FACT-CHECK: Anthony Joshua’s Old Comment About Islam Recycled to Portray Converting to Muslim
BY: Abdulrasheed Akere
Claim:
Social media users have been circulating a claim that Anthony Joshua said Islam plays a big role in his life.
Verdict:
MISLEADING. Anthony Joshua did not recently say Islam plays a big role in his life, the claim is recycled for unidentified reasons.
Full Text:
On Friday, September 18, 2026, a Facebook page identified as Current Pulse which has 133K followers made a post that Anthony Joshua has spoken about the important role that Islam has played in his life. The post has generated 3.5K likes, 323 comments, and 343 reshares as of the time of the press.
The post reads thus: “British boxing champion Anthony Joshua has spoken about the important role Islam plays in his life, highlighting the place of faith and spirituality in his personal journey. Joshua’s words reflect how his religious beliefs have become an important part of his life beyond his career in boxing. Disclaimer: This content is informational purposes only and based on available reports. The image is AI generated and just for reference.”
A lot of users seem to believe the claim and conclude that the veteran boxer is now a Muslim. A Facebook user, Taofik Ajala commented on the post, “That’s the beauty of Islam. Welcome to the religion of Peace.” Another user, Isa Ibrahjm said, “Congratulations for your choice of Islam as your religion and God bless your and your family amien.” On the other hands, some users labeled the claim as fake. Adil Aziz commented, “He is a Christian and belong to Roman Catholics. UFC always wear Cross on their nick.”
Also, on Saturday, September 19, 2026, a Facebook user, Prince Adeoye A Abdulkareem posted the same claim with a caption that he is happy for Anthony Joshua.
Verification:
In a bid to verify the claim, FactCheckAfrica perused websites of reputable media outlets but could not spot genuine news to that effect. We checked the official Facebook page of Anthony Joshua where he has 8Million followers and found nothing close to the claim on it. There’s also no recent post about his religion stand on his official
Further checks through search engines revealed an old one minute and eight seconds (1:08) reel where Anthony Joshua was being interviewed about what role did Islam plays in his life and he said a big role. He added that his uncle went to Mecca to pray for him.
The video which was posted 7years ago (2019) garnered 17K views, 821 likes, 46 comments, and 318 shares.
Conclusion:
Based on the available evidence, the claim is recycled to portray that Anthony Joshua joined Islam.
