Abdul Qayum (, ; born 1 March 1960) is a

British Bangladeshi British Bangladeshis () are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots are from Bangladesh. Bengali Muslims have prominently been migrating to the UK since World War II. Migration reached its peak during the 1970s, with ...

scholar and the chief

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

of the

East London Mosque The East London Mosque (ELM) is situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets between Whitechapel and Aldgate East. Combined with the adjoining London Muslim Centre and Maryam Centre, it is one of the largest mosques in Western Europe accomm ...

. A former lecturer at the

International Islamic University Malaysia The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) is a public university in Malaysia. Headquartered in Gombak, Selangor, IIUM has six other campuses all over Malaysia: two medical-centric campuses and a Centre for Foundation Studies in Gam ...

, Abdul Qayum also served as a presenter on Islamic programs on Peace TV Bangla and Channel 9.

Background

Abdul Qayum was born in the

District of Noakhali A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

(now

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

). He studied Islamic sciences and

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

at the

Government Madrasah-e-Alia Government Madrasah-e-Alia (, ) is a government madrasa located in Bakshibazar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Since its founding, the madrasah has been playing a significant role in imparting and spreading Islamic education. History Alia Madrasah was estab ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

and then continued his studies of Islamic sciences under several scholars in

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

, Saudi Arabia. At the

Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) (), commonly known as Al-Imam University (IMAMU) (Arabic: إمامو), is a public university in the sub-municipality of Shemal in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1950 as an Islamic semin ...

, he completed a Bachelor of Arts in Arabic language and literature and a Master of Arts in

applied linguistics Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems. Some of the academic fields related to applied linguistics are education, psychology, Communication stu ...

. He then became a lecturer of

Quranic Arabic Classical Arabic or Quranic Arabic () is the standardized literary form of Arabic used from the 7th century and throughout the Middle Ages, most notably in Umayyad and Abbasid literary texts such as poetry, elevated prose and oratory, and is also ...

at the

International Islamic University of Malaysia The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) is a public university in Malaysia. Headquartered in Gombak, Selangor, IIUM has six other campuses all over Malaysia: two medical-centric campuses and a Centre for Foundation Studies in Gam ...

. After moving to the United Kingdom with his family, he was elected as the

Khatib In Islam, a khatib or khateeb ( ''khaṭīb'') is a person who delivers the sermon (''khuṭbah'') (literally "narration"), during the Friday prayer and Eid prayers. The ''khateeb'' is usually the prayer leader (''imam''), but the two roles can ...

of the

in 1993. In 2008, he was made aware of Richard House Children's Hospice and in 2010 he became a patron. He is a member of

European Council for Fatwa and Research The European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) is a Dublin-based private foundation, founded in London on 29–30 March 1997 on the initiative of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe. The council is a largely self-selected body, ...

and National Council of Imams and Rabbis, which is a registered operating name of the Joseph Interfaith Foundation. He is also a signatory to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

's Environmental Declaration. Abdul Qayum studied

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

and other

Islamic sciences The Islamic sciences () are a set of traditionally defined religious sciences practiced by Islamic scholars ( ), aimed at the construction and interpretation of Islamic religious knowledge. Different sciences These sciences include: * : Islami ...

alongside

Mohammad Akram Nadwi Mohammad Akram Nadwi (born ) is a British Islamic scholar and the Dean of Cambridge Islamic College, principal of Al-Salam Institute, and an Honorary Visiting Fellow at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education. He is the author of the 43 vol ...

and attended

SOAS, University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, ...

. In early January 2021, he and some of his family members had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

amid the

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

, and were admitted to the

Royal London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and Tower Hamlets and sp ...

for care.

Current employment

* Imam and Khateeb of the

References

External links

*
Establish Justice (English)

Death (English)

Preparing for Ramadan (English)

Death (Arabic)

3 deeds Allah loves (Bengali)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul Qayum Imams in the United Kingdom 1960 births Living people Bangladeshi Muslims Bangladeshi emigrants to the United Kingdom People from Noakhali District British imams British Muslims British Sunni Muslims Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University alumni Academic staff of the International Islamic University Malaysia Government Madrasah-e-Alia alumni 21st-century Bengalis 20th-century Bengalis Islamic scholars in the United Kingdom Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam