In Memoriam

Abstract

Think not of those who are slain in God’s way as Dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord; Holy Qur’an III:169 The Muslim World and the academic community in the United States were shocked on the nineteenth day of Ramadan (Tuesday, May 27, 1986) when news reached them that Professor Ismail al Faruqi and his beloved wife, Lamya’, were assassinated by an intruder who broke into their home in Wyncote. Pennsylvania. This couple, whose dedication to the Islamic message is widely known among scholars and others working in the Muslim community, played an important role in the dissemination of correct knowledge about Islam in the United States. A Palestinian by origin, Professor al Faruqi was born on January 21,1921. He attended elementary and secondary school in his native land of Palestine during the British Mandate. After obtaining a first degree in Philosophy at the American University in Beirut, he served as the last Palestinian governor of Galilee during 1945-1948. After the creation of Israel, he migrated to the United States where he did graduate studies at Harvard and at Indiana University. His intellectual development later led him to al-Azhar and McGill University. During his early years in the United States, Professor al Faruqi engaged in research on the Arab experience. One of his first books dealt with this. In the 1960s when the Muslim student population began to swell significantly and a Muslim Student Association was formed by some dedicated young Muslims who wanted to retain their cultural identity in the face of strong Western cultural influences, Professor a1 Faruqi became one of the counsellors to these young men and women searching for roots and trying not to be seduced from the sirat ul-Mustuqim (the path of righteousness). This involvement with the MSA was destined to be a lifelong engagement. During this period he addressed many MSA gatherings and attended many seminars organized by the student leadership. As the number of Muslim professionals increased, Professor al-Faruqi and others began to think about Muslim professional organizations. One of these groups that received the attention of al Faruqi was the Association of Muslim Social Scientists, which was founded in 1972. The founders elected al Faruqi as the first president. This organization soon emerged as the primary intellectual vehicle in the social sciences for those Muslim scholars and graduate students working in the American universities and colleges who were committed to developing contemporary intellectual thought within the paradigm of Islam. By the late 1970s, Professor al-Faruqi, who had by this time earned an international reputation among young Muslims around the world, began to work with the MSA and AMSS intellectual leaders on the idea of setting up an Islamic college or university. Thinking along this line led to two important developments in his life. The first was the founding of the American Islamic College in Chicago which he headed but resigned from just before ...