Memorial meeting and prayer held in London in memory of Hackney racism victim Ishaque Ali

News desk
shottobani

Londonঃ A memorial meeting and prayer service were held on 16 July at a community centre in Tower Hamlets to commemorate Ishaque Ali, who was murdered by racists in Hackney, East London, 48 years ago.

The event was organised by the Altab Ali Foundation to pay tribute to Ishaque Ali’s memory. The meeting was chaired by the foundation’s President, Nooruddin Ahmed, and conducted by its General Secretary, Ansar Ahmed Ullah.

 Alongside remembering the life and legacy of Ishaque Ali, speakers also discussed the continuing struggle against racist violence in the United Kingdom.

 Among those who addressed the gathering were Ishaque Ali’s two sons, Kabir Ahmed and Shuhel Ahmed; his brother-in-law Jahangir Khan; former councillor Jainal Chowdhury, who attended protests following Ali’s death in 1978; Jalal Rajonuddin, who worked with Ishaque Ali on Cavell Street; Hackney residents Bashir Uddin, Musa Jabbar and Anna Miah; former Tower Hamlets Mayor Selim Ullah; Rafique Ullah of the Altab Ali Memorial Trust; Abdul Sattar of Bangladesh Youth Front; Altab Ali Foundation Organising Secretary Jamal Khan; Ashraf Mahmud Neswar, Nazma Hossain, Abdul Malik Khokon, Raju Nathan, Sheikh Noor, Imdadun Khanam, council officer Kazi Ruksana Begum, and journalists Rezaul Karim Mridha and Sazzad Hussain, among others. The concluding prayers were led by Hafiz Md Zilu Khan.

 Speakers said that although the racist violence of the 1970s has subsided, it has recently re-emerged in an ugly form through far-right politics, with asylum seekers, refugees and faith communities increasingly becoming targets.

The Altab Ali Foundation pledged to continue challenging racism and to honour the life and memory of Ishaque Ali in Hackney, where he lived. The foundation has long been working to promote community unity and to remember the victims of racist attacks in Britain.