‘Lion of Punjab. Son of Hindustan’: Author Tarek Fatah passes away at 73

[raajveer]

Pakistani-Canadian columnist Tarek Fatah passed away on Monday after a prolonged battle with Cancer at the age of 73. His daughter, journalist, Natasha Fatah shared the news on micro-blogging site Twitter.

“Lion of Punjab. Son of Hindustan. Lover of Canada. Speaker of truth. Fighter for justice. Voice of the down-trodden, underdogs, and the oppressed. Tarek Fatah has passed the baton on... his revolution will continue with all who knew and loved him. Will you join us? 1949-2023," Natasha tweeted.


Fatah advocated LGBT rights, a separation of religion and state, opposition to sharia law. He further advocated for a liberal, progressive form of Islam. Fatah always called himself an Indian born in Pakistan., "a Punjabi born into Islam" and is a vocal critic of the Pakistani religious and political establishment.

To this day, Fatah had always been critical the partition of Indian sub-continent.

Born in Pakistan in 1949, Fatah migrated to Canada in the early 1980s and worked as a political activist, journalist and television host in Canada and authored several books.

Fatah was a critic of Pakistan. He has questioned the legitimacy of the state and advocated support for Baloch separatists. He firmly believed that after #Balochistan wins independence, the remainder of #Pakistan will reunify with India.

He rejected anti-semitism as incompatible with Islam and supported Israel's right to exist and Zionist projects. He, however, had called for an end to the "illegal and immoral" Israeli occupation of Palestine and anti-Arabism.

Fatah was one of the founders of the Muslim Canadian Congress in 2001, after the 11 September attacks and served as its communications director and spokesperson until 2006.

He spoke out against the introduction of Sharia law as an option for Muslims in civil law in Ontario, Sharia banking in Canada, which he has described as a ‘con-job’.

The believer of revolution promoted social liberalism in the Muslim community and the separation of religion from the state, and endorsed same-sex marriage.

Notably, Fatah, who was known for his progressive views on Islam and his fiery stance on Pakistan, often expressed his support to the BJP-led NDA government in India.

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