15/07/2022
Here's an important (and little known) figure from the dawn of the American era... George Bethune English (d. 1828). He was an early American explorer, diplomat, and adventurer, as well as good friends with America's 4th President and Founding Father, James Madison. (He was also pen pals with John Adams, from time to time). Oh, AND he was a convert to Islam! So, in his youth, George B. English attended Harvard College, where he studied Christian theology, receiving his Masters in the subject in 1811. His dissertation even won a Bowdoin Prize. He also joined a poetry troupe called the "Hasty Pudding Club," which had John Quincy Adams as a coeval member (meaning, they would've known and interacted with one another). Furthermore, English was one of the few Christian theologians who actually read the Qu'ran (well before his official conversion, which would occur many years later). His Harvard theological studies did not bring him the certitude of faith he was seeking, however, and he eventually published a tract about the aetiology of his doubts, entitled, "The Grounds of Christianity Examined,"--which subsequently earned him an excommunication from his Church. (He went on to write three more books about his skepticism over the years, sometimes defending his views when others attempted to refute them). He eventually moved to America's frontier / great plains, where he dabbled in the budding Theosophy movement, learned the Cherokee language, and edited a frontier newspaper. In 1815, due to his many political connections, he was nominated by President Madison as a second lieutenant in the nascent Marine Officer's Corp, which, said duties quickly found him on a frigate heading to the Mediterranean countries, before the journey's terminus in Egypt. It was in North Africa where, most probably, Mr. English recounted the previous exploration of the Qu'ranic text during his Harvard days--only now he was seeing "Islam in practice," so to speak, and found himself in the court of Egypt's Ottoman Prefect, Muhammad Ali Pasha, wherein he could discuss matters with Cairo's Muslim intelligentsia. It was very soon after his arrival in Egypt that he resigned his commission with the Marine Corps, converted to Islam, and was employed by Ali Pasha as chief of Egyptian artilleries. In this latter capacity, George English had several adventurous travels up and down (what was then) the wild and untamed Nile river, meeting many fellow travelers, bandits, indigenous Bedouin Arabs, etc. He wrote a book about his adventures, titled, "A Narrative of the Expedition to Dongola and Sennaar."
In his later years, probably due to his conversion to Islam as well as his familiarity with Muslim culture (as well as his sustained political contacts in America), he once again served the U.S. as a diplomat in the Levant, eventually securing a lucrative trade agreement between America and the Ottoman empire. He finally returned to the U.S. in 1827, and died the following year.
It's important to note that, in modern times, some historians have tried to cast doubts on the genuineness of his conversion, saying that it was motivated by worldly concerns (as if they could examine the man's heart!) or that it was part of a ruse, and that he was in fact a spy--but this seems far-fetched. For one thing, this is mostly a modern idea. No contemporaries ever suggested or even hinted that his conversion to Islam was anything other than sincere. For another, the man publicized his conversion in the book about his Nile adventures--and he wrote the aforementioned book w/ the sole intent of making his views known, in case he died or was killed (he didn't believe he would survive the dangerous Nile journeys). Consider this excerpt from the book's prolegomenon:
"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘨𝘺𝘱𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴," he penned, continuing: "...𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘐𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘢; 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 (𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴) 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳..."
He went on to state that he didn't feel that "infidel" was a fair title to give to him (as many of his readers were shocked at his conversion, and gave him such disparaging titles--Islam was seen as a "stupid option" during the Enlightenment era, as far as religions went--a sentiment that continues 'til today, unfortunately. All of this gives further credence that his conversion was sincere, however). He also publicly defended his choosing of Islam over Christianity, intimating that his journeys throughout the Old Word, including Europe, Asia, and Africa had solidified his reasoning for rejecting the New Testament.
Further proof of his sincerity is that he made great efforts to correct any disparaging comments or slanders against Islam that he found brandied about in the popular literature of the day. He once wrote a tract refuting a contemporary intellectual, Professor Edward Everrett, who had unfairly characterized Islam. He also refuted older Islamophobic lies that had gained popular acceptance, such as those found in the works of Hugo Grotius.
Another example of his sincerity: One of English's critics, a British man named George Waddington, happened to meet him in Egypt. Shocked at his conversion, Waddington penned a pompous assessment of the reasons for English's conversion, most of which were presumptuous and false. When George English read the account (much after his sojourn in Egypt), he was irate. He himself gives an account of his reaction to the libelous slanders in one of his own books: "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘴. 𝘞𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘰, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱, 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘨𝘺𝘱𝘵. 𝘔𝘳. 𝘞𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘕𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴. 𝘖𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯, 𝘐 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘳. 𝘞𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢 '𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳,' 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳, 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺. 𝘔𝘳. 𝘞𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩". So, It seems unlikely that Mr. English would take the mischaracterization of his conversion so personally, were the conversion not a totally genuine one. In consideration with all of the above^ facts of the case, it seems more likely that a few modern historians have been unable to rid themselves of their own quasi-conscious anti-Islam sentiment, and, like George Bethune English's contemporaries, simply cannot fathom--for their own hastily concluded, prejudicial reasons--why an enlightened, Harvard educated, intelligent and brave American man from the time of America's founders, might sincerely convert to Islam. (But God knows best)! At any rate, if you're Muslim, a good thing to do this July 4th might be to recite a Fatiha for our brother & one of America's essential founding figures, akh George Bethune English (may ALLAH have mercy on his soul).
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