Intro
Dr. Shaikh Muhammad Abdullah was born a Muslim in 1898, however, he converted to Lahori-ism in 1919. He was born in Rasul Nagar, Punjab, he had earned a B.Sc. and a M.Sc. at Forman Christian College.

After serving as joint secretary of the Ahmadi in Lahore in 1927, he was appointed deputy imam of the Berlin mosque in 1928 and subsequently earned a Ph.D. in chemistry at Berlin University in 1932. Imam Abdullah praised the regime while leading public tours of the mosque, and he made important changes to stock lectures, incorporating Nazi neologisms. He made further overtures to the Nazi regime in the summer of 1938.

He was the Lahori-Ahmadi Imam and missionary at the Berlin Mosque, Germany, from 1928 to 1939.

After WW-2 started and Hitler deported him, he went to the UK and at the Mosque in Woking, England, after the war till his death in 1956. This article by him in English was published in The Light, 1 January 1952.

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1898
A Mighty Striving, 2020 edition

He is born.
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1914
A Mighty Striving, 2020 edition

In 1914, Maulana Muhammad Ali was on a speaking tour and at Lyallpur [now Faisal
abad, Pakistan] when I was a boy of about 16 years and he came to deliver a lecture there. I remember very well the title of the subject on which he addressed the audience in Lyallpur, that is ‘The Beauties of Islam’. This talk of his impressed me very much and infused in me the zeal for further religious knowledge.
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1915-1921
A Mighty Striving, 2020 edition

He was a student at the Punjab University in Lahore and would go the Ahmadiyya buildings and listen to Maulvi Muhammad Ali gives speeches. By 1919, he converted to Ahmadiyya.
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1921

In the year 1921 Dr. Shaikh Muhammad Abdullah visited Maulvi Muhammad Ali in Simla and stayed with him for a week or so, during which I had an opportunity of studying Maulvi Muhammad Ali from closer quarters. Maulvi Muhammad Ali’s zeal and devotion for the cause of Islam impressed me very much.

In the year 1922 I resigned from a Government post and came to Lahore in order to learn more from this great leader and teacher.

During the summer recess of the year 1923, when I was a professor at the Islamia College, Lahore, I had the good fortune of spending some two months in his company at Dalhousie and learnt a lot from this great savant and man of learning.

I remember very well my attending his learned discourses in the Quran during the month of Ramadan in the year 1924, which added a great deal to my knowledge of the Quran and Hadith.
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1923

He is mentioned in “The Light”, March 1, 1923 and from Islamia College in Lahore.
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1927

After serving as joint secretary of the Ahmadi in Lahore in 1927, he was appointed deputy imam of the Berlin mosque in 1928, and subsequently earned a Ph.D. in chemistry at Berlin University in 1932. Imam Abdullah praised the regime while leading public tours of the mosque, and he made important changes to stock lectures, incorporating Nazi neologisms. He made further overtures to the Nazi regime in the summer of 1938.
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1928–1939
A Mighty Striving, 2020 edition

Dr. Shaikh Muhammad Abdullah was the Anjuman’s Imam and missionary at the Berlin Mosque, Germany, from 1928 to 1939.

In October 1928, Maulana Durrani returned to Lahore and joined the editorial staff of the Muslim Outlook. Then he started a monthly by the name of Muslim India. In 1928, he wrote a throught-provoking book, The Future of Islam in India.

As has been mentioned earlier, the Mission incurred a debt of twenty thousand German Marks during the tenure of Maulana Durrani. To take his place, Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah set off for Berlin on March 28, 1928.
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1929
The history of #Ahmadiyya in #Germany – ahmadiyyafactcheckblog

In January 1924, Maulana Sadr-ud-Din started the publication of a quarterly magazine in German called Muslimisch Revue in the style of The Islamic Review, the monthly magazine of the Woking Muslim Mission, England. Most of the articles were contributed by newly converted German Muslim scholars such as Dr. Hamid Marcus, Dr. Khalid Banning and Dr. Arif Griffelt. The magazine also featured translations of articles written by Maulana Muhammad Ali and Maulvi Abdul Majid. The periodical soon became popular not only in Germany but also in Yugoslavia, Hungary, Albania and other neighbouring countries. Its articles, translated into Croatian and other local languages, carried the message of Islam to a wider section of people in the region. More than half of the German Muslim converts entered the fold of Islam after reading its articles. Due to certain financial difficulties its publication remained suspended for two years, but by the efforts of Dr. S. Muhammad Abdullah it was re-started in 1929 and it continued its publication till 1939, when the Second World War began and it had to be stopped.
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1930
https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2019/10/19/a-brief-history-of-the-lahori-ahmadi-mission-germany-1922-2017/

In January 1930, various efforts were undertaken to pay off the mortgage against the Berlin Mosque. In September 1930, Dr. K.A. Khan, a devoted member of the Jama‘at made 88 shares of Rs.125 each, that is, the sum of money for which the Berlin Mosque was mortgaged, and appealed to the people to buy these shares. After hard struggle and great monetary sacrifices of the members and supporters of the Jama`at for nearly two years, and the tireless efforts of Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, the mortgage was finally paid off in November 1932.

The German Muslim Society was formed on March 22, 1930. Its officers were:

President:		Dr. Hamid Marcus
General Secretary:		Professor Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah (M.Sc., Ph.D)
Assistant Secretary:		Mr. Umar Shoebert
Muslim Members:		Muhammad Tufail Ahmad (Engineer) Dr. Abul Hassan Mansur Ph.D.
Non-Muslim Members:		Mrs. Rodgez Mr.George Gotsegh

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1931-1932

Later on in the year 1931, the German Muslim Society arranged a tea party in honour of Allama Shakieb Arsalan on his visit to the Mosque. Among the distinguished guests who attended the party were the Afghan and Iranian ambassadors and the Minister of Education, Berlin, who appreciated the activities of the Jama‘at for the propagation of Islam. This year, for the first time, an hour-long programme about Eid al-Fitr was broadcast on radio all over Germany. On this occasion, a Ph.D. student at the Munich University accepted Islam; she was given the Islamic name Safia. In June, Dr. Abdullah delivered lectures at the Theosophical Society and the American Church. In July, a meeting was held to celebrate the birthday of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. In September, Dr. Abdullah attended the meeting of the executive committee of World Religions Conference at Geneva. The objective of the Conference was to arrange a special convention in 1932 on the subject, “The Spiritual Power of Religion can produce True Happiness and Peace in the World”. The special feature of the Conference was that participants who could not attend it, would have their papers on the subject read out. Dr. Abdullah proposed the names of Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ali and Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal. On his way back, Dr. Abdullah met Allama Shakieb Arsalan.
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1934–1939
https://www.aaiil.org/german/germanholyquran/germanholyqurantranslationcommentary.shtml

Maulana Sadr-ud-Din used to prepare translation and commentary of the Holy Quran in English. Then Dr. Mansoor would translate them into German. In this manner the translation of the Holy Qur’an in German was completed under the supervision of Maulana Sadr-ud-Din in February 1934. While the translation work was being done, Syed Mustafa Ahmad, a zealous member of the Jama’at, donated four hundred Rupees every month for the translation work, for a period of two years. In this manner, in all, he donated a sum of ten thousand Rupees. Some financial difficulties were encountered during the last stages of the work. However, Maulana Sadr-ud-Din’s appeal and generous contributions of certain members of the Jama`at enabled him to get it published in Berlin.

Members of the Jama‘at contributed generously towards the German translation of the Holy Qur’an. Several people outside the Jama‘at also gave financial support towards this important religious publication, among which a donation of Rs. 500 by the Princess of Manavar is worthy of mention.

In connection with the printing of the German translation, Maulana Sadr-ud-Din went to Berlin again in April 1937. He completed all the arrangements for the printing in a period of nine months and returned in December 1937. The supervision of proof reading and printing was done very diligently by Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah. At the end of 1937, for about six months, during the absence of Dr. Abdullah, Dr. Nazeer-ul-Islam served as Acting Imam of the Mosque and also looked after the proof-reading and printing of the Translation. Finally, in June 1939, by the Grace and Mercy of Allah, this Translation was printed at a cost of Rs. 15,000 and came out of press in August 1939.

In March 1937, Dr. Mirza Aziz-ur-Rahman, who had completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Berlin University, started preparations to return to his homeland. He delivered an extremely scholarly lecture on “The Future of Islam in Europe” in a meeting. On the 23^rd March, the German Muslim Society held a farewell party in his honour, at which Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, Dr. Devor Stunt, Mr. Abud Ibrahim Iraqi and Professor Tara Chand Roy Dehlavi greatly appreciated his learned contributions and services to the Berlin Mission.

