May 2007

Dear Friends of AFA:

It is with deep sadness that I inform you of the passing of Tashbih Sayyed, an associate fellow of the American Freedom Alliance, Editor of Muslim World Today and founder and president of the Council for Democracy and Tolerance.

Tashbih was the personification of all that is truly noble in the human spirit. He was vigorous in defense of human freedom, unremmitting in his love of humanity and committed for most of his life to denouncing the extremists who laid claim to the Islamic faith and perverted it.

The extremely successful Heroes of Conscience dinner on Sunday, May 20 was held while Tashbih lay gravely ill in hospital. It is deeply ironic that this fund raising event, conceived and executed in order to support the work of his organization, came at the end of his life and not when he was able to savor the outpouring of love and tribute offered for his lifetime of toil. Nor was he exposed to the hope and sense of united purpose that Sunday night's event generated.

Those who worked beside him will remember his humor, patience, honesty and humility as he fought for his love of freedom and his rejection of opppression in the Muslim world. We vow to continue his work and fight for the cause he held so dear.

Our love and support goes out to his wife Kirin, his daughter Supna, his son Wahaj and all his friends and family.

Tashbih will be laid to rest Sunday, May 27th, at 1:00 p.m. at Harbor Lawn Mount Olive Memorial Park and Mortuary
1625 Gisler Ave, in Costa Mesa, 92626

The phone number for the Memorial Park is 714-540-5554
There will be traditional Muslim prayers from 1:00 to 1:20, followed by a brief graveside service.

Avi Davis
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May 2007

With great sorrow I must inform you that Tashbih Sayyed, a courageous foe of the global jihad, has passed away.

After a long career at Pakistan Television, Tashbih's differences with the Zia ul-Haq regime in Pakistan (which gave the Islamization of Pakistan its first great boost) led him to come to the United States, where he founded two newspapers, Pakistan Today and Muslim World Today, and wrote eight books, including Mohammad – A Secularist's View. He appeared in documentaries including Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West. He was the President and founder of The Council for Democracy and Tolerance, an adjunct fellow of the Hudson Institute, and a member of the Jihad Watch Board.

Tashbih was insightful, humorous, and above all, fearless in his opposition to the jihad ideology of Islamic supremacism. Despite numerous threats and a relentless barrage of insults and personal attacks, he kept on trying to awaken the world to the magnitude of the threat we face, never trimming his truth-telling to fit current fashion.

He was a dear friend, and he will be greatly missed.

May his memory be eternal.

Robert Spencer
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May 2007

Tashbih Sayyed was that most rare of human beings: a man absolutely fearless in his commitment to the truth. After 9/11, American Muslim advocacy groups began, with the willing complicity of the mainstream media, to flood the airwaves with a huge mass of disinformation and misinformation about jihad activity in the United States and around the world, and above all about its provenance within Islamic theology and tradition. Instead of acknowledging that there was a mandate to wage war against unbelievers that was rooted in the Qur’an and Islamic tradition, Islamic spokesmen routinely denied this, and castigated those who contended otherwise as “bigots” and “Islamophobes.”

Amid all this Tashbih stood virtually alone as an honest man. He stood out sharply among contemporary Muslim spokesmen and activists by admitting that there was a problem within Islam that needed to be solved. As he once told me: “My whole life is devoted to one end: to make the Muslims understand that their theology needs to be reformed and reinterpreted. Anybody who thinks that there’s nothing wrong with their theology is either a blind person or an apologist. There are many things in Muslim Scripture that need to be reshaped and reframed and reinterpreted, so that they cannot be used by terrorists to justify homicide bombings and honor killings.”
This stance, of course, earned him ostracism and threats, but Tashbih was undaunted. I will never forget his reaction when I asked him whether he thought I should go ahead and write a sira – a biography of Muhammad – as I had been considering doing. He said “Of course you should” so quickly that it took me aback: usually when I broached the idea with people their reaction had been to tell me that if I did write such a book I would be threatened and possibly even killed. But Tashbih never flinched. He went on to explain to me that it needed to be done, that the truth needed to come out about these issues -- and clearly that was all that mattered, as far as he was concerned. He knew that if the world was going to prevail against the global jihadist threat, we would all have to take certain risks. And he himself never hesitated to put his life on the line for the truth.
Would that now we had hundreds, and hundreds of thousands, and millions like him, with his quiet strength, his good humor, and his indomitable and unshakeable love for the truth. If we did, the outcome of this present conflict would not be in the slightest doubt.
Tashbih, I am honored that you called me your friend, and I will miss you tremendously. And the forces of civilization have lost a warrior who cannot be replaced.

