Ghayasuddin Siddiqui is an academic and political activist. He was born in 1939 in Delhi, India, migrated to Pakistan in late 1947 and moved to the UK in 1964. [1]
He has been leader of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, which he co-founded in 1992 [1] , and director of one of the oldest Muslim think-tanks in Britain, The Muslim Institute, which he co-founded in 1973 [1] .
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui organised the visit of Malcolm X to Sheffield University on 4 December 1964 [1] .
After the death of Kalim Siddiqui (writer) in 1996, Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui (no relation), who was involved with the Muslim Institute from its early days, became the Director and re-established the Institute as an independent organisation. [1]
The Institute established a number of important organisations that have played a significant part in shaping the British Muslim community – such as the Muslim Parliament of Great Britian, The Halal Food Authority, and Bait al-Mal al-Islami, which raised funds and supported young Muslim scholars and students. It even organised guided tours to ‘Islamic Britain’ with visits to London’s Guildhall, Leighton’s Arab Hall, Burton’s Mausoleum, Shah Jehan Mosque, Abdullah Quilliam Mosque and other sites. Under Ghayasuddin Siddiqui's guidance, the emphasis of the Institute shifted to issues of democracy, human rights, freedom of speech, pluralism, gender equality and empowering women. The Institute launched a number of initiatives, including campaigns for "Child Protection in Faith-Based Environments" and against forced marriage, domestic violence, and honour killing. A new "Model Muslim Marriage Contract," [2] which grants equal rights to both partners, was also produced. The Institute subsequently played a role in the formation of the City Circle, British Muslims for Secular Democracy and The MUJU Crew (a Muslim–Jewish theatre group). [1]
In 2009, Ghayasuddin Siddiqui invited some of the old founding members as well as others who had been involved with the Muslim Institute to a Planning Conference to debate how the Institute should move forward. It was held in December 2009 at Sarum College in Salisbury. In his opening speech [3] , Ghayasuddin Siddiqui emphasised that we should look towards the future but learn, and re-learn, some of the lessons of the Institute’s history.
After three days of debate and discussion, it was determined that the Institute would be a network devoted to pluralistic thought, creativity, excellence and high achievement; and a community of Fellows dedicated to ideas and debate that places pluralistic, argued and considered positions in the public space.
Siddiqui championed Muslim social issues and civil liberties such as an end to forced marriages. [1] He was the first Muslim leader to join the Stop the War Coalition, joining its inaugural Central Committee. Siddiqui is patron of the Guantanamo Human Rights Commission, and a commissioner on the Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia. He was a founding trustee of British Muslims for Secular Democracy. [4] .
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui was a founding member and first chair of the Halal Food Authority. [5] . A history of which was published in the Critical Muslim journal in 2024. [6]
The Uniform Civil Code is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply on all citizens equally regardless of their religion. Currently, personal laws of various communities are governed by their religious scriptures. Personal laws cover marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and maintenance. While articles 25-28 of the Indian Constitution guarantee religious freedom to Indian citizens and allow religious groups to maintain their own affairs, article 44 expects the Indian state to apply directive principles and common law for all Indian citizens while formulating national policies.
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Humanists International is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanist values. Founded in Amsterdam in 1952, it is an umbrella organisation made up of more than 160 secular humanist, atheist, rationalist, agnostic, skeptic, freethought and Ethical Culture organisations from over 80 countries.
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Faisal Kutty is a lawyer, academic, writer, public speaker and human rights activist. He served as an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and is an Associate Professor of Law Emeritus at Valparaiso University. He has previously taught at Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law of Barry University and guest lectured at dozens of universities around North America.
The legal aspects of ritual slaughter include the regulation of slaughterhouses, butchers, and religious personnel involved with traditional shechita (Jewish) and dhabiha (Islamic). Regulations also may extend to butchery products sold in accordance with kashrut and halal religious law. Governments regulate ritual slaughter, primarily through legislation and administrative law. In addition, compliance with oversight of ritual slaughter is monitored by governmental agencies and, on occasion, contested in litigation.
Bahrain's record on human rights has been described by Human Rights Watch as "dismal", and having "deteriorated sharply in the latter half of 2010". Their subsequent report in 2020 noted that the human rights situation in the country had not improved.
Undercover Mosque is a documentary programme produced by the British independent television company Hardcash Productions for the Channel 4 series Dispatches that was first broadcast on 15 January 2007 in the UK. The documentary presents video footage gathered from 12 months of secret investigation into mosques throughout Britain. The documentary caused a furore in Britain and the world press due to the extremist content of the released footage. West Midlands Police investigated whether criminal offences had been committed by those teaching or preaching at the Mosques and other establishments.
Asim Siddiqui is a British Pakistani chairman and a founding trustee of the City Circle, a network of young British Muslim professionals established in 1999. In addition to running local educational and welfare projects, the City Circle organises weekly public discussion forums providing a grassroots outlet for debate on issues of mutual concern between British Muslim communities and wider society. Asim is responsible for the strategic direction of the City Circle. All of the City Circle projects are committed to inculcating constructive citizenship and building bridges between communities.
Ahmed Subhy Mansour is an Egyptian American activist and Quranist scholar dealing with Islamic history, culture, theology, and politics. He founded a small Egyptian Quranist group that is neither Sunni nor Shia. In 1987, he was fired from Al-Azhar University after expressing his Quranist views. One of his fellow Islamic scholars at Al-Azhar University, Sheikh Jamal Tahir, took up the same Quran alone stance. Mansour was exiled from Egypt, and lives in the United States as a political refugee. In the United States, he established the Ahl-Alquran website.
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This is a list of individual liberal and progressive Islamic movements in Europe, sorted by country. See also Islam in Europe and Euroislam.
This is a list of individual liberal and progressive Islamic movements in North America, sorted by country.