Abdullah Abdelhamid Bade

Attorney and Community Benefactor

1935-2021

Legal counsel and advisor for numerous U.S.-based Muslim organizations, attorney Abdullah Abdelhamid Bade (pronounced ba-day), 86, passed away in northern Virginia on Dec. 7, 2021.

Born in a small farming village in British India in 1935, Bade became the first in his family and his district to attain higher education with a law degree (LLB) and master’s in economics from the University of Bombay. He followed this with a master’s in law (LLM) in 1966 from the London School of Economics & Political Science on a full scholarship. The following year, he achieved the status of barrister-at-law at the Lincoln’s Inn in London.

After migrating to the U.S. in 1971, Bade accepted a position at an Indianapolis-based law firm as the editor of legal textbooks and journals. He became a citizen in 1975, passed the Indiana Bar the next year and established a private legal practice in family law, immigration and not-for-profit corporate law in Indianapolis. He closed it 31 years later. At the same time, he offered pro-bono advice to Muslim students on immigration and domestic conflict resolution.

Beginning in 1976, Bade also served as legal counsel for the Muslim Students Association of the United States of Canada (MSA), the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) and, later on, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). He crafted and reviewed the legal framework for establishing ISNA’s subsidiary organizations, as well as for many local mosques and national Islamic organizations. Besides shaping constitutions and bylaws, his always diligent legal work safeguarded many mosques and related properties from damaging litigation.

Maseer, one of his three children, remembers his father as one who “led an exemplary life. He was In 1995, ISNA recognized Abdullah Bade with the Community Building & Professional Service Award, which was presented to him at its 52nd annual convention, by (then) ISNA president Azhar Azeez (left)

a resilient man. No matter how difficult the situation, he always maintained equanimity and kept his emotions in check, allowing intellect and reason to prevail. He was low-key, soft-spoken and shunned public recognition. From him and our mother, we learned many values, including integrity, honesty, sincerity, transparency, humility, respect, charity, kindness and a tireless work ethic. Although he spoke little, his words were precise and impactful. His focus in life was not just to be a Muslim, but to actually act and live as a Muslim.”

M. Yaqub Mirza, a former MSA president and general manager of NAIT, who worked with Bade, remembers that he “did not focus on his compensation (which was often below market rates), but dedicated himself to serving the Muslim community … with legal issues confronting many affiliated Islamic centers and schools around the country.” Mirza adds, “I know no one who served MSA, MCA, ISNA, AMSE, AMSS, FID and many more organizations as my beloved brother the Late Abdullah Bade did.”

Hisham Altalib, a co-founder of the SAAR Foundation and current president of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), admires Bade’s professional help to the community and to NAIT and SAAR, specifically during the community’s early years, noting that “benefits of his voluntary efforts reflected well on the American Muslim community as well as the international ummah overseas.”

Sayyid M. Syeed, a former MSA president and ISNA secretary general, considers Abdullah Bade “a lynchpin” in terms of how “we organized our new communities around the country and taught them the need to build a local organization around a constitution.” Syeed adds, “People could call him around the clock and this modest man was ready to provide advice…. to not a dozen or a few scores, but to hundreds of centers around the country.”

Ahmed ElHattab, former director of the ISNA Development Foundation, found in Bade a man of integrity who didn’t compromise his principles. “He was a persistent, hardworking man and paid full attention to details,” says ElHattab. “He cared a lot about the wellbeing of family and family relations and was a supportive and loving father.”

Architect Mazen Ayoubi remembers Bade as a professional dedicated to helping Islamic centers, schools and communities nationwide as they transformed from student associations into well-established community organizations. He recalls, “On many occasions I worked with him in preparing legal proceedings to protect and preserve the rights of Muslim communities.” Ayoubi further noted, “As a former legal counsel for NAIT, Bade left a legacy to be proud of… I hope other legal professionals will follow his lead.”

Abdullah Abdulhamid Bade is survived by his wife of 50+ years, two sons, a daughter and eight grandchildren. He will be missed dearly and long remembered by family, friends and fellow professionals. ih

Contributed by Dr. Iqbal Unus, chairman of Islamic Horizons advisory board, and a former ISNA secretary general.

Robert Dickson Crane (Faruq ‘Abd al Haqq)

An Intellectual Ambassador to both the East and the West

1929-2021

Robert Dickson Crane, a great soul and a dear friend to many, passed away on Dec. 12, 2021, at the age of 92. Ever since he embraced Islam in the early 1980s, he worked diligently to clarify issues about the meaning of Sharia as the canon of the justice and defend the Muslim community against its far right and neocon detractors.

Crane’s academic journey was long and rich with accomplishments. It started with studying Russian at Harvard University in 1945 at the age of 16, and the sociology of religion at University of Munich in Alliedoccupied Germany. He graduated with a B.A. from Northwestern University in 1956, followed by a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he became the Harvard International Law Society’s first president. He was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 1960.

Fluent in six languages, Crane co-founded the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington’s first foreign policy think tank. He went on to serve as director of Third World Studies at The Hudson Institute, executive director of the American Indian National Bank and president of The Native American Economic Development Corporation. In 1976, at the State Department’s request, he spent a year working as the principal economic and budget advisor to the Bahraini finance minister to help prepare a five-year plan. Crane was also one of the two principal founders of Reagan’s Presidential Task Force on Economic Justice.

His life journey took a turn when, it is said, President Nixon asked Crane, in his capacity of advisor on foreign affairs and deputy director of the National Security Council, to prepare research on Islam for him and attend Islamic seminars and lectures to learn more about the subject. Crane’s immersion in his assignment led to his conversion in 1981.