Muzammil H. Siddiqi
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Image:Muzammil siddiqi.gif Muzammil H. Siddiqi (born 1943, India) is a prominent American Muslim, Islamic scholar, theologian and chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America.
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[edit] Education
Siddiqi received his early education at the Aligarh Muslim University and the Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama in Lucknow, India. He graduated from the Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia, in 1965 in Arabic and Islamic Studies. Thereafter he received an M.A. in theology from Birmingham University in England and earned his Ph.D. in Comparative Religion from Harvard University.
[edit] Career
Siddiqi has worked with several Islamic organizations in Switzerland, England, and the United States. He served as Chairman of the Religious Affairs Committee of the Muslim Students Association in the United States and Canada, and as Chairman of the Department of Religious Affairs at the Muslim World League Office to the United Nations from 1976 to 1980. He has also served as Director of the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C., and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT). He was the President of the Islamic Society of North America from 1996-2000 and at present is serving as a member of its Consultative Council (Majlis ush-Shura). He is a founding member of the Council of Mosques in the United States and Canada. He works as the Religious Director of the Islamic Society of Orange County in California since 1981.
Siddiqi has lectured at universities and other academic and religious institutions. He has taught courses on Islam and world religions at Harvard University in Cambridge, at the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan and others. At present he is an Adjunct Professor of Islamic Studies and World Religions at California State University in Fullerton. He is also an external examiner for the Department of Islamic Studies at the University of Durban-Westville in South Africa. He has participated in many inter-faith dialogues. He spoke at the World Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Vancouver, Canada and has participated in many seminars organized by the National Council of Churches and the National Council of Christians and Jews in the United States. He is currently vice-president of the Academy of Judaic-Christian and Islamic Studies in California. He is also a member of the Supreme Islamic Council of Egypt and the Supreme Council of Mosques in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
He has authored books on Hajj, Umra and Ramadan. He writes his weekly column in Pakistan Link. Since 1982, he has been providing Qur'an commentary in a weekly radio program.
[edit] Criticism
Siddiqi harshly criticized U.S. support for Israel at a rally outside the White House in October 2000, at which, according to the Washington Post, marchers chanted in praise of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group. He is quoted as follows: "America has to learn, if you remain on the side of injustice, the wrath of God will come. Please, all Americans. Do you remember that? Allah is watching everyone. God is watching everyone. If you continue doing injustice, and tolerate injustice, the wrath of God will come."<ref>Muslim Leaders Struggle With Mixed Messages, by Hanna Rosin and John Mintz, The Washington Post, October 2, 2001</ref>.
Siddiqi also issued a fatwa on islamonline.net, stating "By participating in a non-Islamic system, one cannot rule by that which Allah has commanded. But things do not change overnight. Changes come through patience, wisdom and hard work.I believe that as Muslims, we should participate in the system to safeguard our interests and try to bring gradual change for the right cause, the cause of truth and justice. We must not forget that Allah's rules have to be established in all lands, and all our efforts should lead to that direction.[1]"
In 2002, federal authorities raided headquarters of the Fiqh Council as part of Operation Green Quest[2].
Siddiqi has also called for a wider application of the Sharia in the U.S.<ref>A Phony Fatwa, by Christopher Orlet, The American Spectator, August 3 2005</ref>
Steven Emerson quotes Siddiqi on the Palestinian Intifadah: "You will see, in a few years, we will be celebrating, insha'allah, the coming victory of Islam in Palestine." <ref>A need to distinguish radical from moderate Islam, by Michael Anastasio, The Yale Herald, September 26, 2003</ref>
[edit] Notes
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