith.
John, who changed his name to Davoud (the Islamic pronunciation of David), said he decided to convert to Islam after he came to Iran and visited the shrine of the 8th Shia Imam in the city of Mashhad.
"I was very excited to visit Mashhad," he said after the ceremony.
"I used to be a coach in Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain for several years and I was familiar with Islam, but it was the Iranian culture and the holy shrine of Imam Reza which encouraged me to embrace Islam."
Saeedlou promised to send John on his first Hajj pilgrimage and Taqavi offered him a number of books on Islam as well as a Holy Quran with English translation.
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