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To my friend, the Muslim Filipino |
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Written by Fahim Saleem
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Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 5:03pm
I mourn with you the loss of a man who's inner radiance shone so bright, that he touched our lives and gave us hope that everything could & would be alright.
Prof. Taha M. Basman, Commissioner, UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines and President, Center for Moderate Muslims (Philippines) passed away on January 22nd, 2009.
For the hope he gave us and for his gentle, compassionate ways... Prof. Basman is one of a very select group of people who've left a lasting impression on my life.
Born a Filipino Muslim, he showed concern not only towards his Muslim brethren, but worked tirelessly towards bridging the divide that exists between the mainstream Filipino people and Muslims in the Philippines.
His message was always clear, whilst we cannot change the past... there is no reason why we cannot reconcile our differences and work together to strengthen our nation and be one people.
His quick wit and exceptional sense of humor had all of us in splits when he was a guest speaker at the ADGS class in AIM.
I pray that Allah rewards him with a place in heaven for his service to his people and country, for believing that peace could be achieved and for going all out to bridging communal divide. My thoughts are with his family at this moment. May Allah give them the strength to cope and ease their pain. I hope that someday soon, Anna & Tani are able to pick up the torch and show us the way, just as their father did not so long ago. Ameen
Fahim Saleem
Founding President
Asian Institute of Management-Int'l Muslim Student Association
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