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July 6, 2016

The Galician Jew Who Became a Foremost Theorist of Islamism

Leopold Weiss/Muhammad Asad.

Born to a Jewish family in Austria-Hungary in 1900, Muhammad Asad (né Leopold Weiss) converted to Islam in 1926. He went on to become one of the most influential Islamic thinkers of the 20th century, writing theoretical treatises on Islam and politics and advising the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Later he withdrew from political life to focus on scholarship, writing an English translation of the Quran that remains in use today. Unsurprisingly, he became a Muslim out of antagonism to Zionism and Judaism, as Shalom Goldman writes:

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July 6, 2016

  1. Putting an End to Subsidies for Terrorists

    A new Israeli policy.

  2. What Entebbe Gave the Jews

    No longer alone.

  3. The Accomplishment for Which Elie Wiesel Most Wanted to Be Remembered

    Giving a voice to the living and the dead.

  4. Anti-Semitism Is on the Upswing, But Neither the ADL Nor the President Will Say Why

    Blind to the obvious.

  5. The Galician Jew Who Became a Foremost Theorist of Islamism

    Leopold Weiss/Muhammad Asad.