American Muslim
Just Another Slave
By Hasan Zillur Rahim
Muhammad Asad, writer, adventurer, diplomat, Muslim thinker par excellence, translator of the Qur'an, and author of one of the most remarkable spritual autobiographies ever, The Road to Mecca, isn't as well recognized, even among Muslims, as he ought to be. It's a pity. Three years after his death in Spain in 1992, Asad remains virtually unknown in the West and an enigma to the average Muslim. Those who have followed his career through his books and writings, however, know that no one has contributed more in our times to the understanding of Islam and awakening of Muslims, or worked harder to build a bridge between the East and the West, than Muhammad Asad.
Asad was born Leopold Weiss on July 2, 1900 in Lwow, Galacia, now in Poland, and then part of the Austrian empire. In 1926 he converted to Islam and became Muhammad Asad. The story of the years before his conversion reflects the spiritual odyssey of a man in search of a home, a man struck by wanderlust, unable to quell his restless spirit until embracing Islam.
Asad ran away from home at 14 and joined the Austrian army to fight in the First World War. By 1922 he had become a foreign correspondent in the Near and Far East for the Frankfurter Zeitung, then one of the most outstanding newspapers in Europe. His career in journalism took him to Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Persia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, and gave him a unique perspective on world affairs, particularly issues relating to Jews and Arabs.
While staying with his uncle in Jerusalem, he came into contact with the Zionist Committee of Action and was repelled by its contempt toward the Arabs. "Although of Jewish origin myself," wrote Asad in The Road to Makkah, "I conceived from the outset a strong objection to Zionism...I considered it immoral that immigrants, assisted by a great foreign power, should come from abroad with the avowed intention of attaining a majority in Palestine and thus to dispossess the people whose country it had been...This attitude of mine was beyond the comprehension of practically all the Jews whom I came in contact with during those months. They could not understand what I saw in the Arabs...They were not in the least interested in what Arabs though; almost none of them took the pains to learn Arabic; and everyone accepted without question the dictum that Palestine was the rightful heritage of the Jews."
It was here that Asad encountered Chaim Weizmann, the undisputed leader of the Zionist movement, and had a heated discussion with him regarding the Zionist philosophy. "What about the Arabs ?" Asad asked as Dr. Weizmann was one day articulating his vision of a Jewish National Home.
"What about the Arabs?" ecoed Dr. Weizmann
To read the whole article
http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/0995/9509045.htm
I am finishing Muhammad Asad's autobiography, The Road to Makkah.
His descriptions of life after the First World War seem to strangely reflect the current "culture" in the West. He talks of a lack of faith in anything, promiscuity, and the seeking of material possessions. Sound familiar?
I can't believe I have never heard of this brother before. Truly fascinating.
Muhammad Asad, writer, adventurer, diplomat, Muslim thinker par excellence, translator of the Qur'an, and author of one of the most remarkable spritual autobiographies ever, The Road to Mecca, isn't as well recognized, even among Muslims, as he ought to be. It's a pity. Three years after his death in Spain in 1992, Asad remains virtually unknown in the West and an enigma to the average Muslim. Those who have followed his career through his books and writings, however, know that no one has contributed more in our times to the understanding of Islam and awakening of Muslims, or worked harder to build a bridge between the East and the West, than Muhammad Asad.
Asad was born Leopold Weiss on July 2, 1900 in Lwow, Galacia, now in Poland, and then part of the Austrian empire. In 1926 he converted to Islam and became Muhammad Asad. The story of the years before his conversion reflects the spiritual odyssey of a man in search of a home, a man struck by wanderlust, unable to quell his restless spirit until embracing Islam.
Asad ran away from home at 14 and joined the Austrian army to fight in the First World War. By 1922 he had become a foreign correspondent in the Near and Far East for the Frankfurter Zeitung, then one of the most outstanding newspapers in Europe. His career in journalism took him to Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Persia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, and gave him a unique perspective on world affairs, particularly issues relating to Jews and Arabs.
While staying with his uncle in Jerusalem, he came into contact with the Zionist Committee of Action and was repelled by its contempt toward the Arabs. "Although of Jewish origin myself," wrote Asad in The Road to Makkah, "I conceived from the outset a strong objection to Zionism...I considered it immoral that immigrants, assisted by a great foreign power, should come from abroad with the avowed intention of attaining a majority in Palestine and thus to dispossess the people whose country it had been...This attitude of mine was beyond the comprehension of practically all the Jews whom I came in contact with during those months. They could not understand what I saw in the Arabs...They were not in the least interested in what Arabs though; almost none of them took the pains to learn Arabic; and everyone accepted without question the dictum that Palestine was the rightful heritage of the Jews."
It was here that Asad encountered Chaim Weizmann, the undisputed leader of the Zionist movement, and had a heated discussion with him regarding the Zionist philosophy. "What about the Arabs ?" Asad asked as Dr. Weizmann was one day articulating his vision of a Jewish National Home.
"What about the Arabs?" ecoed Dr. Weizmann
To read the whole article
http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/0995/9509045.htm
I am finishing Muhammad Asad's autobiography, The Road to Makkah.
His descriptions of life after the First World War seem to strangely reflect the current "culture" in the West. He talks of a lack of faith in anything, promiscuity, and the seeking of material possessions. Sound familiar?
I can't believe I have never heard of this brother before. Truly fascinating.
