By Elsa Girard-Basset | Web journalist
A pioneer in French rap in the 2000s, Diam’s then took a real 180-degree turn by withdrawing from public life and converting to Islam. A decision on which she spoke rarely, but always with depth. By evoking in particular the feelings of the French regarding this decision which, at the time, was very surprising.
In the 2000s, all children and adolescents hummed “La boulette”, “Jeune demoiselle” or even “Confessions nuits” at least once. Arriving like a bomb in a very masculine environment, Diam’s quickly established itself as one of the references in the sector. But at the end of the decade, her life took a new turn: converted to Islam, she withdrew from the public eye.
Diam’s honest about his conversion to Islam
Since December 2008, therefore, his public appearances have been rare and his interviews even more so. A few years ago, however, she explained to “Arab News” what had pushed her to this change of life, while evoking the sometimes violent reaction of a segment of the French population:
One day, I understood that everything I had, money, success, power, didn’t make me happy. I started looking for happiness, I was very, very sad. And I felt alone. I was thinking about why I was on earth. I knew it wasn’t about being rich or famous, since all of those things didn’t make me happy. So I started looking for answers to my questions.
Read also
Vitaa’s clear focus on Diam’s: “She’s really…”
It was a big shock for the French. They saw me as a singer, then one day the paparazzi took a picture of me leaving the mosque. People asked themselves how it was possible, that this woman was wearing the veil… It was impossible for them. And at first I didn’t talk about it to the media, because I didn’t know what to say, because it was about my faith. And it was very difficult to explain
Comments completed in another interview, this time given to “Sept à quatre” in 2022. Insisting on the fact that she was “not just a veil”, Diam’s confided:
Diam’s was truly a milestone in my life. It’s something that is there, that existed in the eyes of millions of people. I didn’t become Mélanie, I became Mélanie again. Today, I see glory a bit like intoxication: something super strong that filled me up suddenly, and then it was very hard to come down.
I made the personal choice to veil myself. When I converted, I was a single woman. When we talk about a Muslim, we don’t just talk about the veil. And besides, I’m not just a veil. I’m a woman.
Those who wanted answers got them: Diam’s could not be clear about her personal journey, she who also did not deny having suffered serious psychiatric problems in 2007, a year before her conversion. Today, she is a woman who says she is happy, serene and peaceful, who raises her family far from the cameras. A choice that suits him.