On May 6, 1937, a reception was hosted by the German Muslim Society in honour of Maulana Sadr-ud-Din, in which Mr.Hikmat Bayar, Dr. Hamid Marcus and Professor Mirza Hassan Mu‘allam praised his services to the religion of Islam. In the same month, the Birthday of the Holy Prophet Muhammad was celebrated in which Hazrat Maulana Sadr-ud-Din explained distinguishing features of the personality of the Holy Prophet Muhammad in a very impressive manner. In the month of July, in a meeting of the German Muslim Society, an excellent lecture on the topic “The Revelations of Prophets” was delivered by Baron Faun Horest, a new German Muslim. He explained how the teachings of the prophets instil a new life into their adherents. In this meeting, Hazrat Maulana Sadr-ud-Din read out some sections of the German translation of the Holy Quran. The participants became inspired at the news of the forth-coming German translation of the Qur’an and highly appreciated it. In September, Dr. Muhammad Abdullah went to India for six months. In his absence, the responsibilities of running the Mission were borne by Professor Dr. Nazeer-ul-Islam, Ph.D.

The German translation of the Holy Quran was published in August 1937. However, in September, unfortunately, the Second World War broke out and Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah was forced to leave Berlin. He went first to Copenhagen (Denmark) and then returned to his homeland from there.

As the clouds of the Second World War loomed on the horizon, Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah became anxious about the future of the Mission because, being a British citizen, he would be compelled to leave Germany in case of war. At first, a German doctor and his wife volunteered to look after the Mosque and the Mission House and to bear their expenses, but soon the doctor had to join the armed forces and was killed in action and his wife also left the city. Finally, the responsibility of the Mosque and Mission House was entrusted to an energetic German Muslim lady, Mrs. Amina Mosler . In the past, she, too, had participated in the activities of the Society. She had already founded the Women’s League through which she had done commendable welfare work in various fields of the society. This pious lady faithfully and courageously looked after the Mission during the War and kept the Mosque alive in the most difficult conditions.
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https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2019/10/19/a-brief-history-of-the-lahori-ahmadi-mission-germany-1922-2017/

Dr. Nazir-ul-Islam is named Asstt. Imam.

On January 17, 1938, a meeting was held under the presidentship of Sir Abdul Qadir at the Y.M.C.A Hall, Lahore, in which Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah delivered a splendid lecture on the subject “The Future of Islam in Europe”. On January 20, Dr. Abdullah left for Makkah to perform the Hajj. After discharging this holy duty, he had two meetings with Syed Jamil Daud, the Foreign Secretary of Saudi Arabia, and informed him of the activities of the Berlin Mission. He also had a meeting with Shah Ibn Saud which was arranged by Maulana Ismail Ghaznavi.

In February 1938, the Eid al-Azha sermon was delivered by Dr. Nazeer-ul-Islam. A meeting of the German Muslim Society under the presidentship of Mr. Khalid Zuyler was held in the same month, in which Mr. R. H. Goltmaz, a secretary in the German Government, delivered a remarkable lecture on “The Influence of the Religions of the World on the Nations of the World”. In April 1938, when Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah returned to Berlin, Dr. Nazeer-ul-Islam returned to his homeland.
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1939
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmadiyya_in_Germany

Maulana Sadr-ud-Din, wrote the first German translation of the Quran in cooperation with the German convert Hugo Marcus. This translation was published in 1939. Hugo Marcus was officially on the payroll of the Lahori-Ahmadi’s. Hugo Marcus fled to British-India with the help of the Lahori-Ahmadi’s. Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah was forced to leave Berlin.

As the clouds of the Second World War loomed on the horizon, Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah became anxious about the future of the Mission because, being a British citizen, he would be compelled to leave Germany in case of war. At first, a German doctor and his wife volunteered to look after the Mosque and the Mission House and to bear their expenses, but soon the doctor had to join the armed forces and was killed in action and his wife also left the city. Finally, the responsibility of the Mosque and Mission House was entrusted to an energetic German Muslim lady, Mrs. Amina Mosler . In the past, she, too, had participated in the activities of the Society. She had already founded the Women’s League through which she had done commendable welfare work in various fields of the society. This pious lady faithfully and courageously looked after the Mission during the War and kept the Mosque alive in the most difficult conditions.
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1939-1949
A Mighty Striving, 2020 edition

He became an Imam at the Woking Mosque.

