M.T. Mehdi

Mohammed (sometimes spelled "Mohammad") Taki Mehdi, commonly M.T. Mehdi (January 6, 1928 - February 15, 1998) was an Iraqi-American based in New York. He was highly visible in media circles for being one of the earliest pro-Palestinian activists in the United States, and garnered controversy for his often brash defense of the Palestinian cause. He held debates on television and radio with many supporters of Israel, including the late Rabbi Meir Kahane. He died of cardiac arrest at Bellevue Hospital in 1998.

Life

Dr. M.T. Mehdi was born in Baghdad (then in the British Mandate of Mesopotamia) in 1928. He came the United States to study at the University of California at Berkeley to pursue a doctorate in Political Science. He sued, successfully, the New York City Board of Education to require it to display Islamic crescents along with Christian and Jewish symbols during the holiday season. Out of his three daughters, Anisa Mehdi is the most prominent as an award-winning documentary filmmaker.

M.T. Mehdi founded the Action Committee on American-Arab Relations out of whole cloth, and interviewed Sirhan Sirhan several times during his imprisonment, at which time M.T. Mehdi was the president of the American-Arab Relations Committee.

Controversy

M.T. Mehdi was a leading pro-Palestinian activist in the United States, and openly supported the Palestine Liberation Organization. He was criticized for his support of Sirhan, a Palestinian, and Mehdi's numerous interviews with him, as well as his belief that Sirhan acted justifiably.^[1] He wrote a 100-page book entitled "Kennedy and Sirhan: Why?",^[2] and had said that he believed Sirhan had acted in justifiable self-defense, stating: "Sirhan was defending himself against those 50 Phantom jets Kennedy was sending to Israel." ^[1]

Further, after the 1993 World Trade Center bombings, he gave counsel to the blind sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was later convicted and given a life sentence for his role in the attacks. The Anti-Defamation League, a leading American-Jewish activacy group, opined in Dr. Mehdi's obituary in the New York Times that he was "a lifelong Arab propagandist." ^[3]

He has also been criticized for his denouncing of Yasser Arafat, especially by those within the Muslim organizations. Regarding Arafat's red-carpet welcome from President Bill Clinton, M.T. Mehdi, then-president of the American Arab and Muslim Council, denounced Arafat as "... a pawn in the reelection bids of both Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres...", who visited the White House on April 30, 1996. "He is being as well-received as Peres because he is doing what Peres wants him to do," said Mehdi. "It's a charade." ^[4]

Publications

• Kennedy and Sirhan: Why? (1968)
• Peace in Palestine (1976)
• Terrorism: Why America Is the Target! (1988)

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Paul Kujawsky (May 29, 2008). "Palestinian terror stretches back to RFK". The Jewish Journal. http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/palestinian_terror_stretches_back_to_rfk_killing_at_the_ambassador_hotel_20/. Retrieved 2009-09-09. 
2. ^ Mohammad Taki Mehdi (1968). Kennedy and Sirhan: Why? (Illustrated Paperback ed.). New World Press. pp. 100. ISBN 0-911-02604-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=s9y6AAAAIAAJ&q. 
3. ^ Eric Pace (February 25, 1999). "M. T. Mehdi, 70, Arab-American Leader". The New York Times (obituary). http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE1DA123EF936A15751C0A96E958260. 
4. ^ Frank Lombardi (Thursday, May 2, 1996). "Arafat Portrayed as Hero or Zero". New York, NY: New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1996/05/02/1996-05-02_arafat_portrayed_as_hero_or_.html. Retrieved 2009-09-10. 

External links

• "President's Order Aims To Support Israel and Tighten Vise on Iran : U.S. to Freeze Assets Held By Suspected Terrorists" by Paul F. Horvitz, International Herald Tribune, January 25, 1995 (quoted in article)
• "Welcome to Anisa Mehdi" Documentary filmmaker daughter's website
• "M. T. Mehdi, 70, Arab-American Leader" by Eric Pace, The New York Times (obituary), Feb. 25 1998.
• "Family, Friends Honor Mehdi" by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon, New York Daily News (obituary), Feb. 25, 1998
• "The M.T. Mehdi Courage in Journalism/Writing Award" Annual award given out by the National Arab-American Journalists Association, named in his honor

Persondata
Name	Mehdi, Mohammad Taki
Alternative names
Short description	American political activist
Date of birth	January 6, 1928
Place of birth	Baghdad, British Mandate of Iraq
Date of death	February 25, 1999
Place of death	New York City, New York, United States