Muslim American Journalists Association

Dilnawaz Ahmed Siddiqui
(1937-2006)

August 3, 2006 will be remembered as a sad day in the history of Islamic Horizons magazine - the publication lost the chairperson of its editorial advisory board, Dr. Dilnawaz Ahmed Siddiqui, 67, when he lost his four-and-a-half month battle with Guillaine Barre Syndrome in Los Angeles. Dilnawaz Siddiqui, who was born at Amroha (UP, India), retired as Professor in the Department of Communication, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Clarion, PA, in 2003, serving there since 1984.

At Clarion, he taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in research methodology, instructional planning, management, and global mass communication principles and practices. He received his CAS and Ph.D. degrees from Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York; Postgraduate Dip. Ed.from London University, London, UK; and MA, B.Ed from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.

Dr. Siddiqui was dedicated to the development of Muslim media in America. Not only he readily accepted to chair the advisory editorial committee of "Islamic Horizons" but he was indeed he was active participant in the magazine progress. He made a singular contribution to help produce the special issue of poet-philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal. In 2005, when the newly-founded Muslim American Journalist Association (MAJA) invited him, he graciously accepted to chair its inaugural session, sharing with the young journalists his insights. He was also a board member of the Muslim Media Network, publishers of "The Muslim Observer" newspaper. Writing on Iqbal (Message for our Times, IH, March/April 2005) he said, "Iqbal's thick eyebrows would be raised at the technological revolution of information media, particularly in form of the Internet based on the digitization of data, voice, and images. However, I can imagine a deep blank stare in his perceptive eyes at the shamelessness of the Arab and Muslim visual media across the globe. He would be pleased to see growing military might of some sections of the Muslim Ummah, yet he would be disappointed with their disunity."

His teaching, research, and advisory experience of over 36 years was earned in India, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, Botswana, U.S., Yemen, Jordan, and Sudan. He was lecturer in MSG College of Poona University, India before working for the Cambridge School System under the Ministries of Education in Tanzania and Zambia. He was Chairman, Division of Modern Languages and Social Sciences, at the Sir Evelyn Hone College on contract with the CTEVT/Canadian International Development Agency, Lusaka, Zambia.

After completing his doctoral studies at Syracuse, Dr. Siddiqui became the Chief U.S. Advisor to the Central Planning Organization at the Yemeni Prime Minister's Office. There, he directed the human resources Scholarship Management System, spelling out a feasible method of utilizing the foreign assistance for development, and established human resource planning development, and management units in individual Ministries. Dr. Siddiqui led an advisory team in conducting a summative evaluation of the $12.5 million administrative training project (1987-1992) in Jordan. He also wrote the Human Resources Development Master Plan for the Government of Sudan, based on his analysis of the policies of decentralization of administration and of the merger between the Ministries of Finance and Planning into one Ministry of Finance and National Economy.

As a Training and Development consultant, Dr. Siddiqui has conducted workshops in communication, project planning and leadership skills, and organized seminars for many public and private professional as well as community service organizations in the USA and abroad.

At retirement in Spring 2003, he was honored at a recognition ceremony: "Over his 19 years of at Clarion University, Dr. Dilnawaz Siddiqui was recognized as possessing a superior knowledge of the communication field and has demonstrated a dedication to achieving excellence in all of his endeavors.

"His colleagues regard him as an expert in the area of international communication and as a dedicated professional in the classroom . Siddiqui's major contribution has been in the area of scholarly activity."

His publications reflected his interests in adult education, international communication and globalization. He enjoys an international reputation that has resulted in invitations to several international conferences. As past president of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), Siddiqui participated in U.S. policy deliberations as a delegate to UNESCO as well as organizing the Second AMSS International Conference. His many accomplishments include the publication of two books, "Communicating Across Cultures: Islam and the West" and "Contributions of Alexander N. Charters to the Field of Adult Education."

He served on the editorial boards of the American Society for Training and Development's (ASTD) T & D Journal, East-West Review, American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, and the American Communication Journal (on the worldwide web) of the International Communication Association. He led a research team in conducting a Trends and Issues survey of the HRD Professors' Forum for the ASTD. During his learning and teaching career, Dr. Siddiqui has won several meritorious awards, including the Saifi Burhanuddin Gold Medal in the area of literary criticism, special mention for significant and substantive contributions in the field of training and development, and a honoris causa award from the Russian Academy for the Humanities.

He leaves behind a wife, a son and a daughter.

Source: Islamic Horizons magazine, Sept/Oct 2006