Doctor who lost family saved by his faith

New Ramadan series to feature tragic story

A DUBLIN-based doctor, whose wife and family were burned to death in an arson attack three years ago, will share his story as part of an RTÉ series to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Dr Muhammed Taufiq AlSattar, pictured, a paediatric neurosurgeon, was working in Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital when he received news that his wife and three children had been killed in an arson attack in Leicester.

He described himself afterwards as ‘a bird without wings’. Following the subsequent conviction of seven men and one teenager for the attacks, Dr Al-Sattar said he did not hate the individuals but the crime they committed. He will share his story next Saturday at 5.50pm on RTÉ One as part of Ramadan Diaries, in which four Muslims living in Ireland will share their stories and faith just before the Six One News.

‘It was the religious faith that kept me alive when I heard that news on September 13, 2013, at 3.15am,’ he says in his short film, which has been viewed by the Irish Mail on Sunday.

With his wife, Dr Al-Sattar had recently purchased a site for an Islamic centre in Blanchardstown and later decided to press ahead with their ambitious plans to build a mosque, soccer pitches and a community centre.

Last week, it emerged that RTÉ turned down a request from a Muslim scholar to broadcast a call to prayer each day during Ramadan.