Imran Nazar Hosein
He was born in the Caribbean island of Trinidad in 1942 from parents whose ancestors
had migrated from India as indentured labourers. He studied Islam, Philosophy
and International Relations at several universities and institutions of higher learning.
Among them are al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, the Institute of International
Relations of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad, the University of Karachi
in Pakistan, the Aleemiyah Institute of Islamic Studies in Karachi, Pakistan, and
the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.
He worked for several years as a Foreign Service Officer in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
He lived in New York for ten years during which time he served as the Director of
Islamic Studies for the Joint Committee of Muslim Organizations of Greater New York.
He lectured on Islam in several American and Canadian universities, colleges, churches,
synagogues, prisons, community halls, etc. He also participated in many inter-faith
dialogues with Christian and Jewish scholars while representing Islam in USA. He
was the Imam, for sometime, at Masjid Dar al-Qur'an in Long Island, New
York. He also led the weekly Juma'ah prayers and delivered the sermon at the United
Nations headquarters in Manhattan once a month for ten years continuously.
He is a former Principal of the Aleemiyah Institute of Islamic Studies in Karachi,
Pakistan, Director of Research of the World Muslim Congress in Karachi, Pakistan,
Director of the Islamic Institute for Education and Research in Miami, Florida,
and Director of D'awah for Tanzeem-e-Islami of North America.
He has traveled continuously and extensively around the world on Islamic lecture-tours
since graduating from the Aleemiyah Institute of Islamic Studies in 1971 at age
29. And he has also written more than a dozen books on Islam that have invariably
been received with public respect. Indeed, 'Jerusalem in the Qur'an - An Islamic
View of the Destiny of Jerusalem' has become a best seller and has been
translated and published in several languages.
Prof. Dr. Malik Badri, Dean of the International Institute for Islamic Thought
and Civilization in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, wrote the Foreword to that book and
this is what he had to say:
"Finally, I am amazed by Imran's style of writing. Though Jerusalem in the
Qur'an, is a meticulously written thesis combining religious and historical documents
with recent political events and penetrating interpretations from the Qur'an and
Hadith, it runs like a story. Once you begin reading it, it is hard to stop. This
is the general quality of a novel. The person would read it once and throw the book
away - but not that of a serious thought-provoking dissertation like the book that
Brother Shaikh Imran published. It is a reference that one needs to keep and reread
whenever the subject is to be researched. I believe that this eloquence of the Shaikh
must be the result of a natural gift that has interacted with his indefatigable
work as a preacher and da'iyah and the Divine Blessings for his sincerity."
['Jerusalem in the Qur'an', Masjid Dar al-Qur'an, Long Island, New York. 2002. p.
xvi]
Prof. Dr. Abul Fadl Mohsin Ebrahim, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University
of Durban in South Africa, has this to say about the book:
'Jerusalem in the Qur'an' makes its debut at a crucial time when the morale of the
Muslims ... is at its lowest. The blatant incessant Israeli incursions in
the Holy Land go unabated, and Muslims are echoing the very words that their fellow
brethren called out unto their Lord when they were being persecuted at the hands
of the kuffar of Makkah: "When will the help of Allah come?" Shaikh
Imran's insight into the events that are unfolding in the world today is a source
of inspiration for Muslims for he convincingly argues from his scholarly interpretations
of the Divine Writ (i.e., the Holy Qur'an) and the Ahadith of the Prophet Muhammad
(sallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam) that the help of Allah (subhanahu wa ta'alah) is at
hand, that the Holy Land will be liberated, and that Islam will re-emerge as the
`Ruling State' in the world. The reader will be enthralled by the author's grasp
on world politics. 'Jerusalem in the Qur'an' comes as a ray of sunshine for Muslims
and is an eye-opener for the so-called 'People of the Book'. ['Jerusalem in the
Qur'an', Masjid Dar al-Qur'an, Long Island, New York. 2002. back cover]
Imran's first book, entitled 'Islam and Buddhism in the Modern World' was
written when he was just 29 and still remains the only book on the subject by a
Muslim scholar. That book won high praise from such eminent scholars as Vice Chancellor
of University of Karachi and renowned historian, Dr. Ishtiaq Husain Quraishi, eminent
Pakistani jurist and philosopher, A. K. Brohi, and eminent Muslim sociologist, Dr.
