Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45212 in Books
• Published on: 1998-11-02
• Binding: Paperback

Customer Reviews

Grippingly Interesting!
This is a book about travel and the journey of one man through the geographical roads of the material earth, as well as the intellectual and spiritual odyssey he makes through the hills and plains of his own soul. Both journeys culminate in one place: Mecca - where he stays for some years having found the spiritual and intellectual contentment there which had eluded him in Europe. An interesting and inspiring way to learn more about Islam, in a way especially accessible to Westeners, as the author IS a Westerner who chose to accept the faith of Islam, and is thus able to articulate his faith's ideals in language understadable by his native Europeans. Also, this book is an alternative to normal introductory texts on Islam, as the basic precepts of the faith are clothed in the narrative discourse of the author's life himself. A good read, even if only as a book on travel and culture - highly recommended!

A beautiful and foretelling read....
For me, reading the Road to Mecca was a life changing moment (As the cliche goes). I found in this book the story of man who attained the ultimate peace and tranquility in his being. A man who went on a jounrney and discovered something, utterly beautiful. Asad, captured a moment in the middle east which is now forever lost and also the saw the seeds of what is now a changed middle east, where oil has taken over the spirituality of a beduin and replaced the calmness of movement from a camel to roaring and globe warming expensive cars, private jets and meglomaniacal cities.

From a religious point of view, this is also a book where a Jewish journalist converts to Islam. But what this book puts across is that all the faiths, if we see them from a point of view of what they were meant to be before being politicised, are infact giving the same message of being peaceful and one with yourself and those around you. Asad, captures that moment for me and demonstrates that best of qualities that I really think we all have within us(although we repress it into nonexistence), humanism. An ability to view this world not through parallels and myriads of differences based on religion, race, region, language etc, but viewing everyone and anyone as a human being and appreciating the differences that they bring to this world. To Asad, Islam brought this humanism down to its simplest terms, being peaceful and being content with your life. This is an amazing story to read in the times of today, where on one side, suicidal muslim fundamentalist abuse the religion of Islam to further their political and bigoted idealogies and where the powerful west, for all its greed and demagogery, bullies(through war and capitalism) the world into becoming a version that fits into their narrow and evagelical view of "defined freedom".

I read this book on my journey to and back from work in a very busy city. Because of this book there were many a times when I missed my station as I found myself walking in the desert next to Asad, feeling what he felt. I also remember being extremely sad when this book came to and end, as it meant that I could not longer loose myself to Asad's world anymore.

I recommend this book as one of the greatest example of how the inhabitants of this world should look at each other and come to appreciate our differences. I also recommend this book to those who find that the modern world is an unnatural combination of automation and detachment of the soul. Infact where in the real desert Asad went and found the yearnings of his soul. In the modern world of the desert of trains and offices and city centres and subarbias, we have lost our souls.

Whatever road you take in your life to find peace and to look within your Soul, let Asad tell you his story as it would help you on the way.

Exhilirating adventure through arabia
probably one of the greatest books if not autobiographies ever written. of particular interest is Muhammad Asad's realization of the petty "materialistic world" the Europe is living in - compared to the spiritual inclination of the muslim world. he critically analyzes why Europe is living in a social, spiritual and moral vacuum as opposed to the muslim world. also a superb adventure with descriptions beyond imagination. from being a jounalist of a prestigious newspaper to a close associate of ibn saud of arabia - he even meets the Great Umar Mukhtar and tries to help them in the liberation against the Italians.

Please, please read - you will benefit - guaranteed to change your view of Islam and the West.