Khurram Murad

Khurram Murad (1932-1996) a greater scholar of our times occupies a place of distinction in the intellectual firmament of contemporary Islam. A thinker and a prolific writer, he has been one of the architects of current Islamic resurgence. While his da'wah activities began in Pakistan, he has been involved in the promotion of the Islamic movement in Asia, Europe and Africa. As a teacher and a da'iyah his speeches and thoughtful orations have inspired thousands of young men and women all over the world. As chief of the training departments of the Jamiat, the Jamaat and as an active resource-person in training programmes in the UK, he played a key role in the character-building of the youth in the Islamic Movement.

Khurram Murad served as Naib Amir (Vice-President) Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, a Trustee and a former Director General of the Islamic Foundation in Leicester, UK, and editor of Tarjumanal Qur'an, Lahore, Pakistan (an epoch making journal founded by the renowned Islamic scholar, Abul Ala Maududi in 1932), and the quarterly Muslim World Book Review, Leicester, UK. He was born in Bhopal India, and after graduating cum laude, he took his Master's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota. From 1975-1976, he was involved in the extension project of Masjid al Haram in Makkah.

An author of over thirty-five works in Urdu and English, his thoughts have influenced two generations of Muslims all the world over.

Inter-Personal Relations in an Islamic Movement (Urdu), Way to the Qur'an, Islamic Movement in the West: Reflections on Some Issues, Lam'at-e-Zandan (Urdu), Shari'ah: The Way to God and Shari'ah: The Way to Justice, Key to al-Baqarah, Quranic Treasures, Gifts from Muhammad, Who is Muhammad (forthcoming)are some of his major works.

As a translator and interpreter of Mawlana Maududi, Khurram Murad has made his mark. Let us be Muslims, Islamic Movement: Dynamics of Values, Power and Change and The Islamic Way of Life (with Khurshid Ahmad) are his major contributions.

He also edited Mawlana Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi's pioneering work, Muslims in the West: Message and the Mission. Khurram also wrote over half a dozen books for children, edited and directed a video on "The Life of the Prophet Muhammad," and contributed dozens of scholarly articles to different journals and magazines. Over four hundred audio and video cassettes of Khurram Murad are in circulation in Pakistan and different parts of the Muslim World.

Khurram Murad was involved in Islamic da'wah and inter-faith dialogue in the West for the last twenty years. In this connection, he addressed dozens of conferences and seminars. His contributions in initiating and promoting strategic thinking on da'wah issues in Muslim countries as well as in countries where Muslims are in a minority have been immense.