WHO WAS HE?

Fuad Nahdi (1957-2020) was a visionary whose life and work spanned continents and influenced generations. We need your help to create a fund that will be used to make sure a legacy of community, creativity and culture lives beyond the man – and that Fuad’s vision continues to inspire, challenge and activate our communities for a long time to come.  

Fuad – known lovingly as Doctor Fuad, Hajj Fuad and even The Lion King – dedicated his life to creating an inclusive, future-proof Muslim identity. He wanted Muslims to be confident, unashamed and unafraid. He wanted the wisdom of Islam to nourish all. “It’s about time,” he used to say, “that we liberated Islam from Muslims.”

Fuad was a truly global soul – his life and experiences spanned virtually every continent. From the student dorms of Nairobi to the streets of Tehran, from London’s cosmopolitan neighborhoods to Kuala Lumpur’s cafes, Fuad’s world was a place that was interconnected, interdependent, ever converging.

An entrepreneur, an activist, a journalist, an interfaith leader, an organizer, a thinker, a writer, an advisor, a mentor, a contrarian, a father, a husband and a friend, Fuad’s life was dedicated to telling better stories about ourselves. He understood that human beings share common hopes and dreams. “There are (really) no new stories… just new ways of telling them,” he would remind anyone who would listen.

Fuad Nahdi dedicated his life in support of a progressive future-proof British Muslim identity through a lifetime of supporting cutting-edge storytelling, art and culture.

Fuad was known for achieving many things:

Founding MuslimWise – an independent, creative, satirical and irreverent magazine written for the young urban British Muslim in the wake of the publication of the Satanic Verse. “If you don’t like the story being told about you, learn to tell a better story.”

Founded British Muslim Update – a weekly fax delivered to mosques, community organizations and media outlets across Britain to help keep communities up-to-date about what was really happening on the ground. The first real British Muslim News Service.

Founded Q-News – for 15 glorious years, an independent, agenda setting, public affairs magazine that wasn’t afraid to ruffle the feathers of the establishment, push the boundaries of “Muslim journalism” and train a legion of men and women to become journalists, writers, thinkers and activists.

Founded Radical Middle Way – amplifying the Islamic wisdom tradition by developing tools, programs, content to confront hate, violence and the extremes that create it. Made Islamic scholarship responsive and relevant. A global phenomenon whose influence is still being measured. “Fight fear and ignorance. Have faith.”

He was the recipient of the Interfaith Gold Medallion in 2014 for his remarkable work bringing people all faith and none together. He was first Muslim to address the General Synod of the Church of England in its entire history. Fuad’s work is encyclopedic – for those who didn’t know him, it seems almost unbelievable that one person could do so much in 62 years.

It also takes a village. Those who knew Fuad also know that his greatest gift was the gift of community. Along with his wife and partner activist and community organizer Humera Khan, Fuad mentored, advised, guided, prodded and trained generations of young people who now are leaders, innovators, creators and visionaries themselves. Plying them food, drink, humour and (sometimes tough) love, their Table has become an intellectual and spiritual dojo.

THE AIM

We want the next generation of Muslims to benefit from this incredible legacy. We wish to create a legacy fund in order to do so.

THE PROJECTS

A Fuad Nahdi Legacy – with your support - will honour the man and his life by:

Investing in Relevant Grassroots Education Programs – like the Supplementary Muslim School (see our special Spotlight Section below!)

Investing in the Next Generation of Creatives, Visionaries and Doers – providing mentorship, fellowship and training opportunities to amplify and develop these influencers and thinkers.

Ensuring that the Fuad Nahdi Archive is a living, breathing collection of Fuad’s work and projects. From publications and papers to films and photographs – a library of resources to inspire and preserve the legacy.

Bringing to completion some of the important projects that were live for Fuad: The First Exodus – celebrating the first migration from Mecca to Abyssinia; The Crescent of Hope – harnessing Islamic wisdom, thought and creativity from Indonesia to Africa to Europe; Faith, Fitna and The Future – a deep dive into how the digital landscape is forcing faith to adapt, change and grow.

Some of these projects will take on new life, some will change and adapt and even more new ideas will emerge.

We want them to benefit all and it will all be sadaqa jariyah for Fuad.

Spotlight: An-Nisa Society’s Supplementary Muslim School (SMS)

SMS is a child-centred community madrassa. Set up in 1986 the SMS set out to provide an Islamic education that responded to the core essences of the Islamic message of nurturing the Prophetic character, enabling potential, supporting families and the importance of the ‘love’ of Allah and not the ‘fear’ of Him. The SMS uses a “traditional” methodology and modern styles of teaching multi-ethnic, mainly third and fourth generation British Muslims.

The school has been running from the same location for nearly 35 years and has now brought up several generations of confident young Muslims, being able to go into world and be able to balance being positively Muslim and building successful lives. The SMS has always been committed to building a positive British Muslim identity in the face of aggressive Islamophobia that our children are exposed to everyday.

Fuad was a parent at the SMS and also a great advocate of its methodology.  It’s a project that he believed in and hoped would continue for his grandchildren.

Remembering the Man

See below for in depth articles chronicling and celebrating his life:

Fuad: Perfume, Women and Prayer - Fuad's wife and life partner, veteran activist and community organizer Humera Khan - reflects on Fuad's legacy in this beautiful and powerful memorial. A testament to his legacy of creating spaces for others and facilitating a confident next generation. A must read. 

• The Guardian - Jack O'Sullivan and Abdul-Rehman Malik chronicle the remarkable life and the immense global contribution that Fuad made and the unique aspects of his life and personality that made him one of the most influential Muslim figures of our times
• BuzzFeed - Nadir Nahdi and friends of Fuad recall the beautiful, humorous and generous ways he touched the lives of so many - particularly young - people
• BBC Radio - The Last Word, BBC Radio 4's obituary program of record, commemorated Fuad's life at the top of their show just a few days after he left us - Abdul-Rehman Malik and Bishop Toby Howarth remember the joy, energy and mischievousness that Fuad brought to his work and the world
• BBC Radio - BBC Radio 4's flagship Sunday program invited Yahya Birt and Bishop Toby Howarth to mark the influence that Fuad had on British Islam
• Yahya Birt - scholar, writer and friend of Fuad's writes a comprehensive look back at what made the man and what he achieved
• Eid Films (A video) - sometimes who only have to know the people around someone to understand their incredible presence and contribution in the world - Ahmed Eid knows Nadir and it was enough to inspire this moving tribute
• Professor Mohammed Bakari - one of Fuad's oldest friends gives us a unique and compelling insight into Fuad's early life and the experiences that shaped him into the cosmopolitan, global and dynamic person he became