 Asad was born in April 1932 in Medina, Saudi Arabia, to the Austrian diplomat, writer, and reformer Muhammad Asad, a Jew who converted to Islam in his mid-20s, and a Saudi Arabian Muslim mother, Munira Hussein Al Shammari (died 1978).When Talal was just eight months old, his parents moved to British India, where his father would play a pivotal role in the Pakistan Movement.Following Pakistan's independence in 1947, his father joined the Pakistani government, serving the country in various administrative and diplomatic posts.