Frederick Qasim ibn Ali Khan was born Frederick Raleigh Spencer in Sewickley, Pennsylvani,a on May 14, 1949, into a religiously structured family, although quite attached to music and entertainment. His life's journey began with three sects of Christianity, as a Baptist, Methodist, and Jehovah's Witness, all practiced simultaneously, having no dedicated focus to either. In his search for a more regimented spirituality, he came in contact with the Nation of Islam in 1971, and ultimately traveled down that nationalistic road, until embracing mainstream, or what is considered Orthodox Islam, in 1975. He enjoyed assertiveness and activism, assuming many diverse leadership roles, spearheading and often originating numerous religious and civic initiatives, committees, and organizations, as a motivational speaker and professional fundraiser. He has traveled to South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Fiji Islands, Qatar, Kuwait, India, Saudi Arabia, and Canada, additionally with over sixty television episodes on Peace TV, the international Islamic television program. Qasim Khan, as he is most commonly addressed, is the founder, Imam, and Director of Masjid At-Tawhid and At-Tawhid Educational Center of Houston, in Houston, Texas, USA. He has one son, four daughters, twenty-two grandchildren (at last count), and three great-grandchildren. He currently resides in Houston, Texas with his wife Hasaina, to whom he has been married since 1973.