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1945-1947

Berlin Mosque survives the Second World War The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement has cause to remember Berlin at the end of the Second World War and express gratitude to Almighty Allah that its Mosque situated in Berlin survived the terrible, wholesale destruction of the German Capital during and, especially, towards the end of the war. In the archives of the organs of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, some reports of that period are to be found, from which we quote below. In The Light, its English organ, dated 1 September 1945, a news item is reproduced from a newspaper, Dawn, New Delhi, of 14 August 1945, under the heading: BERLIN MOSQUE HAS SURVIVED WAR It reads as follows: Berlin, August 12 — The Berlin Mosque, which Muslim missionaries from India built in 1927, has survived the war though it has suffered considerable damage and its dome has been knocked in, writes Reuter’s Berlin correspondent. The Mosque, which stands in Briener Strasse in the Wilmersdorf part of Berlin now in the British zone, has its minaret intact from where the Muezzin calls the faithful to prayers. Six zealous women have worked five weeks repairing the damage to make the Mosque fit again for congregational prayers. Amina Mosler, a middle-aged Muslim German woman, who looks after the Mosque these days, said: “Although the Mosque suffered a good deal of minor damage from blast during bombings it remained in a reasonably good condition until the end of April [1945] when street battles were fought. SS men dug in the Mosque garden and Russians were attacking from the Wilmersdorf cemetery. The Mosque was hit by handy shells. When the fighting ceased there were 14 dead SS men lying in the Mosque.” Amina described how they had been working on repairs for the past five weeks and said: “One of our difficulties is money as our bank account has been blocked by Russian authorities, and so far we have not been able to clear it. “During the war we had as many as 6000 Muslims in our community but many went away or went home towards the end, and there are only a few hundred now. We meet to pray on Saturday evening and Sunday, as Friday is a working day, and owing to transport and other difficulties people find it hard to come. We have arranged a room in our house for prayer until such time as the Mosque has been fully repaired. “When fighting ceased around the Mosque we hung out a huge red flag with the words ‘Britain Indian property’ on it and we have not been molested in any way. Our printing shop, where we printed religious books, has been almost entirey destroyed.” Speaking of German Muslims Amina said: “We lost nearly a dozen of our best young men during the war, most of them dying on the Russian front. A particularly keen Moslem Amin Wolff, who was killed in Italy, wrote a brochure on faith not long before he died.” She did not see any Indian prisoners of war but added: “I understand that some were imprisoned near our other Mosque at Schwatzinoen* near Heidelberg, and that they were able to worship there. I saw some Muslims from Turkestan and other areas who had been in the Russian army and had been captured by the Germans and then joined the German army. I tried to persuade those I saw not to fight for the Nazis and to show them the unpleasant side of Nazism, but I am afraid it was not much good in most cases as they were carried away by what they thought was the ideal.” — The Light, 1 September 1945, p. 4 *Schwetzingen is meant. Upon receipt of the above news, Maulana Muhammad Ali, Head of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, wrote an article in the Movement’s Urdu journal, Paigham Sulh, under the heading Congratulations to the Jama‘at (the word Jama‘at refers to the Lahore Ahmadyya community). He wrote: Berlin has been destroyed. It met with such destruction that makes the destruction of London, Warsaw and Stalingrad pale into insignificance. Fire from the skies rained down upon it day and night, and thousands of tons of bombs were dropped on it, and this went on for two or three years. In the end a nation bent on revenge attacked it, a nation that had suffered untold loss, and whose cities, industry and agriculture had been utterly destroyed by German forces, and it reduced the buildings of the city to rubble. Those who saw it said that neither London nor Warsaw nor yet Stalingrad was destroyed; if any place was destroyed it was Berlin. But a correspondent of Reuter from this ruined city informs us today that the Berlin Mosque is still standing. A poor Jama‘at built a house of God in this city. The Jama‘at did not do it for purposes of show and display. Who was going to go there to see what we had built? This Jama‘at had donated its money towards building the House of God and prayed humbly: ‘Our Lord, accept this little effort from us’. I remember that scene when there was a handful of women present at our annual gathering and the appeal came from our missionary in Berlin that there were no funds left to erect the minarets. I immediately appealed to this small group of women and Allah opened their hearts so much so that many thousands of Rupees were raised by a few women of a small Jama‘at. So today I congratulate my Jama‘at, that Allah the Most High has shown the manifest sign that He has accepted their sacrifice, and today Reuter’s correspondent has informed the world of what we had no power to do: that God saved His house in the ruined city.… Today God has shown the world that whatever He wishes to protect, He can keep it safe even in the raging fire.… He saved it in the burning fire as His Hand is with this Jama‘at and with the man who set this Jama‘at on this task. My friends, come and fall in prostration before God that He showed such a magnificent sign for us sinners and unworthy people, a sign of His power, and a sign that He exists. This is nothing but His mercy. We were not worthy of it, but His recognition of effort has no bounds, and thus He valued so greatly just a small effort by us. — Translated from Paigham Sulh, 22 August 1945, p. 4 The following item is written in The Light by Dr. S.M. Abdullah, who at the time of writing was the General Secretary at the Centre of the Movement in Lahore. He had served as Imam of the Berlin Mosque during the 1930s, leaving shortly before war broke out in 1939. After the war, he was again placed in charge of the Berlin mission, while also serving as Imam at the Woking Mosque in England. Berlin Mosque Intact It is nothing less than a miracle that the Berlin Mosque, which was built by the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam, Lahore, in the year 1927 has survived the ravages of the war. Berlin has been destroyed, ruined and bombed in a manner unprecedented in the history of the world. That the Berlin Mosque where actual bombing, shelling and fighting has taken place should have escaped destruction is a clear sign of the hand of the Almighty God working behind the scene. It also shows the purity and sincerity of the purpose with which the handful members of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement are working for the noble and sublime cause of the propagation of Islam in Europe. It also shows the enthusiasm and devotion to Islam with which these new converts are imbibed. Six zealous women have worked five weeks repairing the damage to make the mosque fit again for congregational prayers and that at a time when there were no funds available and when they themselves stood in need of every possible help to keep soul and body together. This shows their ardent zeal and devoutness for Islam, the religion they profess. Let such our Muslim brethren as oppose our humble efforts and services to the cause of Islam pause and ponder over their attitude. Can they not see the hand of God working with and helping this Movement? Let me assure my brethren in Islam that this Movement which was founded by the Reformer of the present century is bound to succeed as it aims at the establishment of the universal truth of Islam. Let our brethren in faith come forward and join us in pushing forward the cause of Islam in the world, especially in Europe, which needs it most at the present juncture of world history. Islam as represented and interpreted by the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement is the only panacea for all the existing and prevailing evils of the present-day world. To the members of the Ahmadiyya Movement, the news of this Providential protection of the Mosque has come as a fresh message of hope and cheer. It has filled them with conviction that this Mosque is destined to play a distinct role in the spiritual reconstruction of Berlin that now lies torn and bleeding, materially as well as spiritually. The German people stand rudely shaken and disillusioned — just the mood of mind to receive the message of universal human equality that Islam is. That is what the Hand of Providence has preserved the Mosque for. Dr. S. M. Abdullah General Secretary, Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat-i-Islam, Ahmadiyya Buildings, Lahore — The Light, 18 September 1945, pages 4–5 A little later, two news items were published in The Light in its issue of December 1945 (p. 1) under the headings The Berlin Mosque and Missionary for Berlin. The first mentions some of the damage to the Mosque during “the war that was fought even within its sacred precincts”, it reports that with Berlin being divided into East and West “the Mosque is situated is under the British Army of occupation”, and it ends by saying that the Mosque “gave physical and spiritual shelter to hundreds of prisoners of war from the Allied countries throughout the trying years of the war.” The second states: “The Anjuman is also very anxious that normal activities should be resumed at the Islamic Mission Berlin as soon as possible. For this too it has to look up to the good offices of the British military authorities in occupation of Berlin Dr. Sh. Muhammad Abdullah, M.Sc., Ph.D., missionary in charge who had to quit Berlin ar the outbreak of war is already packing.” In 1947, the following report appeared under the heading Imam back in Berlin: Dr. Shaikh Muhammad Abdullah, M.Sc., Ph.D., Imam of the Mosque, Berlin, it will be recalled, had to quit Germany at the outbreak of war. At the termination of war, this Anjuman was anxious that the activities at the Mosque should be resumed as early as possible. Military occupation, food condition and general dislocation of life in that once Naziland, however, made the prospects of reopening the Mosque and its allied missionary activities extremely gloomy. Even in December last, when the Anjuman decided to take the first step in this direction at any cost and sent Dr. Abdullah to England to study conditions from that quarter, the prospects were none too bright either. It was a leap in the dark and it was almost a settled fact that for sometime to come the Imam will have to mark time and keep himself occupied with some sort of missionary work in England. God, however, comes to the help of those who move in His way. Dr. Abdullah has been afforded every facility to visit Berlin by the authorities of British occupation. Life in Berlin being still in military control, he has been invested with the Honorary rank of a full Colonel which will enable him to enjoy all the facilities associated with that position. — The Light, 8 February 1947, p. 3 Underneath this is a report headed Berlin Mosque’s S.O.S., which is reproduced below: Maulana Muhammad Ali, Head of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, has issued an appeal for funds for the repair of the Berlin Mosque, which was damaged in the last phase of the war when Nazi resistance took the form of street fighting. When after victory the Allied forces entered Berlin, the Mosque was found littered with the dead bodies of Nazi youth. According to the estimate received from a Berlin architect the repairs will cost Rs. 92,000, prices and wages having risen four times compared to pre-war rates. The appeal gives two photographs — one showing the Mosque as it originally stood, the other in its present damaged condition. Should this S.O.S. from this House of God bestir the heart of any son of Islam and he would like to see this sole beacon of Light Divine in the dark heart of Christian Europe restored to its original dignity, he may send his contribution to the Financial Secretary, Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam, Lahore.

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1949

In May 1949, Muhammad Aman Hobohm ¾ a zealous German Muslim belonging to the northern German city of Leubec, was appointed as the Assistant Imam. Since his youth, he was interested in the comparative study of the teachings, history and culture of other religions. He had just started to form an organisation to promote this object when the Second World War broke out and he could not keep in touch with people. Immediately after the War, he happened to read Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ali’s booklet, Islam the Religion of Humanity, and this booklet guided him towards the truth of Islam. Then he studied other books by Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ali and finally he accepted Islam. In October 1947, he joined the Jama‘at after corresponding with Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ali. Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ali’s renowned book, The New World Order, was published in October, 1948. When Bro. Muhammad Aman Hobohm read it, he immediately sought permission to translate it into German. In this way, he was engaged in religious service on his own. Then he was selected for the Berlin Mission. For some time he remained under the training of Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah in Woking, after which, in May 1949, he started his work as the Assistant Imam of the Berlin Mosque.

On May 14, 1949, a special reception was held in Berlin presided over by Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, who was at that time in charge of the Woking Muslim Mission and was also responsible for the Berlin Mission. At this function, Bro. Muhammad Aman Hobohm’s appointment as the Assistant Imam was officially announced and he was introduced to the local German Muslims and other notables of the city. The reception was attended by more than two hundred Muslims. Details of the reception were broadcast through the world-renowned news agency, Reuters. A report about the function along with a brief history of the Mosque was also published by Pakistani newspapers.

Bro. Muhammad Aman Hobohm was proficient both in German and English. He also knew Arabic, French and Latin. Hence, during his term he started publication of a magazine called The Orient Post in three languages ¾ Arabic, English and German ¾ but due to financial difficulties it could not be continued for long. For the first time in the history of the Berlin Mosque and Mission, a German Muslim was made the Imam, but in spite of being a German he had to face bitter opposition.
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1951
Dr S.M. Abdullah, outside the Woking Mosque, 6 May 1951

 

Dr. S. M. Abdullah, Imam of the Woking Mosque

Photographs scanned from prints in private collection

Visit of the Iraqi Press delegation, 13th April 1951
(typed caption on back of photo)

Left: Major J.W.B. Farmer; Centre: Dr. S. M. Abdullah

The Woking Mosque Visitors Book 1948–1954 shows that what must be members of this delegation made entries in that book under the above date. Their entries are as follows:

Faisal Harroun Ali	Liwa Elistiqlal Newspaper, Baghdad, Iraq
Abdul Aziz Barkaat	Owner of Al-Barid, Basra, Iraq
A.M. Werdawi	Editor of “Sadal Ahali”

Visit of the Sultan of Kedah, 6th May 1951 (typed caption on back of photo) Left: Mr. Ismail De Yorke of the British Muslim Society; Centre: Sultan of Kedah; Right: Dr. S.M. Abdullah Note: Kedah is a state in Malaysia. For further information about the Kedah monarchy see this official website. The Sultan in the photo must be Sultan Badlishah, as he was Sultan from 1943 to 1958. Syrian Press Delegates visiting the Mosque, 13th August 1951 (typed caption on back of photo) Dr. S.M. Abdullah is in the centre of the second row; in front of him is Mrs. Abdullah (with the boy) The Woking Mosque Visitors Book 1948–1954 under this date contains entries of six persons from Syria, with names of various Arabic newspapers. Dr. S. M. Abdullah with a group of “Northern Nigerian Administrators”, 31 August 1951 Standing, from right: Prince Ibrahim Mustafa of Nigeria (3rd), Major J.W.B. Farmer (6th), Dr. Abdullah (9th) Seated, from right: Rashida Abdullah, daughter of Dr. Abdullah (1st), Mrs. Farmer (2nd), Mrs. Mahmuda Abdullah, wife of Dr. Abdullah (3rd), Khalid Abdullah, son of Dr. Abdullah (7th) Below is a scan of the caption on the back of this photograph: A Muslim Wedding at the Woking Mosque, Saturday, 10th November 1951 Left: Dr. S. M. Abdullah Delivering sermon at an Eid function (between 1951 to 1954)  18 February 2020 Assistant Imam, Maulana Tufail seated on ground facing the congregation

This website is created and published by the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore (U.K.), Wembley, London, the successor of the Woking Muslim Mission.

