Yousuf was one of the few Christians in the Pakistani cricket team, but announced in September 2005 that he had converted to Islam. He changed his name from Yousuf Youhana to Mohammad Yousuf on his conversion. Yousuf Youhana has converted from Christianity to Islam along with his wife and children. He has assumed the name of Mohammad Yousuf and his wife is now Fatima from Tania. Yohana says his wife also converted with him about three months ago. But he says they did not make their decision public for family reasons.
Some media reports were sceptical of his reasons for conversion, but he claimed that he had embraced Islam three years earlier but had kept it secret due to his wife’s insistence who wished to remain a Christian: he eventually convinced her as well and the whole family converted along with him. Throughout his career, he was encouraged to convert by Saeed Anwar, a former Pakistani batsman.
Yousuf’s move has sparked off a controversy in Pakistan. While the conversion has been by and large welcomed, a section of the Pakistani media has attributed motives to the conversion. There were also reports that Yousuf’s family was against the conversion.
It has been suggested that one of the motives behind the move could be Yousuf’s ambition to become the Pakistan captain. Yousuf was previously vice-captain of Pakistan and has also led Pakistan in two Test matches and some one-day internationals in Inzamam’s absence. He was found to be an imaginative and astute captain and his leadership skills were appreciated. But he was controversially replaced as vice-captain by Younis Khan. It was reported that former captain Imran Khan had objected to Yousuf’s position in the side and this led to his being replaced. Imran had reportedly stated that Yousuf did not have the right ’’character’’ to lead Pakistan and hence should be replaced.
Mohammed Yousuf’s mother says she had been worried about her son’s behaviour for a long time. His parents are furious while Yousuf says he wants the rest of his family to convert too. ’’I don’t want to give Yousuf my name after what he has done, ’’ his mother was quoted. ’’We came to know about his decision when he offered Friday Prayers at a local mosque. It was a shock, ’’ his mother was reported as saying. She blamed the brother of a former Pakistan cricket player, Saeed Anwar, for ’’ruining my son’s life, ’’ according to the Daily Times.
A Pakistani television channel showed him offering prayers along with other members of the Pakistan cricket team including skipper Inzamam ul Haq. Saeed Anwar and his brother have become Muslim preachers who preach from the platform of Tablighi Jamaat - Pakistan’s largest non-political religious grouping. Yousuf confirmed that he was a regular at the preaching sessions held by the Tablighi Jamaat. But he told journalists that he had converted of his own free will and there was no pressure on him to do so.