Dr. Murad Wilfried Hofmann, an eminent author and former German diplomat, breathed his last in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on January 13. He was 89. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajioon (from Allah have we come and to Him we return home).
Dr. Murad, who reverted to Islam in 1980, authored several books on Islam, including Journey to Makkah and Islam: The Alternative. He also co-authored with Abd al-Majid al-Sharafi a book “Mustaqbal al-Islam fi al-Gharb wa-al-Sharq” (The Future of Islam in the West and the East), published by Dar al-Fikr in Damascus, in 2008.
He contributed review articles to an Islamic review magazine, Muslim World Book Review, published by the Islamic Foundation, Leicestershire, UK.
Born in Aschaffenburg, Germany into a Catholic family on July 6, 1931, his university education began in 1950 at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. He completed his legal studies at Munich University with a doctorate in jurisprudence on “Contempt of Court by Publications under American and German Law” (1975) and his bar exam. While a research assistant for the reform of federal civil procedure, he received an LL.M. degree from Harvard Law School in 1960. He served in the German Foreign Service for 33 years, from 1961 to 1994. He first served in Algeria as a specialist on issues concerning nuclear defence. Then he rendered his services as Director of Information for NATO at Brussels from 1983 to 1987, Ambassador to Algeria from 1987 to 1990, and Ambassador to Morocco from 1990 to 1994.
In January 2016, a dissertation entitled “Murad Wilfried Hofmann’s Views of the Western Worldview on Religion: An Analysis” was submitted by Semir Omercic for the degree of Master in Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Heritage, in Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia. Dr. Muhammad Mumtaz Ali supervised this dissertation.
Dr. Hofmann was one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.
Dr. Murad was also an honorary member and advisor to the Central Council of Muslims (ZMD) in Germany. ZMD Chairman Aiman Mazyek, in a condolence message, said the death of Hofmann is a great loss for both Muslims and non-Muslims. Mazyek said Hofmann was a “brilliant” thinker, a scientist and a “first class” personality. “He was a great role model for many people,” Mazyek added.
The news of his death was widely shared on social media with many Muslim organisations and figures mourning him. “Yesterday died at the age of 88 Dr. Murad Hofmann, a well-known author, and thinker. The former German Ambassador, who converted to Islam in 1980, was a particularly remarkable and enriching part of the Muslim faith community in Germany,” the Islamic Community of Germany (DMG – Deutsche Muslimische Gemeinschaft e.V.) wrote on Facebook.