Imam Syed Badiuddin Soharwardy (b. 1955 in Karachi) is chairman of the Al-Madinah Calgary Islamic Assembly and is the founder and current president of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada. In January 1998 he was a founding member of the group Muslims Against Terrorism.[1]
Soharwardy is a strong supporter of multifaith religious cooperation. As a leader of Canada's Multifaith walk against violence, he is walking 6,500 kilometres across Canada to draw attention to the problems of child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, gangs, bullying, terrorism and war.[2] Starting in Halifax on 20 April 2008,[2] he is walking 35 to 40 kilometres daily and says he expects to complete the walk in Victoria, B.C. by the end of November 2008.[3] Leaders from aboriginal communities as well as Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh leaders have also been invited toparticipate in the walk. Soharwardy was joined by Canadian Angican, Catholic and United Church ministers in announcing the walk.[3]
He studied Islam at Dar-ul-Aloom Soharwardia, a traditional Islamic madrasah (school) founded by his father Syed Riazuddin Soharwardy, the imam of the Jamia Bughdadi Masjid in Karachi, Pakistan. His grandfather Syed Jalaluddin Chishty had been the Grand Mufti of Kashmir before moving to Amritsar in India to become the head of Dar-ul-Aloom Nizamiah Sirajiah in the wake of the Partition of India.[1]
After earning a B.A. in Islamic Studies from the University of Karachi and a degree in electrical engineering from N.E.D. University of Engineering & Technology in Karachi, he later earned an M.Sc. in management engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology and a M.Eng. in project management from the University of Calgary, he is a certified as a project manager from Project Management Institute. First appointed as a teacher at Dar-ul-Aloom Soharwardia in Karachi, where he taught Islamic studies, he later served as an assistant Imam and Kahteeb at Jamia Bughdadi Masjid (1971-1979), He has lectured on Islam in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Canada at various universities and institutes.[1]
Prof. Soharwardy has authored papers on information technology management, Islamic beliefs, challenges for Muslims in the western world, conflicts within the Muslim community and interreligious conflict. He is the head of the first Dar-ul-Aloom in Calgary, where he teaches Islamic studies, and he delivers lectures to Muslim congregations across Canada on a monthly basis.[1]
As a strong advocate of Tasawuf (Islamic spirituality), Soharwardy has declared that the world would be better if we followed a saying attributed to Prophet Muhammad: "You will not have faith unless you like for others what you like for yourself."[4]
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d Syed B. Soharwardy biography, accessed 2008-07-26
- ^ a b Bill Graveland, "Calgary imam gets unique perspective of Canadians as he walks across country" in Waterloo Record, 26 July 2008, accessed 2008-07-26
- ^ a b Paula Beauchamp, "Multi-faith walk to protest violence" in Calgary Herald, 29 March 2008, accessed 2008-07-26
- ^ Imam Nawawi, Hadith 13, citing Imam Malik and Imam Ahmad, accessed 2008-07-26
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