Ismail Patel (born 1962) is a British

optician An optician is an individual who fits glasses or contact lenses by filling a refractive prescription from an optometrist or ophthalmologist. They are able to translate and adapt ophthalmic prescriptions, dispense products, and work with acces ...

, and founder of Friends of Al-Aqsa, an

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

based in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. He is an advisory board member of the Conflicts Forum, director of

IslamExpo Islam Expo is an Islamic exhibition held in London in July 2006 and July 2008. In 2006 it was held at the Alexandra Palace in London, a city with a large Muslim population and it was described as being the largest Islamic exhibition ever held ...

, and a member of the Special Advisory Board of Clear Conscience. He writes commentary for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', ''

Aljazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; , ) is a 24-hour English-language News broadcasting, news channel operating under Al Jazeera Media Network, which is funded by the government of Qatar. Al Jazeera introduced an English-language division in 2006. It is ...

'' and ''

Arabian Business ''Arabian Business'' (''AB'') is a weekly business magazine published in Dubai and focusing on global and regional news analysis. The brand is aimed at the English and Arabic-speaking communities and is published in both languages. Its circula ...

''.

Gaza flotilla

Patel joined the Gaza flotilla and was on board the ''

MV Mavi Marmara MV ''Mavi Marmara'' is a Comoros-flagged passenger ship, which was formerly owned and operated by İDO Istanbul Fast Ferries Co. Inc. on the line Sarayburnu, Istanbul-Marmara Island-Avşa Island in the Sea of Marmara. Built at the Golden Ga ...

''. He was held by Israel for just under 48 hours and then deported to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. He flew back to

London Heathrow Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

, and gave a press conference with Alex Harrison and Daniel Machover. Patel states he witnessed at extremely close range the shooting of two of the ten killed by the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

in their raid at sea on the ''MV Mavi Marmara''.

Personal life

He is the brother of

Shockat Adam Shockat Hussain Adam Patel (born November 1972) is a Malawi-born British businessman, optometrist, and independent politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Leicester South since 2024. In September 2024 he was a founder of the ...

, the pro-Palestine independent MP for

Leicester South Leicester South is a constituency, recreated in 1974, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2024 by Shockat Adam. It had been held from 2011 by Jonathan Ashworth of the Labour Co-op Party (which denotes he is a member o ...

since the

2024 United Kingdom general election The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024 to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The opposition Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won a lan ...

References

External links

"Freedom Flotilla Update by Ismail Patel"
24-05-10 Day 1
Friends of Al Aqsa Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Ismail 1963 births British Muslims Living people British opticians Health professionals from Leicester