From Benjamin David to Abdu’l-Ahad Dawud: the Story of a Chaldean Christian’s Conversion to Islam in the Early 20th Century

Benjamin David is a Christian convert to Islam, born in Iran in Urmia in 1866 and died in 1950 in the United States. He was a Chaldean-Asyrrian Christian and later became a Catholic, after his primary education at an American college, run by Protestant missionaries in Urmia, he studied theology and philosopy at Propoganda Fide College in Rome and became a priest. He served as a Catholic priest to his own community in Urmia, where different missions rivalled each other to convert an already Christian community. Missionaries’ activities were directly controlled by the Colonial interests of their respected countries. They opened up several schools, hospitals and centers of social work. Benjamin David was very much involved in the missionary work, and the nascent nationalism among Assyrian Christians. However, later on he realized that these enterprises and nationalism would eventually bring nothing but collapse to his own community. Davud converted to Islam in Istanbul in 1905. After his conversion, he changed his name to Abdu’l-Ahad Dawud, meaning the servant of the One God. He stayed in Istanbul until late twenties, writing articles in prominent journals in Istanbul, including Beyanu’l Hakk, and Sebîlürreşad. He made contact with prominent intellectuals in Istanbul such as Ahmad Midhad, Mehmet Akif and Eshref Edip. He also published two books. In 1930 Dawud went to US and stayed there until his death, in an elderly home in Yonkers, New York. He is a fine biblical scholar who knows several ancient and modern languages. As a prolific writer and activist both before and after his conversion, he wrote several articles and books; most of which deal with the unity of Christians and anti-Christian polemics. He is a prominent polemic writer; his İncil ve Salib (The Gospel and the Cross) is a famous refutation of Christianity; which prompted a Christian response by Muallim Kirkoryan, Izah-i Hakikat. Some of the major themes of his thought prior to his conversion are 1. Unity of Christendom; 2. Assyrian Church; 3. Biblical studies. As for the topics after his conversion, we can mention 1. Islam as the final revelation and Muhammad’s being foretold in both the Old and New Testaments (Tabshirat); 2. Issues and problems of Islamic world. Using a dossier of new documents compiled by a voluntary research team led by Mr Ulvi Asan on his life and works, and the current scholarship that appeared in Turkey, this paper will make a reconstruction of his life and works and a critical review of his views.