Did we ever bother to know Muzzammil?

Zerqa Abid

Muzzammil Hassan, the owner and CEO of Bridges TV has been arrested for beheading his wife, Aasiya Zubair.

This is the news of the year that has once again damaged not only the Muslim image in American society, but it has also damaged our trust and the hope that we place in American Muslim leadership.

It’s been five days now that my family along with the rest of the community has been in shock. The fact that Muzzammil was married to my first cousin before marrying the victim still horrifies us. Ms Zubair was his third wife. Both of his earlier wives filed divorces on the same grounds of severe domestic violence and abuses.

My cousin lived with him for only a year. Yet, it took her several years to get rid of the fear of living with a man in marriage. He was known as violent and abusive in the community. He had changed his name from Syed Muzzammil Hassan to Mo Steve Hassan. He had no background of community service or involvement in the Mosque or in any other organization. Neither his character and nor his faith were sound. In addition, he had no background or expertise in TV production or media.

But none of it mattered; he still got the stage at the most reputable American Muslim conventions. Our leaders and established organizations did not bother to vet him. No questions or flags were raised about him. He was introduced with huge respect and the Muslim community was told to give him generous funds for Bridges TV.

The American Muslim community, desperate for its own English channel in the United States, collected millions of dollars and handed it over to him. It was not Hassan, the donors but trusted the organizations standing behind him.

Hassan put that money in his pocket and moved into a huge property with stables and horses. Nobody questioned that how much was spent on the actual project and how much was spent on his new but lavish lifestyle.

After resigning from NBC News, I was working as General Manager of The City Channel of ARY Digital in Pakistan, when I heard about the Bridges TV. I thought it must be a project of Islamic Broadcasting Network or Sound Vision Foundation. But I was surprised to hear that none of our longtime organizations were part of this channel and nobody knew the owner for long time.

The surprise was changed into shock and worry when I learned that Bridges TV was owned and operated by the same Muzzammil Hassan who I knew as a serious criminal. To me, domestic violence is a serious crime and a person’s character must be judged by the way he deals with his family. At my return, I warned some community leaders, but in vain. People told me that regardless of his messed up personal life, we should support him for the cause.

As a gesture of this support, Hassan received many awards. Now the pictures of award ceremonies are coming back to haunt us and some of them are already posted on anti-Muslim blogs after the murder of Ms. Zubair. One of the headlines reads: Bridges TV CEO Arrested for Beheading Wife Received Award from … [Name of a prominent national American Muslim organization].

This murder might not have cost us as much if Muzzammil was just an ordinary Muslim. Instead, unfortunately, he was a trusted and respected member of the American Muslim community.

The Vice President of Islamic Society of North America, Imam Mohamed Hagmagid Ali, writes in an open letter, “Our community needs to take strong stand against abusive spouses and we should not make it easy for them to remarry ...”

What about making community leadership easy for them, Imam?

Shouldn’t Islamic organizations also take responsibility of vetting new comers before presenting them on the stage? Common people rely on organizational leadership and judgment.

Vetting of community leader has been established since the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and is now in practice within the conscious communities all over the world. The Obama administration is going through the same process. Whenever it is not done properly it causes trouble and embarrassment as we have recently witnessed in the case of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. The American Muslim organizations have no option but to live up to this standard.

As my heart goes out to Aasiya’s family, I recognize this not only as their personal loss, but as a huge loss for our American Muslim community at large: A loss of a project needed now more than ever before; a loss of financial resources that can never be collected again with the same trust and passion; and a loss of respect for an American Islamic channel and the intentions behind it.