Thirty-two years in the embrace of Islam

Leon Rush is an adventurous translator and ambassador, lived a turbulent life that led him to Algeria, where his father was residing, then joined Emir Abdelkader al-Jazairi and accompanied him for a long time during which he claimed to have converted to Islam. When the war broke out between the Emir and France, he defected from the Emir and joined the French colonial authority. General Pijo, the military governor of Algeria, tasked him with traveling to Tunisia, Egypt, and Hejaz carrying a fatwa calling on Algerians to accept French rule, provided that this rule respects their religion, customs, and traditions. Rush traveled with the fatwa, which was authenticated by scholars of the University of Ez-Zitouna in Tunisia, scholars of Al-Azhar in Egypt, and Muslim scholars gathered in Taif in Hejaz, where the Grand Sharif, the Sharif of Mecca, was based. He arrived in Hejaz during the Hajj season and wanted to witness this season, but some Algerians recognized him at Arafat and raised their voices in protest at his presence. He would have lost his life if not for the guards whom the Sharif secretly assigned to monitor him, as they kidnapped him and took him to Jeddah, then to Egypt. This incident and others included in Rush's journey, and the doubts raised around it, make the publication of his journey to Hejaz of great importance and immense benefit.