A Builder Departs
By Mowahid Hussain Shah
On an unusually balmy December afternoon in Washington, my walk in the park was interrupted by a telephone call from young Jamal Mahmood from New Jersey informing that he had lost his father, Shahid Mahmood, one of my finest friends. Later, during the day, I got a condolence message from old friend, the affable IntikhabAlam, former Test captain of Pakistan and coach of the 1992 World Cup Champion Pakistan team. He and Shahid were cricketing contemporaries, as evidenced from a historic 1959 group photo sent to me by Intikhab. Samia, Shahid’s niece, sent me illuminating photographs of his cricketing impact, writing that “it was a privilege being his niece.”
Born to Muslim gentility in Hyderabad (Deccan), Shahid Mahmood left India—where he was a budding cricketer in Bombay—in 1955 for Pakistan. Soon enough, he rose to Test ranks and was a member of the ill-fated 1962 Pakistan cricket tour to England when the team was crassly led by a callow JavedBurki. Shahid, despite notable performances, was arbitrarily benched for 2 months. But cricket’s loss eventually proved Pakistan’s gain i
n America.
Coming to America in 1973, at the peak of the Nixon-Watergate crisis, Shahid was bereft of a social network or financial platform. But from the outset, he strove mightily to place Muslims from the margins into the mainstream. Simply put, he aspired to include the excluded. Unlike some pseudo-leaders in the community – complacent with the present and content with crumbs – Shahid looked ahead and aimed high.
Builders build, bring people together, view today through the prism of tomorrow, rise above themselves, and sacrifice their own interests for the larger good.
In a community replete with destroyers, Shahid stood tall as a builder. He was a cut above others who diminish their community through self-degrading sycophancy of elite office-holders. His life was an epitome of simple living and lofty thinking.
His achievements included, but were not limited to, the following:
- Founder/chairman, Pakistan Independence Day Parade in Manhattan, the biggest annual celebration of Pakistani heritage and culture.
- Outreach director for NJ Governor Whitman to the Asian and Muslim American communities. Shahid realized as a cricketer that sound politics is built on teamwork, which means reducing fronts and building alliances.
- Organized the historic first-ever White House briefing on US-Pakistan relations in June 1991, attended by 175 delegates from all across America.
- Arranged for first-ever recitation of the Holy Qur’an at the New Jersey Governor’s inauguration in 1993.
During the Gulf Crisis/Conflict in 1990-1991, when I found myself at the forefront of opposing the US planned offensive against Iraq following its invasion of Kuwait, Shahid reached out to me through one of Pakistan’s ablest diplomats, Tariq Fatemi. Shahid then put together several speaking events for me during that period in the tri-state area. Mindful of the impending humanitarian tragedy, Shahid rose above his political ties with the Bush family and lent his voice and presence in the courageous pursuit of what he believed was Haq.
Shahid strove to earn respect for Muslims by empowering and enfranchising them as players and not as mere bystanders in the American arena. Trying to put Muslims on the socio-political map of America was more a money-draining than money-making commitment for Shahid.
To that end, Shahid sacrificed his personal health and emotional well-being, enduring heart attacks. His faith as a Mussulman never wavered. Even in flagging health, he used to drive to the Masjid every morning to offer Fajr prayers. Within his family, he was an impactful mentor to the young and, outside, an inspirational bridge-builder to a cross-section of thought-leaders. For him, the message was the priority, not the self.
Amongst the bereaved is Shahid’s wife, Margreet, 6 children, and countless admirers for whom he set a splendid example.
