Tarek Fatah

Early Life and Immigration to Canada

Tarek Fatah was born on 20 November 1949 in Karachi, Pakistan, into a Punjabi family that had migrated from Bombay following the Partition of India in 1947. He graduated with a degree in biochemistry from the University of Karachi but chose a career in journalism, beginning as a reporter for the Karachi Sun in 1970. Fatah later worked as an investigative journalist for Pakistan Television and was active as a leftist student leader during the 1960s and 1970s. His political activities led to imprisonment twice under military regimes, and in 1977 he was charged with sedition and barred from journalism by the government of Zia-ul Haq. Fatah left Pakistan, living for a time in Saudi Arabia before emigrating to Canada in 1987, where he eventually renounced his Pakistani citizenship, citing the government's discrimination against the Ahmadiyya community. He described his complex identity by stating he was an Indian born in Pakistan, a Punjabi born in Islam, and an immigrant in Canada with a Muslim consciousness grounded in a Marxist youth.

Political Involvement and Activism

Fatah was a long-time member of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) and ran as its candidate in the riding of Scarborough North during the 1995 provincial election, though he was unsuccessful. He subsequently worked for Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton. In July 2006, Fatah left the NDP to support Bob Rae's candidacy for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, citing concerns that the NDP's establishment of a faith caucus would open the door for religious fundamentalists. However, after Rae's defeat by Stéphane Dion, Fatah criticized similar racial and religious organizing within the Liberal Party in a Globe and Mail editorial, arguing that Tamil, Sikh, Kurdish and Islamist Muslim leaders were engaged in blatant efforts to wield political muscle and bargaining the price of their delegates. At an October 2008 press conference, he sharply criticized the federal NDP, claiming the party had opened its doors to Islamists under leaders Alexa McDonough and Jack Layton and that these elements pursued a campaign to instill a sense of victimhood among Muslim youth. In a 2015 Toronto Sun column, Fatah wrote that he would vote for Conservative leader Stephen Harper in the federal election while still identifying as a social democrat. In 2016, he expressed favour for both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in the United States presidential race, agreeing with policies to curb immigration from countries harbouring Islamist sympathizers.

Tarek Fatah was one of the founders of the Muslim Canadian Congress in 2001, following the September 11 attacks. He served as its communications director and spokesperson until his resignation in August 2006. Through the MCC, he spoke out against the introduction of Sharia law in Ontario and promoted social liberalism and the separation of religion from the state. He also endorsed same-sex marriage and described Sharia banking in Canada as a 'con-job'. Fatah cited concerns for his safety and his family's safety as reasons for resigning from the MCC.

• He spoke out against the introduction of Sharia law as an option in Ontario's civil arbitration system.
• He criticized Sharia-compliant banking in Canada, describing it as a 'con-job'.
• He promoted social liberalism and the separation of religion from the state.
• He endorsed same-sex marriage, a position that put him at odds with more conservative Muslim groups.

He resigned from the MCC in August 2006, citing concerns for his safety and that of his family following an email campaign targeting his views. Fatah also had public disputes with other Muslim organizations, including the Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC). In 2004, he joined calls for CIC President Mohamed Elmasry to resign after Elmasry stated all adult Israelis were legitimate targets for suicide bombers. In 2006, Elmasry called Fatah well known for smearing Islam and bashing Muslims, a label Fatah said he saw as tantamount to a death sentence. He filed a complaint with the RCMP regarding a CIC article he believed placed him as an apostate and blasphemer, with CIC president Wahida Valiante having told The Globe and Mail that Fatah's views were diametrically opposed to most Muslims and contradicted the fundamentals of Islam.

Media Career and Public Commentary

Tarek Fatah was a prominent media personality in Canada for nearly three decades, working across television, radio, print, and digital platforms. From 1996 to 2006, he hosted Muslim Chronicle, a weekly current affairs discussion show on CTS and VisionTV focusing on the Muslim community. From 2009 to 2015, he was a broadcaster on Toronto radio station CFRB Newstalk 1010, first as a co-host of the nightly program Friendly Fire with Ryan Doyle and later as the host of The Tarek Fatah Show on Sunday afternoons. From 2012 until his death in 2023, he wrote a regular column for the Toronto Sun and was a frequent commentator on the now-defunct Sun News Network. From 2018 to 2023, he hosted the online talk show What The Fatah on the New Delhi Times YouTube channel, which focused on international political trends. His media presence was marked by several notable public incidents and debates.

