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Famous
Personalities of the Global Islamic Movement Throughout History
Dr. Kalim Siddiqui
(September 15, 1931 - April 18, 1996) was an Indian
British writer and Islamic activist.
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. 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.
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. 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 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.
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. He was an
outspoken force in the need for an integrated body of
Muslims which could excercise 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.
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
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The
Khilafah Movement