Tarafa Baghajati (, born September 1, 1961) is a Syrian-born, Austrian Muslim activist and writer. He is a founding member of the Islamic group "Initiative muslimischer ÖsterreicherInnen" (IMÖ). He has lived in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

since 1986.

Life

Tarafa Baghajati was born in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, to parents Adnan Baghajati, an author and former Syrian Education minister, and Amal Homsi, an economic journalist. In 1984 the Syrian government detained Baghajati for more than eight months. He spent three of them in

Tadmor Prison Tadmor prison () was located in Palmyra (''Tadmor'' in Arabic) in the deserts of eastern Syria approximately 200 kilometers northeast of Damascus. It was also referred to as the ''Desert Prison''. Tadmor prison was known for harsh conditions, e ...

due to his political views. In 1999, he founded the Islamic advocacy group Initiative muslimischer ÖsterreicherInnen (IMÖ) with his wife Carla Amina Baghajati, Omar Al-Rawi, Mouddar Khouja and Andrea Saleh, who are members of the Muslim religious community in Austria. Baghajati is a former board member (2001–2007, 2004–2007 Vice-President) and member of the Honorary Advisory Board of

European Network Against Racism The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) is an EU-wide network of anti-racist Non-governmental organization, NGOs. ENAR aims to end structural racism and discrimination and advocates for equality and solidarity for all Europeans. It connects ...

(ENAR) He is also a board member of the Platform for Intercultural Europe (PIE). Baghajati is one of the founders and a board member of European Muslim Initiative for Social Cohesion (EMISCO).

Activism

Female genital mutilation

Tarafa Baghajati has stated his opposition and rejection of the practice of

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. Prevalence of female ge ...

(FGM) in Africa and Europe and called to prevent it. In March 2009,

Rüdiger Nehberg Rüdiger Nehberg, also known as 'Sir Vival', (4 May 1935 – 1 April 2020) was a German human rights activist, author and survival expert. He was the founder and chairman of the anti- FGM organization TARGET, and chairman of the organizations F ...

and Tarafa Baghajati met Sheikh

Yusuf al-Qaradawi Yusuf al-Qaradawi (; or ''Yusuf al-Qardawi''; 9 September 1926 – 26 September 2022) was an Egyptian Islamic scholar based in Doha, Qatar, and chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars. His influences included Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn ...

in Qatar, a well known and controversial Sunni Islamic scholar. They obtained a

fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

issued by the recognized legal scholars, stating the genital mutilation of girls is referred to and forbidden as "devil's work" because it is directed against the ethics of Islam. Speaking at the Hamburg Museum of Ethnology, 6 February 2011 Baghajati ventured to predict to celebrate the end of this practice as early as 2020. In February 2011, Rüdiger Nehberg and Tarafa Baghajati met Sheikh

Mohamed Said Ramadan Al-Bouti Muhammad Said Ramadan Al-Bouti () (1929 – 21 March 2013) was a renowned Syrian Sunni Muslim scholar and author. He was served as professor and vice dean at the Damascus University, also serving as the imam of the Umayyad Mosque. Al-Bouti wr ...

and obtained a similar fatwa against female genital mutilation. In September 2012, Rüdiger Nehberg and Tarafa Baghajati met Sudanese Sheikh Hassan al-Turabi and obtained a similar statement opposing female genital mutilation.

Muslim Immigration and Muslim rights in Europe

Since moving to

in 1986, Baghajati has been active on the topics of immigration, anti-racism, human rights and political issues which involve

the Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

especially his home country of

. He is also active on the topics of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s in Austria and Europe, such as promoting Muslim women's rights relating to the headscarf and opposition to what he perceives to be

Islamophobia Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...

through legal recognition to combat anti-Islamic prejudice. On 23 February 2015 he spoke at RT, and expressed his concern at the rise of Islamophobia in Europe. On 24 June 2015, Tarafa called for the Muslim community to be more engaged in European Policy.

Geert Wilders Case

On 28 July 2015, Wilders gave a speech in Vienna at the invitation of FPÖ-Chef H. C. Strache in which he compared the Qu'ran to Mein Kampf. Vienna's prosecutors' office lodged calls for criminal proceedings following Baghajati legal claim accusing Wilders of hate speech, suggesting the Qu'ran endorses terrorism and for 'denigrating religious teachings'.

The Syrian Revolution

Since the Syrian Conflict started in 2011, Baghajati publishes articles concerning the situation in Syria, mostly in

Al-Hayat ''Al-Hayat'' ( ''Life'') was an Arabic newspaper based in Beirut from its founding 28 January 1946 to 1976 and in London after its refounding in 1988. It was a pan-Arab newspaper owned by Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan, that had a circulation ...

, and in

Al-Quds Al-Arabi ''al-Quds al-Arabi'' () is an independent pan-Arab daily newspaper, published in London since 1989 and owned by Palestinian expatriates. According to news reports in 2013, it is now owned by Qatar media interests, through intermediaries. The pa ...

. Tarafa Baghajati is against the government of

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

and supports "a pluralistic and democratic view of Syria". He warns in his articles of the confessional tension in Syria and in the Islamic countries, especially between Sunni and Shia. On May 6, 2014 Baghajati stated in a conference his strong opinion against European Muslims travelling to fight in Syria.

Education

Baghajati graduated as civil engineer from

Polytechnic University of Timișoara A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...

in 1986

Awards

The Muslim Austrian Initiative (IMOE) won democracy award by Margaretha Lupac Stiftung in 2008. In February 2016 Tarafa received the Golden Medal of the Province of Vienna at the event 10 years of Muslim commitment against Female genital mutation (FGM).

Personal life

He has been married to Carla Amina Baghajati since 1990 and has four children.

References

External links

* *Tarafa Baghajat
youtube channel
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baghajati, Tarafa 1961 births Living people People from Damascus Writers from Vienna Syrian emigrants to Austria Syrian human rights activists Syrian writers Prisoners and detainees of Syria Syrian democracy activists Syrian dissidents People of the Syrian civil war Syrian engineers Activists against female genital mutilation Austrian Muslims 21st-century Syrian engineers 20th-century Syrian engineers