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1954
British Pathe newsreel from 3 June 1954 showing Dr Abdullah leading Eid prayers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwpo59MJrVU

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1956
A Mighty Striving, 2020 edition
The following obituary of Dr. Abdullah appeared in The Islamic Review, September 1956, on p. 37.

He died.

The sudden and tragic death in May last of Dr. S M. Abdullah, Imam of the Shah Jehan Mosque, Woking, was flashed throughout the world by many a news agency and radio station, and hit newspaper headlines in Britain, Pakistan, India, and most of the Muslim countries. The full story, however yet remains to be recorded and preserved to serve as an inspiration to posterity, especially those to whom it may be given to make the dissemination of the light of Islam their life mission. And no journal better deserves this honour and privilege than this organ of the Woking Muslim Mission and Literary Trust, Woking, which Dr. Abdullah served so well and so long, and in whose service he actually laid down his life.

Those who had the opportunity to come into contact with Dr. S. M. Abdullah could not miss one outstanding feature of his personality. He was out and out a man of faith. Faith in God was the sheet-anchor of his life, the keynote of his personality. And that made him what he was — a man of deep devotion with an unshakable faith in the destiny of Islam. If his devotion was excelled by any other of his qualities, it was his unassuming humility, transparent candour and human touch in all his dealings. As to his integrity, the difference of a few pence in the Mission accounts gave him sleepless nights, and he knew no peace of mind until the account had been adjusted. Besides scrupulous observance of all the imperative dictates of the Shari‘ah, he never missed the voluntary devotional practice of Tahajjud prayer in small hours of the night. Indeed, there lay the main source from which he drew aspiration and strength to maintain the high standards of personal conduct associated with the life of a missionary of Islam. He was not the kind of missionary who considers his job done when he has delivered a sermon. He lived what he preached. It was this kind of truly Islamic life which won Dr. Abdullah the esteem and respect of a very wide circle, both in Britain and his home country.

Born in a Village, Rasoolnagar, in the Province of the former Punjab, in 1898, Dr. S. M. Abdullah received his early education in Sialkot. University education brought him to Lahore, the provincial capital, and intellectual and religious nerve-centre of the Muslims of the then Northern India. Here he came into impact with a religious luminary, the Maulana Muhammad Ali, and the virile Islamic movement under his leadership which was capturing the minds of the Muslim intelligentsia. A man of his devout cast of mind could not remain unaffected, and he threw in his lot with that movement. This imparted his personality the leaven which in the fullness of time made him renounce his all in the cause of Islam.[1]

After taking his M.Sc. degree from the University of the Punjab, Dr. S. M. Abdullah took a government job as an industrial surveyor, but since frequent touring interfered with his religious studies under the tutorship of the Maulana Muhammad Ali, he resigned after a year, and joined the staff of the Lahore Islamia College as a Lecturer in Physics, in order to be able to satisfy his passion for religious quest. Even this job he quitted after four years when a call came to him to take charge of the Muslim Mission at Berlin, which had been set up only a few years earlier. Incidentally, it was during his stay at Berlin that he acquired from the University of Berlin the academical distinction — Ph.D. in chemistry. He worked as the Imam of the Berlin Mosque for full ten years (1928–39) when, owing to the outbreak of World War II, it became impossible for him to stay in Hitler’s Germany, India at the time being a British dependency and, as such, supposed to be a country at war with the Axis Powers. On his return home he was entrusted with the duties of the organization’s Secretary-Genera1,[2] which office he filled with distinction till 1946, when he was called upon to assume charge of the Woking Muslim Mission and Literary Trust.

He devoted another ten years of his life to the service of this Mission when his life was cut short, and on 19th May 1956 his numerous friends and admirers were shocked to hear that the heart trouble which he had developed owing to over-straining himself in the service of the Mission took a sudden turn for the worse one evening, and within a few hours put out the light that kept burning in the Shah Jehan Mosque for ten long years.

And there in the quiet loneliness of the Brookwood Cemetery, lies buried that indefatigable servant of Islam, thousands of miles away from his hearth and home. Dr. S. M. Abdullah is no more, but by the way he faced life and death, in a good and noble cause, he has blazed a path for all those who have faith in Islam as a destiny and hope of mankind, to come forward and keep the torch of Islam burning.

Dr. Abdullah leaves a widow, one daughter and three sons.

Footnotes to the above obituary by this website:

[1] The movement under the leadership of Maulana Muhammad Ali, mentioned here, is the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore, or the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement.

[2] He was General-Secretary of the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore.

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Shown below is the image of the obituary of Dr Abdullah which was published in The Times, London, dated 21 May 1956 on page 10.

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For Dr Abdullah’s reports from the Berlin Mosque and Mission during the 1930s, please visit this link of our Berlin website.
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1959
The history of #Ahmadiyya in #Germany – ahmadiyyafactcheckblog

In November 1959, Maulana Butt took charge of the Berlin Mission. Since no proper Imam had been sent to Berlin for a long time after Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, the headlines of the local newspapers heralded the arrival of Maulana Butt. Maulana Muhammad Yahya Butt served as the Imam of the Berlin Mosque for twenty-seven years and four months ¾ a considerably long period of time (uptil 1987). Through his efforts, one hundred and seventy-five people entered the fold of Lahori-Ahmadism.

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Dr Shaikh Muhammad Abdullah

 

 Dr Shaikh Muhammad Abdullah (1898 –1956)

Imam of the Woking Mosque, 1946–1956

Imam of the Berlin Mosque, 1928–1939

Dr S.M. Abdullah, outside the Woking Mosque, 6 May 1951

More photographs of Dr Abdullah are here: link 1 • link 2 • link 3

British Pathe newsreel from 3 June 1954 showing Dr Abdullah leading Eid prayers

The following obituary of Dr. Abdullah appeared in The Islamic Review, September 1956, on p. 37.

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The sudden and tragic death in May last of Dr. S M. Abdullah, Imam of the Shah Jehan Mosque, Woking, was flashed throughout the world by many a news agency and radio station, and hit newspaper headlines in Britain, Pakistan, India, and most of the Muslim countries. The full story, however yet remains to be recorded and preserved to serve as an inspiration to posterity, especially those to whom it may be given to make the dissemination of the light of Islam their life mission. And no journal better deserves this honour and privilege than this organ of the Woking Muslim Mission and Literary Trust, Woking, which Dr. Abdullah served so well and so long, and in whose service he actually laid down his life.

Those who had the opportunity to come into contact with Dr. S. M. Abdullah could not miss one outstanding feature of his personality. He was out and out a man of faith. Faith in God was the sheet-anchor of his life, the keynote of his personality. And that made him what he was — a man of deep devotion with an unshakable faith in the destiny of Islam. If his devotion was excelled by any other of his qualities, it was his unassuming humility, transparent candour and human touch in all his dealings. As to his integrity, the difference of a few pence in the Mission accounts gave him sleepless nights, and he knew no peace of mind until the account had been adjusted. Besides scrupulous observance of all the imperative dictates of the Shari‘ah, he never missed the voluntary devotional practice of Tahajjud prayer in small hours of the night. Indeed, there lay the main source from which he drew aspiration and strength to maintain the high standards of personal conduct associated with the life of a missionary of Islam. He was not the kind of missionary who considers his job done when he has delivered a sermon. He lived what he preached. It was this kind of truly Islamic life which won Dr. Abdullah the esteem and respect of a very wide circle, both in Britain and his home country.

