This is a still from the film showing a sign made in Lahore, Pakistan for a meeting of the Muhammad Asad Society meeting on Independence Day
A Road to Mecca: The Journey of Muhammad Asad is one of the most interesting films I have ever seen about the link between the Jewish world and Muslim universe. When I first heard of the film, I thought that it might be a comedy of some sort. I had never heard of Muhammad Asad. After watching the 92 minute feature documentary, I had a completely different attitude about a man who truly explored our global village in a way no one else before or since has done. I thought, “This man is like the Lawrence of Arabia of our age.” I love this film, and hopefully will be able to present it to the people of the Kanawha Valley where I live sometime soon.
Born Leopold Weiss in the early 1920s Vienna, he did the impossible, converting from Judaism to Islam. He was a prolific writer on Islam and became Pakistan’s first ambassador to the U.N. He even translated the Koran. He died in 1992 and was buried in Spain.
Many people, both Jews and Muslims, talk about his life and influence. Unfortunately, many on both sides rejected him and his amazing books and works. Luckily, there is a Muhammad Asad Society, small but dedicated.
I really enjoyed the artistic cinematography, showing desert landscapes and long trains.
There is no other film that I have seen that truly explores the extreme conflicts between Islam and Judaism like this film. Anyone interested in the conflict that has engulfed the world would benefit from seeing this film and learning about a contemporary man who lived by his own conscience.
The cover of the f ilm shows that it was shown at both the 2009 Dubai Film Festival and 2009 Jerusalem Film Festival. I wonder how many other films can bridge the divide?
The cover of one of Asad’s many books
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