Victor Begg

Mirza Ghalib (Victor) Begg (born 1947) is an Indian-born Muslim American author, philanthropist and community leader. Alongside his column-writing and community activism, Begg is a former entrepreneur and businessman who opened several furniture stores throughout metro-Detroit in the 1980s.

Victor Begg
Born
Mirza Ghalib Begg

Early Life and Education

Victor Begg was born to an upper-class family of eight siblings in Hyderabad, India.[1] After attending St. George's Grammar School, he graduated from Aligarh Muslim University in Northern India with an undergraduate degree in physics, chemistry and biology in order to pursue a medical career. After beginning pre-med coursework post-graduation, he secured a job with a construction company in Saudi Arabia in 1969.[2]

Begg then emigrated to the U.S. in 1970 to study at the University of Detroit. While pursuing a master's degree in business administration from UD, he worked jobs pumping gas, washing dishes, joining an assembly line and selling vacuum cleaners.[2]

Career

Furniture Business

In 1979, Begg began his entrepreneurial career in international lumber trade with his first company, International Forest Products, Inc.[2] After a year in the business, he used the money he earned selling Oregonian lumber to the Caribbean market and invested his entire life savings in Naked Furniture, an ready-to-finish and custom-finished furniture franchise based in Naperville, Illinois. After 33 years in the business, Begg and his wife closed the last of his five Naked Furniture franchises in 2014.[3]

Muslim Community Activist

In the midst of opening the first of his Naked Furniture franchises, Begg began to invest time as a leader in metro-Detroit.[4] In the early 1980s, he co-founded an umbrella organization that would eventually become the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan (CIOM) focused on “civic, interfaith, media and other forums to represent a ‘singular’ community voice.”[4] The council was formally established in 1988 and incorporated in 1993.[5] During the incorporation phase, Begg established the Muslim Unity Center mosque in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan with the intention of creating an inclusive environment for a diversity of ethnic groups and various schools of thought within Islam.[6] He has been widely regarded as a religious leader for Muslims in metro-Detroit since the 1980s.[7]

After establishing the CIOM and the Muslim Unity Center in the 1990s, Begg headed the Muslim American Alliance. The group focused on media, networking and advocacy, and Begg effectively became a spokesman for the community where he fielded queries from journalists and offered perspective on issues affecting Islamic communities.[1]

Into the 2000s, Begg and CIOM led several interfaith efforts to unite religious leaders in metro-Detroit and beyond. As a board member of the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity & Inclusion and other interfaith groups, Begg attended a gathering of religious leaders in Dearborn the day after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in Dearborn. At that meeting, he challenged community members to not settle for a “kumbaya moment ”but to work toward meeting change, eventually leading to the establishment of the InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit, which today still gathers community members and leads community-based initiatives.[1]

In 2007, then-CIOM-chairmen Begg organized Sunni and Shi’ite leaders in Michigan to sign a peace pact affirming their commitment to speak out against conflicts between the two sects.[8][9] Then in 2009, Begg began a collaboration with Jewish community volunteers in metro-Detroit called “Mitzvah Day,” where non-profit Islamic and Jewish groups collaborated to feed and clothe local residents on and around Christmas.[10][11] In 2011, Begg, alongside Jewish and Chaldean leaders, organized an Interfaith Health Fair run by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Detroit and the CIOM.[12]

Throughout 2012, Begg spoke out against Muslim violence in response to the publishing of "Innocence of Muslims," a film critical of Muhammad and the Muslim faith.[13] That same year, CIOM merged with the Islamic Shura Council of Michigan in 2012 to form the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC), which continues to “pursue social justice” and “promote the best Islamic and American values.”[5] Additionally, the Unity Center still serves the metro-Detroit Islamic community today.

In 2013, Begg criticized McDonald's for rolling back the decision to sell halal food in Dearborn after a $700,000 settlement against the restaurant chain that alleged the menu items were not consistently halal.[14]

Writer/Author

Currently, Begg serves as a guest columnist for several Michigan- and Florida-based newspapers. He has published work in the Treasure Coast Palm,[15] Detroit Free Press,[16] USA Today,[17] Florida Today,[18] and Lebanon Daily News,[19] among others. He has also made guest appearances on several national news and regional media outlets, including ABC, CBS, FOX, NPR, Los Angeles Times and USA Today.[20] His columns often revolve around acknowledging and working to resolve conflicts worldwide involving Muslims and tensions surrounding Muslim-Americans.[21] Begg is a self-proclaimed supporter of the Republican Party.[22]

