- Kalim Siddiqui
Dr. Kalim Siddiqui (
September 15 1931 -April 18 ,1996 ) was an Indian British writer andIslamic activist .Early life
Siddiqui was born in the village of Dondi Lohara, CP,
British India onSeptember 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. [ [http://www.muslimedia.com/archives/world98/kalim.htm Obituary: Kalim Siddiqui ] ] After the creation of the state ofPakistan he briefly joined theKhilafat Movement inKarachi 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 inEconomics and then, in 1972, aPhD inInternational Relations fromUniversity College, London . He founded theMuslim Institute for Research and Planning inLondon in 1972 and campaigned through his writings forpolitical Islam .Zafar Bangash, Introduction to In Pursuit of the Power of Islam, 1996]The Salman Rushdie Affair
He publicly declared his support for the
Iranian Revolution .This bought him into conflict with the majoritySunni sect within Islam.cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/04/18/specials/rushdie-cat.html|accessdate=2006-05-06|title=Cat Stevens Gives Support To Call for Death of Rushdie|first=Craig|last=Whitney|year=1989|publisher=The New York Times ]However, it was
Ayatollah Khomeini 's fatwa againstSalman 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 [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4424118.stm BBC NEWS | UK | How Islam got political: Iran ] ] and it could be argued that Dr Siddiqui played a large part in it. Dr Siddiqui was at the forefront of theBook burning campaign againstThe Satanic Verses .The Muslim Parliament
In 1989 he founded the
Muslim Parliament ofGreat 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 inPretoria ,South Africa onApril 18 1996 , after attending the International Conference on Creating a New Civilization of Islam. He was an outspoken force in the need for an integrated body of Muslims which could exercise communal interests (the regulation ofhalal meat and the sighting of the Ramazan moon) and act of a lobbying body in the wider British community, like theBoard of Deputies of British Jews .Works
#"Functions of International Conflict - A Socio-economic Study of Pakistan", Karachi: The Royal Book Company, 1975
#"Conflict, Crisis and War in Pakistan", London: Macmillan and New York 1972
#"Issues in the Islamic Movement", Volumes I - III
#"In Pursuit of the Power of Islam", The Muslim Institute 1996 ISBN 0-905081-58-7
#"Stages of Islamic Revolution"External links
* [http://www.muslimparliament.org.uk The Muslim Parliament of Great Britain]
Notes
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.