Rudolf Carl von Slatin petitioned the pope to reverse his conversion to Islam. The pope obliged, making Slatin a Catholic again. Sounds fishy, doesn't it? Read on.

At an early age, Slatin made his way to Africa, specifically Sudan, rising to become the governor-general of Darfur. Just like today, that region wasn't exactly stable. Slatin commanded troops in a series of battles. He eventually lost, and decided to covert to Islam. Apparently, his troops might follow him better if he was a Muslim.

It didn't exactly work. Slatin was captured, spent a decade in captivity, and then remarkably escaped. He spent three weeks wandering through the desert, finally reaching Egypt. Slatin then returned to Europe to various accolades, and got his reprieve from the pope.

So why are we concerned with this Austrian goy? Turns out that Slatin's parents were actually Jews, but converted to Catholicism. Worked out well for him: if his family stayed Jewish, there would be no pope to petition...