In February 2019, Begg released his first full-length book, a memoir entitled Our Muslim Neighbors: Achieving the American Dream, an Immigrant's Memoir.[23]

Personal life

Begg married Lata Shanbhag in 1975 after meeting at the University of Detroit . They have 3 children: Sami, Yusuf and Sofia. Begg's paternal grandfather, Mirza Samiullah Beg (Royal Title: Mirza Yar Jung), was the Chief Justice of Hyderabad High Court, followed by his maternal grandfather, Mirza Hyder Baig (Title: Jivan Yar Jung) who became the next Chief Justice. Begg's uncle, Mirza Hameedullah Beg was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India. His great grandfather, Mirza Agha Baig (Title: Servar-ul-Mulk, a Moghul who moved to Hyderabad from Delhi when the British rule began, became the Chief of Staff of the Nizam, sovereign of the Princely State of Hyderabad.[24]

Awards

In 2009, Begg received a Community Peacemaker award from Wayne State University’s Center for Peace and Conflict Studies.[1] Later that same year, the Detroit News named Begg “Michiganian of the Year” to honor his work in sharing his Islamic faith and promoting unity in the metro-Detroit area.[25] In 2010, Begg was awarded the Excellence Award for promoting understanding of Muslims and Islam through interfaith dialogue in the United States by the American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin.[26] In 2011, the Niagara Foundation awarded Begg the Niagara Peace Award.[27]

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References
  1. Hicks, Mark. "Muslim activist details interfaith work in 'true-blue American story'". Detroit News. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  2. www.amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1641800194?pf_rd_p=ab873d20-a0ca-439b-ac45-cd78f07a84d8&pf_rd_r=ATVBZKE109XVX2NJ9FW8. Retrieved 2020-03-19. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. Blake, Kathy. "Naked Furniture closing last store as owner retires". The Oakland Press. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  4. "Get to Know: Victor Begg '74, sharing his American story". 2019-09-18. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  5. "History". mimuslimcouncil. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  6. "Muslim Unity Center (CJ)". hwpi.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  7. Pupcenoks, Juris (2015-12-07). Western Muslims and Conflicts Abroad: Conflict Spillovers to Diasporas. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-42632-5.
  8. "Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the U.S. Come Together in Life and Prayer". Fox News. 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  9. "Area Muslims promote new code of unity". Los Angeles Times. 2007-04-23. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  10. "Detroit's Muslim community joins Jewish groups to help with Mitzvah Day". Crain's Detroit Business. 2009-12-18. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  11. Karoub, Jeff (2009-12-24). "Mich. Muslims join Jews for Christmas Day Mitzvah". Boston.com. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  12. "Mixing it up in Motor City mosque". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  13. SLEZAK, JOE. "Detroit-area Islamic, Catholic leaders: Violence not answer to anti-Muhammad film". The Oakland Press. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  14. AP.com, Katie Little With (2013-06-25). "McDonald's Retreats From Selling Halal Food After Lawsuit". www.cnbc.com. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  15. "Guest column: Anti-sharia protesters are selling phantom threats". Treasure Coast Newspapers. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  16. "https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/readers/2014/08/29/isis-extremists-do-not-represent-majority-of-muslims-guest-column/14761235/". Michigan. Retrieved 2020-03-19. External link in |title= (help)
  17. Begg, Victor. "Kashmir, rugged and beautiful, is a ticking time bomb between India and Pakistan". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  18. "Opinion: After NYC attack, Muslim-Americans face fear of retaliation". Florida Today. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  19. "Don't let terrorists define the narrative". Lebanon Daily News. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  20. "Longtime Metro Detroit Muslim advocate returning to Michigan for April book tour". 2019-03-31. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  21. "After NYC attack, Muslim-Americans face fear of retaliation | Guest column". Treasure Coast Newspapers. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  22. "I'm a Republican, an immigrant and a Muslim — and I want my party back | Guest column". TCPalm. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  23. "Victor Begg's 'Our Muslim Neighbors': Meet a Muslim this year—build a healthier community". Explore. 2019-02-04. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  24. Nawab Jiwan Yar Jung Bahadur. My Life Being The Autobiography Of Nawab Server-Ul-Mulk Bahadur. Osmania University, Digital Library Of India. Arthur H. Stockwell Limited.
  25. "Muslim Man Named Michiganian of the Year". www.mpac.org. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  26. TMO (2010-10-21). "AFMI's 20th Annual Convention in Detroit Discusses Ayodhya Verdict & Pluralism". The Muslim Observer. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  27. "Peace & Dialogue Awards 2011 | Niagara Foundation". Retrieved 2020-03-19.
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