[1] Hathout helped found the Muslim Public Affairs Council and spoke extensively against Islamic radicalism.
[2] Born in Cairo, Egypt in 1936, Hathout eventually moved to Buffalo, New York, and then to Los Angeles.
Hathout stressed throughout his life that being a faithful Muslim was entirely compatible with being a proud American, and that Islam is a religion of coexistence, reason and moderation.
While he criticized Salman Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses, finding it "insulting", he also condemned Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa against him and defended his right to free speech.
)[3] He was also among the pioneers of interfaith engagement within the American Muslim community, helping found the Religious Coalition Against War in the Middle East with Rev.