Dr Mohammad Siddik, Legendary Dawah Activist, Passes away
Washington, DC: Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rooji'uun.
Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness Forum, has expressed his deepest and heartfelt condolences at the passing away of the courageous, principled and legendary Dawah activist, Dr Mohammad Siddik of Indonesia.
Ustaaz Dr. Mohammad Siddik (b. January 15,1942), former General Chairperson of Indonesian Islamic Dawah Council (DDII), one of the most prominent Dawah organizations in Indonesia, passed away on Tuesday, June 29, 2021. The Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan and the leadership of many national and regional Islamic organizations attended his funeral. Dr Siddik was a very close associate of the founder of the DDII, Ustaaz Mohammad Natsir, who also happened to be the fifth prime minister of Indonesia.
Dr Siddik was a giant in the field of Dawah. He was the man with a mission, the most gifted, versatile and outstanding Dayee, a caring human being and an extremely loyal friend. He was a great friend of the voiceless people and a fearless advocate of human rights and human dignity. I got to know him since 1979 while he was a senior official at Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah. He was a very close friend of my colleague, Dr Ayub Thakur who used to teach then at the King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah.
I totally agree with Dr Siddik’s close associates who called him a person who was humble, friendly, and widely socialized in social and national organizations. His colleagues also called him “Dawah Lion” – a person who never stopped roaring for the sake of the Ummah.
Dr Siddik made countless imperative appeals to the international community, to bravely come forward and listen to the cries of the people of oppressed lands, like Palestine, Chechnya, Kashmir, etc. This unwavering and confident voice for the downtrodden people of oppressed lands will be sorely missed.
Dr Siddik was a caring person all along and in particular when I visited him in Jakarta. He and his younger brother Dr Mohammad Nour proved to be generous host of my family. He was kind enough to arrange a lecture on Kashmir in Jakarta, which was attended among others, by diplomats, university scholars, students and others.
Three weeks before his death. on June 7, 2021, Dr Siddik wrote to the Chairman of DDII these inspiring words: "May Allah continue to bless our efforts to fill the void and strengthen the political role of the people in the Republic of Indonesia. In order to allow ishlah, please don't attack our brethren who were with us from the start. In this case, if I can be of any help, God willing, I will be very ready.” Does not this make him a voice of reason?
A genuine human being of deep commitment and profound knowledge. In Dr Siddik, we lost a remarkable Dayee, a talented social activist, and above all, an honest and caring friend. We will miss him greatly and deeply but his contributions can never be forgotten. - gnfai2003@yahoo.com
