Tarafa Baghajati

Tarafa Baghajati (, (born September 1st 1961) in Damascus, Syria) is a human right activist and writer, he is also the chairman of the Austrian Muslim Initiative (AMI).
He lives in Vienna, Austria since 1986.

 Life 
Tarafa Baghajati was born in Damascus, to parents Adnan Baghajati,an author and former Syrian Education minister, and Amal Homsi, an economic journalist.

In 1984 the Syrian regime detained Baghajati for more than 8 months, he spent three of them in Tadmor Prison due to his political views.

Since he moved to Austria in 1986, Baghajati is active on the topics of immigration, anti-racism, human right and political issues which also involve the Middle East especially his home country Syria, he is also very active on the topics of Islam and Muslim in Austria and Europe, and opposition what is known as Islamophobia, and the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), in Africa and Europe.

In 1999, he found the initiative of Muslim Austrians ( IMOE ) with his wife Carla Amina Baghajati , Omar Al-Rawi, Mouddar Khouja and Andrea Saleh, who are members of the Islamic Religion 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 (ENAR)
He is also a board member of the Platform for Intercultural Europe (PIE).

In March 2009, Rüdiger Nehberg and Tarafa Baghajati met Sheikh Prof.Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi in Qatar, one of the most best known Islamic contemporary authority scholar. They obtained a fatwa 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 this time Sheikh Prof.Dr Mohamed Said Ramadan Al-Bouti and obtained a similar fatwa against female genital mutilation.

Baghajati is one of the finders and a board member of European Muslim Initiative for Social Cohesion (EMISCO).

Education
Baghajati graduated as civil engineer from Polytechnic University of Timișoara in 1986

 Awards 
Initiative of Muslim Austrians (IMOE) won democracy award by Margaretha Lupac Stiftung in 2008.

 Personal life 
He is married to Carla Amina Baghajati since 1990,has four children.

References

Category:1961 births
Category:Living people
Category:Austrian engineers
Category:Human rights activists
Category:Muslims
Category:Political prisoners
Category:Writers from Vienna
Category:Austrian activists
Category:Civil engineers