Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Dad was a quiet, gentle man.. he would not want retaliation, just peace and calm
Tribute to mosque terrorism victim
LOVED ones of the man killed in the Finsbury Park terror attack have paid an emotional tribute, describing him as a “quiet, gentle man”. Makram Ali’s relatives released a statement calling for people to “remain calm” yesterday as it was revealed he died of “multiple injuries”. The dad-of-four and grandad, 51, was already receiving treatment from passers-by after collapsing before a van ploughed into the group near a mosque. A postmortem confirmed he died from injuries sustained during Monday’s horrific incident, which left nine other people in hospital. The family statement described Mr Ali as a “peaceloving and gentle person who had no enemies”. It continued: “We are devastated by the loss of a husband, father, brother and grandfather, Makram Ali, in this tragic event. “Our father was a quiet, gentle man. He didn’t get involved in political or social discussion. “He instead took comfort and enjoyment spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, and he was always ready to make a funny joke when you least expected. “We wish everyone to know what a loving man he was. “He spent his whole life without any enemies, choosing a quiet life instead. “We as a family have always believed that the actions of one person cannot be a reflection of a whole people and I have no doubt that our father would not wish for there to be any retaliation or recriminations and would urge people to remain calm and to pray for peace in these difficult times.” Mr Ali came to the UK from Bangladesh when he was 10 years old. He was a regular worshipper at Finsbury Park Mosque in North London. The statement added: “We know that he had some form of collapse because of his weak leg, a condition he suffers from, before recovering, sitting up and expressing a wish to return home, only to then become a victim of this horrific incident – an incident made only more tragic as he had only just completed his evening prayers, something he did regularly. He took great comfort in the feelings of peace his prayers provided. “At present we are getting a clearer picture of what exactly happened to our father and we are getting regular updates from the police, who have been extremely helpful so far. We wish to thank them and the emergency services for their work and we’d especially like to thank those people who helped our father in his last moments and also thank all the people who have left messages of condolence and flowers.” Police yesterday issued a photo of the van used in the attack – number plate PO54 CSF – and asked anyone who spoke to the driver to come forward. The Mirror exclusively reported this week how the driver stopped and asked passers-by for directions to the mosque. Darren Osborne, 47, from Pentwyn, Cardiff, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and terror offences. Detectives have trawled through 80 hours of CCTV, visited 140 locations and recovered 33 digital devices from a number of addresses in Wales. Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said counterterrorism officers have also interviewed 28 witnesses who were at the scene. He said: “We are very grateful to everyone who has provided information so far – their accounts are assisting the investigation hugely – but we need more people to come forward and tell us what they saw and what they know about the driver of this van.”