He changed his name from Richard to Rasheed, saying that he felt better after making this life changing decision.

"My cellmates are all Muslims and they have been treating me like a brother and I never felt like I was less than them," he said.

"I noticed that when prayer time comes they all go to the mosque and pray together. When they come back they have this calm and spiritual feeling and I needed that in my life.”

Rasheed was jailed for not paying a debt to one of his friends. He had borrowed SR7,000 to buy a new air-conditioning unit. His friend eventually pressed charges against him when he could not pay the debt.

"After a short period of time a philanthropist heard about Rasheed's conversion and decided to pay his debt when he found out why he was jailed," said First Lt. Nawaf Al-Bouq of Jeddah police.

"The Department of Religious Affairs and Rasheed's cellmates hosted a small party to welcome him to Islam and they are now preparing a program for him to visit the Holy Mosque in Makkah and to perform Umrah and Haj."