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 ...