98:), at a mosque in Sacramento, California. They lived in California for some time to spread awareness of the Moorish Science Temple of America. By 1965, the couple and their sons Tariq (b. 1962) and Yasin (b. 1964) were living in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. They subsequently had two daughters. Aisha Sharif passed on in 2004.
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and received two liver transplants by 2005, when he learned that his kidneys were also failing him. The
University of Maryland Medical Center found a matching kidney for him on June 30, 2005 and he and his wife were waiting at the hospital when Marian Sharif suffered a stroke and died. Her kidney was
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and was later a recruiter for the Army
National Guard, holding the rank of Sergeant First Class. He served as a Scouting executive and as a senior officer in the Sea Scouts, where he was known as the most prolific producer of private issue square knots.
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A week before his death, his liver began to fail and he was rushed to the hospital. Doctors quickly determined that there was nothing else to be done and that his death was imminent. He slipped into a coma and died the morning of March 2, 2006.
145:) was held March 5, 2006 in Sykesville, MD, followed by an open memorial service. The American Legion held a moving memorial ceremony, as did the local Masonic lodge (Rafi was a 32nd degree). A representative of the
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He wed the former Marian
Yasenchak Bey, on July 15, 1991 in Baltimore's Leakin Park and the family settled in the Baltimore neighborhood of Windsor Hills. Their daughter Anya was born in 1993.
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also paid tribute to Rafi, who was a major volunteer and senior executive for the Scouts, a senior officer in the Sea
Explorers, B.S.A., and was awarded a 50-year pin from the Boy Scouts.
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A Star Trek fan, he began a local chapter of the
Starfleet Marines (SMI), the MSB Tawara, in the mid-1990s and was the SMI Quartermaster at the time of his death.
172:. He co-founded The Noble Order of Moorish Sufis in July 1957. In the late 1980s, he renounced the teachings of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and joined the
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Sharif married his first wife, Aisha (née
Barbara Volk) Bey, then the National Secretary of The Noble Order of Moorish Sufis (which would later grow into the
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Sufi orders as well. In the last few years before his death, he was investigating the historical links that he believed to exist between the
Lithuanian
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a better match than the one Rafi Sharif had been waiting to receive and he received one of his late wife's kidneys within 26 hours of her death.
91:, where he was a drummer in the Regimental Band and graduated in 1958. He converted to Islam and took on the name Rafi Sharif in the late 1950s.
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History and Works of the Noble Order
Moorish Science Temple Moors: THE EMARET (EMIRS) and EMANET (EMINS) Epochs 1, 2 and 3
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Sharif converted to Islam in the late 1950s. After his conversion, he became actively involved in the
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67:. He was a co-founder of the Sufi group The Noble Order of Moorish Sufis, the head Mufti of
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63:(February 28, 1940 – March 2, 2006) was a pioneer in the development of
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to an
Orthodox Jewish family, Sharif attended the military prep school
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251:. Staunton Military Academy Foundation. July 2006. Archived from
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Sharif is buried in
Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery in
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Jews from which he was descended and Islamic culture.
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101:Sharif served in the US Marine Corps during the
392:, United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
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407:, written by Sultan Rafi Sharif Ali Shah Bey
217:, and he held long time membership with the
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466:Industrial Workers of the World members
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306:"Windsor Hills proud of its diversity"
71:#13 in Baltimore, and involved in the
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160:Philosophical and/or political views
65:Islamic culture in the United States
285:Private Issue Scouting Square Knots
198:, spending time as a member of the
96:Moorish Orthodox Church of America
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446:American people of Jewish descent
358:"In death, a wife's gift of life"
338:. Starfleet Marines International
166:Moorish Science Temple of America
278:"Part 2 of 5: Rafi Sharif Knots"
194:– and was a lifelong student of
219:Industrial Workers of the World
456:Converts to Islam from Judaism
61:Rafi Yahya Abdullah Sharif-Bey
1:
183:Muslims—members of his local
471:Kidney transplant recipients
390:Nationwide Gravesite Locator
304:Lauren Harner (2004-05-23).
213:Sharif political views were
116:Liver and kidney transplants
476:Liver transplant recipients
356:Greg Barrett (2005-08-08).
223:Workers Solidarity Alliance
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179:He worked with mainstream
170:Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
334:Robert J. Kitson (2006).
174:Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement
89:Staunton Military Academy
16:American religious leader
40:March 2, 2006 (aged 66)
154:Owings Mills, Maryland
69:Moorish Science Temple
147:Boy Scouts of America
451:Anarcho-syndicalists
336:"SMI Fallen Members"
388:Search result from
215:Anarcho-Syndicalist
129:Death and afterward
73:Ahmadiyyah movement
43:Baltimore, Maryland
54:Marian (1991–2005)
316:on April 16, 2005
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32:February 28, 1940
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436:American Muslims
431:American Ahmadis
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441:American Sufis
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399:External links
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52:Aisha (-2004)
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373:. Retrieved
369:the original
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426:2006 deaths
421:1940 births
204:Nimatullahi
122:hepatitis C
120:Sharif had
103:Vietnam War
23:Rafi Sharif
415:Categories
375:2007-02-06
342:2007-02-06
320:2007-02-06
290:2007-02-06
262:2007-02-06
229:References
185:Naqshbandi
79:Biography
49:Spouse(s)
461:Chishtis
221:and the
208:Karaite
192:janazah
188:tariqah
139:janazah
242:"TAPS"
200:Chisti
196:Sufism
361:(PDF)
281:(DOC)
256:(PDF)
245:(PDF)
181:Sunni
83:Born
202:and
137:The
37:Died
29:Born
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