Talk:Achmed Abdullah

Julian or Gregorian calendar birthday?
Born on 12 May 1881 in Russia, but of which calendar, Julian or Gregorian?--Jusjih 14:05, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

W.R.Benet, The Reader's Encyclopedia, gives the pseudonym A. A. Nadir for him.--Wetman (talk) 18:23, 1 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I would consider the dates to be Gregorian if at all relevant. The whole "Romanoff prince" identity does not look true, starting with the fact that Nicholas II never had a brother named Nicholas, contrary to what the guy's "Russian" patronymic suggests. --Tar-ba-gan (talk) 10:03, 4 June 2013 (UTC)
 * The article states his father was a cousin of Nicholas II, but a quick check still suggests the story is fake. The details don't fit any Grand Duke I can find. But that's OR, I suppose. Born 1881, so he'd graduate from Oxford in 1902, and 17 years service in the Army takes us to 1919. So when did he emigrate to the USA? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.211.74.143 (talk) 11:32, 14 July 2013 (UTC)
 * More OR, I'm afraid: he does not appear in the Eton Register for 1893 to 1899. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.78.86.39 (talk) 11:08, 27 November 2013 (UTC)

Caught by the Germans?
If he was caught spying during wartime, how come he wasn't executed? Clarityfiend (talk) 03:30, 30 May 2009 (UTC)

Offhand, he may have been traded for German spies caught by the British. Just speculation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.234.147.20 (talk) 00:14, 22 August 2011 (UTC)

Also, he was a Romanov Prince --and this was WWI, not WWII where royalty and nobility meant something. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.234.147.20 (talk) 00:29, 22 August 2011 (UTC)

The Swinging Caravan (1911)
Allen and Patricia Ahearn's Collected Books (Quill & Brush Press, 2011) lists this as his second book and The Red Stain (1915) as his first book. I could not find definitive online proof that the 1911 edition exists. I believe the first edition may be the Brentano's 1925 edition. I believe that the 1911 edition came about from information in a 1969 edition by the Short Story Index Reprint Series and 1911 may be the original copyright --which may have been from a periodical publication. I should add that Worldcat.org shows that the 1911 edition is not in a major library --showing that if it does exist. It is incredibly scarce. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.234.147.20 (talk) 00:12, 22 August 2011 (UTC)

A different Ahmed Abdullah
Some of these books are by a different Ahmed Abdullah, a Sheikh Ahmed Abdulla (sometimes without the H) was the author of Fighting Through etc? Wool Bridge (talk • contribs) 07:26, 1 October 2012 (UTC)

Abdullah's conversion to Catholicism
I could only find two sources for Abdullah's supposed conversion to Catholicism: an entry on the Internet Movie Database (IMBd) which doesn't give any sources, and this entry on Wikipedia which uses IMBd as it's source. The one on IMBd says that he converted to Catholicism after years of being conflicted his religion, and this one says that he "considered himself" Catholic.

Abdullah had expressed pro-Asian and pro-Islamic sentiments in both his fiction and non-fiction writings (see his 1914 article titled Seen Through Mohammedan Spectacles in The Forum, and his 1915 article titled The Armed Yellow Fist in the Sunset). His 1939 autobiography titled "The Cat Had Nine Lives" didn't reveal any inclination towards Christianity in general or Catholicism in particular. And his May 26, 1945 obituary in Billboard didn't mention any conversion to Catholicism either. He never seemed conflicted about his religious beliefs.

Abdullah died in 1945 towards the end of WWII when paranoia about Asia (and other things deemed "foreign," like Islam) was at a highpoint. The conversion story appeared shortly after his death. My guess is that some of his associates created the story in order to protect him (and themselves) from this paranoid climate after WWII. Melwood19 (talk) 17:22, 15 September 2013 (UTC)
 * Abdullah's autobiography was published in 1933, and not 1939.
 * Also, this is how he described himself in "Twentieth century authors; a biographical dictionary of modern literature" that was published in 1942: "ABDULLAH, ACHMED (1881-). novelist and adventurer, writes: "I am British, though born at Yalta, in the Crimea, of mixed Russian-Afghan ancestry, a Russian-Orthodox father, a Moslem mother. I am myself a devout Roman Catholic." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.78.86.39 (talk) 03:33, 27 November 2013 (UTC)
 * I've found two articles in the Google News Archive that were published in 1945 before his death that said he was a devout Catholic.
 * http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=08pYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UugDAAAAIBAJ&dq=achmed-abdullah%20catholic&pg=5952%2C2298110
 * http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iEsiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GqQFAAAAIBAJ&dq=achmed-abdullah%20catholic&pg=3079%2C2680920 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.78.86.39 (talk) 04:07, 27 November 2013 (UTC)

A ton of salt needed.
Most of the sources of information on Abdullah's life derive from his accounts of his life. I doubt he was very reliable. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.78.86.39 (talk) 03:13, 27 November 2013 (UTC)

Removed claim about Academie Francaise membership.
The Academie Francaise website does not list Achmed Abdullah as a member under any of his names. See: http://www.academie-francaise.fr/les-immortels/les-quarante-aujourdhui — Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.78.86.39 (talk) 06:16, 16 December 2013 (UTC)