Past Perfect: Of Suleymân the Dragoman

Marmaduke William Pickthall (1875–1936), a descendant of a knight of William the Conqueror, was reared in an upper-middle-class family in turn-of-the-century Britain. He was a schoolmate of Winston Churchill and became a renowned novelist and journalist much admired by his peers. His travels took him throughout the Middle East, where he became increasingly knowledgeable about the culture and religion. He would eventually convert to Islam and become the first Muslim to translate the Qur’an into English. Below is an excerpt of a travel journal (Oriental Encounters, 1918) reflecting his memories of his friend Suleymân, a Syrian, who recounted for tourists the stories of Samson’s revenge on the Philistines (Judges 15) and Elijah’s slaughter of the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:40).

Of Suleymân in his capacity of dragoman I saw little but heard much both from himself and others. The English residents in Palestine and Syria—those who knew of him—regarded him as but a doubtful character, if one may judge from their repeated warnings to me not to trust him out of sight. His wisdom and his independent way of airing it did not please everybody as they did me; and reverence in dealing with a fellow-man was not his strong point. By travelers, I gather from innumerable testimonials which he showed me, he was either much beloved or the reverse, though none could say he did not know his business.