Syed Mumtaz Ali

August 10, 1927 – July 16, 2009

Syed Mumtaz Ali, Barrister and Solicitor, and late President of the Canadian Society of Muslims, passed away on

Thursday July 16, 2009.

Mr. Ali was 82. He was renowned among Sufi circles where he regularly hosted public functions after the demise of his

Shakyh Dr. Mirza Qadeer Shah Baig of the University of Toronto in 1988. He was the first Muslim lawyer in Canada, and

was acknowledged as such when he became the first lawyer in this country to take the oath of his profession on the Holy Quran.

Mr. Ali practiced corporate law for over 25 years with the Ontario provincial government before retiring in 1990. 

He played a significant pioneering role in developing and promoting the application of Muslim personal/family law in Canada

as part of the larger system of Alternate Dispute Resolution. The campaign garnered intense national and international attention,

and raised larger questions, opening up discussions with regard to minority rights and the nature of

multiculturalism more generally.

(The Globe and Mail featured Mr. Ali' call to the bar ceremony in its April 13, 1962 edition. The article included a prominent photograph.)

For more information, please contact:

Azim Hosein
info@muslimcanada.info