Muhammad Asad (2 July 1900 - 23 February 1992, Urdu: محمد اسد), born Leopold Weiss, was a journalist, traveller, writer, social critic, linguist, thinker, reformer, diplomat, political theorist, translator and scholar. Asad was one of the 20th century's most influential European Muslims.
In 1947, Asad was given Pakistani citizenship by the newly established Muslim state of Pakistan and appointed the Director of the Department of Islamic Reconstruction by the Government of Pakistan, where he made recommendations on the drafting of Pakistan's first Constitution. In 1949, Asad joined Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs as head of the Middle East Division and, in 1952, was appointed Pakistan's Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Nations in New York.
Muhammad Asad is famously known for his two publications - The Road to Mecca, a biographical account of his life up to the age of 32, his conversion to Islam from Judaism and his journey to Mecca, and his magnum opus, The Message of the Qur'an, a translation and commentary of the sacred book of Islam, the Qur'an.
In 2008 the entrance square to the UN Office in Vienna was named Muhammad Asad Platz in his honour. That is the first square in Austria to be named after a Muslim.
Read more about Muhammad Asad: Early Years, Weiss in Arabia, Conversion To Islam, Asad in British India and Pakistan, Later Years, Children, Publications, List of Publications, Documentary, Sources