Murad Wilfried Hofmann (1931 – 13 January 2020) was a German diplomat and author. He wrote several books on
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, including ''Journey to Makkah'' () and ''Islam: The Alternative'' (). Many of his books and essays focused on Islam's place in the West and, after
11 September, in particular, in the United States. He was one of the signatories of
A Common Word Between Us and You
"A Common Word between Us and You" is an open letter, from October 13, 2007, from Muslim to Christian leaders. It calls for peace between Muslims and Christians and tries to work for common ground and understanding between both religions, in lin ...
, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.
Biography
Hofmann was born in
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat.
Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...
to an intellectual family related to
Hugo Ball
Hugo Ball (; 22 February 1886 – 14 September 1927) was a German author, poet, and essentially the founder of the Dada movement in European art in Zürich in 1916. Among other accomplishments, he was a pioneer in the development of sound poetry.
...
, a co-founder of
Dadaism
Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Paris ...
. Although raised a Catholic, he
converted to Islam in 1980. He studied at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. His conversion was met with some controversy due to his high profile in the German government.
[A brief biography at IslamOnline.net](_blank)
He converted to Islam as a result of what he witnessed in the
Algerian War of Independence
The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...
, his fondness for
Islamic art
Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide ra ...
, and what he saw as contradictions in
Paulist
Paulists, or Paulines, is the name used for Roman Catholic orders and congregations under the patronage of Paul of Thebes the First Hermit. From the time that the abode and virtues of Paul of Thebes were revealed to Antony the Abbot, various commu ...
Christian doctrine.
Hofmann served in the
German Foreign Service from 1961 to 1994. He first served in
Algeria
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as a specialist on issues concerning
nuclear
Nuclear may refer to:
Physics
Relating to the nucleus of the atom:
* Nuclear engineering
*Nuclear physics
*Nuclear power
*Nuclear reactor
*Nuclear weapon
*Nuclear medicine
*Radiation therapy
*Nuclear warfare
Mathematics
*Nuclear space
*Nuclear ...
defence. He went on to serve as Director of Information for
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
at
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
from 1983 to 1987, Ambassador to
Algeria
)
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, map_caption =
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, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
from 1987 to 1990, and Ambassador to
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
from 1990 to 1994.
Hofmann was an honorary member and advisor to the
Central Council of Muslims in Germany
The Central Council of Muslims in Germany (ZMD; german: Zentralrat der Muslime in Deutschland) is an Islamic organization in Germany. With 15,000 to 20,000 members, mainly Germans, German, German Arab, and Turks in Germany, German Turkish Musli ...
.
Commendations
*
Federal Cross of Merit
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
, Germany.
*
Commander of the Order of Merit, Italy.
*Order of Merit in the Arts and Sciences, 1st Class, Egypt.
*Grand Cordon
Publications
*1973 ''Of Beauty and the Dance: Towards an
Aesthetics
Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed thr ...
of Ballet'', in: Three Essays in Dance Aesthetic, Dance Perspectives No. 55, New York
*1981 ''Wie MBFR begann'', in: Im Dienste Deutschland und des Rechtes, Festschrift für Wilhelm G. Grewe, Nomos, Baden-Baden
*1984 ''Is NATO's Defence Policy facing a Crisis?'', in: Non-Nuclear War in Europe, Groningen University Press, Groningen
*1981 ''Ein philosophischer Weg zum Islam''
*1984 ''Zur Rolle der islamischen Philosophie''
*1985 ''Tagebuch eines deutschen Muslims''
*1992 ''Der Islam als Alternative'', Diederichs,
*1996 ''Reise nach Mekka'', Diederichs,
*1998 Überarbeitung der
Koran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...
übersetzung von
Max Henning, Istanbul und München
*2000 ''Der Islam im 3. Jahrtausend'', Diederichs-Hugendubel,
*2008 – 'Mustaqbal al-Islam fī al-Gharb wa-al-Sharq'
he Future of Islam in the West and the East
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
co-authored with
cAbd al-Majid al-Sharafī, published by Dar al-Fikr in Damascus, 2008
[A book review was placed in Al-Hayah, 3 May 2008 and reviewed by Arab-West Report]
2008, week 18, art. 27
See also
*
List of converts to Islam
The following is a list of people who converted to Islam from a different religion or no religion. This article addresses only past professions of faith by the individuals listed, and is not intended to address ethnic, cultural, or other co ...
*
Islam in Europe
Islam is the Religion in Europe, second-largest religion in Europe after Christianity. Although the majority of Muslim communities in Western Europe formed recently, there are centuries-old Muslim societies in the Balkans, Caucasus, Crimea, and ...
*
Muhammad Asad
Muhammad Asad, ( ar, محمد أسد , ur, , born Leopold Weiss; 2 July 1900 – 20 February 1992) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Pakistani journalist, traveler, writer, linguist, political theorist and diplomat. He was a Jew but, later conve ...
References
External links
* , an essay by Hofmann
islamicity.com – Los Angeles Times: U.S. Freedoms Give American Muslims Influence Beyond Their Numbersquotes Hofmann.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofmann, Murad Wilfried
People from Aschaffenburg
1931 births
2020 deaths
German Sunni Muslims
German former Christians
Ambassadors of Germany to Algeria
Ambassadors of Germany to Morocco
Converts to Islam from Roman Catholicism
Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Harvard University alumni
German male writers
Date of birth missing