- Ghayasuddin Siddiqui
Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui is an
academic andpolitical activist .He was born in
Delhi in1939 , migrated toPakistan in late1947 and moved to theUK in1964 . As leader of theMuslim Parliament of Great Britain - which he co-founded in1992 - and director of one of the oldest Muslim think-tanks in Britain, theMuslim Institute - which he co-founded in1973 - established at a time when many first generation Muslims were building Islamic institutions in Britain. Dr Siddiqui claims to have met [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4424208.stm]Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi and much of the earlyJamaat-e-Islami andMuslim Brotherhood leadership. Rejecting their methodologies, he forged a close relationship withIran meeting the more radical lateAyatullah Khomeini and many in the revolutionary Iranian leadership. This explains some reports that the Institute was [http://www.isic-centre.org/archive-list-view/34-briefings/125-isic-bulletin-augsep-94.html?f3adf1a5ef7c4227495916afa78f4b3e=ca5da0aa070ba0fd90a45e4c3b37c4bd] funded by the Iranian government.upport for fatwa against Salman Rushdie
Unlike other British Muslim leaders, Dr Siddiqui was one of the first Muslim leaders to support the death sentance placed on
Salman Rushdie . In 1998, despite an apparent relaxation of thefatwa against the author, Siddiqui remained a supporter of the decision, criticising the Iranian leadership by saying to the [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/177987.stm] BBC that it had no authority to revoke the fatwa, and "the position of the Muslim Parliament is independent of what may or may not happen in Tehran".His support for the fatwa issued by Khomeini continued as late as the year 2000, as was reported by [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/rushdie-death-warrant-intact-726733.html] The Independent newspaper and the Press Association. He said "We support the fatwa but at the same time we have always said that Muslims in this country should abide by the law and not carry out the killing." And added: "It has always been the situation that the fatwa remains in operation and valid."
It is unclear whether he has now recanted on these views.
Post-9/11 Views
Today, Dr Siddiqui is re-packaged as a moderate, pursing Muslim social issues such as an end to [http://www.muslimparliament.org.uk/forcedmarriagehonourviolence.htm forced marriages] . He was the first Muslim leader to join the
Stop the War Coalition , joining its inaugural Central Committee. Dr Siddiqui is patron of the Guantanamo Human Rights Commission, and a commissioner on the [http://www.aauk.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=38 Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia] . He is a founding trustee of [http://www.bmsd.org.uk British Muslims for Secular Democracy] . Dr Siddiqui attacks Saudi and Saudi-sponsored institutions, accusing them of destabilising the world by working with the CIA against the Soviet Union during the Afghan jihad.His son [http://www.guardian.co.uk/islam/story/0,,1362385,00.html] is
Asim Siddiqui , Chairman of theThe City Circle .External links
* [http://www.muslimparliament.org.uk The Muslim Parliament of Great Britain]
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