By Bonny Verwey
Sheikh Ahmed Hoosen Deedat, president of the Islamic Propagation Centre International (IPCI) and an icon of the Muslim world, died on Monday.
Deedat had been bed-ridden after suffering a severe stroke that left him paralysed nearly 10 years ago.
Born on July 1, 1918, in the Surat district of India, Deedat emigrated to South Africa in 1927 with his father.
'A hero of the Muslim world and a true hero of believers all around the globe' In a tribute to its founders, the IPCI website said on Monday that a lack of money had forced Deedat to abandon school and begin working at age 16.
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After reading Izharul Haq - The Truth Revealed, a book about a debate with Christian missionaries in the then-British India, Deedat was spurred on in the direction of Dawah (Islamic missionary activity).
The controversial and fiery Islam scholar founded the IPCI and immersed himself in conducting classes, lectures and debates around the world.
He also established an Islamic seminary at the Assalaam Educational Institute, in Braemar, on the South Coast.
His career in the field of comparative religion involved him in dialogue with Protestant leaders in the United States and the late Pope John Paul II.
Deedat was refused entry into France and Nigeria because it was feared that his views would spark civil unrest.
The Deedat family enjoys close relations with the family of Osama bin Laden, one of the richest families in Saudi Arabia.
About 200 friends and relatives gathered at Deedat's Verulam residence on Monday afternoon for his burial ceremony. Mourners spoke in hushed tones and, in accordance with Muslim burial tradition, helped pass along the coffin before it was loaded into a hearse.
The body was taken to a mosque for the funeral prayer, and then to the Verulam Muslim Cemetery where Deedat was buried.
The funeral service was filmed by Al-Jazeera, the television news station, and broadcast live to the Middle East.
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