• In February 2011, he cancelled a scheduled debate with Sheharyar Shaikh of the North American Muslim Foundation, citing a last-minute change of moderator and a hostile audience, and later claimed police warned him of threats to his safety.
• In early 2011, he reported a threat received via Twitter to Toronto Police, but said intelligence officers, including a Muslim officer, shut down the investigation claiming there was no threat, which Fatah criticized.
• In 2017, Chicago-based Indian Mufti Yasir Nadeem al Wajidi challenged Fatah to an academic debate anywhere in the world under specific conditions, including independent judges, and started a talk show called Surgical Strike to debunk Fatah's allegations.
• His television show Fatah ka Fatwa was well received by some audiences but also prompted protests from radical Islamist organisations who urged for his assassination.

Fatah's commentary was characterized by strong critiques of political Islam, Pakistani nationalism, and religious fundamentalism. He was a vocal critic of Pakistan's legitimacy as a state and advocated for Baloch separatists, believing Balochistan's independence could lead to the remainder of Pakistan reunifying with India. He rejected antisemitism, supported Israel's right to exist and Zionist projects, but also called for an end to what he termed the illegal and immoral Israeli occupation of Palestine. Fatah was a staunch critic of Sharia law, arguing in a 2007 Globe and Mail discussion that most Islamic radicalism stemmed from the empowering of Saudi-based Jihad groups funded by the U.S. and CIA during the Afghan war. Following the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting, he endorsed a discredited conspiracy theory that Muslims had participated as perpetrators. He made controversial statements about mosques in Canada, claiming there are hateful sermons in almost every mosque and that they had become schools for fanaticism, though he admitted he never attended one himself and encouraged Muslim parents to keep their children out.

Published Works and Literary Recognition

Tarek Fatah was the author of two non-fiction books that explored themes of Islamic identity, politics, and history, both of which received significant recognition. His first book, Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, was published in 2008. The book argued against the concept of a global Islamic state, critiquing both the ideology of Islamism and the state of Pakistan. It received mixed reviews. The Toronto Star's John Goddard called it a richly layered work of stark realities, while Emran Qureshi in the Globe and Mail said it provided a substantial contribution to the critique of the Islamic state but criticized its gratuitous polemics and sloppy fact-checking. The conservative Mackenzie Institute praised it as a direct challenge to far-Islamist fanatics that successfully argued how the pursuit of a global Islamic state violated Mohammed's tenets. On 31 March 2009, the book was shortlisted for the Donner Prize, a $35,000 award for Canadian public policy non-fiction.

His second book, The Jew Is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths That Fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism, was published by McClelland & Stewart in October 2010. This work examined the historical and theological roots of anti-Semitism within Muslim communities and argued for reconciliation. It won the 2010 Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Book Award in the Politics and History category, presented by Toronto's Koffler Centre of the Arts. These publications cemented his reputation as a writer willing to address contentious intra-faith issues and engage with public policy debates, contributing to his national profile.

Controversies and Public Reception

Fatah was a deeply polarizing figure, praised by some for his secular critiques and condemned by others for his broad generalizations and dissemination of misinformation. He was included in Maclean's magazine's 2007 list of 50 Canadians described as the country's most well known and respected personalities. In December 2008, the Toronto Star suggested Prime Minister Stephen Harper appoint Fatah to the Senate, with senior editor Bob Hepburn writing he would bring a much-needed unique perspective. Conversely, Wael Haddara of the Muslim Association of Canada stated that while he respected Fatah's passion, it was hard to find anything positive he had said about Muslims, leading many to stop listening to him. Syed Soharwardy of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada valued some of Fatah's views but rejected his stereotyping of Islam based on extremist behaviour. Critic Michael Coren praised Fatah for being brave enough to admit the faults and failings of Islam.