Born in a Village, Rasoolnagar, in the Province of the former Punjab, in 1898, Dr. S. M. Abdullah received his early education in Sialkot. University education brought him to Lahore, the provincial capital, and intellectual and religious nerve-centre of the Muslims of the then Northern India. Here he came into impact with a religious luminary, the Maulana Muhammad Ali, and the virile Islamic movement under his leadership which was capturing the minds of the Muslim intelligentsia. A man of his devout cast of mind could not remain unaffected, and he threw in his lot with that movement. This imparted his personality the leaven which in the fullness of time made him renounce his all in the cause of Islam.[1]

After taking his M.Sc. degree from the University of the Punjab, Dr. S. M. Abdullah took a government job as an industrial surveyor, but since frequent touring interfered with his religious studies under the tutorship of the Maulana Muhammad Ali, he resigned after a year, and joined the staff of the Lahore Islamia College as a Lecturer in Physics, in order to be able to satisfy his passion for religious quest. Even this job he quitted after four years when a call came to him to take charge of the Muslim Mission at Berlin, which had been set up only a few years earlier. Incidentally, it was during his stay at Berlin that he acquired from the University of Berlin the academical distinction — Ph.D. in chemistry. He worked as the Imam of the Berlin Mosque for full ten years (1928–39) when, owing to the outbreak of World War II, it became impossible for him to stay in Hitler’s Germany, India at the time being a British dependency and, as such, supposed to be a country at war with the Axis Powers. On his return home he was entrusted with the duties of the organization’s Secretary-Genera1,[2] which office he filled with distinction till 1946, when he was called upon to assume charge of the Woking Muslim Mission and Literary Trust.

He devoted another ten years of his life to the service of this Mission when his life was cut short, and on 19th May 1956 his numerous friends and admirers were shocked to hear that the heart trouble which he had developed owing to over-straining himself in the service of the Mission took a sudden turn for the worse one evening, and within a few hours put out the light that kept burning in the Shah Jehan Mosque for ten long years.

And there in the quiet loneliness of the Brookwood Cemetery, lies buried that indefatigable servant of Islam, thousands of miles away from his hearth and home. Dr. S. M. Abdullah is no more, but by the way he faced life and death, in a good and noble cause, he has blazed a path for all those who have faith in Islam as a destiny and hope of mankind, to come forward and keep the torch of Islam burning.

Dr. Abdullah leaves a widow, one daughter and three sons.

Footnotes to the above obituary by this website:

[1] The movement under the leadership of Maulana Muhammad Ali, mentioned here, is the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore, or the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement.

[2] He was General-Secretary of the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore.

---

Shown below is the image of the obituary of Dr Abdullah which was published in The Times, London, dated 21 May 1956 on page 10.

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For Dr Abdullah’s reports from the Berlin Mosque and Mission during the 1930s, please visit this link of our Berlin website.
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Berlin Mosque survives World War 2

 

Berlin Mosque survives Second World War

 

Article compiled by Dr. Zahid Aziz

The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement has always expressed the deepest of gratitude to Almighty Allah that its mosque situated in Berlin survived the terrible, wholesale destruction of the German Capital during and, especially, towards the end of the Second World War. Having searched the archives of The Light, the English organ of the Movement published from Lahore, we found some reports of that period which are quoted below.

The first item below (Berlin Mosque Intact) was written by Dr. S.M. Abdullah, who at the time of writing was the General Secretary at the Centre of the Movement in Lahore. He had served as Imam of the Berlin Mosque during the 1930s, leaving shortly before war broke out in 1939. After the war, he was again placed in charge of the Berlin mission, while also serving as Imam at the Woking Mosque in England.

Berlin Mosque Intact

(From The Light, 18 September 1945, pages 4-5)

“It is nothing less than a miracle that the Berlin Mosque, which was built by the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam, Lahore, in the year 1927 has survived the ravages of the war. Berlin has been destroyed, ruined and bombed in a manner unprecedented in the history of the world. That the Berlin Mosque where actual bombing, shelling and fighting has taken place should have escaped destruction is a clear sign of the hand of the Almighty God working behind the scene. It also shows the purity and sincerity of the purpose with which the handful of members of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement are working for the noble and sublime cause of the propagation of Islam in Europe. It also shows the enthusiasm and devotion to Islam with which these new converts are imbibed. Six zealous women have worked five weeks repairing the damage to make the mosque fit again for congregational prayers and that at a time when there were no funds available and when they themselves stood in need of every possible help to keep soul and body together. This shows their ardent zeal and devoutness for Islam, the religion they profess.

Let such our Muslim brethren as oppose our humble efforts and services to the cause of Islam pause and ponder over their attitude. Can they not see the hand of God working with and helping this Movement? Let me assure my brethren in Islam that this Movement which was founded by the Reformer of the present century is bound to succeed as it aims at the establishment of the universal truth of Islam.

Let our brethren in faith come forward and join us in pushing forward the cause of Islam in the world, especially in Europe, which needs it most the existing and prevailing evils of the present-day world.

To the members of the Ahmadiyya Movement, the news of this Providential protection of the Mosque has come as a fresh message of hope and cheer. It has filled them with the conviction that this Mosque is destined to play a distinct role in the spiritual reconstruction of Berlin that now lies torn and bleeding, materially as well as spiritually. The German people stand rudely shaken and disillusioned — just the mood of mind to receive the message of universal human equality that Islam is. That is what the Hand of Providence has preserved the Mosque for.”

Another item appeared shortly afterwards in The Light of 8 December 1945 on page 1. It gives some details of the damage sustained by the Mosque due to “the war that was fought even within its sacred precincts”, and reports that the Mosque now lies situated in that zone of divided Berlin which is “under the British Army of occupation”. It further reported that Dr. S. M. Abdullah was ready to resume his work in Berlin, and that “the Anjuman has moved the Government of India to get the benefit of priority for a sea passage from India to England and an air passage from England to Berlin.”

 

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‘Imam back in Berlin’

Under the above heading, a report appeared in The Light of 8 February 1947 on page 3 which is reproduced below:

“Dr. Shaikh Muhammad Abdullah, M.Sc., Ph.D., Imam of the Mosque, Berlin, it will be recalled, had to quit Germany at the outbreak of war. At the termination of war, this Anjuman was anxious that the activities at the Mosque should be resumed as early as possible. Military occupation, food condition and general dislocation of life in that once Naziland, however, made the prospects of reopening the Mosque and its allied missionary activities extremely gloomy. Even in December last, when the Anjuman decided to take the first step in this direction at any cost and sent Dr. Abdullah to England to study conditions from that quarter, the prospects were none too bright either. It was a leap in the dark and it was almost a settled fact that for sometime to come the Imam will have to mark time and keep himself occupied with some sort of missionary work in England.God, however, comes to the help of those who move in His way. Dr. Abdullah has been afforded every facility to visit Berlin by the authorities of British occupation. Life in Berlin being still in military control, he has been invested with the Honorary rank of a full Colonel which will enable him to enjoy all the facilities associated with that position.”

Beneath this is a report headed Berlin Mosque’s S.O.S., which is reproduced below:

“Maulana Muhammad Ali, Head of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, has issued an appeal for funds for the repair of the Berlin Mosque, which was damaged in the last phase of the war when Nazi resistance took the form of street fighting. When after victory the Allied forces entered Berlin, the Mosque was found littered with the dead bodies of Nazi youth.According to the estimate received from a Berlin architect the repairs will cost Rs. 92,000, prices and wages having risen four times compared to pre-war rates. The appeal gives two photographs — one showing the Mosque as it originally stood, the other in its present damaged condition. Should this S.O.S. from this House of God bestir the heart of any son of Islam and he would like to see this sole beacon of Light Divine in the dark heart of Christian Europe restored to its original dignity, he may send his contribution to the Financial Secretary, Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam, Lahore.”

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Reuter’s report

In The Light of 24 May 1949 on page 19, a report from Reuter’s Berlin correspondent is reproduced regarding the Berlin Mosque which had appeared in the Pakistan newspapers. It contains a brief history of the Berlin Mosque which we quote below:

“The foundation of the Berlin Mosque was laid in 1922 by Maulana Sadr-ud-Din who was deputed by the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam to deliver the message of Islam to the people of Germany. At the same time, he laid the foundation of the Islamic Mission. Within a couple of years there stood in the heart of the German Capital, with all its grandeur and beauty, a huge building of the Berlin Mosque possessing a fascinating charm. A quarterly magazine in German under the title Muslimische Review was also started which rendered valuable services in disseminating the light of Islam in Central Europe.

The strenuous work and the devoted efforts of the Islamic Mission attracted the attention of Germans, and by 1925 about forty people of high reputation embraced Islam.The opening ceremony of the mosque was attended by a large number of new converts to Islam as well as by a distinguished gathering of Muslims from Egypt, Syria, Persia, Afghanistan and India, including Allama Lufti, the leader of Muslims in Russia.

In his inaugural speech, Allama Lufti said with a sense of pride that he had studied each and every word of the books of the Mujaddid recommended to him by Maulana Sadr-ud-Din and had found in them the light of truth in abundance which showed that he was in fact the Mujaddid of the time. Besides, Egyptians, Syrians, Iranians and Afghans delivered lectures and each of them expressed his love and appreciation for the mission.

