Over 300 people gathered in Kenton Hall, north London, on Sunday 31 May, to memorialise and celebrate the life of the highly regarded thinker and activist Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui (1939-2026). The wide diversity of speakers who spoke warmly of the way he had worked with them and touched their lives demonstrated the huge impact he had on the lives of Muslims and wider British society.
Contributors included: family members Aydin Siddiqui, Yusuf Khan, Inaya Rahman & Sama Siddiqui, Asim Siddiqui, Talat Siddiqui, alongside Matin Khan (Halal Food Authority), C Scott Jordan (biographer), Ziauddin Sardar (Muslim Institute co-founder), Baroness Shaista Gohir (Muslim Women’s Network), Anas Altikriti (MAB), Humera Khan (An-Nisa Society), Professor Musharraf Hussein OBE (Karimia Institute) , Dr Jenny Taylor, Amjad Hussein Muslim Institute north), Dr Rabia Malik (fmr chair City Circle), Imam Sardar Ahmed Qadri (HFA), Ehsan Bari BEM (Halal Food Foundation), Tehmina Kazi (Muslims for Secular Democracy), Aizaz Ahmed, Khudadad Saeed (both carers of Dr Ghayasuddin), Shenaz Minhas, Naomi Foyle (Critical Muslim), Dr Iqbal Asaria (Muslim Institute), Professor Iftikhar Malik (Muslim Institute), Saqib Mohammed (former CEO HFA), Mufti Barkatulla (chair, Muslim Institute). The emcee was Hassan Mahamdallie (Director, Muslim Institute).
An online review of the gathering can be found here
You can view the full announcement of Dr Siddiqui’s passing here
Guardian obituary. Click here
Obituary of Dr Siddiqui by his son Asim in Muslim News. Click here
Tribute to Dr Siddiqui in Hyphen news. Click here
The Biography ‘A Very British Muslim Activist: The life of Ghayasuddin Siddiqui’ by C Scott Jordan can be purchased here
Photos by Rehan Jamil
Video by Robert Hoang
