Fuad once worked as a “beach boy” in the tourist beaches of Mombasa. He taught scuba diving, snorkelling, how to ride a fast jet ski, water skiing and went deep sea fishing every weekend. But the most interesting aspect of is relationship with the ocean was when he jumped in to try and save a amily whose car had dropped from a cliff into the sea in a popular spot in town called ‘Light House’.

Of the hundreds of people out on that day only Fuad braved the rough waves. He was found unconscious hours later when the water had subsidised holding on to a baby whose life he saved. Fuad become a local hero and for some time enjoyed walking around town with his arm in a sling with people coming up to him and congratulating him.

The boy, from a Hindu background, grew up close to Fuad and is now a leading GP somewhere in Britain. The spot where Fuad jumped in is not marked but many Mombasa residents will eagerly point the place if you asked them.

We have a picture of Fuad taken around the time, but had declined to publish it as we are awkward like that.

As a teenager Fuad was a champion swimmer winning several local, regional
and national awards. He represented his secondary school and also Kenya at
international student competitions – participating in student games held in
Havana, Cuba, as a promising swimming talent. Fuad also was in the football,
hockey and athletic team in which he participated as a triple-jumper.

There is a photo that we have obtained, but it contains swimming costumes, so we have censored it, cos we are fanatical like that.

When he saw the light, he founded a magazine called ‘The Minaret’ which continued for many years as the official publication of the Mulsim students association of Nairobi University.

Fuad Nahdi, founding editor and present publisher of Q-News, has an interesting history of giving strange names to his publications.

For example, Q-News started out as MuslimWise, then morphed into the Muslim Update, then Q-News. What does the Q stand for? Is it Queer? Qu’ran? Quell? Quillam? There is a Q-News article about it, we’ll try and dig it out one of these days.

As a consequence, Fuad believes strongly in hospital hygiene.

Actually, that last part is more speculative, but you get the picture. 

This was the role that was previously held by the late Dr Zaki Badawi, a close friend of Fuad.

His first major event was to organise a nationwide tour of the late South African scholar, Shaykh Ahmed Deedat which took place in 1977 (see picture – Fuad is on the right).
It was a difficult proposition: he had to smuggle Shaykh Deedat into Kenya (which at the time was supposed to officially have no links with the apartheid state) and two deal with the vociferous and powerful Christian lobby who were opposed to Shaykh Deedat’s visit.

Fuad remained one of Shaykh Deedat’s friend and confidant until Shaykh Deedat died in 2005. Those who have good memory, or are long in the tooth, will remember that only MuslimWise, the magazine Fuad found in 1989, was being given out at the Royal Albert Hall during Shaykh Deedat’s lecture there in July 1989.

Anyway, this is about Fuad, who is above average height.  So this fact probably applies to you too.

For those looking for specific Fuad insights, insha’Allah tomorrow will be a corker.  I am having a bad morning.

One time, in the mid-nineties, some Q-News staff members went to interview a bearded Prominent Muslim. As the interview progressed, it became clear the Prominent Muslim did not know what he was talking about. The Prominent Muslim became more enthusiastic and verbose in his replies.

The Q-News interviewer then decided to end the interview. “As a final question, do you subscribe to the theory that beard length is inversely proportional to intelligence?”

“Oh yes!” said the Prominent Muslim, thinking he ws being praised, “Yes absoloutely, beard length is inversely proportional to intelligence.”

With that classic quote recorded, the team went home.

Well, Fuad is director of the Radical Middle Way project, he’s not really radical.   Challenging yes, a danger to society? Not at all.