Death and afterward 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. The janazah (Islamic funeral) 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 Boy Scouts of America 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. Sharif is buried in Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery in Owings Mills, Maryland. Philosophical and/or political views Sharif converted to Islam in the late 1950s. After his conversion, he became actively involved in the Moorish Science Temple of America – the forerunner to the Nation of Islam – and then the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. 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 Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement. He worked with mainstream Sunni Muslims—members of his local Naqshbandi tariqah attended his janazah – and was a lifelong student of Sufism, spending time as a member of the Chisti and Nimatullahi 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 Karaite Jews from which he was descended and Islamic culture. Sharif political views were Anarcho-Syndicalist, and he held long time membership with the Industrial Workers of the World and the Workers Solidarity Alliance. References External links History and Works of the Noble Order Moorish Science Temple Moors: THE EMARET (EMIRS) and EMANET (EMINS) Epochs 1, 2 and 3, written by Sultan Rafi Sharif Ali Shah Bey 1940 births 2006 deaths American Ahmadis American Muslims Converts to Islam from Judaism Industrial Workers of the World members Kidney transplant recipients Liver transplant recipients