Imam found battered to death in children’s playground
Fears of racist motive as man of 31 held as murder suspect
A FORMER imam was beaten to death as he walked home across a children’s play area at night.
Jalal Uddin, 56, was attacked while taking a short cut after an evening spent having dinner with a friend.
The married religious leader – who is believed to have grown up children – was found with serious head injuries, lying in a pool of his own blood just 20 minutes after leaving his companion.
Despite efforts by paramedics, he was later pronounced dead. Police would not rule out a racial motive last night as they questioned a 31-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder.
Residents of the town took to social media following the killing on Thursday amid rising tensions over claims that the death was a hate crime.
However senior detectives and community leaders in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, joined forces to help calm fears that muchloved Mr Uddin, who was originally from Bangladesh, may have been the victim of a racist attack.
Superintendent Rick Jackson said they had not established a motive, and urged people to practise restraint in drawing their own conclusions.
He said: ‘ We believe the deceased was walking home from a friend’s house after attending a mosque earlier that evening. There are concerns this incident is racially motivated but we can’t say whether it is or isn’t.
‘As details come forward we will be open minded as to whether it represents a hate crime – but at this time we have nothing to say that.’ He added that there were extra patrols in place ‘to try and reassure the community’.
‘There has been a lot of speculation on social media,’ he said. ‘But I would to ask that people allow us to investigate this incident.’
Assistant Chief Constable Rebekah Sutcliffe confirmed that detectives are looking at the possibility of a racial motive, but added: ‘At the moment we cannot say one way or the other.’
Islamic groups also appealed for calm and asked that residents allow police to investigate without jumping to conclusions.
Dobir Miah, chief officer for the Rochdale Council of Mosques, said: ‘We would like to urge peo- ple to remain calm. Nothing has been said that suggests there is an immediate threat to people doing their day to day activities.’
Mohammed Shafiq, from the Ramadhan Foundation in Greater Manchester, said: ‘While it is too early to speculate about the circumstances we would urge the community to stay united and calm.’
However he added: ‘We would urge all local mosques in Rochdale to consider emergency security precautions to help local people return home safely from the mosque.
‘Furthermore mosques should also consider buddying various people together to ensure vulnerable people are supported.’
The incident happened at around 8.40pm. A devout Muslim, Mr Uddin worshipped almost every day and had attended prayers at the Bilal Jamia Masjid Mosque not far from his home in Rochdale.
Farooq Ahmed, a friend, said: ‘He was bleeding heavily and we believe passers-by tried to revive him but sadly he lost his life.
‘ The whole community is shocked by what has happened. He was a quiet person. He didn’t interfere in anybody’s issues and he was respected.’
Describing him as a pillar of the Bangladeshi community, Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk said Mr Uddin was a ‘very gentle man’. He added: ‘ He was wellregarded, peaceful – he was well thought of in his local mosque and among the Bangladeshi community. I’ve spoken to people and they’re all in shock.’