Throughout his academic career, Ayoub received awards and scholarships, including the Kent Doctoral Fellowship and the Canada Council Fellowship. He also participated in the Fulbright Exchange of Scholars program for Malaysia and researched Christian-Muslim relations in Egypt and Lebanon, also on a Fulbright scholarship. Among his publications are “Redemptive Suffering in Islam” (1978), “The Qur’an and Its Interpreters”: vol. I (1984) and vol. II (1992); “ “Studies in Christian-Muslim Relations” (in Arabic) 2 vols. (2000), “Islam: Faith and History” (2005), “A Muslim View of Christianity: Essays on Dialogue” (2007) and “The Crisis of Muslim History: Religion and Politics in Early Islam” (2014). For him, the heart of Islam is its moral system, which is based on “No one of you will be a true believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself ” (“Sunan Ibn Majah,” vol. 1, book 1, hadith 66). This intra-Muslim pluralist described himself as “a very peaceful person, I don’t like to dispute with anybody.” Born into a Shia family, he would lead his Sunni stu dents in the Sunni way of prayer! A reli gious pluralist, he respected all religions by adhering to the Quranic teaching of the best approach to interreligious relations is to “compete with one another in doing good works” (2:148). Dr. Ayoub and his wife Dasmalina (Lina) are remembered by all who knew them for their warm hospitality and kindness. His two children, Firas and Sommayyeh, sur vive him. ih (Contributed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Imtiyaz Yusuf, coordinator, Islamization of Human Knowledge, and coordinator, Islam and Buddhism Program, International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation, [ISTAC-IIUM] Kuala Lumpur).
Fatima Baig
Leaving behind a most admirable legacy
F
atima Baig, 28, who had val iantly faced adversity since being diagnosed with a chronic autoim mune disease at 11, passed away in Toronto on Oct. 31, 2021. She also had Crohn’s disease. Born in Saudi Arabia to Pakistani parents, Fatima and her family emigrated to Mississauga, Ont., Canada in 1996. The youngest of four children, she lived with primary sclerosing chol angitis, a rare autoim mune disease that attacks the bile ducts and eventu ally leads to liver failure. It’s extremely rare in chil dren, as it usually impacts adults aged between 30 and 40. In 2013, she launched her organ donation cam paign and sought to raise awareness about organ donation’s impor tance among Canadian Muslims and South Asian communities. She made connections with other families affected by liver disease and spoke at various events, sometimes at the invitation of politicians. Taha Ghayyur, a host at Muslim Network TV and vice president at SoundVision, remembers, “Fatima and her beloved mother would go to various events setting up tables and doing presentations on this neglected issue.” Reflecting on Fatima’s demise, Gayyur summed up her legacy: “You may be faced with adversity, but you can choose to respond with a positive attitude. You may have a disability, but you can choose to not let it define you and confine you. You may be tested with pain and health challenges, but you can choose to share your story to ease others’ pain. You may have a life-threat ening disease, but you can choose to bring life to others through education, organizing, and advocacy. And, you can choose to leave behind a legacy whose impact outlives you.” Sarah Hurtado, writing in Humber News, a campus publication (Nov. 12, 2021),
reminisced, “But her impact went beyond her illness. Her light and heart were massive, all fit in a small, 4-foot 7-inch body.”
Baig also volunteered with Operation SMILE, writing stories for children with dis abilities. Her memoir, “Fatima’s Journey” (2017), details her journey as a two-time liver transplant recipient. She talks about how she came to spread awareness of organ donation; share her story through social and other media outlets and public speaking; and became part of a community of transplant patients, donor families, and those with chronic illness, all of whom united together in diversity through struggles. “Every year Baig celebrated her two trans plant anniversaries — Oct. 19 and Sep. 23 — along with her birthday — Aug. 27,” wrote Toronto Star’s Angelyn Francis. Upon graduation in 2020 with a journal ism major, Baig started working for Muslim Sources (https://muslimsources.org/), which helps mainstream journalists find credible Muslim experts. Her father Mirza Fawad Baig, mother Afia Baig, two sisters and a brother survive her. ih Source: “‘Leave a legacy whose impact outlives you’: Journalist and two-time organ transplant recipient Fatima Baig dies at 28,”Toronto Star, Angelyn Francis, Equity and Inequality Reporter. Nov. 11, 2021
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