Tarek Fatah was criticised for spreading fake news on multiple occasions. During the 2020 Delhi Assembly Election, he tweeted an old communally-charged video and falsely claimed it was from Delhi. In January 2020, he tweeted a video of burqa-clad persons dancing, falsely hinting it was from the Shaheen Bagh protests, though he had tweeted the same video twice before. Due to his continued pattern of spreading fake news on Twitter, especially along sectarian lines, some critics argued he was an external agent who wanted to create communal disturbances in India. Writing about his targeting of Indian Muslims, AltNews.in accused him of blurring the lines between rational scepticism and contempt toward the Muslim community.

• During the 2020 Delhi Assembly Election, he tweeted an old communally charged video falsely claiming it was from Delhi.
• In January 2020, he shared a video of burqa-clad individuals dancing to a Bollywood song, implying it was from the Shaheen Bagh protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, though he had posted the same video twice in the past.
• The fact-checking website AltNews accused him of blurring the lines between rational scepticism and contempt toward the Indian Muslim community.

His public appearances also sparked controversy. In 2016, during a talk at Panjab University in India, he entered a verbal altercation with students. He called a student from Kargil a Pakistani terrorist and a Sikh student a Khalistani, while telling a Hindu student she was a real patriot because of her religion. He also criticized students for standing up to show respect when a librarian entered the room, telling them Indians need to stop giving such treatment to their seniors. In November 2017, Indian police arrested two men allegedly hired by criminal Chhota Shakeel to assassinate Fatah, highlighting the tangible risks associated with his provocative stance.

Notable Public Disputes and Criticisms

Throughout his career, Tarek Fatah engaged in numerous public disputes with individuals and organizations, often centring on interpretations of Islam and political ideology. In 2003, he broke with author Irshad Manji, repudiating the thanks she gave him in her book The Trouble with Islam in a Globe and Mail article. Fatah wrote that Manji's book was not addressed to Muslims but aimed at making Muslim-haters feel secure. Manji replied that Fatah had told her in front of witnesses that the book was written by the Jews for the Jews. Fatah later expressed regret for his remarks, stating he was unfair and that Manji was right about systematic racism in the Muslim world and that there were many redeeming points in her memoir. In 2011, when 60 Muslim groups and two dozen imams endorsed a statement condemning honour killings and domestic violence, Fatah refused to endorse it. He argued the statement did not address gender inequality and that honour killing has roots in Islam, as Islam deems the relationship of an unmarried woman as adultery and imams must distance themselves from punishing such actions by death. In 2008, he strongly defended Maclean's magazine after the Ontario Human Rights Commission criticized it for articles inconsistent with the spirit of the human rights code, calling the commission's criticism bullshit and accusing it of taking sides against freedom of speech in a dispute within the Canadian Muslim community.

Fatah's critiques extended to foundational historical events and ongoing conflicts. He criticized the 1947 partition of India, arguing it created Pakistan and resulted in the entire population of Punjab’s indigenous Sikhs and Hindus in Pakistan being either slaughtered or driven out by raging mobs of Muslim fanatics. In a 2012 Toronto Sun article, he argued that Pakistan partially owed its existence to the desire of British and American governments to combat Soviet influence in the region. His views on Israel and Palestine were complex. The following table outlines key positions he held on related issues, illustrating the nuanced and sometimes contradictory nature of his commentary.

His views frequently placed him at odds with conservative Muslim groups. For instance, the Canadian Islamic Congress president Mohamed Elmasry said Fatah was well known for smearing Islam and bashing Muslims. Fatah also faced criticism from segments of the left, particularly after leaving the NDP and later endorsing Conservative leader Stephen Harper in 2015 while calling himself a social democrat. According to the National Post, Fatah said Islam is riddled with termites and that if we do not cleanse ourselves with truth, the stench of our lies will drive us mad. He also stated there are hateful sermons in almost every mosque in Canada, though he never attended a mosque himself.

