People from around the globe gathered at a Birmingham Park for one of the largest funerals the city has ever hosted.
Respects were paid to Hazrat Shaykh Qibla Pir Alauddin Siddiqui Sahib, a spiritual leader and Chairman of Islamic TV Station, Noor TV.
The 20,000 strong crowd congregated at Aston Park, where the funeral procession took place.
Siddiqui died on Friday at Edgbaston’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital following long-term illness, at the age of 81 and is survived by two sons.
Waseem Zaffar, Birmingham City Councillor for Lozells, was among the many mourners and helped in organising paperwork for the body to be flown to Pakistan.
He said: “This was a man with a huge following. He was a spiritual leader who did a lot of work around education, both in England and Pakistan, but he made his HQ in the UK.
“He was a man who strived to bring people of all religions together. He promoted love, peace and harmony.”
Pir Alauddin Siddiqui arrived in Birmingham in the 1960s and instrumental in establishing the Aston Mosque, as well as a global trust to help deprived regions which provided relief for children following the 2005 South Asia earthquake.
As tributes poured in for the trusted spiritual figure, one follower took to Facebook to express their sentiments.
Stating: “Shaikh Alauddin Siddiqui Sahib was a prominent Shaikh (spiritual leader) of the Naqshbandi Order, a renowned Islamic scholar, a celebrated philanthropist and also believed, by a growing number of reputable Islamic scholars around the world, to be the Mujaddid (renewer of faith) of this era.
“He believed his existence was to serve and improve the plight of mankind, regardless of colour or creed. To this end he has worked tirelessly all his life promoting the well-being of the deprived and the under-privileged where ever he has travelled around the world.
The body has been transported to Pakistan where it will be buried.
