I am not sure yet where the ultimate source of this claim is to be located, but I know of at least two Muslim publications which have disseminated (and continue to do so) that Jaques Cousteau became a Muslim.
The Reasons Why They Become Muslims ([1], [2]), volume 16, part 3 of the Waqf Ikhlas series:
21 June, 1995 Copyleft c Waqf Ikhlas, Istanbul, 1995. Permission to reprint & distribute is granted only if this heading included, and the text is not modified in any way, shape or form to alter the intended meaning. WAQF IKHLAS PEOPLE WHO CHOSE ISLAM 11 CAPTAIN (JACQUES) COUSTEAU (French) [In France Islam has been spreading at a high velocity among people who have made fame in various areas. The number of people who have abandoned Christianity and chosen Islam have reached one hundred thousand already. This score has been confirmed by the Archbishop of Paris, the highest Catholic rank in France. It is noteworthy that people who have preferred Islam are not only from among workers and civil servants but also from among people renowned in every respect. Among people who have chosen Islam is Captain Cousteau, whom the whole world closely knows for his explorations about life under water. As the groundswell of embracing Islam was spreading among France's universal celebrities, Captain Cousteau, the world's most eminent undersea explorer, announced that by accepting Islam he had made the most correct decision of his life. Captain Cousteau, who has revealed the secrets of oceans one by one with the films that he made and which are being televised world over in a program sub-headed The Living Sea, said that what actually prompted him to choose the Islamic religion was, after observing that the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean did not mix with each other, his seeing that the same phenomenon was written in the Qur'an al-karim which had been revealed fourteen hundred years before.] Captain Cousteau told of the event that had caused him to become a Muslim, as follows: "In 1962 German scientists said that the waters of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean did not mix with each other in the Strait of Bab-ul-Mandab where the Aden Bay and the Red Sea join. So we began to examine whether the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean mixed with each other. First we analyzed the water in the Mediterranean to find out its natural salinity and density, and the life it contained. We repeated the same procedure in the Atlantic Ocean. The two masses of water had been meeting each other in the Gibraltar for thousands of years. Accordingly, the two masses of water must have been mixing with each other and they must have been sharing identical, or, at least, similar properties in salinity and density. On the contrary, even at places where the two seas were closest to each other, each mass of water preserved its properties. In other words, at the point where the two seas met, a curtain of water prevented the waters belonging to the two seas from mixing. When I told Professor Maurice Bucaille about this phenomenon, he said that it was no surprise and that it was written clearly in Islam's Holy Book, the Qur'an al-karim. Indeed, this fact was defined in a plain language in the Qur'an al-karim. When I knew this, I believed in the fact that the Qur'an al-karim was the 'Word of Allah'. I chose Islam, the true religion. The spiritual potency inherent in the Islamic religion gave me the strength to endure the pain I had been suffering for the loss of my son."
Side remark: To my information, even though Mr. Jaques Yves Cousteau was a researcher and won many awards, he was no professor and never earned a doctorate, and it is also interesting to observe how this above conversion hoax blends in with the other made up conversion of Dr. Maurice Bucaille.
Another Cousteau conversion page, which probably is based on rumors like the below publication...
Subject: Amazing Undersea Discovery Leads French Oceanographer To Islam! Allahu Akbar From: m a m Date: 1997/03/02 Message-Id: <5faqhr$b2c@usenet.srv.cis.pitt.edu> Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, ARRAHMAN, ARRAHEEM All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds Heavenly Salutations and Peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and upon his family, his noble companions and all those who follow them in righteousness until the Day of Judgment Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatu ULLAHi wa Barakatuhu... "Qura'ns Confirmation Of An Amazing Undersea Discovery Leads ============================ French Oceanographer To Islam" ================ The famous French oceanographer Mr Jacques Yves Cousteau, who has spent his lifetime on undersea discoveries and is considered an authorithy on undersea exploration has embraced Islam after his amazing undersea discovery was confirmed by the Holy Qur'an the last and final revealed guidence of Allah (God Almighty) for the whole of Mankind and Jinns. One day somewhere in deep ocean, Mr Jacques Yves Cousteau was doing some undersea exploration when he discovered that within the salty sea water there were several spring of sweet palatable water. What amazed him most was the fact that the sweet water of the springs was not mingling with the salty water of the sea. For a long time he tried to find plausible excuse for this phenomena, but to no avail. One day when he mentioned it to a Muslim Professor who told him this phenomena simply followed Allah's command as clearly explained in the Holy Qur'an. He then read to Mr Cousteau the following verses from the Holy Qur'an : "It is He (Allah) Who has let free the two bodies of flowing water : One palatable and sweet, and the other salty and bitter; yet has He (Allah) made a barrier between them, a portion that is forbidden to be passed" (Sura 25 Al-Furqan : Verse 53) "And He (Allah) made a separating bar between the two bodies of flowing waters." (Sura 27 An-Naml : Verse 61) "He (Allah) let free the two bodies of flowing water, meeting together : between them is a barrier which they do not transgress." (Sura 55 Al-Rahman : Verse 19:20) Hearing this, Mr Cousteau said that surely the Qur'an is a divine Book and embraced Islam. (This was reported in Al-Furqan-Ta-Ha Publishers, London). ______________________________________________________________ | | | Wise men and women speak because they have something to say. | | Fools speak because they have to say something. | | | | O' Allah let me be among the wise. | |______________________________________________________________|
If only the magazine Al-Furqan and the poster of the above article had heeded this advice about the wise men and fools ..., he would not have spread this fairytale. It is completely made up.
Original letter of clarification from the Cousteau Foundation (in French) (photocopy).
English translation by Dr. William F. Campbell:
Fondation Cousteau
Monsieur Charles TUCKER 11A Chemin de Pennachy 69230 ST GENIS LAVAL FC/DC Paris, November 2, 1991 Sir, We have received your letter and we thank you for your interest in our activities. We state precisely to you that Commander Cousteau has not become a Muslim and that this rumor passes around without foundation. Very cordially, Didier CERCEAU chargé de mission
Jaques Cousteau died Wednesday morning, June 25, 1997. His last fairwell was held at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Some further and true information about Cousteau: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]
Rumors and hoaxes
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