Muslims were brought under one banner. Dr. Marcus, Dr. Griefelt and Dr. Banning were among the renowned personalities of the time who, realising the magnetic force of Islam, embraced it and devoted themselves to further the cause of Islam.

Dr. Marcus’ personality needs no introduction. He is the man whose essays on the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, left a deep impress upon the mind of Dr. Iqbal who, by way of compliment, observed:

“Many a Muslim thinker and philosopher have written a great deal about the Holy Prophet, but none comes up to the mark of Dr. Marcus.”

His way of presenting the Prophet is unmatched in its beauty, his force irresistible and his sincerity very convincing.

Uptil 1938, the Muslim Mission’s work went on smoothly and uninterrupted, but with the outbreak of the war the whole thing was upset. Professor Dr. Abdullah, the then Imam of the Mosque, as an Indian national had to leave Germany. A German doctor and his wife offered their services to Professor Dr. Abdullah to take care of the garden, the Mosque and the house adjacent to it. They decided also to bear themselves the expenses of running the Mosque. Sometime later this doctor joined the army and was killed in action. His wife also left the place. A new convert to Islam, Frau Moslar, then came forward to take care of the Mosque and the house.

This magnificent Mosque was built at the cost of Rs. 150,000. During the war it served as a spiritual centre not only for hundreds of German converts to Islam but also for the thousands of other Muslims who were drawn to Berlin — Russians, Turks, Egyptians, Afghans, Indians and others. During the war, Muslim prisoners of war from India who happened to be in Germany also went to this Mosque for Id prayers.

In the final stages of the war, when Berlin was attacked by the Russian forces, the Germans dug trenches in the Mosque garden and it, therefore, became a target for the invading forces. Though the Mosque survived the war, it suffered heavy damage. The dome itself was hit and damaged. One of the two minarets, 95 ft. high, was practically destroyed. Its repair cost the Anjuman more than eighty thousand Rupees.

The Mosque is situated in the most fashionable locality of Berlin. Well laid out roads on its three sides with a foot path running side by side, lovely hedges and flower plants with a beautiful lawn in front add to the charm of the Mosque.”

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2022 Journal Usama Malik | FASPE

 

When a Muslim, Protestant, and Catholic Freed a Jew from a Concentration Camp: Reflections on an Interfaith Model of Resistance and Faith Amidst Adversity

by Usama Malik, 2022 Seminary Fellow

Preface

This reflection is indebted to the research and writing of Marc David Baer, Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science, specifically his article “Muslim Encounters with Nazism and the Holocaust: The Ahmadi of Berlin and Jewish Convert to Islam Hugo Marcus.”¹ For a more in-depth reading and research into the life of Hugo Marcus, as well as the dynamics, organization, and complexities of Muslims in Germany, particularly during Nazi rule, and relevant implications for interfaith relations, please refer to the aforementioned article as well as Baer’s book, German, Jew, Muslim, Gay: The Life and Times of Hugo Marcus.

Introduction

An Imam, a Catholic priest, and a Protestant layperson walk into a Nazi concentration camp to negotiate the release of a Jewish convert to Islam—and succeed. Though this sounds entirely too good (or far-fetched) to be true, this was a real experience for Hugo Marcus, a Jewish convert to Islam detained in Barrack 18 at the Sachsenhausen/Oranienburg concentration camp, as well for his advocates, Imam Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, Father Georg of the Jesuit order, and Joachim Ungnad of the Confessing Church at the gates of the camp. Each of these individuals of different faith traditions and backgrounds became acquainted by attending various educational events and interfaith discussions at the Berlin Mosque.² Yet, in their coming together in such a moment, we see that interreligious dialogue was not—nor is now—the end point of such cross-religious relationships, but rather the beginning of what can be transformative forces and movements in causes of justice and service to humanity.

As part of the 2022 FASPE program this past summer, I was humbled to walk onto the grounds of the very same Sachsenhausen camp where so many languished and died. While walking along its many paths, I came across a most inauspicious barrack marker at an inner corner of the camp: BARACKE 18. Here, Hugo Marcus was imprisoned. It was in this place where differences in faith led a group of individuals to coalesce, uniting in defense of the life of a fellow human being branded “other.”

This experience, seeing this place up close, led me to realize the value of Marcus’ story for interreligious work. In touching upon the singular life and faith journey of Hugo Marcus, as well as the responses by his community and fellow Muslims toward his situation, I hope, then, that we will discover lessons about strength in interfaith cooperation and faith-based activism relevant today. Additionally, we can see that despite the horror, an event like the negotiation at Sachsenhausen means, not only in that moment, but particularly for persons of faith in the 21st century oftentimes, finding ourselves unsure of the impact and power of our interconfessional alliances and coalitions. Furthermore, the events, reactions, and responses leading up to this moment—particularly those from various Muslim individuals and organizations—have implications for a world marred by sectarian and inter/intra-faith misconceptions and conflicts. By attending to the complicated nature of that time for all involved, the Sachsenhausen encounter offers hope not only for redemption, but for action in the face of what may seem like insurmountable fear.

“And hold firmly to the rope of God all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of God upon you—when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, siblings.”³

A picture of the site of Barrack 18 at Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Oranienburg, where Hugo Marcus was held during his imprisonment in 1938. Marcus was imprisoned during the November Pogroms of that year, also known as Kristallnacht, but was released shortly afterward in mid- November. Marcus’ imprisonment, as well as that of thousands of others, served as a warning from the Nazi regime of what would await Jews should they choose to remain in Germany. Photo credit: Usama Malik.

Dr. Hugo Marcus: A Life on the Margins

The story of Hugo Marcus is defined by more than just that one moment. As a highly educated, gay, Jewish-born German and convert to Islam through the Lahore Ahmadiyya mission, Marcus’ intersectional identity only adds to not just the complexity of his life and the lessons we can take from it. It would, therefore, be a disservice not only to the memory of Marcus, but also to the lasting and significant implications for interfaith coalition building to not provide a brief insight into who this man, for whom three persons of faith risked their lives, was.

Hugo Marcus was born to a German Jewish industrialist in 1880, moving to Berlin in the early 20th century for higher education, where he also become involved in numerous gay rights initiatives. Marcus further added to his already complex identity by converting to Islam and adopting the name Hamid. In 1923, while still a doctoral student, Marcus was hired by the Ahmadi Muslim community in Berlin as editor of all of its German-language publications. After two years in this role, Marcus converted to Islam in 1925. The Ahmadi Community of Berlin constructed the first mosque in Berlin, known as the Berlin Mosque, between 1923-1926 in Wilmersdorf. Despite his conversion to Islam, Marcus maintained ties to the Jewish community, as well as with his friends working for gay rights. Marcus was the chief editor and contributor to the Berlin Mosque’s primary magazine, the Moslemische Revue, as well as the editor for the Ahmadi German Qur’an translation and commentary which was published in 1939. He later became the chairman of the associated German Muslim Society from 1930 to 1935 and was a prominent lecturer during various programs held at the mosque that were open to the public. Foremost of these were “Islam Evenings,” which served not only as eclectic educational spaces for attendees but would later fatefully serve as the intersection point for the very same Imam, Catholic priest, and Protestant layperson who would advocate for Marcus’ release. The community of Muslims at the Berlin Mosque and the Ahmadi Mission to Berlin stressed interreligious tolerance, the unity of humanity, and the commonality of the God of Abraham. In this way, the community educated many and won some converts, especially from the local Jewish community.⁴ Despite his conversion to Islam, Marcus maintained ties to his former faith community as well as with his friends working for gay rights, suggesting that he upheld and practiced these teachings on unity and commonality.

TOP: Photos of the exterior of the Berlin Mosque in the Wilmersdorf, inaugurated in 1926 by the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement. The mosque was the first in Berlin, and during Nazi rule was the only mosque in the country, serving as the headquarters for the German Muslim Society, of which Hugo Marcus was the chairman until 1935. Photo credit: Usama Malik

BOTTOM: Hugo Marcus (center, seated) with fellow German and South Asian Muslims in front of the mission house attached to the Berlin Mosque, c. 1930. Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah (1889–1956), the imam of the mosque, sits on Marcus’s left. Others in the photo include convert Fatima Beyer, the future wife of convert Hikmet (Fritz) Beyer; Conrad Giesel, who converted to Islam on October 1, Hugo Marcus (center, seated) with fellow German and South Asian Muslims in front of the mission house attached to the Berlin Mosque, c. 1930. Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah (1889–1956), the imam of the mosque, sits on Marcus’s left. Others in the photo include convert Fatima Beyer, the future wife of convert Hikmet (Fritz) Beyer; Conrad Giesel, who converted to Islam on October 1, 1924 (top row, right); and assistant imam Dr. Azeez Mirza (1906–1937) (top row, with turban). Photographer unknown. Copyright MJB-Verlag & Mehr.

