Hope for a speedy recovery!

Harakahdaily columnist Dr Farouk Musa ill

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15: Activist and Harakahdaily columnist Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa (pic) has been admitted at Hospital Kuala Lumpur since last week for bacterial meningitis. His condition is reported to be critical. Dr Farouk, 47, a cardiothoracic surgeon by profession and a senior lecturer at Monash University, was admitted on Friday evening. He was later put on sedation. He is currently still warded at the intensive care unit, but has yet to regain consciousness. Friends who visited him at the hospital describe him as a person who never runs out of energy. Days before he was taken to hospital, he informed Harakahdaily's English editor that he was preparing for his next piece for his column, 'Islamism Revisited'. Late last year, he launched a new organisation called Islamic Renaissance Front, a youth empowerment movement which focuses on intellectual debate. The IRF has since held several talks and seminars, most notably organising a lecture by well-known Swiss scholar Dr Tariq Ramadan last July and a seminar on Qur'anic tafsir. Dr Farouk is also a founding member of the Muslim Professionals Forum, and has been actively speaking at various inter-religious fora as well as contributing his thought-provoking articles on the subject of Islamic reform. Despite his busy teaching job and practice, he is said to be engaged in various projects, one of which is to produce a Bahasa Melayu translation of the late Polish-Muslim scholar Muhammad Asad's renowned work, The Message of the Qur'an. Dr Farouk takes a personal interest in the subject of Islamic revivalism, and in speeches and writings has emphasised the need for reform based on true Islamic intellectual traditions, an interest which led him to form the IRF. He has been actively involved in his medical field, having presented papers in Asia and Europe, winning several awards for his research works, specifically on minimally invasive surgery and atrial fibrillation. We hope readers will pray for Dr Farouk's speedy recovery. NB. Ahmad Farouk Musa was my classmate in Penang Free School between 1976 and 1980. (FG)