Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Vice President Prof. Salim Engineer has expressed condolences over the death of veteran and award-winning journalist Kamal Khan.
In a condolence message, mourning the death of NDTV executive editor and its Lucknow Bureau Chief Kamal Khan, the JIH Vice President said, “Kamal Khan was renowned for his integrity, ethics, objectivity, and courage. He had great insight into issues and deployed poetic language in the best possible way to report on news events and current affairs. He lent a great deal of credibility through his objective reporting and touched the most sensitive issues with ease and compassion.”
Kamal Khan was a recipient of the Ramnath Goenka Award, and the Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Award from the President of India.
Describing his death as a huge loss to the world of journalism and media, Prof. Salim added, “We offer our condolences to his family and loved ones. May Allah forgive his sins and reward him with the highest rank in paradise.”
Hashir Faruqi
(1930-2022)
The Founder-Editor of Impact International Muhammad Hashir Faruqi breathed his last in London on January 11. He was 92.
Born at Ghazipur in UP on January 4, 1930, Hashir Faruqi emerged as a towering personality in English-language Muslim journalism in Britain.
During his student years he served as secretary of the Muslim Students Union and its Urdu literary society at Kanpur Agriculture College (later University), wherefrom he did B.Sc. in Entomology. In 1960 he shifted to London, primarily to do Ph.D. in Entomology from Imperial College London. Trained as an entomologist, he settled down in London. He was an important contributor to the weekly Saturday meetings of the London Islamic Circle at the Islamic Cultural Centre, Regents Park, and also wrote under the pen name ‘Scribe’ a column in The Muslim – the monthly magazine of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies in the UK & Eire (FOSIS). This column was a combination of political satire and analysis.
He launched Impact International, a bi-weekly (later monthly) in London in May 1971, as “a newspaper which seeks to interpret the ethos of the Muslim world; [provide] balanced reporting and analysis on education, society, economics and politics; book reviews, briefings and other special features”. The magazine lived up to this ambition for over 35 years.
At the outset, when the magazine was a simple 16-page publication (later, in its golden years, it developed into a 50-page multi-colour magazine), he himself was the Editor; the writer and scholar, Mr. Abdul Wahid Hamid was Asst. Editor and Mr. Saleem Siddiqui was Manager.
Many of Faruqi’s articles were unsigned, with some rare exceptions. He could wield a pen on matters of deep spirituality or political upheavals in the Muslim world.
During 1970s and 1980s, his interviews with the world Muslim leaders, including Tunku Abdur Rahman of Malaysia, first Secretary General of the Islamic Secretariat (later OIC); Shah Faisal, then King of Saudi Arabia; Ayatollah Khumeini, then spiritual leader of Iran; Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, then President of Pakistan; Yasir Arafat, then Chairman of PLO and President of Palestinian National Authority; Suharto, then President of Indonesia; and Mahathir Mohamad, then Prime Minister of Malaysia, show his deep insight into the developments in the Muslim world.
Mr. Faruqi personally and through the columns of Impact played a crucial role in mobilising Muslim public opinion on the publication of the sacrilegious Satanic Verses in 1989. The editorials and reporting in the magazine made of the book went viral and spurred on the British Muslim community to action. Those close to him witness that his lobbying was dignified and consistent. While he battled with the liberal establishment against the book, he did not join any of the calls for violence.
He played an instrumental role in the development of community institutions, in particular, Muslim Aid, UK Islamic Mission and the Islamic Society of Britain and later on Muslim Council of Britain.
In 2003 he was among the welcoming committee that organised HRH The Prince of Wales’s visit to the Islamic Foundation, Markfield, and presented a token of appreciation to the royal visitor on behalf of its trustees.
In 2013, Hashir Faruqi was recipient of the Editor’s Lifetime Achievement award at the Muslim News Award ceremony.
In his condolence message, Professor Dr. Abdullah Jibril Oyekan, Lagos, says, “Words that come to mind in describing him include simple, humble, self-effacing, amiable, hospitable, discreet, zealous, devout, committed Muslim, dedicated da’iyyah, deep thinker, incisive analyst, dogged campaigner, inspiring conversationalist, who threw all he had into raising high the banner of Islam at any and every opportunity.”
His Janazah (funeral) Prayer was offered soon after Zuhr at 12.15 PM at Islamic Cultural Centre, Regent’s Park, London NW8 7RG. This was followed by burial at Garden of Peace, 1 Five Oak Lane, Chigwell, IG7 4QP.
He was predeceased by his wife, Fakhra Begum. He left behind him his children, daughter Sadia, and sons Ausaf, Rafay and Irfan and a host of friends and well-wishers.