Robert Spencer

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Goodbye Tashbih

The news reached my attention, just like any unexpected hurricane, devastating almost everything. No doubt, Tashbih Sayyed is not a known name in Bangladeshi households. But, we, who had the opportunity of knowing this excellent human being, saw the towering height of his knowledge on comprehensive subjects as well as his firm commitment in ensuring a world freed from culture of religious hatred.

I was not ready at all to absorb the shocking news of sudden demise of brother Tashbih. When my Jewish brother Dr. Richard Benkin passed me a mail on this news, I thought I was mistaking in reading or understanding something. I was ready to read any good news about Tashbih. It was my delight when I heard last year of him receiving an award from American Jewish Congress. But, this time, the news was to completely devastate my heart.

As one of millions of Tashbih friends wrote on hearing his death news, “We regret to inform you that we have lost a very dear friend.

We are deeply saddened over the passing of our treasured friend and true hero Tashbih Sayyed. Tashbih was a moderate Muslim. Tashbih’s insights, firm moral principles and courage to speak out, unaffected by hostility and threats, inspired all of us fortunate enough to know him. His humility, warmth, playful humor, and unwavering commitment touched our lives in countless ways. He will be deeply missed.

Tashbih was a brilliant scholar, journalist, political analyst and author, but most importantly he was a beloved husband, father of three children, brother and cherished friend to many.

Tashbih passed away on Wednesday, May 23, surrounded by his family at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.”

Tashbih was born in India in 1942 to a Shiite Muslim family. After the 1948 India-Pakistan partition, his family, feeling persecuted by the Hindu majority, fled to newly created Pakistan. There, he received his master’s degree in political science and started his career as a journalist. He worked from 1967 -1980 at Pakistan Television in various capacities, including writer, editor, director, producer, Controller, and General Manager. He eventually became the founding director of Pakistan television’s current affairs programming, but his liberal views put him in conflict with the Zia al-Haq regime, and he immigrated to the United States in 1981.

After moving to the US, he worked as a translator and ghost writer for several years until he re-established himself as a respected writer and publisher. He eventually saved enough money to realize one of the American dreams: he and his wife bought a beautiful home in Laguna Hills.

Tashbih was at the forefront of the fight against the increasing influence of Islamism among Muslims and its impact on world peace. As a highly respected speaker and regular columnist for newspapers in the US, Pakistan, Germany and India, Tashbih wrote and spoke out courageously against the Islamist threat to Western civilization.

Tashbih founded his own newspapers, Pakistan Today [1991] and, most recently, Muslim World Today. He is the author of eight books, including: History Of The World; Left Of The Center; Pakistan - An Unfinished Agenda; Mohammad – A Secularist's View; Foreign Policy of Pakistan; and Shadow Warriors - Afghanistan, Pakistan, Taliban. He appeared in the documentary “Relentless: The Struggle for Peace in Israel” (2003) and in “Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West” (2005). He was the President and founder of The Council for Democracy and Tolerance, an adjunct fellow of the Hudson Institute, a highly esteemed speaker for StandWithUs and a frequent guest on cable television and radio.

Tashbih envisioned a humanistic, tolerant world and tirelessly used his skillful pen and golden oratory to educate others. He made many personal sacrifices and his wife, Kiran, was always by his side supporting the vision they shared. With his passing, a beacon of light has gone out. We who were blessed with the glow of that light will do all we can to keep his work and vision alive.

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

Posted on 29 May 2007 by Root