My father fought for the British Army in the First World War, when he was injured and treated in London, and in Italy and Burma during the Second World War. He came to England by invitation in the early 1960s and I joined him later with my mother, brother and sister. When we landed at Heathrow the fog, snow and extreme cold were beyond my experience.

I started school but I couldn’t speak any English. My dad was friendly with the local priest and I used to visit his house where his wife would teach me English. Later I went to King Ecgbert school and encountered mixed classes - another shock for me! I was good at many sports and represented Sheffield in cross-country. I left school with Allah’s blessings with 12 ‘O’ levels and progressed to University College London to become a telecoms engineer. Employed by BT, my life had come full circle as I worked in Sheffield, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Now I am retired and and voluntarily help out at my local mosque.

Madina Mosque