The Rise of Nazi Germany and Its Impact on the Muslim Community of Berlin

As the Nazis came to power in 1933, the Muslim community, like many others, were forced to react. The Moslemische Revue featured articles, expressing a similarity between Islam and Nazism. Among these so-called consonances was a low-grade anti-Semitism. Indeed, public tours of the mosque began to feature only positive things about the Nazis and Hitler. During this time, Marcus remained chairman of the German Muslim Society, resigning only in 1935. Despite mosque members joining the Party, increased surveillance, and the subsequent enacting of the Nuremberg Laws, Baer notes how the mosque leadership still advocated that Marcus be a lecturer for the “Islam Evenings” program.⁵ Though this likely never came to pass, it raises questions: what can resistance look like in what appear to be zero-sum situations? Can those with complicity remain close to those they are officially supposed to hate?

It was not, however, just the Nazi authorities whom the German Muslim Society and members of the Berlin Mosque community had to accommodate. Other non-Ahmadi Muslims sought control over Germany’s only mosque.⁶ Among these included the Islamic Community of Berlin, a competing Sunni Muslim organization that was unapologetically pro-Nazi in its rhetoric and stance. To achieve their goal, they claimed that the Ahmadis were a “Jewish Communist organization,” as well as British agents, and thus were “unworthy of any claim to the mosque.”⁷ Ultimately, surveillance increased.

Matters became more complicated upon the departure of the mosque’s founding imam, Sadr-ud-Din, who Baer describes as “the architect of its tolerant interreligious and interracial message.” Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah followed him in this role.⁸ Though we may recognize his name as the leader of the interfaith coalition who went to Sachsenhausen to free Marcus, the situation is more complex. Apart from providing internal lectures and mosque tours which integrated praise for various points of “connection” with Nazi principles, Abdullah was also proactive in reaching out to the Nazis. He was so successful that soon the Reich’s Foreign Ministry deemed him of no danger to the state.⁹ Why take this tack? As Baer aptly puts it, “Abdullah’s overtures may reflect a change in philosophical orientation, or a strategy for survival in the face of a totalitarian regime that brooked no dissent.”¹⁰ We don’t know. What we do know, however, is that some feature materials and rhetoric coming out of the mosque continued to advance complacent and harmful perspectives.¹¹ It is at this juncture in the Berlin Muslim community’s history that the Nazis initiated the November Pogroms and Hugo Marcus was imprisoned at Sachsenhausen, leading us back to the fateful encounter with which we began.

Photos from the Sachsenhausen concentration camp outside Berlin in Oranienburg. Clockwise: main entrance and administrative building; entrance gate to the camp reading “Work sets you free”; foundation markers of former prisoner barracks; photo of an aerial photograph taken of Sachsenhausen. Barrack 18 is to the right of the main entrance, underneath the triangular boundaries of the original camp before additional barracks were made. Photo credit: Usama Malik

Muslim Resistance Inside Nazi Germany

“By the Glorious Morning Light, And by the Night when it is still,
Your Guardian-Lord hath not forsaken you, nor is He displeased with you.
And verily what will come after will be better for you than your present.
And soon will your Guardian-Lord give you which you seek and you shall be well-pleased.
Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter (and care)?
And He found you lost, and gave you guidance.
And He found you in need and made you independent.”¹²

Despite what the above might suggest about Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, his actions at Sachsenhausen—as well as his interactions with Hugo Marcus afterwards—show a complex man struggling in a difficult situation. The imam’s helping to get the former editor and mosque chairman out along with the latter’s continued trust in the former imply that relationships based on faith-based encounters can endure regardless of difficulties and differences.

Baer notes that a variety of factors could account for the imam’s shift from pro-Nazi to something more ambivalent. The shock to the November 9 pogrom—which left businesses and synagogues within view of the Berlin Mosque in flames—along with the incarceration of someone as influential and significant to the mosque’s history and works as Hugo Marcus, may have facilitated his change in outlook.¹³ Upon obtaining Marcus’ release from Sachsenhausen, Abdullah helped personally advocate for and assisted with a visa for Marcus to British India, where the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement was headquartered, and where Marcus was later personally invited to come and stay permanently.

This process, however, did not occur in a vacuum. Tensions began to rise as the nation not only inched closer to war and the Nazi regime ramped up its campaign of extermination. Thus, the Gestapo and Nazi police doubled down on their surveillance of the Berlin Mosque, the German Muslim Society, and Abdullah. To make matters even worse, other Islamic organizations like the Islam Institute spoke out in favor of the Party, urging the authorities to delegitimize the Ahmadis by labeling the German Muslim Society as an enemy of the Nazi state.¹⁴ As bad things were for the community, times were even tougher for Hugo Marcus, who, like other Jews in Germany at the time, was stripped of his passport, his assets and valuables, fingerprinted, and outwardly labeled “Jude.”¹⁵ Despite these horrors, Marcus and Abdullah decided to remain in Berlin to finish the work on editing the German translation and commentary of the Qur’an, regarding which Abdullah referred to Marcus as “indispensable.”¹⁶ Marcus had work to do on behalf of his faith and his community, even as life became unbearable.

Finally in August 1939, the translation was published. Though not explicitly referred to by name in the foreword—likely due to police surveillance of the mosque—Marcus is referred to as “a great German friend” whose “assistance was indispensable and invaluable,” and whose “love of Islam is boundless.” It even closes with a prayer asking that “May God bless and reward him.”¹⁷ Marcus’ contributions to the translation offer further insight to the resistance that the German Muslim Society employed at such a difficult time. For example, passages in the Qur’an and subsequent commentary emphasize religious tolerance, disdain for persecution, protecting houses of worship including synagogues, and stark warnings not to help oppressors, nor to obey nor blindly follow a Führer.¹⁸

With these lasting words in print, and with war imminent, Abdullah certified Marcus’ good character, allowing him to leave Germany, though not for India, but instead Switzerland. Old friends from “Islam Evenings,” like Dr. Max Jordan, a Catholic journalist and advocate for gay rights, facilitated his entry. Upon Marcus’ departure, Abdullah too was forced to leave after the outbreak of the war. Prior to pausing services that the mosque, one of the final sermons delivered spoke unapologetically about the need to appreciate human diversity and to respect each other’s differences. This message directly echoes un invocations from both the Qur’an and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad with respect to a Muslim’s obligation towards upholding justice and in combating injustice. Indeed, a tradition of the Prophet relates that when asked what was the best form of struggle or jihad, he responded, “A word of truth/justice to an oppressive/tyrannical authority.”¹⁹ What Hugo Marcus contributed in translation, what Sheikh Abdullah spoke at the gates of Sachsenhausen, and what the sermon in December in 1939 were just that—words of truth and justice directed at Nazi oppression and tyranny.

Reflection and Relevance

“You who believe, uphold justice and bear witness to God, even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or your close relatives. Whether the person is rich or poor, God can best take care of both. Refrain from following your own desire, so that you can act justly- if you distort or neglect justice, God is fully aware of what you do.”²⁰

This story is many things—moving, complicated, inspiring, and infuriating; it necessarily invokes a variety of emotional reactions from anger to gladness. The implications it has for us today, the relevance and timeliness it still holds, are no different. Exploring these, translating them from that horrible time to our own, is no easy task. And yet, it must be done. What can we learn from this convoluted story?

With respect to Marcus, in our present day and age, as much as in the early 20th century, many of these labels—“Muslim,” “Jew,” and “Gay”—often carry oversimplified assumptions and stereotypes. Hugo Marcus’ complex and intersectional identity challenges many of our preconceived notions. Further, his life warns us against attributing qualities to others based on these prejudices. Marcus’ example also stands out because of how people from one identity or faith might assume that something pertaining to another would not interest them. A Muslim may not directly connect with someone they know only as a Jewish person, for example. Yet, in Hugo Marcus, we have someone whose identities bring together so many who otherwise might emphasize only their differences. In a similar way, as humanity becomes increasingly connected, our identities are also becoming more nuanced than ever before, with respect to our races, religious affiliations, genders, sexual orientations, politics, nationalities, ethnicities, and so much more. It is thus paramount that we draw upon the example of a person like Hugo Marcus to understand how we can better coexist in our common humanity.

Hugo Marcus & the Berlin Mosque: A Model & Caution for Community-Building

In a similar way, the significance of Hugo Marcus’ intersectional identity extends to the community he clove to for so long. We, as faith leaders and members of religious congregations can learn much from this humble tenacity and willingness to live committed to one tradition while working with and respecting others. We can see in his story the necessity of building tolerance and acceptance into the foundational tenets of a community. Marcus was, after all, able to walk into a mosque as a gay, Jewish convert, and be accepted for who he was, eventually going on to become a major force and leader within the community. And he was not alone in this! From this fact, we can learn to model not just tolerance of differences, not merely building bridges between ourselves, but also going further and bringing all on the same side. Though these connections are helpful in establishing relationships and communication, so long as we solely value the bridge and not the person or people on the other side, we will remain apart. Without Hugo Marcus, there would be no German Qur’an translation and commentary released before World War II. Without the Berlin Mosque, Hugo Marcus would not have had the interfaith friendships that led to such a beautiful moment of solidarity at the gates of a concentration camp.

