Hafiz Patel, influential British Muslim leader, dies at 92

Hafiz Patel, one of the most influential Muslim leaders in Britain, has died. He was reported to be 92. Mr Patel was the leader in Britain and Europe of Tablighi Jamaat, a global Islamic missionary movement that encourages Muslims to be more religiously observant. Huge crowds of mourners attended his funeral in Dewsbury on Friday. A Muslim community organisation in Bradford called Mr Patel a "pioneer of Islamic identity in Britain". News website Islam21c reported Mr Patel had died on Thursday at the age of 92. He had set up a seminary for imams and Islamic scholars in Dewsbury in 1978. Ishtiaq Ahmed, from the Bradford Council for Mosques, said: "We are all very saddened and shocked by his death. He will be missed by thousands in Britain and Europe. "He was a pioneer, a visionary when it comes to the Islamic identity, and the place of the Muslim community in Britain. "He established Dewsbury in West Yorkshire as a centre for European Muslims in Britain as far back as 1978. He also was a strong believer in British home-grown Islam." Courtesy: BBC