The Road to Mecca by Muhammad Asad Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Road to Mecca
Book Review: Magnificent, Beautiful, Intense
Summary: 5 Stars
A lifetime ago, a young, ambitious, and well-educated Polish Jew named Leopold Weiss struggled upward in the world of central European journalism, to obtain a posting to the Middle East. He had no idea that he was about to begin a journey of epic proportions, one which resulted in his conversion to Islam, the changing of his name to Muhammad Asad, and the complete evolution of his cultural and spiritual identity. Although he ultimately wrote many historical and theoretical works about Islam, this book is his magnus opus; a post-modern journey through the Middle East and through his own heart.
The Road to Mecca is often a strikingly sad book. Asad sees a civilization that was once at the pinnacle of human accomplishment, and by his lifetime has receded to the sidelines. As in two of his other books, he is searching for an Islamic renaissance that does not have to take its cues from the West. He uses the journey as metaphor; everywhere he finds poor and often ignorant people, yet a culture that is still rock-solid and based on the fundamental justice and equality of Islam.
For instance, he loves and admires Ibn Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, with whom he became close friends. But he criticizes the king for his willingness to indulge the ignorance of the desert Arabs in their various tribal customs and conflicts. In Cairo, Asad strolls in awe at the world's oldest university and he listens reverentially to Muslim scholars, yet he sighs at the thought that much of Islamic learning has lost its scientific cutting edge, and is now steeped in the repeating of old ritual and formulae.
I have never read a more beautiful and heartfelt work about the meaning of Islam. Asad has a remarkable opportunity as a man whose life straddles a secular western world and a traditional Bedouin world. He sees the most fundamental goodness in people, yet is never afraid to offer critique. Many, many authors in the West have striven to offer polemical or theoretical critiques of modern Islam, which usually boil down to something like, "What's wrong with those Muslims and why can't they be more like us?" Muhammad Asad asks, "Why can't we live closer to the Muslim ideal?"
Book Review: Simply incredible
Summary: 5 Stars
I had The Road to Mecca in my bookcase for more than a year before I finally opened it; and I have never stopped reading and rereading since.It's not a usual theoretical book on religion; instead it is a travelogue, a journey of a mind, a cultural awareness of a people and a nation, and a rare insight and understanding into faith, psychology, development sociology, and world affairs.
Muhammad Asad starts off with a journey towards Makkah, spiritual home of Muslims, and through the trip we travel back and forth in his mind and through his conversations and communications with people, about his past; his journey from a young Austrian journalist into a Muslim. We move through Arab lands, meet people, explore ways of life and philosophies, understand history, and most of all, gain a rare insight into Islam and what it means. Asad shows us all aspects of life in those lands; through bazaars to palaces, along risky journeys and enthralling adventures, meeting Kings and bandits. His understanding is rare and gifted and the socio-political-religious world has not been explained better elsewhere.
For Muslims and non Muslims alike, it is a must read, capturing but not imposing, exploring and understanding.
Book Review: The Road to Mecca
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very well written book done in the form of a very descriptive autobiography. The author looks with his mind through his eyes at people & the world around him in a very passionate way. The inner thoughts of his life and adventures are really captivating. It starts with him remembering the dissatisfied young man he was in Austria. He leaves it to seek adventure and ends up in the Middle East & converts to Islam in 1926. Great story which includes his views about the world and those he met along the way. I was not really in tune with all his personal views but understood his basic feelings. He was born in 1900 & lived in Austria. His birth name was Leopold Weiss. His religious ancestry consisted of a long line of orthodox Rabbis except for his father who was a lawyer. His parents were not religious and this I believe led to his lack of spirituality and turning from Judaism to Islam. His view of Islam became an obsession. He loved everything about the people who lived it and its teachings. I however didn't understand how he seemed to always know all the great and powerful people who taught & ruled on the Arabian peninsula. He was the personal friend & adviser of Islamic Kings, Amirs, Sheiks, Scholars, etc . If so, one might see why he was so taken by the religion. He never the less presents himself as a humble man in tune with the simple life and seeking adventure and his place in life. Really a great book even though he presents a one sided praise of Islam and a disgust for the western civilization. Islam could be a wonderful religion if not for the fanatics who control it. He himself hints to this during his writings but does not understand that he also has become one of them. Very interesting story of a european secular Jew who found his calling with Islam and its people.Book Review: a transport to magnificent experiences
Summary: 5 Stars
I cannot say enough good things about this book. I was given a copy by a Pakistani friend with whom I work here in New York. What in a shallow read is a brilliant work of exceptional linguistic skill, is truly a mind opening and enlightening walk in the shoes of a man who sought answers to questions many cannot bear to face. One can only be awestruck by his adaptation to a culture so far from ones own... and his remarkable ability to transition between virtually a dozen languages. This book has changed my life. I would agree with another review that we may not all agree with his conclusion, but certainly an understanding of Islamic principles can only bring us closer to the truth, whether we accept it as our way of life or not. Our lives in the west are bombarded with materialistic ideals, and although we all know this and criticize this amongs ourselves, we at the same time seem to accept it. Materialism is now being used to enhance capitalism and our bottom lines, but at a tremendous cost that we will not realize for generations. The United States was created to be a dynamic and transformable state, yet it can only be what its citizens will it to be. This book will open you to an understanding of life that is absent in our current social structure, and can perhaps make your life more meaningful than ever imagined. If i had the time I could write a book on this book, although it wouldn't be nearly as intersting, so just read "A Road To Makkah"... you will not regret it.