Death and Aftermath

Tarek Fatah died of cancer on 24 April 2023 at the age of 73. His widow, Nargis Tapal Fatah, died later that same year in December 2023. Fatah was cremated in a private ceremony on 27 April 2023. His choice of cremation was controversial as it contravenes traditional Islamic funeral rites, which forbid the practice. His daughter explained that his preference was to be like his ancestors, referencing traditional Indian practices and his self-identification as an Indian born in Pakistan. His death marked the end of a decades-long career that consistently provoked debate about Islam, secularism, and identity in Canada, leaving behind a complex legacy as both a courageous critic and a divisive figure whose work was shaped by his experience as one of what he called Salman Rushdie's many Midnight's Children.

Questions about Tarek Fatah

What were Tarek Fatah's most controversial views?

Tarek Fatah held numerous views that sparked controversy. He was a vocal critic of the state of Pakistan, questioning its legitimacy and advocating for Baloch separatists. He made sweeping criticisms of mosques in Canada, claiming they delivered hateful sermons and were schools for fanaticism, though he admitted he never attended one. Following the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting, he endorsed a discredited conspiracy theory that Muslims were among the perpetrators. He also frequently clashed with mainstream Muslim organizations, accusing them of fundamentalism and once stating that honour killings have roots in Islamic teachings on adultery.

What books did Tarek Fatah write and did they win any awards?

Tarek Fatah authored two major non-fiction books. His first, Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State (2008), critiques the concept of an Islamic state and the formation of Pakistan. It was shortlisted for the 2009 Donner Prize for public policy writing. His second book, The Jew Is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths That Fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism (2010), explores the roots of anti-Semitism in Muslim communities and argues for Jewish-Muslim reconciliation. This book won the 2010 Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Book Award in the Politics and History category, awarded by the Koffler Centre of the Arts in Toronto.

What was Tarek Fatah's role in Canadian media?

Tarek Fatah had a long and varied career in Canadian media. From 1996 to 2006, he hosted the weekly television talk show Muslim Chronicle on CTS and VisionTV. From 2009 to 2015, he was a broadcaster on Toronto's CFRB Newstalk 1010 radio, co-hosting Friendly Fire and later hosting his own program, The Tarek Fatah Show. From 2012 until his death in 2023, he was a regular columnist for the Toronto Sun and a frequent commentator on the now-defunct Sun News Network. From 2018, he also hosted the online talk show What The Fatah on the New Delhi Times YouTube channel.

What was the Muslim Canadian Congress and what was Fatah's involvement?

The Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) was an advocacy group founded in 2001 in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Tarek Fatah was one of its founders and served as its communications director and spokesperson until 2006. The MCC promoted secular liberalism, the separation of religion and state, and social liberal causes within the Muslim community. Under Fatah's involvement, the group spoke out against introducing Sharia law in Ontario's civil courts, criticized Sharia-compliant banking as a con-job, and endorsed same-sex marriage. Fatah resigned from the MCC in August 2006, citing safety concerns for himself and his family.

How did Tarek Fatah's death and funeral arrangements cause controversy?

Tarek Fatah died of cancer on 24 April 2023. He was cremated in a private ceremony on 27 April 2023. This choice was controversial because cremation is strictly forbidden under traditional Islamic funeral rites. His daughter explained that his wish to be cremated stemmed from his desire to be like his ancestors, referencing traditional Indian practices and his self-identification as an Indian born in Pakistan. This final act reflected his lifelong break from orthodox religious practices and his emphasis on a cultural, rather than strictly religious, identity.

Why did Tarek Fatah leave the New Democratic Party (NDP)?

Tarek Fatah left the Ontario New Democratic Party in July 2006 to support Bob Rae's candidacy for the Liberal Party of Canada's leadership. He wrote in Toronto's Now Magazine that his primary reason for leaving was the NDP's establishment of a faith caucus, which he believed would open the way for religious fundamentalists to enter the party. Later, in October 2008, he publicly criticized the federal NDP, stating he was a lifetime social democrat who could no longer be affiliated with the party. He claimed the NDP began opening its doors to Islamists under Alexa McDonough and that under Jack Layton, he had seen them flood into the party. Fatah said these Islamists pursued a campaign to instill a sense of victimhood among Muslim youth.

Sources: Wikipedia and current public reporting, checked by the Yadude Books desk. Last updated 2026-11-02.