Happy Easter: Pope baptizes Muslim-born man at Eastertide

EGYPTIAN-born Magdi Allam, one of Italy’s most famous and controversial journalists and commentators who renounced Islam and converted to Roman Catholicism was baptized at the weekend by Pope Benedict XVI in a sermon watched by thousands around the globe including his native Egypt.

A deputy editor at the Milan newspaper, Corriere della Sera, he has built his career crusading against what he calls the “inherent” violence in Islam and championing Israel’s existence. He has been honoured for encouraging tolerance between cultures, but his baptism angered some in the Muslim world with his high-profile conversion in an Easter vigil service led by Pope Benedict at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

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