Articles

February 5 is traditionally observed as Kashmir Day in Pakistan. This year it was no different although it was somewhat overshadowed by the just-concluded elections in Pakistan.

Chechen determination to achieve full independence from Russia was emphasized on February 1 when Aslan Maskhadov, president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, laughed off suggestions that he would take a seat in the Upper House of the Russian parliament.

In this paper, Zafar Bangash highlights some key elements of Dr Kalim’s Siddiqui’s understanding of the contemporary historical situation, the role of the Islamic movement as in instrument for the ‘total transformation’ of the Ummah, and the challenges facing the Islamic movement in attempting to fulfill this role.

This paper was presented by Imam Muhammad al-Asi at the ‘Dr Kalim Siddiqui Memorial Conference' convened by the Muslim Institute for Research and Planning and the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain in London on November 3, 1996.

This biography of Dr Kalim Siddiqui is divided into five sections. It is based on the commemorative booklet published by the Muslim Institute and the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain on the occasion of their ‘Kalim Siddiqui Memorial Conference’ in London in November 1996. It has been edited and updated by Iqbal Siddiqui, who also wrote the original booklet.

The work of the Muslim Institute after its formal establishment in 1973, and particularly following the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1978-79, made Dr Kalim Siddiqui a senior and respected figure in the global Islamic movement. However, in Britain he remained relatively little known outside the circles of Islamic activists.

The inauguration of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain on January 4, 1992, was greeted by a frenzied attack from the British media and establishment. For some days, Dr Kalim Siddiqui was the most hated man in Britain, attacked by Conservative government ministers and opposition leaders alike, and vilified in the press.

Dr Kalim Siddiqui referred to the Muslim Parliament as both 'a minority political system for Muslims in Britain' and a 'non-territorial Islamic State.' Many people regarded these terms as meaning the same thing, and being virtually interchangeable. Dr Siddiqui, however, understood and meant them quite differently, and the distinction is vital to appreciating his vision of the Muslim Parliament.

Although he was best known in Britain for his stand against Rushdie, and as the founder and Leader of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, Dr Kalim Siddiqui’s involvement in British Muslim community affairs was a new direction for him in the later years of his life. His life’s main work was as an intellectual and visionary of the global Islamic movement.

Although he was best known in Britain for his stand against Rushdie, and as the founder and Leader of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, Dr Kalim Siddiqui’s involvement in British Muslim community affairs was a new direction for him in the later years of his life.