An exemplary life dedicated to defending the honour of Islam, promoting Muslim unity and fostering wider understanding based on civility and morality. Throughout his life, Faroqi, who has worked to break the perception against Muslims and to be a voice for them, was also a close friend and collaborator of Felicity (Saadet) Party Leader Temel Karamollaoğlu. It was also known that he had love and admiration for the late National Vision (Milli Görüş) late Leader Prof. Dr. Necmettin Erbakan. In addition, Faroqi took an active role by participating in the organizations organized by Erbakan Hodja in the international arena. In the passing away of Hashir Faruqi in London on 11 January 2022, Muslims in Britain and across the world have lost a wise, well-informed counsellor who was an inspiring role model for his selflessness and dedicated service to Islamic causes.
FAROQI PROVIDED A MORAL FIELD TO MUSLIMS IN THE PUBLIC AREA..
He was a scientist of Pakistani heritage who found his vocation as a journalist and community activist after settling in London in 1963. He was a trustee and guiding figure in civil society initiatives that gave British Muslims a voice in the public space, including the London Islamic Circle, the UK Islamic Mission, the Islamic Foundation, Leicester, the relief charity Muslim Aid and the Muslim Council of Britain. He founded the bi-monthly journal Impact International in 1971 to provide news and analyses on Muslim affairs, while also offering a moral steer based on Islamic values. He believed that the Muslim world would not be able to shake itself of neo-colonialism unless it independently managed its information channels and news collection.
HE SIGNED IMPORTANT WORKS...
His early years were in pre-partition India in the UP (United Provinces, later Uttar Pradesh). He completed a BSc at the Kanpur Agricultural College, here he was secretary of the Muslim Students Union and its Urdu literary society. In 1953, he migrated to Pakistan and worked as an entomologist at the Ministry of Agriculture. He was on deputation to Saudi Arabia for a year and later proceeded to Imperial College, London on a Colombo Plan scholarship for research into locust control.
On arrival in Britain, he joined the activities of the UK Islamic Mission (UKIM), an association of Muslims from the sub-continent in existence since 1962. Its activities were aligned to his own understanding of Islam as a comprehensive way of life addressing needs of the individual and society, as elaborated by the twentieth century reformer Abul A’Ala Maududi. Hashir Faruqi’s first publishing venture, to produce a newsletter during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 to correct a perceived pro-India bias in British media, was not successful but provided valuable experience for Impact International later.
FAROQI FILLED A BIG GAP WITH THE NEWSPAPER HE ESTABLISHED
Faruqi was a regular contributor to The Muslim, the monthly journal the Federation of Islamic Societies (FOSIS) under the pen names ‘Scribe’ and ‘A.Irfan’ from 1967. He would highlight news not on the radar of Western media. His pen was sharpest when writing about despots and their actions. As a conversationalist he could draw out both the young and old, and these experiences sometimes found their way in his columns. Hashir Faruqi’s name will forever be associated with Impact International, the bi-weekly (later monthly) that he launched 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."
Impact became a source of honest writing in the Muslim world. Newspapers published in India, Pakistan, Turkey, the Middle East, and Africa began borrowing its articles, inspiring younger people to start their English-language publications in their region. Moreover, his writings proved that Muslims could write their own stories and discern between facts and fiction. During his long tenure as Editor-in-chief of the magazine, he trained several Muslim youths in Muslim journalism.
It filled the gap that had been left when the Woking-based Islamic Review and Muslimnews International had ceased publication. There was a hunger in the English-reading Muslim public worldwide for news and analysis from an independent, Muslim perspective. Taking stock of the journal thirty-one years later he noted that its fundamental objectives had remained unchanged.
These were to promote the understanding of Islam and Muslims; set forth the broad Muslim point of view on religion, society, politics, and current affairs; raise general awareness of Islamic issues and Muslim concerns; help the process of informed policy-making, particularly in the Muslim societies and communities around the world, and advance a two-way understanding and mutuality between the Muslim and non-Muslim peoples, especially between the so-called Islamic and western worlds – on the basis of righteousness and civility. [Impact International, October 2002].
HE CLAIMED LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
In 2003 he was among the welcoming committee that organised 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.
As the Milli Gazete family, we wish Allah's mercy on the late Mohammad Hashir Faroqi, and we offer our condolences to his family and loved ones.
Kullu nafsin zai’qatul mauth. Inna lillah wa inna ilayhi rajiun.