From the website of the Muslim Institute, London, announcing the demise of Dr Ghayas, on 18 April 2026, aged 87, “[. . .] Dr Siddiqui was part of the first generation of Muslim migrants who established roots and community institutions in Britain. Along with fellow pioneer Kalim Siddiqui (no relation, died 1996) he was a founder and trustee of the Muslim Institute, an independent learned society established in 1973. In 2008, he was responsible for kickstarting the reiteration of the Muslim Institute, bringing the organisation to a new vibrant life that shines bright to this day [. . .] From 1992, he helped establish a string of bodies that would inspire and clear a path for a new generation of home grown organisations that would focus on the needs of the growing British Muslim community. These included the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, the Bait al Mal al Islami (a UK focused welfare fund), the Halal Food Authority, and British Muslims for a Secular Democracy. He was a true multiculturalist, bridging the Muslim communities with other faith-based and ethnic communities who made the UK their home. He was a passionate campaigner for human rights and liberty, and was actively involved in promoting equality, social justice and gender equality. He balanced the local needs of his neighbours with the concerns of an increasingly globalised world, championing justice in the UK as well as abroad. He actively campaigned against the genocide in Bosnia, the war in Chechnya, and the UK’s involvement in the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajiun
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Dr Ghayas’s life story is recounted in the memoir, ‘A Very British Muslim Activist’, published by Beacon Books.