Patriot, Inventor, Compatriot
The Story of Mohammed Imam Hussain
PART 2
TRAILBLAZERS
The idea for TRAILBLAZERS was created by Haikal Mansor
Family photographs, documents and writings courtesy of the family of Md. Imam Hussain
In 1955, at the age of 29, Imam Hussain traveled by boat from Karachi, Pakistan to the United Kingdom, and on August 30th, 1955, he boarded the passenger ship SS Liberte in Southampton, England. The ship took him to New York City. He arrived in New York City on September 2nd. His destination: Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was one of the first members of the Rohingya community to resettle in the United States. It is said he arrived in the United States with $2 USD in his pocket.
Take a minute to write an introduction that is short, sweet, and to the point.
Take a minute to write an introduction that is short, sweet, and to the point.
His arrival in the United States was the beginning of a life filled with academic and professional achievements. In 1955 he began his pursuit of a Bachelor of Science degree at the Indiana Technical College in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He was a member of the Electrical Club which was a section of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. In 1957 he moved to the Bay Area of California where he completed his Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering at Heald Engineering College in San Francisco. Not long after graduating, he started his first job as a Junior Engineer. In 1960, he applied for permanent residency, and in 1961 his wife Jomilah, who was also from Maungdaw, joined him in California. They moved to Los Angeles, and while working, he also attended West Coast University. In 1966, he received his first Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering. That same year, he naturalized as a US citizen.
Imam Hussain (top row - middle) with other electrical engineering students in the 1956 Indiana Technical Collage yearbook titled, the KENIONGAN.
A photograph of Imam Hussain (seated on far left) with other members of the Electrical Club. This photograph appears in the 1957 Indiana Technical Collage yearbook.
Imam Hussain in 1958. That year he received his Bacheclor of Science Degree from Heald Engineering College in San Francisco.
Imam Hussain’s graduation certificate and text from his resume describing his Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering from West Coast University in 1966.
On December 28, 1968, Mohammed Imam Hussain and Jean-Louis R. Riehl M.D. from the Division of Neurology at the UCLA Center for Health Sciences applied for Patent # 3,416,546 from the US Patent Office. The patent was for an invention that dealt with electronic circuitry used in providing real-time analysis of waveforms in brian activity. MORE info Here….. (Continued below…)
By the 1970s, Ne Win and the military’s grip on Burma had become increasingly oppressive. His policies were highly racialized and xenophobic against Muslim communities, especially the Rohingya in Arakan. With a new constitution in 1974, Arakan was now officially Rakhine State. On February 6, 1978 immigration officials swept into Akyab (today the city of Sittwe) and launched the Naga Min Operation or Operation Dragon King. In Arakan, the operation was launched as an ‘immigration operation’ attempting to cut down on illegal ‘Bengali’ immigrants. Instead it targeted Rohingya with violence, arrests and killings. Because of his English language skills, leaders of the Rohingya liberation group, the Rohingya Patriotic Front (RPF) asked Imam Hussain to travel to Bangladesh and help write an account of the atrocities to share with the international community. With a deep sense of responsibility to his community, he agreed.
Upon arriving in Bangladesh, he spent several weeks working. On April 11, 1978, the 16-page book, Genocide In Burma Against the Muslims of Arakan was published and released by the Rohingya Patriotic Front. Through the testimonies of survivors and information gathered by RFP and others, the book provides an almost daily account of the atrocities committed by the Burmese military during the months of February and March 1978. The book also includes ‘Causes of Genocide’ against the Rohingya community as well as photographs. At that time, Naga Min Operation resulted in the largest mass displacement of Rohingya from Burma into Bangladesh. It is estimated over 200,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh during the operation. While his name does not appear in the report, elders acknowledge Imam Hussain was the author. (Continued below…)
Original photographs of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh during Naga Min. Several of the photos appear in the book written by Imam Hussain, Genocide In Burma Against the Muslims of Arakan
Pages from inside the book written by Imam Hussain, Genocide In Burma Against the Muslims of Arakan. This specific copy appears inside a larger, 150-page book entitled: Rohingya Refugees In The World Press 1978.
Imam Hussain continued to stay informed about the struggles of the community in Burma and Bangladesh. From afar, he would watch as more atrocities were committed against the Rohingya in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. His family says he had enormous sympathy for the people in his community and what they endured and that being in Bangladesh and writing the book in 1978 during Naga Min was an important moment in his life.
He returned to the United States and in 1980, at the age of 54 and after several years of studying part-time, he received his second Masters Degree from Loyola Marymount University. Throughout his professional career, he worked as a staff engineer for companies like Thiokol Corporation, McDonnell Douglas and TRW (Thompson, Ramo, Wooldridge Inc.) and contributed to several projects and contracts for the US Department of Defense. When he retired in 1989, he was a Senior Staff Engineer at Hughes Aircraft Company.
A photograph of 54-yr-old Imam Hussain in 1980 after receiving his 2nd Masters degree in Electrical Engineering at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
Imam Hussain with his wife Jomilah and grandson.
While Electrical Engineering was his career, he had a passion for learning and education. He was a prolific reader. After retirement, he taught part-time in the School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. In 2006, he returned to Myanmar one last time. The trip fulfilled Imam Hussain’s wish to return to his homeland one last time before dying. During his trip, he spent time visiting family and friends in Yangon. He was unable to visit Maungdaw and Arakan (Rakhine State).
Mohammed Imam Hussain passed away on December 24, 2016 at the age of 90.
The project Ek Khaale extends its deepest gratitude to the family of Mohammed Imam Hussain.