WCF works to develop better understanding, co-operation
and respect between people of different faiths
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WCF works to develop better understanding, co-operation and respect between people of different faiths
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Zaki Badawi An Obituary by Imam SajidMohammed Abul-Khair Dr Zaki Badawi born 14 January 1922 – died 24 January 2006On the morning of 24 January 2006 the British Muslim Community lost a great religious leader – a father of British Islam – a leading reformist – an interfaith activist – a unifying personality and above all, a peace champion. He had been speaking at the Islamic Finance Summit at Millennium Hotel London. While at the conference he collapsed and an ambulance came and took him to hospital where he was declared dead. “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un” (To God we belong and to Him is our Return). I first met him in 1976 while I was studying at the London School of Economics, when he came to the Muslim Institute in the UK to deliver a lecture on the Great Reformers of Egypt. When he became Director General of the Central Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre (ICC), London, he invited me to join a team of a few dedicated Islamic scholars to work in several committees with the aim of improving services to Muslim inmates, hospital patients, distribution of Zakat, unifying Eid dates and creating a forum for British Muslims to help create a unique identity with full participation in all spheres of British Life. Mohammed Abul-Khair Dr Zaki Badawi honoured me by performing Nikah (Islamic marriage ceremony) of my two daughters Amina (3rd August 1996) and Fatima (22nd November 1998) Dr. Zaki Badawi, Islamic scholar, teacher and community activist, was born in Egypt in 1922. He was a renowned Islamic theologian, an expert on Islamic Shariah law and an important voice and advocate of moderate Islam in Britain. Dr Zaki Badawi was also for several decades a leading exponent and dedicated advocate of interfaith dialogue, not only in Britain but also internationally. Dr Zaki Badawi was the Principal of the Muslim College in London, which he founded in 1986, and whose works on Islamic affairs were frequently published and broadcast. Dr Zaki Badawi was a well respected scholar of Islam and has made an enormous contribution to the Muslim community. Dr. Badawi was educated at al-Azhar University in Cairo. He obtained al-Aliyah, the equivalent of a Bachelor of Arts degree, from the College of Theology at the university, and al–Alimiyah degree (Masters) from the Faculty of Arabic Language and Literature, al-Azhar, in 1947. In the same year, he received the King Faruq First Prize for the best post-graduate student. After teaching at al-Azhar for a short while, he moved to the United Kingdom in 1951 to study psychology at University College London. In 1954 he obtained his Bachelors degree. Badawi continued his studies and was awarded a doctorate from London University in Modern Muslim Thought. He married an English woman, Mavis, in 1956, before returning to al-Azhar University to teach Muslim Thought and Scientific Research Methods. In continuation of his varied academic career, shortly afterwards Badawi obtained his PhD in modern Muslim thought from London University he returned to al-Azhar University and taught Muslim Thought and Scientific Research Methods. He was then sent as a representative of the university to Malaya in Singapore to establish a Muslim College there. After teaching Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Malaya, he lectured in the same course at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpa. In 1964, he was appointed Professor of Islamic Education at Ahmadu Bello University in Northern Nigeria and later Professor of Islamic Education and Dean of Arts at Bayero College, Nigeria. In 1976, Dr. Badawi relocated again. He was appointed research professor at the Hajj Research Centre of King Abdul Aziz University in Saudi Arabia, stationed in London. Dr. Badawi was also a professor of Islamic studies at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, northern Nigeria; In 1978, Badawi was appointed director of the Islamic Cultural Centre (ICC) and Chief Imam of London Central Mosque in Regents Park. He served in these capacities until the end of 1981. During his time at the ICC, Badawi was instrumental in establishing the Sharia (Islamic Law) Council as a facility to reconcile conflicts between Islamic law and the British civil code. The Sharia Council now operates under the auspices of the Imams and Mosques Council. Badawi was elected chairman of the Imams and Mosques Council by the National Conference of Imams and Mosque Officials of the UK in 1984. Zaki Badawi was the founding Chairman of the Imams and Mosques Council of the United Kingdom in London, a post he had