Muhammad Asad

Diplomat, Politician

1900 – 1992

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Who was Muhammad Asad?

Muhammad Asad was an Austro-Hungarian born journalist, traveler, writer, linguist, thinker, political theorist, diplomat and Islamic scholar. Asad was one of the most influential European Muslims of the 20th century.

By the age of thirteen, young Weiss had acquired a passing fluency in Hebrew and Aramaic, other than his mother tongue German . By his mid-twenties, he could read and write in English, French, Persian and Arabic. In Palestine, Weiss engaged in arguments with Zionist leaders like Chaim Weizmann, voicing his criticism of the Zionist Movement. After traveling across the Arab World as a journalist, he converted to Islam and chose for himself the Muslim name "Muhammad Asad"—Asad being the Arabic rendition of his root name Leo.

During his stay in Saudi Arabia, he spent time with Bedouins and enjoyed close company of Ibn Saud—the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. He also carried out a secret mission for Ibn Saud to trace the sources of funding for Ikhwan Revolt. Due to these activities, he was dubbed in a Haaretz articles as "Leopold of Arabia"—hinting similarity of his activities to those of Lawrence of Arabia.

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Born
Jul 2, 1900
Lviv
Also known as
  • Leopold Weiss
Parents
Spouses
Children
Religion
  • Islam
  • Judaism
Ethnicity
  • Jewish people
Nationality
  • Pakistan
Profession
Education
  • University of Vienna
Lived in
  • Lviv
Died
Feb 23, 1992
Granada

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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"Muhammad Asad." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/muhammad_asad>.

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