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Hundreds bid farewell to Sudanese preacher and former Bosnian president's advisor, Al-Fatih Hasnain, in Istanbul

Arab| 20 August, 2024 - 2:30 PM

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Hundreds of mourners participated in the funeral prayer for Sudanese doctor and preacher Al-Fateh Ali Hassanein in Istanbul, Turkey, on Tuesday afternoon.

The funeral prayer was held at the Sultan Eyup Mosque, where he was buried in the nearby Abu Ayyub al-Ansari Cemetery, in the presence of his family members, Turkish officials and politicians, a large number of scholars and preachers, in addition to hundreds of members of the Arab communities residing in Istanbul.

Among the most prominent attendees were the President of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, Sheikh Ali Al-Qaradaghi, Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hassan Al-Dado, Sheikh of the Ismail Agha Naqshbandi Community, Hassan Effendi, the Governor of Istanbul, Davut Gul, and a number of members of the Turkish Parliament with various political identities.

Before the funeral prayer, former head of Turkish Religious Affairs Mehmet Gormaz offered his condolences over the passing of Sheikh Fatih Ali Hasnain, praising his prominent role in spreading Islamic teachings worldwide and his distinguished contributions during the Bosnian War. Gormaz expressed his deep sorrow over the loss of a great fighter and mujahid of the stature of Dr. Hasnain to the Islamic nation. The funeral prayer was then performed by Sheikh Ali Al-Qaradaghi.

Al-Fateh Ali Hassanein passed away at dawn yesterday, Monday, after a struggle with complications from severe pneumonia, which required his admission to intensive care more than two weeks ago in an Istanbul hospital.

Who is Dr. Al-Fateh?

Al-Fatih Ali Hassanein, a Sudanese doctor and preacher, played an important Islamic role in Eastern Europe, where he was appointed advisor to Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, assumed the chairmanship of the Board of Trustees of the Moroccan Association in Austria, founded the Islamic Council of Eastern Europe and the Higher School in the Bihac region in Bosnia, and headed the Third World Relief Agency.

Birth and upbringing

Al-Fateh Ali Hassanein was born in 1946 in the city of Kirkuk in Sennar State in southeastern Sudan.

Study and training

He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Belgrade, and obtained a diploma in internal medicine from the University of Vienna in Austria. After that, Hasnain lived for a period in Turkey, where he met the late Alija Izetbegovic, who later assumed the position of President of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The missionary experience

The Sudanese doctor built relationships with charitable and advocacy leaders in Turkey, and founded the Ghazi Ali Izzet Bey School in Istanbul.

Later, he served as an advisor to and acting president of Bosnia and Herzegovina Izetbegovic for several months in the 1990s.

Al-Fatih has close ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dating back to the 1970s, and Erdogan describes Al-Fatih as his sheikh and mentor.

Sources say that the Third World Agency, which was established by Al-Fateh Hasnain in Austria, contributed greatly to the establishment of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and supported the Islamic presence in Eastern Europe, especially in Albania and Kosovo.

Among his missionary activities was his printing of the meanings of the Holy Qur’an in Bosnian, Albanian, Bulgarian, Czech and Romanian. He also worked on translating many Islamic books into a number of Eastern European languages, and issued the magazine “Al-Shahedah,” which dealt with news of Islamic minorities there.

Some sources describe Dr. Al-Fateh Ali Hassanein as a preacher and revolutionary and one of the most important leaders who defended the presence of Muslims in Eastern Europe.

A memorable day

On December 24, 2017, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on an official visit that witnessed the signing of agreements and treaties between the two sides, and was described as crowded due to its multiple political and economic aspects.

But the Turkish President decided to visit his Sheikh and friend to check on his health and ask him to pray for him.

Residents of Hassanein's neighborhood noticed unusual movements, many Turkish flags on lampposts, and a large picture of the Sudanese and Turkish presidents on the front of the house.

Then, rumors spread that Erdogan would visit his old friend's house, as he did during his last visit to Sudan when he was Prime Minister of his country.

People lined up in front of Fatih Hasanin's house before Erdogan's arrival, and remained in their positions until he left, waiting to greet him and take pictures next to him.

President Erdogan had dinner at the Sudanese preacher's house with others who were hastily invited by Al-Fateh Hassanein. Later, the two friends sat alone and talked about the prospects for developing Sudanese-Turkish relations.

Erdogan sent a special ambulance plane to his teacher in July 2018, carrying a top-level medical team, as soon as he heard that he had fallen ill, and transferred him to Turkey for treatment.

Duties and Responsibilities

He worked as an advisor to Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, chaired the Board of Trustees of the Moroccan Association in Austria, founded the Islamic Council of Eastern Europe and the Higher School in the Bihac region in Bosnia, and headed the Third World Relief Agency.

Publications

From the works of Al-Fateh Hassanein:

"Bridge over the Drina River".

"The Road to Fouga".

"The Shining of Lightning in the Biography of Mawlana Ahmed Zarrouk."

"The tragedy of Muslims in Bulgaria."

"Encyclopedia of Maghrebi families and their genealogies in Sudan."

Source: Al Jazeera

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