London: Pensioner beaten up in front of mosque

London: Pensioner beaten up in front of mosque


Three other elderly Muslims have been attacked.


A Muslim pensioner was on the brink of death last night after an appalling race-hate attack by a gang of schoolboys.


Retired care worker Ekram Haque, 67, was battered to the ground in front of his three-year- old granddaughter Marian.


Doctors have told his family he has no chance of survival. Last night he was on a ventilator as friends and relatives paid their last respects.


Police are linking the attack to other assaults on elderly Asians. The attackers, who were black and wore hooded tops, are believed to be as young as 12.


Mr Haque, a devout Muslim, was ambushed as he left his local mosque in Tooting, South-West London, where he had been attending evening prayers during the holy month of Ramadan.


As he and Marian waited for a lift, the gang ran up behind him and clubbed him around the head.


Two other worshippers chased the thugs away but Mr Haque - described by friends as a 'gentle giant' - had suffered horrific head injuries.


His granddaughter has been left 'very shaken and disturbed', said her father, Mr Haque's son Arfan. Graphic images of the attack were caught on CCTV.


Although Mr Haque has not been officially declared dead, murder squad detectives have already begun investigating the attacks on him and four other Asians.


Three of the earlier victims were also pensioners. As local community tensions grew, police stepped up patrols near the Idara E Jaaferiya mosque where Mr Haque was attacked last Monday.


Scotland Yard confirmed that the assault was being treated as ' racially motivated'.


Mr Haque's 35-year-old son, a consumer law advisor, described the attack on his father as ' mindless violence' but urged people to remain calm.


He said: 'I would urge people in our community to remember that Islam is a peaceful religion and does not condone revenge attacks. If you want to do anything, just pray.


'I have been very impressed how the police have dealt with the attack, and have full confidence in what they are doing.


'Obviously I am concerned for my daughter, who has given a very vivid account of what happened.'


Ekram Haque was born in Calcutta and moved to Belfast in search of work in 1972. He met his wife there and they moved to London in the early 1980s.


Mr Haque originally worked in textiles but later became a warden in a home for the disabled. He retired last year and was looking after Marian on weekdays.


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Source: Daily Mail