Last night, the world lost a pioneer, visionary and a
leader of the American Muslim community.
humanity, a voice for the voiceless, a patriot, a poet, a physician, a friend
and a family man. He made an indelible impression on everyone he met.
activist and a thinker dedicated to the cause of freedom and Islam since his
childhood.
he stressed for more than four decades that being a faithful Muslim was
entirely compatible with being a proud American. Dr. Hathout believed that
American Muslims would contribute to America by practicing the Islamic values
of mercy, equity and justice.
wanted all of us to discover the power in the Quran’s message to do the same
for others.
Upon moving to Los Angeles from Buffalo, New York, Dr.
Hathout immersed himself in volunteering at the Islamic Center of Southern California (ICSC) as Chairman and
Spokesperson.
had a woman on its board of directors in 1952 — the Islamic Center became a
vehicle for a vision of Islam in America that is rooted in what Dr. Hathout
called the definition of home: “Home is not where my grandparents are
buried, but where my grandchildren will be raised.”
Center to launch a series of pioneering projects and organizations, including
the first-ever co-ed Muslim Youth Group, the Islamic Information Service that
produced a nationally televised weekly program on Islam, The Minaret magazine,
the New Horizon School system, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council. In 1988,
he co-founded MPAC, and served as our Senior Advisor thereafter.
organizations are examples of Dr. Hathout’s tireless dedication to pioneering
institution-building in the American Muslim community and to fostering a strong
American Muslim identity among youth. Despite working as a full-time
cardiologist, he made his thinking and working for Islam a life-time endeavor.
Throughout his life, Dr. Hathout firmly spoke out to
clarify Islam as a religion of coexistence, reason and moderation. With
that as his mission, he authored the “Declaration Against Extremism” in 2013. In his most recent
public appearance at MPAC’s 2014 convention, Dr. Hathout embodied the message
of this document during a speech titled, “Extremism: Between Wrong Policy and Corrupt Ideology.”
within the American Muslim community, helping found the Religious Coalition
Against War in the Middle East with Rev. George Regas and Rabbi Leonard Beerman
in 1991. Dr. Hathout was a charter member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, the western partner
of the Council on Foreign Relations, served on the Board of Directors
of the Interfaith Alliance and Claremont Lincoln University, and as Chairman of the Islamic
Shura Council of Southern California.
Over the years, Dr. Hathout was invited repeatedly to
Capitol Hill and the State Department to address a variety of topics, such as
“Islam and U.S. Policy,” “Islamic Democracy,” “Emerging
Trends in Islamic Movements,” and “The Future of the Middle
East.” He was also the first Muslim invited to give the invocation prayer
at the Democratic National Convention in 2000.
books, including Jihad vs. Terrorism, In Pursuit of Justice: The Jurisprudence of Human Rights in Islam,
and Islam 2.0: Conversations for Muslim Generations.
the George Regas Courageous Peacemaker Award, the Islamic Shura
Council of Southern California’s Lifetime Service Award, the South Coast Interfaith Council Award for his life-long
commitment to interfaith work and the Los Angeles County John Allen Buggs Award for excellence in human
relations.
He is survived by his wife Dr. Ragaa Hathout, his
children Gasser and Samer, and his grandchildren Heba, Laith, Dean and McKenna.
for the Hathout family during this difficult time.
2pm at Rose Hills Cemetery in Whittier, California.
information will be available at www.mpac.org.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that
donations be made either to the Islamic Center of Southern California or the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Leave a Reply