Ghayasuddin Siddiqui is an

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

and

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

. He was born in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

, India, migrated to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

in late 1947 and moved to the UK in 1964. He has been leader of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, which he co-founded in 1992, and director of one of the oldest Muslim think-tanks in Britain,

The Muslim Institute The Muslim Institute is an intellectual organisation based in London, United Kingdom. Established in 1973, the organisation was re-launched in 2009 as a fellowship society and was modelled on "futawwah" clubs, groups that promoted a virtuous life ...

, which he co-founded in 1973. Siddiqui claims to have met

Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi Abul A'la al-Maududi ( ur, , translit=Abū al-Aʿlā al-Mawdūdī; – ) was an Islamic scholar, Islamist ideologue, Muslim philosopher, jurist, historian, journalist, activist and scholar active in British India and later, following the parti ...

(whom he considered "charismatic") and much of the early Jamaat-e-Islami and Muslim Brotherhood leadership. Rejecting their methodologies, he forged a close relationship with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and met the more radical Ayatullah Khomeini and other members in the revolutionary Iranian leadership. This explains some reports that the Institute wa

funded by the Iranian government.

Support for fatwa against Salman Rushdie

Siddiqui supported the death sentence placed on

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and We ...

. In 1998, despite an apparent relaxation of the fatwa against the author, Siddiqui remained a supporter of the decision, criticising the Iranian leadership by saying to the

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

that it had no authority to revoke the fatwa, and "the position of the Muslim Parliament is independent of what may or may not happen in Tehran". His support for the fatwa issued by Khomeini continued as late as the year 2000, as

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

and the Press Association reported. He said "We support the fatwa but at the same time we have always said that Muslims in this country should abide by the law and not carry out the killing." And added: "It has always been the situation that the fatwa remains in operation and valid."

Post-9/11 views

Today, Siddiqui pursues Muslim social issues such as an end to forced marriages. He was the first Muslim leader to join the

Stop the War Coalition The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group established on 21 September 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks, to campaign against what it believes are unjust wars. The Coalition has c ...

, joining its inaugural Central Committee. Siddiqui is patron of the Guantanamo Human Rights Commission, and a commissioner on th
Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia
He is a founding trustee of

British Muslims for Secular Democracy Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (''née'' Damji; born 10 December 1949) is a British journalist and author, who describes herself as "a leftie liberal, anti-racist, feminist, Muslim...person". A regular columnist for the I (newspaper), ''i '' newspaper a ...

.www.bmsd.org.uk
/ref> Siddiqui criticises Saudi Arabia and Saudi-sponsored institutions, accusing them of having destabilised the world by working with the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

against the Soviet Union during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. His so

is Asim Siddiqui, Chairman of The City Circle.

References

External links

The Muslim Parliament of Great Britain

The Muslim Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siddiqui, Ghayasuddin Living people Muhajir people British Muslims English people of Pakistani descent Pakistani emigrants to the United Kingdom Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom 1939 births British academics of Pakistani descent