Dr. Hassan HathoutThe Los Angeles Times yesterday announced the death of Dr. Hassan Hathout,a pioneer in interfaith relations, especially in Southern California where he came to live 20 years ago.  Read article online here.

Hathout encountered Initiatives of Change 55 years ago in Edinburgh, Scotland and he and his family have been active in IofC programs ever since. The American Muslim reports that he “was the keynote speaker at the first Christian-Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr at the White House in 1999. He was a co-founder of the International Organization of Medical Sciences, designed with the goal of dissemination of God-guided medical ethics. Additionally, he is the co-founder of the Interfaith Council of Southern California. Dr. Hathout was the recipient of many awards from interfaith and humanitarian communities, including the Jewish Christian Muslim Olive Branch award for his efforts in making peace and harmony between people of different faiths, and the Initiatives of Change Life Changer award." His daughter, Dr. Eba Hathout, accepted this award on his behalf at an Initiatives of Change conference in Allentown, PA in 2005 where she told how he had saved the lives of seven Jews wounded in 1948 during the war in Palestine, and extraordinary relationship with one of them many years later.  Read more >>

Dr Hathout is survived by his wife of more than fifty-six years, Salonas, a retired pathologist, his daughter, Eba, and his grandchildren Sarrah and Hassaan Shahawy.