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Biography of Grand Imam Farid Uddin Masuod
His Eminence Grand Imam Farid Uddin Masuod was born in 1950 in the historical Kishoreganj district of Bangladesh. He is a scholar who grew up in a house known for its scholarship; his father was a renowned “Pandit” and his forefather Shaykh Sadruddin, may God have mercy on him, was one of the region’s most eminent scholars and the honorable Sadrus Sudoor of the famous court of Delhi Saltanat Empire.
He studied in the Islamic centers of learning known as Al-Madarisul Qawmiyyah especially the school of Shaykh Athar Ali(r) in which all the sacred sciences were taught including: jurisprudence, legal theory, syntax, language, rhetoric, Quranic exegesis and its auxiliary sciences, and the science of Prophetic tradition. He was able to progress rapidly in these sciences and stood first all through his academic career. His Alma mater was the Ummul Madaris Al Qawmiyyah( mother of all Qawmi Madrasa) Darul Uloom Dewband , India where he stood first with record CGP in his post graduate studies. He is also among the most famous pupils of great Islamic Sufi scholar Shykh Asa’ad Madani(r)
Imam Farid participated in the liberation war of his beloved motherland and years later set an example by self retirement as the Director of Imam Training Academy from Islamic Foundation in protesting war criminals of 1971. He also served as Shykhul Hadees(Chair for department of the science of Prophetic tradition) in many Islamic universities including Jamia Baridhara, Jamia Souduribara, and Jamia Madania and Jamia Iqra. During his golden academic career, he taught more than hundreds of thousands Imams, pupils and students the beautiful teachings of peace, love and compassion in Islam. He is the Professor Emeritus of Jamia Iqra Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is also a renowned social activist who established numerous schools, madrasas, masjids, maktabs, widow homes, shelters orphanages and a passionate campaigner against dowry practices, the main cause of domestic violence in Southeast Asia.
Imam Farid is an internationally acclaimed author ofmore than a thousand Islamic books, research publications and scholarly articles. His notable works include Islam, Terrorism and Communalism (2007), Terrorism and Militancy in the eye of Islam(2017) Proper interpretation of Misinterpreted Ayah of Quran(2017) Labor’s Rights in the Eye of Islam(1969) Women Rights in Islam(2010), Rights Of Minorities In Islam (1969).
As a firm believer of minorities rights, he has been working tirelessly to ensure sanctity and safety of minority communities. Religious leaders and clerics from different communities were present to express solidarity in the publication ceremony of his Fatwa of Peace for humanity. During the massacre in Myanmar, Buddhist community of our country was apprehending riots and violence as retaliation from Bangladeshi Muslim majority. As always, Imam Farid stepped up and assured them declaring that it’s our religious responsibility to protect minorities living in our country. At the same time His Eminence Grand Imam also carried out massive relief works through his government registered charity. His Eminence Pope of Vatican was so impressed with the effects of the works of Imam Farid that he personally thanked him during his visit to Bangladesh to address the crisis of Rohingya refugees. He has been carrying out social works for years distributing donations collected from his friends and families living in U.K. and USA, helping people in need irrespective of their beliefs and backgrounds to promote pluralism, positivity, peace and prosperity. Imam Farid, a renown face in the print and electronic medias, led delegation of religious leaders for the country long Train tour for peace and harmony in 2013 and countrywide long march in 2018 for creating awareness against addiction, corruption and terrorist activities. His timely steps in recent past played a significant role behind successful completion of World Iztema of Tabligh 2019 in Tangi. As the Cochair of government committee for Qawmi Madrsa education, he was the key person behind recognition of equivalency of Qawmi madrasa certificates.
Imam Farid has been at the forefront of campaign against violent extremist ideology on behalf of Islamic scholars and he was the key person behind the historical Islamic proclamation “the Fatwa of Peace for Humanity” endorsed by more than hundred thousand Islamic scholars, jurists and clerics, declaring militancy and terrorism completely illegal in the eye of Islam. He has been relentlessly working in the field of establishing world peace and, with the message of peace, travelled all corners of the world including USA, Russia, UAE, Japan and KSA.
Present Positions
- 10th Grand Imam of Sholakia Eidgah Moedan
- Chairman of Bangladesh Jamiyatul Ulama
- Founding Chairman of Iqra Bangladesh Education Society
- Vice Chairman of Zakat Board, Ministry of Religious Affairs Bangladesh Govt.
- Chairman of Islahul Muslimeen Parishad Bangladesh(A charitable NGO).
- Founding Chairman of Islamic Research Council of Bangladesh
- Editor in Chief of The Monthly Patheo (An Islamic journal
In the course of his relentless pursuit for world peace and harmony, Imam Farid has been blessed with friendship of many religious leaders including Shykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah from Mauritania, Shykh Mahmood Madani from India, Shykh Saleem Dhorat from England, Rabbi David Saperstein, former Ambassador at Large for USA, Mawlana Ayyub Kachubi from SA and many other distinguished religious figures. mnisters, high officials, ambassadors and high commissioners from different countries including USA, Japan, Singapore, Oman, European Union, delegation of State Department USA, special committee members of Security Council, UN invited him and visited him at his place to discuss ideas for furtherance of CT and CVE efforts.
Imam Farid participated in many different International conferences, seminars, symposiums and workshops on education, research, counterterrorism, interfaith dialogs and many other various religious topics in different countries. Among others the most importants are Zakat Management & Optimum use of Zakat organized by Islamic Development Bank held in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad- Pakistan, Optimum use of Qurbani Meats of Hajj jointly organized by OIC & Govt. of KSA in Jeddah KSA wherein his proposal to distribute meats in poor Muslim countries was well accepted, implemented and still feeding millions to share joy of Eid, “Workshop on CT and CVE Efforts in Asia” organized by Govt. of Japan held in Tokyo, Japan, Conference on Faith and Cohesion (to promote culture of pro-active engagement and dialogue between Muslim Communities and the whole society lead to potential harmonious and inclusive communities) organized by Association of Muslim Schools, United Kingdom held in Birmingham and “Converging Security Threats, How Can the UN Respond to Counter Terrorism and Violent Extremism” co hosted by the Permanent Missions of Norway, Bangladesh and Jordan at the assembly of United Nation held in NY,US, ”Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedoms” organized by the Department of State held in Washington, US, “Modaration in Islam” organized by Indonesian government in Bogor, “Alliance of Virtues: An Opportunity for Global Peace” organised by UAE government in Abu Dhabi and “International Conference on Islamic Unity” organised by Muslim World League in Makkah al Mukarramah.