Renowned activist Thasleem Mohamed dies at 68

Renowned activist Thasleem Mohamed Ibrahim passed away tonight. He was 68.

According to reports, Thasleem succumbed to his illness at 10pm.

He had undergone treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the KPJ Damansara Specialist Hospital in the last few days due to complications with his lungs.

Prayers will take place at the Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) mosque tomorrow morning and he is expected to be laid to rest at the Bukit Kiara Muslim cemetery at 2pm.

A Facebook post by activist Anas Alam Faizli said Thasleem suffered from lung problems since he accidentally "inhaled hazardous chemical" in 2008 while performing the Hajj.

"(The lungs) are finally giving away (sic)," he said, asking for netizens to offer their prayers.

Messages of condolence flooded social media soon after his passing, with people calling him a true champion of the downtrodden, and a "true Tamil".

The National Indian Rights Action Team (Niat) chairperson, although being an Indian Muslim, is renowned for championing issues concerning the Indian race and Hindus, including the Interlok novel, which was deemed degrading to the Indian community.

He had also been vocal against the unilateral conversion of children to Islam and championed the cause of mothers like M Indira Gandhi and S Deepa who had suffered from such incidences.

He had described such unliteral conversions as "unIslamic" and "haram".

Thasleem, who is famous for his trademark songkok and cane, also helmed civil society organisation Jihad for Justice.

He had reportedly said that he would champion issues concerning only one race - the human race. - Mkini