held since 1984. He preached a broad knowledge of Islam as well as the importance of a clear understanding of Western society and world religions. From 1982 to 1986, Dr. Badawi served as director of the Islamic Finance House and was also a member of the Islamic Banking System in Luxembourg. He was a Chairman and a Trustee of the Forum against Islamophobia and Racism (FAIR) and also one of the founders and members of the executive committee of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists since its establishment in 1999. In 1982, Badawi joined the board of the Islamic Banking System in Luxembourg. As a board member, he participated in the delegation that negotiated with the Bank of England to establish the first Islamic financial institution licensed in the United Kingdom. The Islamic Finance House (IFH) was founded in 1983 to deal specifically with Muslim financial concerns, such as banking without interest or usury. Dr. Badawi managed the IFH for three years and has published many articles on banking, finance and business ethics in regards to Muslim law. He also gave annual lectures in business ethics to MBA (Masters of Business Administration) students at Cranfield University Business School, UK. Badawi established the Muslim College in London with its founding objective as a postgraduate seminary for the training of imams and Muslim leaders in the West. The curriculum includes the study of Islam as well as Western society and religions and emphasises interfaith dialogue. Badawi co-edited Encounter Magazine that publishes news on interfaith meetings between himself, the Archbishop of York and the Chief Rabbi. He also edited Islamic Quarterly for four years and had contributed an article to al-Arab daily newspaper every Friday for the last twenty years. Badawi has written numerous journals and newspaper articles on Islam and science, and also medical ethics. He regularly attended conferences related to those topics. He had published and given public lectures addressing a range of issues pertinent to Islam, including the conflict in Bosnia; Islam in Britain; the Hajj; Muslim responses to Salman Rushdie's book, the Satanic Verses; female circumcision; citizenship and Islam; monotheism; the rights of the unborn child in Muslim tradition; democracy; religion and mental illness; domestic violence; and Islam and human rights. In addition to the offices noted above, Badawi was also chairman of The Arabic Forum, the Islamic Religious Council and the National Council for the Welfare of Muslim Prisoners established in 2001. He was a co-founder of the Three Faiths Forum, vice chairman of the World Congress of Faiths and director/trustee of the Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism (FAIR). Even when misunderstood, Dr Badawi was always gracious. After being barred from entering the US on numerous occasions since the Salman Rushdie affair first erupted in 1989, Badawi spoke out against terrorism by Muslims. He was particularly vocal after the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York on September 11 2001 - "a violation of Islamic laws and ethics - I just felt utter disgust and really very, very great anger". Most recently, he vociferously condemned the suicide bombings in London in July last year. Badawi opposed the Iraq war but said that Muslim soldiers in the British Army had a duty to fight for Queen and country - and their country was Britain. This was a stinging rebuke to Muslim hardliners who insisted their duty to Islam took precedence over loyalty to the Queen. Dr Badawi condemned those who justify suicide bombings and other acts of violence. He quoted religious authorities pinpointing why terrorism was a "declaration of war on God, on His Messenger and an act of evil against peace loving humanity". He argued: "It is a negation of every rule of the Shariah which decrees that innocent life is sacred, property is inviolate and that the peace of mind of the public must be safeguarded. Those who preach the message of hate serve no religious cause and those who incite the ill-informed, maladjusted and alienated to commit criminal acts do so not as servants of a noble faith or a legitimate cause but operators for base ambitions disguised as pious and religious." He received a prestigious award from the Muslim News in 2003 and was given an honorary knighthood in 2003 and took great pride in being a member of the Athenaeum. Dr Zaki Badawi is survived by his wife Mavis, a son Faris, and a daughter, Laila. May Allah Subhahu wa taala award him eternal peace and reward him he best reward in paradise. Imam Dr Abduljalil Sajid Chairman Muslim Council for Religious and Racial Harmony UK (MCRRH); Chairman National Association of British Pakistanis (NABPAK); Secretary Mosques and Community Affairs Committee of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB); |
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