Who Is Tarek Fatah? Facts About An Eminent Pakistani Canadian Journalist, Activist And Author

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An eminent author, political activist, journalist and television host of Pakistani Origin of Tarek Fateh passed away on Monday, 24 April 2023 after a prolonged illness related to cancer at the age of 73. He was born in Pakistan in 1949 and in the early 1980s migrated to Canada. He is also a celebrated flag bearer of queer rights.

In a Twitter post, His daughter, Natasha Fatah wrote, 'Lion of Punjab. Son of Hindustan. Lover of Canada. Speaker of truth. Fighter for justice. Voice of the downtrodden, underdogs, and the oppressed. @TarekFatah has passed the baton on... his revolution will continue with all who knew and loved him.'

Fatah has authored several books, including "Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State" and "The Jew is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths that Fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism". After writing a book titled 'The Jew is not my Enemy', he wrote another book titled 'The Hindu is not my Enemy.'

Fatah was one of the loud critics of the nation he was born in and was not a sympathiser for or of the radical Islamist.

In one of his blogs, Fatah wrote, 'I write as a Muslim whose ancestors were Hindu. My religion, Islam, is rooted in Judaism, while my Punjabi culture is tied to that of the Sikhs. Yet I am told by Islamists that without shedding this multifaceted heritage, if not outrightly rejecting it, I cannot be considered a true Muslim.'

Who Is Tarek Fateh? Facts About An Eminent Pakistani Canadian Journalist, Activist And Author

• Tarek Fatah was born on 20 November 1949 in Karachi, Pakistan to Punjabi Muslim parents who migrated from Bombay (Now Mumbai) to Karachi following the Partition of India in 1947.
• He called himself 'Indian born in Pakistan, a Punjabi born in Islam; an immigrant in Canada with a Muslim consciousness, grounded in a Marxist youth.'
• At the University of Karachi, he graduated in Biochemistry and was a leftist activist in college.
• Soon, he moved to Journalism, a career that earned him not only laurels but brickbats too.
• In 1970, he joined Karachi Sun as a reporter. Later, he also became an investigative reporter with Pakistan's state-broadcaster Pakistan Television.
• In 1977, he was charged with sedition by the Zia-ul Haq government.
• Soon, he migrated to Saudi Arabia and then later in 1987, he settled in Canada and joined Toronto radio station CFRB Newstalk 1010 as a broadcaster.
• He also became a columnist for Toronto Sun.
• He was always vocal in talking about Islamic extremism, lamented the Partition and questioned the Pakistani military's influence over the government.
• During the Afghan War, he criticised American funding of terrorist groups in Saudi Arabia, while supporting both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential race.
• He also recommended immigration curbs for nations harbouring Islamic terrorists.
• In 2014, he landed himself in controversy for stating that 'Niqab has nothing to do with Islam, Quran or Arabia. It's a custom borrowed from Persian /Byzantine female nobility/upper class.'