Lindsay Lohan 'educating herself' about Islam

Lindsay Lohan's friends have denied reports she has converted to Islam, but revealed the actress is "educating herself" about the religion.

The actress sparked claims she may have had a religious awakening when she deleted all her posts on Instagram and used Arabic greeting "Alaikum salam" (sic), which translates as "and unto you peace", for her profile on the photo-sharing site.

However, friends of the Mean Girls star have now revealed she has yet to officially convert, but is exploring the Muslim faith as part of a wider education.

“Lindsay is educating herself on different cultures and their practices to be able to better understand the people and communicate,” a friend of the actress and humanitarian told New York Post's gossip column Page Six.

Following Lindsay's Instagram cull, many took it as confirmation she had embraced Islam, with one woman writing on Twitter: "Im so happy that lindsay lohan found Islam. may Allah guide her and bless her." Another added: "I heard that Lindsay Lohan converted to Islam? If its true, alhamdulillah. God has shown her the right path to now follow."

It's not the first time that Lindsay has sparked speculation of converting to Islam - she was previously photographed holding a copy of the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, while doing community service in Brooklyn, New York, back in 2015.

But the actress' mother Dina Lohan added to Page Six that she has "raised my children to be compassionate and to educate themselves on a global level - to learn about different cultures and their practices and to respect them!”

After the pictures emerged of Lindsay holding the Quran in 2015, she appeared on Turkish talk show Haber Turk later that year and said the book was a present from friends.

"My very close friends, who have been there for me a lot, in London are Saudi and they gave me the Quran and I brought it to New York because I was learning," she said. "It opened doors for me to experience spiritually, to find another true meaning. This is who I am."

When she was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in 2014, following her sixth stint in rehab, Lindsay told the host she is interested in a number of religions.

"I'm a very spiritual person and I've become more spiritual as time has gone on," she said. "I'm really in touch, whether it's prayer or meditation... there are so many powers greater than me in the world. I've been blessed and lucky enough to have been given a gift to share with other people."