Beyond the establishment of an ecumenical community, we should also recognize Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah himself and his friendship with Hugo Marcus. As the imam and leader of a minority religious institution and community that was on the margins of German life, we can see that Imam Abdullah initially reacted in a way common across other religious communities. He made overtures to the Nazi authorities, even when the situation began to deteriorate for many at the mosque, including Hugo Marcus. We can make a variety of excuses for Abdullah: what he did was a survival strategy amidst increasing scrutiny and surveillance, doing what was best for the community as a whole. We can also look down from our positions of privilege and say that he could have and should have done more. Both can be true. These decisions, however, did not ultimately define who Abdullah was or who he chose to become when it mattered most. At a time when the Nazis ramped up their persecution of Jews, he stood by Hugo Marcus.

He did this even as his mosque faced animosity from other Muslims, an issue that continues for both the Ahmadiyya and other Muslim minority communities today. The inherent othering within the wider Muslim community, particularly among more fundamentalist Sunni groups and schools of thought are sometimes weaponized today, particularly in countries such as Pakistan, where groups like Shia, Ismailis, and Ahmadis are sometimes considered “non-Muslims.” In countries like the United States in many religious communities, there remains a distrust and a willingness to other groups based in deep-seated misunderstandings. The example of the Muslim community in Berlin at the height of these tensions should serve as a cautionary tale for all faiths. We see that fear, mistrust, and hatred of the religious “other” can lead not only to compromising and contradicting core beliefs but can also harm and bring trauma for generations to come. Let us heed their lesson now to avoid going down such a path.

We don’t know what may have caused a shift for Abdullah. Whether it was the normalization of violent pogroms against Jewish people, their property, and their synagogues, or the imprisonment of a Jewish friend whom he had come to know as a brother in faith, he felt compelled to journey 40 kilometers from Wilmersdorf to Oranienburg with a Catholic priest and Protestant to protest in the name of truth and justice. Yet, the freedom of his friend was not sufficient. Abdullah went a step further to do his due diligence based on his religious principles. He ensured Marcus would have a safe place to flee to, given the deteriorating conditions in Germany. Eventually, Marcus did escape. Shortly after Abdullah himself was forced to return to the UK.

What matters above all, however, is that he made his choice and helped his friend. As Baer astutely writes, “When it mattered most…even as their accommodation to Nazi ideology helped contribute to the antisemitic atmosphere in Berlin, they ultimately frustrated the Nazis’ attempt to annihilate the Jews of Europe, if only by saving one life.”²² The Qur’an teaches that “whoever saves a life, it will be as if they saved all of humanity.”²³ Abdullah knew these words and acted on them.

The stories and experiences of Hugo Marcus, his interfaith liberation coalition, the Berlin Mosque, and the wider community serve as timely examples for the diverse, interconnected world we live in today. They challenge us to go beyond our comfort zones, to honor one another for our humanity, to reconcile our shortcomings, and to know that ultimately, we are accountable for the decisions we make. As the fourth Caliph of Islam, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, once related, “A person is either your sibling in faith, or your equal in humanity.”²⁴ Therefore, whether as Muslims, Christians, Jews, or as people of another faith or of no faith at all, we all can learn from and teach each other. Particularly in times of adversity and trial, it is our standing together, reconciling our differences, and apologizing for our mistakes that allows us, to be harbingers of justice, truth, and tolerance. In this way, we can draw on the models of Imam Abdullah, Father Georg, and Joachim, who there for Hugo Marcus against all odds, united in our conviction to uphold the standards we believe respectively believe our faiths hold us to. As the imam who succeeded Abdullah after his departure, Dr. Ahmed Galwash, stated in closing one of the final sermons given in the mosque during World War II, may “‘the God of all people and nations’ fill the hearts of all people ‘with respect toward one another so that peace and well-being for all will yet remain on earth.’”²⁵

“For each (religious tradition/community of belief) is a direction toward which
it faces. So strive together towards all that is good. Wherever you may be, God will
bring you forth all together. Indeed, God is Most Able to do all things.”²⁶

Above: Stolpersteine or stumbling stones,²⁷ give us a moment to pause, reflect, and consider what could have been the fate of Hugo Marcus, had he not had the faith community and interfaith connections that helped him gain his freedom, ultimately enabling him to emigrate safely from Germany. The Stolpersteine above commemorate individuals who shared Marcus’ name, offering a harrowing reminder of the fate that could have befallen him.

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Usama Malik was a 2022 FASPE Seminary Fellow. He is the resident chaplain for Muslim Space, a local community organization, as well as for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and Trinity University. Usama is also the Program Coordinator for the Office of Student Affairs and Vocation at Austin Seminary.

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Notes

1. Marc David Baer, “Muslim Encounters with Nazism and the Holocaust: The Ahmadi of Berlin and Jewish Convert to Islam Hugo Marcus,” The American Historical Review 120, no. 1 (January 2015): pp. 140-171, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/120.1.140.
2. The Berlin Mosque was built by the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement (Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at-i-Islam Lahore) and completed in 1926, serving as the first mosque in Berlin. For more information about the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement and the Berlin Mosque, see http://www.berlin.ahmadiyya.org
3. Qur’an 3:103. All translations from the Qur’an are personal translations with consistent reference to and incorporation of the following translators’ editions: Amatul Rahman Omar, Abdul Haleem, Sahih International, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, and Dr. Mustafa Khattab
4. For additional reading on Marcus, see German, Jew, Muslim, Gay: The Life and Times of Hugo Marcus by Marc David Baer
5. Marc David Baer, “Muslim Encounters with Nazism and the Holocaust: The Ahmadi of Berlin and Jewish Convert to Islam Hugo Marcus,” The American Historical Review 120, no. 1 (January 2015): pp.140-171, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/120.1.140. pg. 160
6. Marc David Baer, “Muslim Encounters with Nazism and the Holocaust: The Ahmadi of Berlin and Jewish Convert to Islam Hugo Marcus,” The American Historical Review 120, no. 1 (January 2015): pp. 140-171, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/120.1.140. pg. 161
7. Ibid.
8. Marc David Baer, “Muslim Encounters with Nazism and the Holocaust: The Ahmadi of Berlin and Jewish Convert to Islam Hugo Marcus,” The American Historical Review 120, no. 1 (January 2015): pp.140-171, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/120.1.140. pg. 162
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid. pg. 163
11. Ibid., see “The New Germany According to a Muslim: Hitler Is the Appointed One” by Dr. Zeki Kiram, an employee of the Nazi state, in the August 1938 edition of the Moslemische Revue http://www.berlin.ahmadiyya.org/m-rev/aug38.pdf
12. Qur’an 93:1-7
13. Marc David Baer, “Muslim Encounters with Nazism and the Holocaust: The Ahmadi of Berlin and Jewish Convert to Islam Hugo Marcus,” The American Historical Review 120, no. 1 (January 2015): pp.140-171, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/120.1.140. pg. 164
14. Ibid. pg. 165
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid., pg. 167
18. Ibid., pg. 168
19. 19, Musnad Aḥmad 18449
20. Qur’an 4:135
21. Qur’an 49:13
22. Marc David Baer, “Muslim Encounters with Nazism and the Holocaust: The Ahmadi of Berlin and Jewish Convert to Islam Hugo Marcus,” The American Historical Review 120, no. 1 (January 2015): pp.140-171, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/120.1.140. pg. 170
23. Qur’an 5:32
24. Nahjul Balagha, 53
25. Marc David Baer, “Muslim Encounters with Nazism and the Holocaust: The Ahmadi of Berlin and Jewish Convert to Islam Hugo Marcus,” The American Historical Review 120, no. 1 (January 2015): pp.140-171, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/120.1.140. pg. 169
26. Qur’an 2:148
27. A Stolperstein (pl. Stolpersteine; literally “stumbling stone”) is a concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. The Stolpersteine project, initiated by the German artist Gunter Demnig in 1992, aims to commemorate individuals at exactly a person’s last place of residency or work before they fell victim to the Reich. For more information on the Stolpersteine Project, see: https://www.stolpersteine.eu/en/home/

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Links and Related Essay’s

Click to access muj-kabir-uk-online.pdf

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2022 Journal Usama Malik | FASPE

https://www.wokingmuslim.org/pers/sm-abdullah.htm

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The history of #Ahmadiyya in #Germany

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