Kalim Siddiqui

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Dr. Kalim Siddiqui (September 15, 1931 - April 18, 1996) was an Indian British writer and Islamic activist.

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[edit] Early life

Siddiqui was born in the village of Dondi Lohara, CP, British India on September 15, 1931. He became increasing involved in politics as a teenager, when during a small demonstration close to his home town a bullet fired by a British soldier barely missed him killing the youth behind him.[1] After the creation of the state of Pakistan he briefly joined the Khilafat Movement in Karachi and became the editor of its newspaper, The Independent Leader. Along with other members of the movement, he moved to London in the early 1950s. In the mid 1960s he put himself through college and university, taking a degree in Economics and then, in 1972, a PhD in International Relations from University College, London. He founded the Muslim Institute for Research and Planning in London in 1972 and campaigned through his writings for political Islam.[2]

[edit] The Salman Rushdie Affair

He publicly declared his support for the Iranian Revolution.This bought him into conflict with the majority Sunni sect within Islam.[2][3]

However, it was Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa against Salman Rushdie that brought Dr Siddiqui most criticism. It was only after a visit to Iran with some colleagues in February 1989 that the fatwa was issued[4]and it could be argued that Dr Siddiqui played a large part in it. Dr Siddiqui was at the forefront of the Book burning campaign against The Satanic Verses.

[edit] The Muslim Parliament

In 1989 he founded the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain. Although activism was certainly a major part of his life, the core of his work was a unique analysis, understanding and esposition of Muslim history and the contemporary situation facing Muslims which he developed and presented in a series of major writings and speeches. He died in Pretoria, South Africa on April 18, 1996, after attending the International Conference on Creating a New Civilization of Islam.[2] He was an outspoken force in the need for an integrated body of Muslims which could exercise communal interests (the regulation of halal meat and the sighting of the Ramazan moon) and act of a lobbying body in the wider British community, like the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

[edit] Works

  1. Functions of International Conflict - A Socio-economic Study of Pakistan, Karachi: The Royal Book Company, 1975
  2. Conflict, Crisis and War in Pakistan, London: Macmillan and New York 1972
  3. Issues in the Islamic Movement, Volumes I - III
  4. In Pursuit of the Power of Islam, The Muslim Institute 1996 ISBN 0-905081-58-7
  5. Stages of Islamic Revolution

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Obituary: Kalim Siddiqui
  2. ^ a b c Zafar Bangash, Introduction to In Pursuit of the Power of Islam, 1996
  3. ^ Whitney, Craig (1989). Cat Stevens Gives Support To Call for Death of Rushdie. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-05-06.
  4. ^ BBC NEWS | UK | How Islam got political: Iran