Basharat Ali.
This is what A. K. Brohi had to say concerning 'Islam and
Buddhism in the Modern World':
. . . What struck me most while reading Imran's magnificent book was the lucidity
of, and clarity in, the treatment and almost awe-inspiring simplicity of style with
which the argument has been presented by the author at first to expound and then
to critically appraise what, after all, is a highly complex philosophical conception
of religion by which a considerable bulk of humanity of today claims to regulate
its life. In hundred and odd pages the author has presented to us a comparative
estimate of the two great world religions like Buddhism and Islam, and, what is
vastly more important, he has attempted a critical analysis of Buddhism regarded
both as an ethics and as a metaphysic.
By and large, the principal points made in this book tend to show an amazing and
original mind at work. For that reason this book is likely to be ranked as one of
the most significant contributions that have been made to the literature of comparative
religion . . ." ['Islam and Buddhism in the Modern World'. World Federation
of Islamic Missions, Karachi. 1972. Back cover]
While referring to Imran Hosein as a "scholar of rare philosophical erudition,
originality and creative vigour", A. K. Brohi went on to predict about him
as follows: "I have no doubt that our young author is likely, if he only continues
to maintain the tempo of his scholarly pursuits, to turn, in the days that lie ahead,
to be a scholar of whom the world of Islam will have reason to be proud." ['Islam
and Buddhism in the Modern World'. World Federation of Islamic Missions, Karachi.
1972. Inside front cover]
Maulana Dr. Fazlur Rahman Ansari, an outstanding scholar of Islam of the modern
age, wrote the Foreword to that book and this is what he had to say:
"It gives me great pleasure to introduce Imran Hosein's research monograph
on 'Islam and Buddhism in the Modern World' which forms his first attempt in the
field of authorship and which can safely be said to be the first book on this topic
ever written by an Islamic scholar.
The author, who is a dear pupil of mine, he has inherited the illustrious traditions
of modern scholarship in Philosophy and Religion represented by Dr. Syed Zafar-ul-Hassan
M.A., LL.B., Dr. Phil. (Erl.), D. Phil. (Oxon.) and Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal M.A.,
Ph.D., D.Litt.D., Bar-at-Law, and of missionary endeavor represented by His Eminence
Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddiqui al-Qaderi (of blessed memory), and I am proud of him.
Though young in years, he is already on the road to ripeness in wisdom, and I am
sure that his continued labor as a researcher will bring to him greater and greater
glory in the cause of Truth.
Already, the present book is a very promising achievement. His treatment of
the subject demonstrates clear-headedness, objectivity and logical acumen of a high
order. And his approach, in keeping with the spirit of Islam, is sympathetic
towards Buddha and Buddhism- in sharp contrast to the malicious and vindictive approach
so often demonstrated by Christian and Arya Samaj scholars in their writings on
Islam.
I pray to God to bless this book with the choicest success. Amen!" ['Islam
and Buddhism in the Modern World'. World Federation of Islamic Missions, Karachi.
1972. p. vi]
There is no evidence that during his thirty-four years of humble service to
the cause of Islam since his graduation from the Aleemiyah Institute of Islamic
Studies in 1971 with the 'Dr. Ansari Gold Medal for High Merit' have Imran Hosein's
lectures, classes and preaching ever misled anyone into committing an act of terrorism.
Whether this Islamic scholar, who is the proud author of 'Jerusalem in the Qur'an',
is a rightly-guided or misguided Islamic scholar, is a matter that would be determined
by those Muslims who sincerely follow the guidance in the Qur'an and in the example
of the blessed Prophet. It cannot be determined by non-Muslims nor by those who
violate the Divine command in the Qur'an (al-Maida, 5:49) prohibiting Muslim friendship
and alliance with the Christian-Jewish alliance that now rules the world.
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