Murray Hogben

Title: Historian

Expert Overview

Murray Hogben is a an expert on issues of history, history of Muslims in Canada, pioneer Muslims and conversions to Islam in Canada.

Born in Toronto 1935 of Scottish parents, Murray Hogben converted to Islam in 1956. He graduated from Carleton University BA in English in 1957, Bachelor of Journalism in 1958. He worked for the CBC in TV Public Affairs for some years and then returned to university in 1965 to earn a PhD in British Indian history.

From about 1960 he joined the original Muslim Society of Toronto and became Secretary until about 1969. He taught British, European and Third World history at the Royal Military College of Canada and its affiliated College Militaire Royal de Saint-Jean between 1973 and 1979. He then became a reporter and columnist for The Kingston Whig-Standard until retirement in 2000.

Meanwhile over the years, Hogben continued to be involved as a speaker on Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims, lecturer on Islam-related subjects, and worked with the Council of Muslim Communities of Canada (CMCC) in the 1970s. He was one of ten CMCC Muslim delegates to Iran for the first anniversary of the new Islamic Republic. He also served as Secretary of the Islamic Society of Kingston for a few years.

After a 40 year process, Hogben completed and published an oral history, Minarets on the Horizon: Muslim Pioneers in Canada (Mawenzi House) in 2021. He is currently retired and lives on a farm outside Kingston. Ont.