| A Road to Mecca The Journey of Muhammad Asad: In the early 1920s Leopold Weiss, a Viennese
Jew, alienated by the materialism and spiritual emptiness of the West, travelled to the
Middle East, visiting Jerusalem, Egypt, the Transjordan and Saudi Arabia. After studying
the Koran, he left his Jewish roots behind, converted to Islam and changed his name to
Muhammad Asad. Asad (1900-1992) became one of the most important Muslims of the 20th
century, spreading its message of peace and brotherhood as a journalist and author of
books such as Islam at the Crossroads, The Principles of State and Government in Islam and
his autobiography, The Road to Mecca. He served as an advisor to the royal court of Saudi
Arabia and was a co-founder of Pakistan and its Ambassador to the UN. A ROAD TO MECCA
traces his spiritual journey, from the Arabian desert to Ground Zero, visiting the places
where Asad lived and travelled. Archival footage and photos and excerpts from
Asad's writings are blended with contemporary interviews with writers,
historians, scholars, and his friends and associates, revealing Asad's legacy as
a modern theological thinker. |
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